Seth Stohs

My initial thought was that Park would play 1B with Vargas at DH, but since Kepler is still in camp, I could see Kepler getting the nod at 1B with Park staying at DH. That's if it was at the very start of the season. Either of those two would work.

Yup, so the difference really is 0.020 points of batting average which moves the OPS up by 0.040. I think that's about one single ever 3 weeks difference.

I like Dozier's (and Brunansky's) point about covering more of the plate, sometimes meaning just fouling off a tough pitch instead of striking out. Extending plate appearances will definitely help in the long-run.

That's a good point... one defensive option and one power bat option for the bench. And yeah, Mastroianni is definitely nothing to be excited about, but he is still in camp and doing well. We know what he is... defense and base running. Sweeney and Quentin didn't play in 2015 either. And, at least Mastroianni, unlike Bartlett, is actually a good outfielder. But I think the odds of it being anyone but Santana and Arcia are pretty low. At least to start the season.

Yesterday, I posted my projections for the 2016 Minnesota Twins catchers, Kurt Suzuki and John Ryan Murphy. Today, we move to first base where Joe Mauer will again be the primary option. Byung Ho Park will also get some time at first base, though he’ll be the designated hitter most days. We’ll post his projections later. In his third season back from a concussion, what do we expect from Joe Mauer in 2016?In 2015, the Minnesota Twins first basemen were 14th in MLB in batting average (.265), 14th in on-base percentage (.334), 28th in slugging percentage (.392) and 25th in OPS (.726). While Joe Mauer played a career-high 158 games, it was the least productive offensive season of his career. On August 19th, 2013, Joe Mauer was hitting .324/.404/.476 (.880). He was on a 7-game hitting streak during which he had 14 hits and reached base 16 times. And that’s when he took the foul tips off the face mask and his season ended. It’s been clear ever since that things have not been clear for Mauer. That includes his vision which he admitted last month has been off at times. Not that the news was surprising, that’s ‘normal’ with a concussion, but it was the first time that Mauer had really acknowledged it publicly. Consider Justin Morneau’s concussion. It was midseason 2010 when he slid into second in Toronto and John McDonald’s knee impacted Morneau’s head. Morneau missed the rest of that season and half of the 2011 season when he posted a .618 OPS. In 2012, he hit .265 (.773 OPS). In 2013, he hit .259 (.734 OPS). Then he went to Colorado and won a batting title. In 2014, he hit .319 with an .860 OPS). In 2015, he was limited to just 49 games with another concussion, but he was hitting .310 at the time. Denard Span was hitting .294/.361/.385 when he had his concussion. After missing two months, he returned and went 2-35, dropping his numbers to .263/.331/.342. It took him two years to get back to “normal” but he has hit over .300 the last two years and his strikeout to walk ratio has been more like his pre-concussion days. Obviously those are two examples of players who came back strong three years after their concussions, but there is no magic formula when it comes to predicting anything about brain injuries. Mauer is now entering his 13th big league season with the Twins. He will turn 33 years old in a month. Ten of those seasons were as a potential Hall of Fame catcher, and the last two have been at first base. He is entering his third season after the concussion, so there is reason to believe that he can be better again in 2016. Or maybe that is me just being optimistic. With Byung Ho Park around, Mauer should be able to get a game or two a week at DH. We know that Mauer wants to play as often as possible, but 158 games from last year may have been too much. An occasional day off might be beneficial. Kennys Vargas is the backup option for first base and designated hitter. He’ll need to just play in Rochester and wait for an opportunity. KEY NUMBERS 1 - .394 and .338 - Mauer’s career on-base percentage dropped to .394 after his career-low .338 OBP in 2015. 2 - The place that he should hit in the Minnesota Twins lineup: There is no reason for Mauer to be hitting third in the lineup anymore. That said, the .338 on-base percentage was second to only Miguel Sano on the Twins roster in 2015. He is still an ideal top-of-the-order hitter because of his ability to get on base and take quality at bats. PROJECTIONS Joe Mauer: 557 At-bats, .294/.363/.426 (.789), 33 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs. I don’t think it’s fair to think that Mauer, at 33, will get back to what he was pre-concussion. He’s three years older and still has all those innings behind the plate on his legs. Also, offensive production across baseball has tumbled in the last few seasons. But, the further out from the concussion he is, the more likely he is to perform well. YOUR TURN Now it’s your turn. Share your thoughts on and projections on Joe Mauer in 2016. Click here to view the article

With split-squad games tomorrow, they won't do any more cuts until at least (and probably) Wednesday. Pretty sure Dozier, Quentin and Suzuki know what is supposed to be done with a runner on 3B and less than two outs. I wouldn't worry about it.

Great stuff, NIck! I noticed this afternoon (And it surprised me) that Darin Mastroianni is hitting .300 this spring (though we all know that, by nature, all Spring Training stats are small sample). He also is the best defensively of the Quentin/Sweeney/Arcia/Mastroianni group. I'm not saying I'd be willing to lose Arcia for Mastroianni, but I think he should at least be in the same discussion.

Which is a classic, by the way! Ha!

Today we begin a new series here at Twins Daily in which we will attempt to project how the Twins projected Opening Day roster will perform in 2016. Each day over the next week, we’ll consider a position at a time. Today we start with the catchers.In 2015, the Minnesota Twins had one of the worst, if not the worst, performing catchers in baseball. Offensively, the Twins catchers combined to hit just .224 (24th best in baseball) and a .596 OPS (29th in baseball). Defensively, Twins catchers combined to throw out just 19% of would-be base stealers, worst in baseball. As I wrote last week, the Twins subtracted a couple of catchers and added three new catchers. THE CANDIDATES Kurt Suzuki (32) enters his tenth big league season. After an All-Star season in 2014 (or at least 2/3rds of a season), he struggled offensively and defensively in 2015. In 131 games, he hit .240/.296/.314 (.610). While defensive metrics show that he is below average, teammates (and especially pitchers) appreciate the leadership that he brings. John Ryan Murphy (24) came from the Yankees this offseason in exchange for Aaron Hicks. In 67 games last year with the Pinstripes, he hit .277/.327/.406 (.734) with nine doubles and three home runs. He has spent time as a backup the last three years, serving primarily as a backup. John Hicks (26) and Juan Centeno (26) will be at AAA. SITUATION Suzuki could certainly benefit from playing less than the 131 games he’s played each of the last two seasons. In theory it should make him more productive. Meanwhile, the still-very young Murphy should get more time. Suzuki starts the season as the starter and will likely get more playing time than Murphy early in the season. However I would expect that over time, Murphy will eat into that playing time and eventually get more than 50% of the time. Theoretically, it should create a better situation. As much as Suzuki wants to play a lot, having fresher legs should help him offensively and defensively. Conversely, Murphy can benefit from playing more regularly. He’s still young enough and inexperienced enough that we don’t know how he’ll handle the fuller workload. KEY NUMBER 485. The number of plate appearances that would trigger Kurt Suzuki’s 2017 vesting options for $6 million. As much as Suzuki is liked and respected in the Twins clubhouse, it’s hard to envision a scenario where the Twins will let Suzuki approach that number. Even last year when he played in 131 games, he recorded just 479 plate appearances. PROJECTIONS Kurt Suzuki: 332 at-bats, .271/.320/.334 (.654), 15 doubles, two home runs. John Ryan Murphy: 353 at-bats, .280/.337/.407 (.744), 19 doubles, 1 triple, 8 home runs. YOUR TURN Now it’s your turn. Share your thoughts on and projections on the Twins catchers in 2016. Click here to view the article

And, Ironically, Ervin Santana's real first name is Johan... I know it's an old story, but for those that weren't aware, when he was coming up in the minor leagues and Johan was winning Cy Youngs, he wanted to avoid confusion.

Gonsalves worked on a slider this offseason. Still working on it. Should be great against left-handers. I like that it bounces sometime, keeping it down. That will be a big pitch for him. I hope people didn't expect Sano to be a finished product by opening day.

You're welcome for my... "sacrifice " Ha!

Perkins spent most of his offseason in Fort Myers working with the Twins training staff. Saw him twice. He looked good, ready.

I'm a big believerole in Luke Bard. Saw him twice down there and he looked good. Most important, he feels good and is healthy.

My stay in Ft. Myers is coming to an end with a Sunday morning flight back to Minnesota. Nick is here now, ready to report from Twins spring training. After spending the last eight or nine days around Hammond Stadium, talking to people, and asking questions, I felt the timing is right to do one more roster projection. The last one was done right before spring training started. There have been a few changes since then, but generally speaking, the Twins didn't have a lot of decisions this spring. Even now, there really are just a couple of decisions to make before Opening Day. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.Let’s start with the hitters and then get to the pitchers: HITTERS Catcher (2) - Kurt Suzuki/John Ryan Murphy - Barring injury, these two roster spots were never really in doubt. Suzuki will start the season as the team’s starter, and Murphy will be the backup. Depth: John Hicks is on the 40-man roster. He will head to Rochester as the Twins #3 catcher, ready when needed. Juan Centeno is not on the 40-man roster, but he has made a strong impression in spring training both with his offense and defense. Beyond that, Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver will both start in Chattanooga. First Base (1) - Joe Mauer - He’s the guy. His defense is solid, and hopefully his third season after his concussion will be a step forward again for him. Most important, let’s hope his eyesight and clarity is there. If so, he’s an ideal fit in the #2 spot in the lineup, able to get on base in front of Miguel Sano. Depth: Byung Ho Park will spell Mauer at first base from time to time. Kennys Vargas goes to AAA where he will play most every day and provide depth at first base and DH. Second Base (1) - Brian Dozier - No question here. Dozier earned his spot on the 2015 All-Star team and even homered in his one plate appearance. Dozier worked hard again in the offseason and obviously hopes to put together a full, consistent season. Depth: Jorge Polanco and James Beresford will both be at Rochester and both can play second base. Polanco has more pop in his bat while Beresford can provide singles and better defense. Both will likely move around the diamond more in 2016, making themselves more valuable. Third Base (1) - Trevor Plouffe - The Twins stood by Plouffe as their third baseman, and he hopes to return the favor with another strong season. He will hit in the middle of the lineup and wants to be a run producer. Defensively, he is quite solid. Depth: While manager Paul Molitor has said that Miguel Sano likely will not play third base this year, that obviously can change depending upon the situation. If Plouffe were to be out for an extended period of time, Sano could move back there. However, for days off and such, Eduardo Nunez will play there. Shortstop (1) - Eduardo Escobar - The last two seasons Escobar began the year as a utility guy. In the second half of each season, he played very well. Finally, he is getting the opportunity. He may not have great range but he makes the plays at shortstop. He has been a doubles machine as well. Depth - Eduardo Nunez and Danny Santana can play shortstop and all around the infield. Ryan and Molitor would likely feel quite comfortable if they needed to go to Wilfredo Tovar. Jorge Polanco would likely get the first crack should Escobar be out for an extended time. Left Field (1) - Eddie Rosario - The outfield isn’t completely set, but Eddie Rosario will be in it. He has played some in center, but has been in left field the majority of the time. Pitchers can count on his defense, and he showed a strong, accurate arm. Some are worried about his offense as he does not walk and swings at most everything. But, the numbers he put up in 2015 were not out of line with what he has done in the past (unlike Danny Santana who put up numbers that were unrealistic for him). Center Field (1) - Byron Buxton - It’s really been clear all along, at least since Twins Fest that the Twins had every intention of Buxton being their Opening Day center fielder. In the majors last year he had not put up much offense, that still appears to be the case. They will likely let him struggle some with the bat and enjoy the defense he provides in center. Right Field (1) - Miguel Sano - We can agree or disagree with the offseason decision to put Sano out in right field, but it is what is going to happen. I’ve said all along that I think he’ll be just fine out there. There will be a few ugly moments in the transition, but that’s all right. Big picture is that his bat is in the lineup, in the middle of the lineup. Depth: Max Kepler will likely be the guy promoted to start at any of the three positions. Designated Hitter (1) - Byung Ho Park - Heading into spring training, how Park would transition to the big leagues was one of the biggest stories. Although we shall see what happens during the regular season, no one is wondering whether or not he’ll start the season in AAA anymore. Bench (4) - Backup Catcher, Eduardo Nunez, Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana - Santana can play six defensive positions and run well. Nunez can play three infield positions, two outfield positions and did all right as a pinch hitter last year too. Arcia is the question mark still and yet there isn’t an obvious choice ahead of him. If the Twins were to unload Arcia via trade, that might open up things for Ryan Sweeney or Darin Mastroianni who can play all three positions. There is a lot of talk right now about Carlos Quentin being a possibility if Arcia were out of the picture. However, he is really limited to first base and DH spots. He would be pretty strictly a bat off the bench, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. PITCHERS STARTING PITCHERS Starter 1/2/3 - Ervin Santana/Phil Hughes/Kyle Gibson - No change here. These are the top three. Starter 4 - Tommy Milone - Milone is often overlooked because he isn’t blessed with a big fastball. However he has put together a real solid career, and another solid spring training. I’m not saying that he is the #4 starter, but I feel like he has earned a spot in the rotation. Starter 5 - Tyler Duffey - I’m still going to say that Tyler Duffey will start the season in the rotation, but I’m not as certain about that as I was four weeks ago. He hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t impressed so much this spring. Then again, we know he is working on the change-up and incorporating that into his repertoire. But I don’t think it’s a 100% given at this point either. Depth: Trevor May was told earlier this week that he will be returning to the bullpen. On Friday, Jose Berrios was sent back to minor league. What was eight pitchers for five spots in now six pitchers for five rotation spots. Most Twins fans want to dismiss Ricky Nolasco as a rotation guy, but it might be a little early for that. He wasn’t good in his first outing, but he’s been all right since. His most recent start came on the minor league side and he looked quite good. If he’s got his curve ball breaking sharply and command of his fastball, he can be a solid back-of-the-rotation starter. I still think that Duffey will be in the rotation and Nolasco will go to the bullpen, but it’s not as much of a certainty as many want to believe. Depth: Jose Berrios will be at Rochester to start the season. He’ll have to work out his command issues from this spring, but he should be ready sooner rather than later. Pat Dean will also be in the Rochester rotation. BULLPEN Closer (1) - Glen Perkins - No change. The three-time All-Star, who has closed out wins for the American League the last two seasons and then struggled in the second halves. His command is good this spring and his slider is breaking sharply, so he should return to all-star status. Right-Handed Relievers (5) - Kevin Jepsen, Trevor May, Casey Fien, Ryan Pressly, Ricky Nolasco - Left-Handed Relievers (1) - Fernando Abad - Jepsen, May and Fien are givens, and Nolasco isn’t likely to be dealt. I think that Abad is a certainty to be added to the 40-man roster at someone’s expense. The elephant in the room for the Twins bullpen scenarios is Michael Tonkin. The right-hander is out of options. He has dominated in AAA, but he has struggled in the big leagues. And, he has struggled mightily this spring. At this point, he is no longer a given to be on the roster. If DFAd, it would be interesting to see if anyone claims him. Tonkin could get the opportunity solely due to the “Options” thing. However, Ryan Pressly has pitched well, and he was pitching well when his 2015 season came to an end due to injury last year, but it isn’t going to be an easy decision. Veteran Brandon Kintzler has had a solid spring. Taylor Rogers’ name keeps coming up over and over, so he’s definitely a possibility as a second lefty. So is Ryan O’Rourke who is in a way the incumbent and has had a solid spring. DEPTH - Depth comes from the names above that are sent to Rochester, but also the next wave is getting close. How many of the Nick Burdi, JT Chargois, Jake Reed, Alex Meyer, Mason Melotakis, Brandon Peterson and Corey Williams group will we see throughout 2016? So there you have my updated roster projection following a week in Ft. Myers. I don’t think there’s anything too surprising. There really are just a couple of jobs up for grabs. Let’s summarize: C - Kurt Suzuki 1B - Joe Mauer 2B - Brian Dozier 3B - Trevor Plouffe SS - Eduardo Escobar LF - Eddie Rosario CF - Byron Buxton RF - Miguel Sano DH - Byung Ho Park Bench - John Ryan Murphy, Eduardo Nunez, Danny Santana, Oswaldo Arcia Starters - Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson, Tommy Milone, Tyler Duffey Closer - Glen Perkins RH Relievers - Kevin Jepsen, Trevor May, Casey Fien, Ryan Pressly, Ricky Nolasco LH Relievers - Fernando Abad That’s a solid 25-man roster, but what’s really exciting is the depth in the organization of players who are very nearly ready to contribute. Click here to view the article

Burdi is working with the AAA team. Chargois was optioned to Chattanooga.

FT. MYERS, Fla. - The Minnesota Twins began their Friday morning with news that nine players had been sent to minor league camp. That brings the spring training roster down to 43, so there are still about 18 more moves to make in the next two weeks. The big league club worked out at Hammond Stadium before making the drive down Daniels Parkway to jetBlue Stadium where they took on the Boston Red Sox. As is the case in most games the rest of the way through spring training, a few select (non 40-man roster) minor leaguers will dress with the big league spring training team, providing depth and sometimes getting an inning or a plate appearance late in the game. On Friday, the Twins called up OF Travis Harrison, IF Stephen Wickens, and pitchers Brandon Peterson and Jake Reed for the trip. Only Harrison got into the game, as a pinch runner. He got one at-bat as well.Meanwhile, it was a busy day on the back fields at Hammond Stadium too. Since the High-A and Low-A teams were just traveling across Ft. Myers to play, they worked out on the back fields with the AAA and AA players. Of the nine players sent down to minor league camp, only Jose Berrios worked out on Friday. Players from the 40 man roster get a couple of days to report. Non-roster players are required to report right away but it is likely the Twins brass told them to take the day off. The pitchers did their PFPs and situations. They worked a little more today on pickoff plays. They even spent time working with the right-handed pitchers on pickoff throws to third base. They then broke off onto the three full fields for batting practice (the EST squad went back to their field as well). I also was interviewed by Neil Roberts who does a great job with SpringFeverBaseball.com. Check out his site and read and listen to his reports. He does two-minute interviews with several players and four of five have already been posted. Neil has been doing this for over 15 years. The North Dakotan provides these reports to radio stations around the state. Take a listen. He’s got interviews this year with Kyle Gibson, Adam Brett Walker, Nick Burdi and more posted. The teams were done with their batting practice a little before noon. If anyone happens to be there and need a nice place for lunch, there is a place called Panitella’s Chicken Grill just down Plantation Road in a strip mall area before getting to Daniels Parkway. I’ve gone there the last two days for lunch before coming back for the afternoon games. Ricky Nolasco made the start for the Twins in the AAA game. He was caught by Kurt Suzuki. Watching him in the bullpen, he really has a tremendous curve ball. He also throws a sinker that drops well. After a quick first inning, the second didn’t go as well for Nolasco. One batter reached on an error and the next hit a long, two-run homer. However, after that, he was very good. He went five innings and avoided hard contact. In the AA game, Glen Perkins worked the first inning. The lefty had no problems at all. He got a high-hopper back to the mound for the first out. He struck out the second batter and got the third batter to ground out to Engelb Vielma at shortstop. His fastball was in the low-90s and his slider was sharp. Offensively, there was a lot of power shown. But, Twins pitchers did not give up a home run. Meanwhile, both the AAA and the AA teams had four home runs. Adam Brett Walker crushed two long homers for the Red Wings. The first hit the back wall, well behind the fence in left-center field. The second one traveled well over the fence in right field. In the first inning, the Red Wings scored four runs. The big blow that inning was a very long home run for Daniel Palka. An inning later, Dalton Hicks hit a ball so far that the outfielders didn’t move. After a while, they did at least turn around to see how far it went. In the AA game, Joe Maloney hit a long, towering blast, probably nearly 400 feet to left field. The next batter, TJ White, hit one a little lower but nearly as far. Later in the game, Levi Michael hit a homer over the left-center field fence, and soon after, now mustache-less catcher Brett Doe hit a no-doubter as well. The final two home runs were glorious. I mean, they were given up by Glorius… Austin Glorius. Following Nolasco, Tim Shibuya and Raul Fernandez each threw two scoreless innings in the AAA game. Glen Perkins was followed by DJ Baxendale. The first batter lined one back up the middle that hit Baxendale. After the coaching and training staff came out to check on him and he threw three warm up pitches, he pitched again. However, he walked the next two batters and when checked, he was done, so the inning was done. South African Callan Pearce came in for an inning. Luke Bard pitched really well for two innings. Brian Gilbert finished things with a couple of quiet innings. The extended spring group played another simulated game. I know that Onas Farfan threw some live BP during that game. He is the New Hope High School player that the Twins drafted out of Ridgewater College in Willmar. He was known as the first player drafted out of the Minneapolis RBI program. I had the chance to chat with him the other day and he is very excited to be pitching again after missing all of last season with Tommy John surgery. LaMonte Wade played today after missing the games on Thursday after being hit by a pitch in the forearm. Nick Gordon participated fully in the morning workout. He went through fielding practice and took a full round of batting practice. However, the team kept him out of the game on Friday. Lewis Thorpe faced batters for the first time in almost a year on Friday morning. As he has the other days this week, he watched the minor league games. However, on Friday, along with watching his teammates, he closely watched one of the Red Sox minor league pitchers. Daniel McGrath pitched a couple of innings against the Twins AA team. McGrath grew up about five minutes from Thorpe in Melbourne, Australia. According to Thorpe, the two were teammates on several teams throughout their youth, including some international competitions. I chatted quite a bit with Stephen Gonsalves. He showed me the grips on his pitches. He has a very interesting chang-up grip. It’s kind of a circle change, but he’s really holding the ball with just two fingers, his middle and ring finger. As he said, “It’s good to have big hands.” Gonsalves is currently on the AA roster, but as more players are sent down from big league camp, it will be interesting to see if he heads back to Ft. Myers. That is the most likely situation, but some of it depends on what happens with Taylor Rogers. If he makes the big league roster, there would be a trickle-down effect. Again most likely he’ll start the season with the Miracle, but it’s very possible he will end the season with the Lookouts. It was nice talking with Trey Cabbage. Following a full day of practice, he worked one-on-one with Sam Perlozzo on a side field later in the afternoon. He came over to watch the minor league game. The Tennessee native said his decision to sign with the Twins instead of going to the University of Tennessee on a baseball scholarship was an easy one, yet he knew that he would have been happy with either scenario. He credits the time he spent playing in Georgia during the summers for moving up draft boards. The Twins took him in the fourth round. He played in Ft. Myers before, in a Perfect Game tournament at Hammond Stadium. I asked him if he missed football and basketball and he said not really. He enjoyed playing and spending time with his friends, but it was never something he enjoyed the way he does with baseball. Briefly chatted with LHP Corey Williams as well. He said he’s been feeling really good. This will be his first full season after Tommy John. He returned to the Miracle last June and worked his way back to AA, this time in Chattanooga. In the offseason, he has his wife moved from Atlanta to Chicago. He said he also spent some time in Minnesota. He has relatives in southwest Minnesota that he visits at least every other year. Saturday will be my last day at the ballpark. I’ll get there early and stay as long as I can. The AAA and AA teams travel to play the Red Sox. The High-A and Low-A teams will play at home, also against the Red Sox. Nick will be getting to Ft. Myers and take over Twins Daily duties on Sunday. Click here to view the article

Smith didn't get it wrong. He and I both get what happened there. We know the franchise moved. We get that. I guess I just phrased it wrong.

In the prospect handbook, I ranked him about 25 or so. He's been in most people's 20-40 range.

Completely agree... The Twins are ready to start winning now, so I don't understand the idea of trading core players at this time.

He was having some shoulder issues early and then had the flu. Good chance that he will star the season on their DL... Good chance that the Twins would be just fine taking a player back in return for him.