DuluthFan

By starting Sano at AA it allows for several scenarios to play out over the course of the year. 1) If Trevor Plouff happens to have a big year, it leaves a level to promote Sano to if he also has a good year. 2) Sano is not currently on the 40 man roster. If Plouff goes down with an injury and a call up is needed, and Sano is struggling at the time, they can then call up the AAA replacement rather than the AA player who may not be ready. 3) There are other players in the Twins minor league system. While Sano is on his own advancement path, there are other players that also have their own paths to take. While they may not be the level of prospect as Sano, they still need to play at the level that they need to be at to continue to advance at their own pace. These players still have value to the Twins if only as future trade chips (Romero, Hanson, Waring). 4) The Twins have several utility players on their 40 man roster. The players that don't make the team need to be assigned somewhere (Bernier, Escobar). Usually that is AAA.

I don't understand the dislike of this move. The Twins picked up a pitcher with some major league experience on waivers. You are not going to find a top of the rotation pitcher on waivers. They didn't sign him, he is already under contract (probably at major league minimum). They probably don't have to pay him until spring training at the earliest. While he is currently a long shot to make the opening day roster, he could come in handy later in the season. The Twins also still need to stock a AAA roster as well as the major league roster. With the possibility of the Twins losing some pitchers due to players with no options left (Deduno, Diamond, Worley), they will need some bodies to fill their roster places. Raley is a "replacement level" pitcher. He will probably replace one of the pitchers that the Twins lose.

Can we get a glossary for abbreviations? WTF is BYTO? Be Your Transit Operator Best Young Tranny Opera Beer Yes Turkey Oranges Basset Yak Teenage Operation Bite Your Tiny Opening Some of the adults are not hip on all the preteen texting abbreviations.

Not every signing has to fill a future need. Sometimes you have to fill needs in the present. Most people here would like to see the Twins do better. I would like to see them do better sooner rather than later. If there is a hole in the Twins bullpen this year and Guerrier can fill it, so be it. If it doesn't that's ok as well. Look at the big picture. If Deduno, Worley and Diamond don't make the 25 man roster as starters OR relievers and they are waived and claimed, there will be openings in the organization at the AAA level for major league experienced pitchers to fill in for injuries. The Twins are only doing their due diligence and planning for the loss of experienced pitchers. They appear to have enough potential high level starters, they also need high level experienced relievers. If he pitches well, but doesn't make the team, he would also make a good tradable asset. If they could get something for Butera, they could get something for Guerrier.

The lack of position player free agent signings for the Twins is linked to the prospects coming up in the system. They can't really entice a free agent third baseman to sign while Sano is expected to come up in the next year or two. Second base appears to be filled at least for the next year based on Dozier's good second half last year. The outfield appears to be have too many players competing for too few spots, with several prospects working their way up through the minors. First base is filled until Mauer is gone. Catcher was addressed. The only position really open with no prospects coming up appears to be shortstop.

There is room for Tanaka on the Twins. If the deal is long enough the posting fee becomes manageable as you prorate it based on the number of years in the contract. While the per year dollars may look off putting at first glance, consider the current contract status of the roster. After 2014, the Willingham and Correia contracts expire ($12 million) and the positions could be turned over to prospects in the system at minimum salaries. The Pelfrey and Burton contracts expire the following year ($8 million). Mauer is the only other position player signed for more than the major league minimum for multiple years. There are enough prospects coming up to fill the roster with young cheap players so that most of the payroll can be put into pitching. Keep in mind our pitching prospects that are expected to come up soon. They can replace the current starters as their contracts expire at a cheaper rate. There would be risk to signing Tanaka, as there is with signing any other free agent. But you need to look at the upside as well. He could be a number one or two starter for the Twins. He currently has more upside than anything in the Twins organization. At worse what could he be? A number four/five? That is still better than most of what was pitching for the Twins last year.

Not all signings have to be to fill major league spots. The Twins have to field several minor league teams as well. This signing seems to be to fill a AAA or AA roster.

While not ideal, Arcia could play center for a game or two to give the starter a breather. He did play some in the lower minors. And of course, there is always the possibility that Hicks is the 4th outfielder. Hicks could also play well enough to earn the starter's job with Presley as the backup.

If you are referring to Fryar's contract, he is making close to the major league minimum. While he is not expected to make the 25 man roster out of spring training, he will be at Rochester filling a catching need there. He will also be able to be called up if Pinto or Suzuki struggles at the major league level. Yes, Fryer is not a long term solution to the catching situation. He was never meant to be. He is a short term emergency backup plan to get through the season if something happens to Pinto or Suzuki. Colabello was in a similar position. He was brought into the system to fill Morneau's place in the short term if he struggled. First base is essentially filled everyday for the next 4-5 years now with Mauer. He will play full time. There will be few at bats available from 1st base for anyone other than Mauer.

Here's a thought. What happens if Diamond/Deduno/Worley don't pitch well enough to make the 25 man roster as a starter? Long relief? If they can't pitch well enough to earn a rotation spot, how likely are they to be able to take the long relief spot from Swarzak? At this point he seems to have the advantage over them. So what happens to them? They are out of options. Worse case scenario is the Twins lose them all when they have to be DFA'd and waived. That is where Gilmartin's value comes in. He can be stashed at Rochester with all of the other pitchers that have options remaining. It appears this trade is looking to the probable loss of three high level pitchers from the organization. It is highly unlikely all three make the team. Gilmartin is the back up plan.

This trade actually achieves several things. 1) It clears an immediate 40 man roster spot for the Pelfrey signing. 2) It clears out a corner outfield/DH position player of which the Twins have too many. 3) It provides depth at AAA for the possibility of losing any of Deduno/Diamond/Worley who are all out of options and must clear waivers (dfa'd) to be sent down. 4) Clears a possible spot for a free agent catcher signing (but not roster spot). 5) Clears additional salary for potential signing of additional players.

The long reliever position is currently filled by Swarzak, who doesn't appear to be going anywhere and doesn't look like he will be beat out by Deduno/Diamond/Worley. There are no salary pressures forcing the Twins to move him. It is possible that an injury to one of the opening day starters could open a spot for one of these pitchers in spring training, but they would then have to be waived before being sent down to AAA when the regular pitcher returns. If one of these three pitchers were to be put on the 60 day DL in spring training like what happened to Deduno last season, they could be 'saved' from being waived but they would need to return to the major league team (after a rehab stint) or face being waived at that point to send him to AAA. So who should be dfa'd now? The pitcher with the lowest chance of making the opening day roster. Look at the available pitchers on the roster. First choose the five opening day starters. Nolasco, Hughes, Correia & Pelfrey seem locks right now. Who's the fifth? Pick any one, it doesn't matter right now. What are you left with? These will be the Rochester pitchers to start the season (let's assume everyone clears waivers). Rank them according to the order in which you would call them up to cover an injury at the MLB level. Got the list? So who gets called up first? This will be the person who gets to fill the hypothetical spring training rotation spot that opens up due to an injury. Keep in mind, when the injured pitcher comes back, the fill-in will need to be optioned back to Rochester. Look at your ranked list of AAA pitchers. Are Diamond/Deduno/Worley on the list? If yes, then they will need to clear waivers before being sent to Rochester. Since they are out of options, they will need to be dfa'd. At least one of them will not make the team. So who is least likely to make the Twins opening day roster among Diamond/Deduno/Worley? From past performances, Worley seems the least likely. Deduno seems to be favored and Diamond has shown some success. Now factor in the other pitchers competing in the Twins system. Gibson and Albers have both pitched at the major league level with better success than Worley. May and Meyer are also expected to compete soon. By the time Worley figures it out, there will be younger players with options waiting to take his place.

Considering Diamond, Deduno and Worley are all out of options and two of them will need to be dfa'd in the spring (only one rotation spot available now), I would guess one of these pitchers will be dfa'd. There is still a possibility that one or two of them may still be recovering from their injuries from the past season, in which case one may end up on the 60 day DL to start the year. In that case you dfa the pitcher with the least chance of making the opening day roster based on past lack of success (Worley?). If the possibility of 60 DL stints for the above pitchers is unclear, they could dfa a position player where there is no position available. Since Mauer is the starting 1st baseman for the foreseeable future, Parmalee and Colabello become expendable. My gut says Worley gets cut. I can see Gibson or Albers beating out Worley on the depth chart.

While not a popular choice for a free agent signing, it would set up the contracts for the starters to have one position open up each year as the contracts expire. Correia 1yr, Pelfrey 2 yrs, Hughes 3 yrs, Nolasco 4yrs, with the 5th spot open for a player to come up from Rochester. One of the problems of the past year was of too many of the young pitchers being rushed to the majors before they were ready. I don't want to watch minor league pitchers at the major league level.

Have to say no to your offering up of Perkins. He is now an established closer being paid at a set-up man price. While you can argue for the need for a closer with our current team, it will not always be that way. He is under contract through 2016 if you include the option year. By that time the Twins' big prospects should be at the major league level and the team should be ready to compete. We could then offer Perkins a closer's contract for 2017 & beyond. Since he is a Minnesotan, he may be willing to sign at a hometown discount. Also consider, the Hughes contract is over after 2016 and the Nolasco contract would be entering the 4th year with the 2018 year an option. There are no major contract commitments other than Mauer at that point. The rest of the roster would be young cheap players at that point (pending a free agent signing).

The Twins could do something like this but will not due to their philosophy regarding long term contracts (especially towards pitchers). Since a trade of this magnitude would require multiple prospects, the Twins would need to sign a player of this caliber to a big dollar long term contract (which they don't on principle do). The Twins would need a contract length long enough to cover the time that it would take to draft and develop replacement prospects. While the Twins currently have payroll space to accommodate a $20 million dollar pitcher if they wanted to, they don't usually sign contracts in the 7-10 year range for pitchers that someone of this caliber would ask for. A "Twins length" contract would not be long enough to draft and develop the prospects that were given up and be ready for the majors when the contract is over.

Not all prospects pan out. Hendricks is no longer a prospect. There are other pitchers on the roster who have a much better track record. He is obviously behind all the other pitchers on the roster and is being squeezed out by the younger players coming up through the system. He had his window to make an impression. It was awful. He won't have enough time to improve before the new prospects come up and pass him.

As with all stats, this doesn't tell the whole story by itself. How are starts where the pitcher is pulled after 2-3 innings after getting shelled counted within this article. There is a high probability that they didn't hit the 100 pitch mark. You might need to do more research and take into count how many pitchers made it to the 5th inning. Perhaps including innnings pitched as a confirmation stat to verify your research. The Twins have not exactly had a pitching staff that compares to other major league teams as far ability to pitch 5 innings goes.

I think the purpose of the Japanese posting rules are being overlooked by some of the comments I have read. The Japanese league is a PROFESSIONAL baseball league. MLB has to treat it as such. While it can be argued that MLB is a step higher than the Japanese league, they have to treat each other as if they are on equal terms. The "posting fee" is a payment MLB has negotiated with the Japanese league to "steal" players that are under team control. The payment goes to the team IF the player signs an MLB contract. It is to compensate the Japanese team for taking their player. A player that is still under their control. Under the old system, only the highest blind posting bid won the right to negotiate and sign said player. Under the capped new system, any team that ties the high bid can negotiate and sign the player. While the player is not a "true free agent" (his rights still belong to the Japanese team during negotiations) it allows more MLB teams to participate. It is entirely possible for ALL 30 MLB teams to submit a winning bid and be able to negotiate with the player. If no MLB team who won the posting bid is able to sign the player, he returns to his Japanese team just like under the old rules. The thought of penalizing the signing team a draft pick or linking the available bidders to their draft order is wrong in this case. The Japanese player is being given MLB free agent rights through this deal. He is not being given a draft status or rights equivalent to minor leaguers. His time in the Japanese league satisfies his time under team control. He is a LIMITED free agent under these rules, able to sign with any team who submits a winning bid.

Good signing. It may not be what everybody was hoping for, but it definitely is an upgrade over what the Twins had last year. Which is what was needed. I don't expect a jump from worst rotation to best in one year. This could be a good interim step towards that goal. I would like to see one more starter signed, preferably to a two year deal. It would then set up the rotation to be able to be "refreshed" each year with an opening to be filled either through free agency or from the minors. The young players will then have the time to develop at their own pace at Rochester without being rushed to the major league level. The last open spot should be left for last year's starters to EARN in spring training. Let them push each other and the vets for a spot in the rotation. If the young pitchers push a vet out of the rotation, so be it.

The Twins do not have to worry about too many starters until the END of spring training. At this point, it looks as if only two pitchers have spots, Nolasco and Correia. All others will have to earn a major league spot. That includes Gibson, Diamond and Deduno. The Twins had a horrible starting staff last year. Any improvement by adding other major league experienced pitchers will be greatly appreciated. If the young pitchers have not EARNED a major league spot, they should be left at Rochester or New Britain to LEARN and DEVELOP. The past three years the Twins have had to rush their young pitchers to the majors to fill spots in the rotation. It is quite obvious from the results that they were not ready. Leave the prospects in the minors until they are ready and able to improve upon the production we are getting at the major league level. We do not need to see players using up their option years and service time on 'learning' at the major league level. It forces the organization to make roster decisions on players who are out of options but have not quite proven themselves (Parmalee, Deduno, Diamond?, ....) Sign a few more free agent pitchers. Make sure to stagger the lengths of the contracts so that you have at least one ending each year so there is a 'spot' to use for promotions from within the system. We need a two year & three year signing. One open spot this year for last year's pitchers to vie for, Correia's contract is up next year to open a spot for the next promotion (Meyer?). Keep in mind there WILL BE injured starters every year. That is the time to take a look at possible promotions for the next season, and there is always the September roster expansion to look at system players.

Looking at those raw numbers does not tell the whole story. In 2012 the Twins also had two first round compensatory picks (Jose Berrios and Luke Bard). Those 2 picks signed for approximately $2.77 million. They also had an extra 2nd round pick in 2012 who signed for approximately 700K. Overall they spent $3.4 million on those extra picks. The Twins did not have extra picks in 2013. I did not dig deeper to find how many players they did or did not sign, or who signed below slot value.

It would be a very unwise negotiation strategy for any GM to say "We have an open checkbook. How much do you want?" The players would have the upper hand in the negotiations. It is the GM's job to get the best deal and field a team. He wouldn't be doing his job if he is just throwing money around. It's ok for the owner indicate that the team is looking to spend money. He will not be doing the negotiating. His statements are pointed more towards the agents to consider pointing their clients towards the Twins. If the Twins are going to go against their usual free agency dealings, the free agents need to know that considering the Twins as an option will be worth at least a call or two.

According to the article, Hendricks is out of options. If that is correct, that means he must be on the major league roster next year. There would be no sending him to Rochester to work on things. Unfortunately this is one of the problems with bringing up the young players too early. They are wasting their mlb service time when they should be developing and learning at the lower levels. If Hendricks is removed from the 40 man roster, he can still be resigned to a minor league deal.

Elizabethton team bus involved in accident. Minnesota Twins: Elizabethton team bus in fatal Florida crash - TwinCities.com