DuluthFan

May and Meyer need to remain in AAA until the September roster expansion. These two pitchers need time to learn how to pitch. They do not need to do this at the expense of the major league team. Remember this was a team that wasn't expected to do much this year. Now that they are competitive with the players that they do have, they should be given every opportunity to see how far they can go. May and Meyer will have ample opportunity to earn a spot in the starting rotation next season. If you prematurely advance these two pitchers that everyone is predicting to be future cornerstones of the rotation, you risk their development and the team's current play. Yes, they could replace Coreia, Deduno or Pelfrey right now. But what happens if you do that and they fail? If Coreia, Deduno and Pelfrey are not around, what would you have left to fall back on, a couple more AAA pitchers in Darnell, Johnson, Pino and Diamond. So you end up calling them up. Your AAA team would then have to call up AA pitchers who may not be ready for AAA. You would be back to where the Twins were the last two years, with no high level pitchers to call upon when injuries decimate the rotation. Meyer is not even on the 40 man roster yet. He can play all season without needing to be added to the roster. If you wait until next season before adding him you will keep his 3 option years intact.

Not to burst everybody's bubble on Pinto, but have you actually looked at what he has been batting recently. While he started off hot (April .246BA 5HR), he has cooled off since (May .208BA 2HR) (June .154BA 0HR). With the upcoming loss of plate appearances due to the Morales signing, now may be the time to send Pinto to AAA to work on his defense, which needs work. He could also work on getting out of his slump. I'm not suggesting this is the move to make room for Morales, but it should be considered as well. The Morales roster move should involve Parmalee as he is the DH/1B/OF player that he would be taking the most playing time from. So once again Parmalee will be exposed to waivers. Had he been left at AAA to begin with, he would at least have had some trade value since he would not be required to remain on the receiving team's 25 man roster.

Kevin Coreia is not tradeable right now. He has not pitched well enough for any other team to say "Hey, we need that guy". If he was pitching well enough, the Twins would have no reason to trade him in the first place. Keep in mind other teams have minor league systems as well. They would most likely try to go through their own minor leaguers before looking at an outside player. After the other teams have gone through their minor league backups, then we will see the trade rumors float about. That probably won't happen until closer to the trade deadline. Another thing holding the Twins from making a move is their own promotion system. In the past, the Twins have made system promotions near the midway point of the season and near the end of the season. The Twins usually wait until closer to the all star games before making the first promotions. They will want to allow any of their minor leaguers to make their all star games if they are named. The end of the year promotions will also depend upon the playoff situations of their teams. So unless an injury occurs to Coreia, he is in the rotation until the around the all star game or trade deadline at the earliest and the September call up period at the latest.

A couple things for those arguing against trying to win a few more games this year. 1) The Twins have had three very bad seasons. This season progress needs to be shown. The end of the rebuild needs to be within reach. This team will eventually need to play a competitive .500 season before realistically being thought of as a playoff team. 2) It will be easier to entice a quality free agent to sign with the Twins in the off season if they seem to be within reach of being a playoff contender. Signing with a .500 team and being 'the missing piece' is easier to swallow than signing with a rebuilding team still waiting for the young guys to advance. 3) The AL Central seems to be filled with .500 teams this year. With a few breaks, this Twins team could finish second. The Twins seem to be playing competitively with most of the teams they have faced this year. They even won a series vs the Yankees. The have struggled with the couple elite teams, but that should be expected. 4) Attendance and revenue will suffer both this year and next if the Twins repeat another 90 loss season.

Ah, I totally forgot about Arcia. Guess it was because he has not been around for a while. So perhaps one corner outfield position could block Rosario. But still, if the opportunity to sign 3 free agent outfielders to totally revamp the outfield presents itself, it has to be considered. Arcia could split time at DH as well as play outfield.

The quickest path to the Twins major league roster is through center field. Even if he cannot remain in center, the current corner outfielders do not have a firm grip on their positions beyond this year. Willingham and Kubel are only under contract through this year, Parmalee is a waiver wire / dfa candidate, Santana and Nunez are shortstops playing out of position and Fuld and Hicks are 4th outfielder candidates. Buxton is probably a year behind Rosario due to his injury, so he shouldn't have to split playing time at any level of the system as long as he doesn't have a setback himself. The outfielders in the higher levels of the system don't appear to be blocking anyone from advancing. Looking at the Twins roster, I could entirely picture a scenario where the Twins sign three free agent outfielders this off season. There are no outfielders currently on the roster that I would shed a tear over losing for nothing.

Perhaps the situation would not be as dire if the Twins would not pigeon hole their outfielders in the minors as corner outfielders and center fielders. All minor league outfielders should play some games in center field as a matter of course. With the organization's love of players playing multiple positions in the higher levels and the major league level, it makes sense that all outfielders should have at least some minimal training in center field. An outfielder, whether a corner or center fielder would have more experience reading a fly ball off the bat than a stopgap infielder playing out of position. Typically the 4th outfielder position on the 25 man roster has some ability to play center field. Why not require that all outfielders have some training in playing that position? Yes, I understand the corner outfield type player tends to be slower, that doesn't mean he would be any less effective than a shortstop or catcher playing out of position in the outfield. As far as Hicks goes, he is currently playing at the level of a 4th outfielder. The kind that teams waive and get picked up by other teams.

Parmalee should have taken a few more pitches before hitting his homer. His parents were lined up for a live interview....

Why??? Maybe you should not be reading stuff on the internet. Turn it off. Oh, wait. Never mind. Just remember to recycle those old newspapers and Sports Illustrated for Kids magazines. P.S. If you come across an article on Barry Bonds breaking the home run record, can you forward me a copy? I totally need something to line bottom of the bird cage.

Prorated salary for the time on the major league roster, otherwise minor league wages. I believe the major league minimum in now $500K.

Would someone please do the math on what he would get in his arbitration years before offering him a free agent offer. Sure 5/40 would be a good offer IF HE WAS A FREE AGENT. But he is not a free agent and won't be until 2019 when he is 31. You need to compare ARBITRATION awards for similar players, not contract extentions by teams with more revenue. The Twins have a good record in arbitration. They usually settle before the cases are heard. Let's WAIT until after Dozier submits his first arbitration offer before overpaying him needlessly. Right now he is in line to make $550k-600k next year, $1-2.5M in his first year of arbitration and maybe $3-5M in his third year. In no way do these numbers approach an average $8M per year over 5 years. And just so it's clear, the Twins cannot lose him until his free agent year of 2019. He is not going anywhere.

I think your math might be off. Try running some numbers for his arbitration years before throwing numbers out there. 2015 Under team control next year. $550k est. 2016 1st year arbitration. $2-3 million (Plouffe got $2M+) 2017 2nd year arbitration. ? 2018 3rd year arbitration. ? 2019 1st Year Free Agent ?? Now to come up with the rest of your $40M contract, 2017-1019 he is going to average $12M per year? If he goes to his 2nd year of arbitration, what will he get? Maybe $6-8M? The last two years of that contract will be one ugly mess. This is the kind of contract that could cripple a team on a budget if he regresses or gets injured. If you argue that it is only an average $8M per year, look at how much you are overpaying in the first year. When your attendance revenue is still down. When you could use that extra $7M towards another player. When you could possibly pay him significantly less over that same period by going year to year with no risk of losing him until the final year when he will be 31. I would recommend waiting to offer a long term contract until after arbitration numbers are exchanged, preferably during the second year of his eligibility. At that point you will have a feeling for what he will be looking for long term because he will have submitted an offer of what he wants. You will also have seen him play 3-4 years at the major league level.

It is kind of a given that you do not move the starter out of his original position and play him in another position just so the backup can play at that position. (Why play 2 players out of position, when you only need to play one player out of position).

That must be a record!

I think everyone's complaining about the front office handling of the outfield situation when it is not their fault. Look, the Twins have lost their ENTIRE starting outfield plus their 4th outfielder to the DL. All 4 outfielders are on the DL. I don't know of any situation like this ever happening before to this team or any other team. The opening day starting roster usually only has 4 outfielders on the roster. Kubel was pegged as the DH and Collabello was the backup first baseman/bench bat. No team plans to lose all of their outfielders to the DL at the same time, no one. Another issue this team is dealing with is using the back up catcher as the DH. Most other teams do not do this. The DH position on most teams is filled by an extra outfielder or corner baseman so they have additional players that can also play the field. Neither Pinto nor Suzuki play any position other than catcher. While they have both been batting well, the team is handicapped by their inability to fill in at another position. Hermann was called up as an outfielder and has played there to fill in for one of the 4 DL'd outfielders and should not be counted as a catcher. Thirteen pitchers. With the way the starting pitching has been over the last few years, the Twins have needed that extra relief pitcher. If and when the starters can consistently pitch into the 6th and 7th innings, the Twins will no longer need that extra pitcher to finish out a game. As far as who is making the front office calls, the GM or Assistant GM, if you don't think they have consulted each other over possible moves you probably have never worked in a corporate job. Sure, Antony may be making the daily calls, but if he makes a call it has probably already been discussed and approved by Ryan. Antony has probably been given an outline and guidance on what he can or cannot do, who he can or cannot move. I would have to guess most organizations probably have short and long term organizational plans.

Dozier is batting well at leadoff. Why change something that is working? For that matter the offense is one of the league leaders in run scoring. Why would you consider sabotaging the top of the line up with a weak hitting back up center fielder? If you want to improve this line up, provide a workable solution to the bottom of the order. And by workable, I mean using players already on the roster or in the Twins system, not using players on another team.

Parmalee has had his shot at the 25 man roster and didn't make the cut. His positions are being capably handled by Colabello and Kubel with Arcia coming back when he is ready. You would actually lose value for Parmalee by adding him to the 25 man roster now. He has no options left. If he needs to be sent back down, you not only expose him by DFA'ing him but if I'm not mistaken, he can also become a free agent by being DFA'd twice. As he currently is not on the 40 man roster, he can be traded to any team without having to be waived or needing to stick on another team's 25/40 man rosters. He has more value as a trade chip by not needing a roster spot. Hermann serves a purpose on the roster by having options left. He can be optioned when the injured outfielders return from the DL. Parmalee does not fill that need. If and when Parmalee can put together some good numbers, he can be traded to a team looking to fill an injury opening. The Twins have plenty of outfielders in their system who have not used any of their options that can be added to the 40 man roster. Where would Parmalee play if he was called up? He can play 1st, DH or one of the corner outfield positions. The last I heard we had Mauer, Colabello, Kubel and Pinto filling those positions with Arcia and Willingham eventually coming back from the DL. And if you remember the previous years, Parmalee was not particularly strong as a pinch hitter. Parmalee has had his chance to make this team. Let him play his way onto another team via a trade.

Sam Fuld is the back up center fielder. He is holding the position until Hicks returns from the DL. What you are looking for is the back up to the back up, which most teams don't keep on the 25 man roster. The Twins did pickup a minor league outfielder from Toronto who is on the 40 man roster and they still have their own minor league system to draw on. As far as back ups for 2nd and 3rd, with the way Dozier and Plouffe are playing this year they should not need many off days. In the case that they do, Escobar can slide over to cover the position while Florimon covers shortstop.

Leave Fuld near the bottom of the order where Hicks was hitting, Dozier is doing just fine in the leadoff. Let's not add Arcia & Willingham to the lineup until they are actually back, otherwise you will only get 0-fers in those spots. There will be plenty of time to fit them back into the lineup when they return.

Oh and beating the Tigers next week should help.

It has less to do with how a team is actually playing and more with how the team is perceived by the sports writers that vote. If you have never watched the rankings week to week before, they tend to focus on the upper positions. Unless you are horribly bad they tend to not take as much time choosing the mid to lower positions. The Twins will need to do something extraordinary to get the writers to pay attention. I too think they should be ranked higher based on their current play, but the writers wont pay attention until it becomes obvious. There was one instance where I commented on their site on the placement of a Minnesota team before and it seemed like they took notice. I don't know if it was coincidence or not. But I would suggest a few well worded comments when the next list is posted on Tuesday could make the writers take a second look for the following week's list. As long as the team does it's thing and continues to play .500 ball, it is conceivable to see them ranked in the higher the following week.

I don't know why you would want to change the top of the lineup right now. The top and middle of the lineup seems to be working as is. Let's let everyone get settled first before any major changes are made.

Joe Mauer Pepperoni, Green Pepper (& sometimes with Jalepenos & Pineapple)

Hmmm. Do the rules REQUIRE the DH to hit for the pitcher? Nolasco was in the NL, he has batted before.

Two weeks into what looks like a watchable team and posters are trying to trade away the better players on the team. Let's wait until it looks like there is no hope for the team before dumping the players that are helping this team win. I do not want to watch a team filled with minor leaguers again. It hasn't helped the last two years. With some improvement by the struggling starters, this team could legitimately approach a .500 season. We need the starters to limit the opposition to 4 runs or less over 6 or 7 innings. The offense seems to have found a way to score some runs. The Twins will not go from a 90 loss team to a 90 win team without going through a .500 season. This may be that season. The big prospects are at least a year or two away from contributing at the major league level. Sure they may be called up this year to get their feet wet, but that doesn't mean they will be able to produce at the major league level.