Seth Stohs

LaVelle E Neal from the Star Tribune is reporting that the Twins will sign shortstop Erick Aybar to a minor league contract. The veteran of 12 major league seasons will join the Twins at spring training soon. He'll compete with Ehire Adrianza for a utility infield spot or be the second utility man option for the time Miguel Sano is either on the disabled list or potentially suspended.Aybar debuted as a 22-year-old in 2006 with the Angels and remained in their organization through the 2015 season. He was an All-Star in 2014. He split 2016 between Atlanta and Detroit, and he played in 108 games for the Padres in 2017. There have been rumors (or guesses) that the Twins might be making a move because of the DFA of JT Chargois which opened up a 40-man roster spot. However, this is a minor league deal which doesn't - at least not yet - require addition to the 40-man. Erick Aybar is known for his defense at shortstop. In fact, he won a Gold Glove in 2011. He hit .234/.300/.348 (.648) with 15 doubles and seven home runs last year in San Diego. In his career, he has hit .271/.313/.372 (.684). The Dominican turned 34 in mid-January. More to come if details present themselves. Click here to view the article

Gophers starting lineup added.

They've pretty much all played in the Northwoods League. The Cape Cod League remains the most elite summer collegiate wood bat league, so it's a pretty big deal to get an invite to play there. Pretty much all of the guys that don't go to the Cape go to the Northwoods League. Some go to some of the other smaller ones too.

I'm not sure, but he's always been a defense-first catcher.

Tonight, we have a baseball game to watch on our televisions. At 5:05 central time, the Minnesota Twins will take on the Minnesota Gophers. Sure, it’s “Just” an exhibition game, but it’s a baseball game. As noted earlier, the Twins lineup will be filled with non-roster invites and minor leaguers, but that’s OK. Today, I thought it would be fun to get to know some of the Gophers players so that as you’re watching you know a little about the Twins opponent.Those that have listened to my Twins On Deck podcast know that I try to chat with a Gophers player each episode. Consistently, those guests have said that this Gophers team could have a real strong offense with several veteran players. The pitching has a lot of talent, but they’re quite young. In their first weekend of games, five Gophers pitchers made their college debut. Here are some quick notes on some of the players you’ll likely see tonight. Luke Pettersen - (Episode 1, Episode 7) - It’s a last name that is familiar to Gophers and Twins fans. Pettersen is a college senior from Minnetonka High School. Last year, the second baseman led the Gophers with a .354 batting average. He hit .400 (8-20) in the Gophers season opener with a couple of doubles. You remember Luke’s older brother AJ Pettersen who was a starting infielder for the Gophers and reached AA after being drafted by the Twins. Micah Coffey - (Episode 6) - Coffey has mostly played first base so far this season. The senior from Illinois hit .340 last year for the Gophers and .370 in Big 10 play. He was named second-team All Big Ten. When the Twins and Gophers played in 2015, Coffey pinch hit and went 0-1. He played last summer in the Cape Cod League. Jordan Kozicky - In the Gophers season opener on Friday at Georgia Tech, sophomore Kozicky homered in his first two at-bats. And it was his 21st birthday. He was a freshman All Big 10 a year ago and hit .325 with four homers. The Minneapolis Southwest grad redshirted his first year, so he is draft-eligible this year. Toby Hanson - (Episode 2) - Hanson was a third-team All Big Ten selection a year ago and led the team with 57 RBI. He hit .319 with 23 extra base hits. The Delano grad played a lot of right field in the team’s opening weekend in Georgia. He started the exhibition against the Twins his freshman season and went 0-2. Cole McDevitt - McDevitt was a first-team All Big Ten performer last year when he hit .296 (.314 in Big 10 play). The catcher is a junior who went to high school at Eastview. His brother, Ty, is the Gophers pitching coach. When he hasn’t caught, he’s had time at first base and DH already this year. Terrin Vavra - Twins fans are aware of the Vavra name. Terrin’s father Joe was a long-time coach for the Twins, serving in several roles. His older brothers, Tanner and Trey, were both drafted by the Twins in recent years. Terrin may be the best of the group. He’s been the Gophers starting shortstop since his freshman season. A junior now, Vavra hit .308 in 2017 for the Gophers, but he turned it on in Big 10 play, hitting .395. Last summer, he played in the Cape Cod League. Eduardo Estrada - Estrada was Mr. Baseball his senior season at Litchfield High School. Estrada played in the infield in high school and he’s moved around a bit in college. He’s now in the outfield, though he’s probably best at DH. Alex Boxwell - (Episode 3) Boxwell is a senior from Coon Rapids. He missed a lot of time last year with injury. He returned but wasn’t at 100 percent. In fact, he was supposed to go to the Cape Cod League but didn’t because of the injury. Boxwell led the Gophers in home runs (6) and stolen bases in 2017. Ben Mezzenga - A junior from Totino-Grace, Mezzenga got an opportunity to play 50 games last year and hit .296, but he got on base at a .415 clip. A good outfielder, Mezzenga is a speed guy Eli Wilson - Wilson is back for his sophomore season. A year ago, he hit .319 in 24 games for the Gophers. His father, Dan Wilson, was an All American catcher for the Gophers who had a great career and still works in the Mariners organization. Riley Smith - Riley Smith is in his junior season. He Oklahoma native played in just 23 games last year after playing 36 games as a freshman. As for pitching, it’s hard to know who the Gophers will have pitch against the Twins. They likely won’t have their top pitchers pitch as they’ll pitch in their weekend series in Port Charlotte where they’ll play Boston College, Chicago State and Mount St. Mary. Nick Lackney, a junior left-hander, threw six shutout innings against Kennesaw State in his first start. Brett Schulze threw four innings of shutout ball against Georgia Tech in his season debut. He is a sophomore. As I mentioned, five freshman pitchers debuted over the weekend. Josh Cullver, from Omaha, recorded a three-inning save in the first win. Woodbury’s Max Meyer, who the Twins drafted in 2017, made his debut on the mound and the next day at the plate. He’ll pitch and hit for the Gophers. Ryan Duffy is a lefty from South St. Paul. Patrick Fredrickson is a 6-6 freshman from Washington. Sam Thoresen is a right-hander from Minnetonka. Reggie Meyer was a freshman when these two teams played. He gave up a home run to Jorge Polanco in that game. The Twins and Gophers will play an exhibition game. It’ll be a good opportunity for both teams. It’ll be a memory that will last a lifetime for the Gophers players. Twins Lineup: Zack Granite - CF Gregorio Petit - 2B Nick Gordon - SS Chris Heisey - DH Brock Stassi - 1B Nick Buss - LF Ryan LaMarre - RF Jordan Pacheco - C Taylor Featherston - 3B Stephen Gonsalves - SP Gophers Lineup: Luke Pettersen - 2B Micah Coffey - 1B Jordan Kozicky - 3B Toby Hanson - RF Cole McDevitt - C Terrin Vavra - SS Riley Smith - LF Alex Boxwell - CF Gabe Knowles - DH Jeff Fasching - SP Click here to view the article

On Thursday at 5:05 (central time), the Minnesota Twins will play their first game of spring training, an exhibition game against the Minnesota Gophers. Earlier in the week, we learned that lefty Stephen Gonsalves would get the start, and on Wednesday, we saw the Twins lineup for the game. Frankly, many might have seen the Twins lineup and found themselves asking “Who are these guys?” several times. Today, I’ll try to help answer that question to some degree. Below you can get to know a little bit about the Twins non-roster invitees before watching them on your TV.Normally I like to post a "get to know ‘em" type of article on the Twins non-roster invites as soon as it is announced. However, since at that time there were so many free agents still available and the Twins list was not real large, I figured there would be several more players added on minor league deals. To this point, I believe the Twins have added just one non-roster player, Chris Heisey, since the original announcement. The Names You Know Let’s start with the (few) players from inside the Twins organization who received an official invitation to Major League spring training. RH RP Jake Reed is a non-roster invite for the third straight year. A year ago, he was sent down on the final day of camp. Unfortunately, in the final game of spring, he pulled a muscle in his side and missed a couple of months. It took him a while to get back to his old self, but when on, he’s got a good fastball with a lot of movement and a slider that can miss bats. The 25-year-old was a guest on Seth’s Twins On Deck podcast on Monday and discussed many topics. He is expected to pitch on Thursday. Nick Gordon returns for his second big league spring training. One of the Twins top prospects, Gordon continues to work at shortstop. He’ll bat third for the Twins on Thursday. Long and lanky and very talented, Gordon had a great first half to his 2017 season, his age-21 season in AA Chattanooga. He struggled in the second half, and against southpaws, but has great talent and will likely have a long big league career. LaMonte Wade is a Top 20 Twins prospect by nearly all evaluators. The outfielder received his first invitation to big league spring training in January and was one of the Twins representatives at the Rookie Development symposium. Known for his tremendous approach at the plate, he has walked more than he has struck out at every level he’s played at in his young career. He’s a solid defender at all three outfield spots. The one part of his game that will likely still improve is his power production. Brian Navarreto is also in his first big league camp this year. The backstop has not hit much in his career, but he has the ability to be an elite defender behind the plate. He has thrown out more than 50% of would-be base stealers in his career. Obviously there are a lot of pitchers in camp, and they need plenty of catchers to catch those bullpens. Michael Kohn is in big league camp with the Twins for the first time, though he was in the organization a year ago. Kohn is a 31-year-old right-handed pitcher who has spent parts of five seasons in the big leagues, between 2010 and 2015 (four with the Angels, one with Atlanta). He was injured that season. Last year after the season began, the Twins were able to sign him to a two-year minor league contract. He spent 2017 rehabbing and working in games at several of the Twins minor league levels. That’s why they signed him for two years (with the encouragement of Torii Hunter). I think there’s a decent chance he’ll pitch for the Twins in 2018. In addition to these four players, the Twins have had several players who arrived early for minor league come over and work out with the club. I know that Nelson Molina, Sean Miller and Chris Paul have spent the last couple of days working out in big league camp. There are likely others as well. The Names You May Not Know These are the guys that the Twins have signed from other organizations to minor league deals. Myles Jaye - RHP - The 26-year-old was drafted by the Blue Jays and spent a few years in the White Sox organization. He was in the Tigers organization in 2016 and 2017. Between AA and AAA, he went 5-12 with a 3.95 ERA in 161.2 innings. In 2017, he went 4-13 with a 3.96 ERA in 131 innings. However, he also pitched in five games for the big league club and made two starts. It didn’t go well. He went 1-2 with a 12.08 ERA. In 12.2 innings, he gave up 18 runs on 18 hits and ten walks, and he struck out just four. That’s why he became available following the season. Bobby Wilson would seem to be the #3 catcher on the depth chart at this point. Jason Castro and Mitch Garver should be the Opening Day catchers. The 34-year-old Wilson has spent a lot of time in the big leagues. In parts of eight seasons between 2008 and 2016, Wilson played in 324 games between the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Rangers and Tigers. In my offseason blueprint, I mentioned that with all of the Twins pitching prospects, the Twins should go get a veteran to work with them and help prepare them for the big leagues. Wilson fits that mold. Willians Astudillo fits a different kind of mold. The 25-year-old stands 5-9 and weighs in at at least 225 pounds. He is more of an offensive catcher. In 36 games last year at AAA Reno, he hit .342/.370/.558 (.928) with 14 doubles and four home runs. The Twins brought in a few infielders with some big league experience as well. Again, with the pitchers in Rochester, defense is a key. In addition, manager Joel Skinner will have the ability to play a lot of these guys at several positions and help them increase their versatility. Gregorio Petit has spent parts of five seasons in the big leagues going back to 2008. He played in 25 games for the A’s in 2008 and 2009. He then got back to the big leagues in 2014 with the Astros. Then he spent some time in 2015 with the Yankees. In 2016, he played in 89 games for the Angels, doubling his previous number of games played in the big leagues. He spent 2017 in the minor league system of the Blue Jays. He’s played a lot of both middle infield positions. Taylor Featherston played in 101 games for the Angels in 2015. In 169 plate appearances, he hit just .162. He hit .115 in 28 plate appearances for the Phillies in 2016. In 2017, he played in 17 games for the Rays and hit .179. Even in the minor leagues, he hasn’t been a big hitter, but he’s shown the ability to play all three infield positions. Brock Stassi was one of the best stories of 2017 spring training. After the 33rd round pick spent six years in the minor leagues, Stassi made the Phillies Opening Day roster. He played in 51 games for the Phils, mostly as a bench player. The Twins didn’t have a first base prospect in the upper levels, so Stassi can fill that role. The Twins also signed a few outfielders, guys with some success in the upper minor leagues and some big league time. Chris Heisey is the guy with a lot of big league time. From 2010 through 2014, he was a regular in the Cincinnati Reds lineup. In those five seasons, he played in 543 games and hit .247 with 50 home runs. He played in 33 games for the Dodgers in 2015. He’s played in 121 games for the Nationals over the last two years. He played some center field early in his career, but the last few years, he’s played primarily in the corners. Nick Buss won the Pacific Coast League batting title a year ago when he hit .348 for the Padres’ AAA affiliate. He hit .348/.395/.541 (.936) with 19 doubles, eight triples and 11 home runs. He did play in eight games for the Dodgers in 2013. He also got into 36 games for the Angels in 2016. Again, he’s mostly a corner outfielder who has continued to play some center field and a little first base. Ryan LaMarre is a 29-year-old outfielder who has played in 29 big league games over the past three years. He played in 21 games for the Reds in 2015. He then played in five games for the Red Sox in 2016 and three games for the A’s in 2017. He has a total of 37 MLB at bats and has just two hits. He was a big speed guy earlier in his career and still has played primarily in center field. So there you have it. Most of the non-internal invitees will be depth at AAA to start the season and be available for short-term call ups if needed. Gordon and Wade and Reed are the prospects to follow throughout the year. Click here to view the article

Just to put this out there... Our individual rankings: Seth (1), Nick (1), Cody (1), Tom (1).

In the last 3-4 years, Cabrera has started experiencing those nagging types of injuries that come with not being in great shape. I don't think anyone is saying that Sano's injury last year was weight related. I don't think anyone is saying that he doesn't provide a huge amount of value to the Twins right now offensively. But I also don't think anyone thinks that he'll be able to sustain his value into his 30s or mid-30s if he doesn't make some alterations. I think all of those comments are fair.

Our individual rankings: Seth (4), Nick (2), Tom (2), Cody (5).

I nominate Cody for the worst article title of the year!!! But it's also creative. But I don't know... that's a tough one.

At 8:00 central time tonight, the Seth's Twins On Deck podcast was live. You can listen to it here. Seth was joined by Fox Sports North's Twins voice Dick Bremer. Twins prospects RHP Jake Reed and infielder Jordan Gore were also on the show. So was Gophers second baseman Luke Pettersen. We chatted briefly with former Twins pitcher Pat Mahomes before technical difficulties cut it short. But we'll have him on again next week.Dick Bremer has been the TV voice for Minnesota Twins baseball games for over 30 years. He's worked with some of the best players in Twins history, and in 2018, he'll work with Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Roy Smalley, Torii Hunter, LaTroy Hawkins and Justin Morneau. He has been the emcee of the Diamond Awards and is very involved in the community. We'll talk broadcasting and Twins baseball. Jake Reed is in big league camp again, attempting to make an impression on Paul Molitor, new Twins pitching coach Garvin Alston and the front office. He split 2017 between Chattanooga and Rochester. Jordan Gore was drafted by the Twins in 2017 out of Coastal Carolina. After 18 games in Elizabethton, he ended the season with 27 games in Cedar Rapids. Luke Pettersen is a repeat guest. He will lead off for the Minnesota Gophers on Thursday night when they play an exhibition game against the Twins at Hammond Stadium. In last weekend's Gophers trip to Georgia for four games, Pettersen went 8-20 (.400) with two doubles. Pat Mahomes was drafted by the Twins in 1988 and debuted with the team in 1992. He spent parts of five seasons with the Twins and then played for five other MLB teams in his career. We talked about his debut and his relationship with Tom Kelly and Scott Ullger. When he joins again next week, we'll discuss more about his Twins career as well about his son, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and more. There will also be at least one surprise guest, so you'll want to tune in. (Just waiting for final verification) ----------------------------------------------------------- If you have any questions for any of these guests, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. I'll ask them during the show. If you are listening during the live show, I will also ask for questions on my Twitter feed, so you can ask questions there as well. To listen to Monday night's show, click here. Either way, you'll want to listen and learn more about some Twins minor leaguers and more. Also, if you subscribe to Minnesota Sports Weekly on iTunes, you'll also be able to listen to these shows. PREVIOUS EPISODES While you're eagerly anticipating tonight's show, tune in to some of the previous episodes... Episode 1: Twins (LaMonte Wade, Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Wells), Gophers (Luke Pettersen), MLB.com's prospect guru Jonathan Mayo. Episode 2: Twins (Aaron Slegers, Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker, Royce Lewis), Gophers (Toby Hanson) Episode 3: Twins (Bryan Sammons, Ryley Widell, Zack Littell, Travis Blankenhorn), Gophers (Alex Boxwell) Episode 4: Twins (Zack Granite, Nelson Molina, Lewis Thorpe, Josh Rabe), and Baseball HQ prospect guru, Chris Blessing. Episode 5: Twins prospects Charlie Barnes, Alex Robles, Tyler Watson, David Banuelos. Episode 6: Twins prospects Clark Beeker and Hector Lujan, Gopher senior infielder Micah Coffey, and Twins radio voice Cory Provus. Click here to view the article

Including Baseball America... While Berardino ranked him eighth, I think that their Top 100 had him at 3 or so.

Our rankings: Seth (4), Nick (6), Cody (2), Tom (3)

It was his throwing arm.

Not sure that it matters, but I'll just throw this out there... Here is where Jermaine Palacios ranked in the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook: Seth - 19 Cody - 20 Tom - 21 Jeremy - 17 I really like Palacios as a prospect, but to get a pitcher of Odorizzi's caliber for him, one-for-one, is terrific.

I wouldn't trade Tyler Wells for Dickerson.

Sanchez's deal is an MLB deal, pending a physical. No word yet from the Twins on the deal. But reports are that it's a non-guaranteed MLB deal. But, since it'll mean a 40-man roster spot, a few things need to be done before the Twins announce it.

The Twins haven't announced that move yet. At least not officially.

According to multiple reports, the Twins have acquired RHP Jake Odorizzi from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for shortstop prospect Jermaine Palacios. Michael Pineda moved to 60-Day Disabled List to make room on the 40-man roster to make room for Odorizzi.One day after Twins fans were frustrated by the signing of Anibal Sanchez, the Twins have acquired a hard-throwing right-hander from the Tampa Bay Rays. Odorizzi went 10-8 in 2017 with a 4.14 ERA for the Rays. In his four full major league seasons, he has had ERAs between 3.35 and 4.14. After compiling a 9.3 K/9 rate in his first full season, he has averaged 8.0 K/9 exactly in his last three seasons. The Twins acquired a guy who will be fit well at the top of the Twins rotation with Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios. Tweet from Twins PR director Dustin Morse: One day after the Sanchez signing frustrated Twins fans, the Derek Falvey/Thad Levine Twins pulled off what appears to be a very good trade on its surface. What are your thoughts? Click here to view the article

News came out late Friday afternoon that the Twins have reached an agreement with free agent right-hander Anibal Sanchez. The veteran will be 34-years-old before the calendar changes. Jon Heyman reported the agreement - which, of course is pending a physical - and later said it was a $2.5 million deal with incentives that could make him another $2.5 million.Nick wrote about 24 hours ago of this winter of discontent about how the Twins have reportedly been in on Shohei Ohtani, and Yu Darvish, and Gerritt Cole, and even Chris Archer. There were, of course, other rumors that they may be talking to guys like Jaime Garcia and Chris Tillman. In Anibal Sanchez, the Twins got a right-hander who has been injured and ineffective the last three years of his big, six-year deal with the Detroit Tigers. In his past three seasons, his ERAs have been 4.99, 5.87 and 6.41. His WHIPs have been 1.28, 1.46 and 1.60. Last year, he asked to go down to the minor leagues to get another opportunity to start. Hey, the deal is low dollars, and if he reaches any of the incentives, he can make more money, but that likely means he's pitching well. It's also highly unlikely that he'll be particularly effective. The deal, according to Rhett Bollinger, is also not guaranteed. The other negative is that the Twins will have to remove someone from the 40-man roster in order to make room for Sanchez. Is there anyone on the 40-man that you would trade for Sanchez? That information will be interesting. Maybe there is another move up the sleeves of the front office. Or maybe they're just going to show a lot of confidence in the likes of Adalberto Mejia, Aaron Slegers, Felix Jorge, Stephen Gonsalves, Fernando Romero and Zack Littell. For a team on the brink of perennial playoff possibilities, this is a strange move, especially when there are several other AL teams that they will be competing for a wild card spot with. Maybe some of our readers can explain this one to me? Click here to view the article