Seth Stohs

I'll throw my hat in the ring ... hopefully others will... these are just my thoughts, based on reading, numbers, and talking to people... C: Turner - so good all around including the art of working with pitchers. Runner-Up: Navarreto. 1B: Mauer - as seen above, there isn't a lot of competition in this category defensively. And, he's solid. 2B: Beresford - 3B: Plouffe - not a lot of competition here either. I think TJ White is solid. SS: Vielma - probably not close when it comes to hands, range, arm, leadership, etc. LF: Rosario - arm, range, routes... very good. CF: Buxton - elite range, arm... RF: Joe Benson - probably the #2 CF, though he's good in the corners too. (OF: If I did just the top three outfielders, I might go with Buxton, Benson and English.) Pitcher: Tim Shibuya, but I would put Kyle Gibson up there with anyone too.

OK.... Mientkiewicz... gotchya... That's constructive, since he's been retired for how long? Let's consider 1st base options in the organization: MLB: Mauer, Park AAA: Vargas, Rodriguez AA: Hicks, Haar Hi-A: Vavra Low-A: Wiel, Minier EST: Diaz, Kendrick Pretty clear that Mauer is the best defensive option in the organization. In fact, the one closest to him is probably Max Kepler...At worst, Mauer is a league average defensive first baseman.

Well, he won't be the starter so if he can post a .600 OPS and play really good defense for 40 games a season, that works for me.

A big 28... that's apparently old! Ha! I'd put Dozier as well at 2B because Polanco isn't very good defensively at 2B either.

I liked that one too. Ha! He's a great dude!

Quality defensive backstop. It was pretty clear that was an area they were trying to improve, and with Murphy and Hicks, they did that.

He hasn't been a great hitter in the minors, but no need to worry about 32 at bats in a debut season either. Important Piece? Probably not, but a 3rd catcher is important for any team to have.

As we have in recent years, Twins Daily asked past, present and future Minnesota Twins to make their Super Bowl predictions. A lot of the players in the Twins system played football in high school, and are sports fans in general. Find out how some of your favorite players think Super Bowl 50 will go down. (Page will be updated as more players send in their predictions)Below, in no particular order, other than the order I received them in, are the picks of several current, former or future Minnesota Twins. Be sure to make your Super Bowl 50 predictions in the comments below. Some of these answers are great! --------------------------------------------------------------------- James Beresford: Panthers.. Know nothing about football but played in Charlotte last season and loved the city! Logan Wade: I think the Denver Broncos will win by a score of 20-14. Peyton Manning will once again be too good and steer the Broncos around the paddock. Daniel Kihle: Well, since I am a lifetime Denver Broncos fan, I am going with them! I think it is going to be a close game, but Peyton will end up throwing the winning pass late in the game. 24-21 Denver. Dave St. Peter: Denver 24, Carolina 23 .... Manning with an Elway-like ride into the sunset. Zack Larson: Carolina 27 Denver 14. I think it's going to be a defensive game, but Carolina’s Defense is going to pressure Peyton and make him throw some INTs Corey Koskie: Did the Blue Bombers make it? Alex Perez: For Super Bowl 50, I predict that Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers will steam roll the Denver Broncos with a final score of 31-13. Cam Newton and his guys won't be stopped trying to capture that illusive Lombardi Trophy. Corey Williams: 23-16 Broncos Zach Granite: I'm expecting to see a lot of field goals, the Denver Broncos upset the Panthers 23-20 on a walk off 38 yard field goal by McManus. Logan Darnell: Taylor Rogers would kill me if I don't pick the Broncos! The Broncos take it to Panthers 31-21 Jeff Reboulet: Panthers 27 Broncos 17 Lots of turnovers and probably a defensive score for both teams. If Manning can catch Panthers being too aggressive undercutting short routes then it could be a game. Lewis Thorpe: Denver 21 Panthers 24. Hope it's a close game, but I think Cam Newton will have an awesome game. It will be battle of the quarterbacks. Brian Gilbert: I predict Carolina over Denver. With Carolina winning by 10. The final score being 27-17. I expect to see that Denver will score first and will have the lead the majority of the game. The 4th quarter is where Cam Newton will take over the game and the Carolina Panthers will be Super Bowl Champs Steve Singleton: Carolina 38, Denver 16 Tight game in the first half with Denver getting 3 FG's. Carolina leads 14-9 at half. Runs away with it in 24-7 second half. 38-16. Cam Newton MVP. 4 TD, 2 rushing. Blake Schmit: 31-30 Broncos. Peyton leads the Broncos over SuperCam for his second Super Bowl win! Trey Cabbage: I don't have a score prediction, but I have to go with my man "The Sheriff" Peyton Manning. #VFL I'm Tennessee born and UT raised so I have to say Peyton, but I hope Cam has a good game and makes it exciting. Ryan O’Rourke: Carolina 34 Denver 17. Cam takes over with his legs to evade Denver's pass rush. (Should have been 27-24 New England) Travis Blankenhorn: 38-24 Panthers. I think Cam Newton and the Panthers are too much to stop. Trey Vavra: Cam Newton is a beast. Enough said. Panthers 24, Broncos 20 Trevor Hildenberger: Panthers 27 Broncos 13. I expect the Panthers defense to force a couple turnovers and Cam to take advantage of those short fields. Greg Olson with a pair of touchdown catches but Jonathan Stewart wins the MVP. Taylor Rogers: Broncos 27-24! Have to go with the hometown team. Hopefully Peyton Manning can go out like John Elway did. If the defense can slow down Mr. Newton then it will be one of the greatest defenses ever. Jason Adam: Broncos are my team so I'll have to hope that Denver's defense can contain Cam and give Peyton the chance to win it on a last-minute drive. Final score: Denver wins 20 - 17 Stephen Gonsalves: I have Panthers over Broncos 28-17. It will be close and boring in the first half, a defensive grind. Then Super Man Cam will have gotten himself loose and have 1 rushing TD and two through the air. Callan Pearce: I'm not to sure on whose better but I'm going to go for a Panthers 36 -24 Broncos CK Irby: You have to hope for a late 4th quarter, game winning drive from Peyton to cap off his career. Broncos win. 21-17 Tyler Stirewalt: Well, I think I am a little biased in my answer because i have always been a Broncos fan because Elway is my favorite player. So I am going to take the Broncos 24-21. I think it is going to be a big defensive game. Both great defenses with the upper hand going to the Panthers offense. I think Peyton needs to have long drives and keep the ball away from Cam because if you give that man too many opportunities he will score. So Broncos offense has to play better than they have been past couple games establish the run which is very tough against the Panthers. Brett Doe: Peyton Manning pulls the upset winning 21-17, and he rides off into the sunset as a champion! Tanner English: Welp, my team is the Steelers, but since I'm a Carolina boy I'm gonna go with the Panthers. I have no idea about a score, and I don't really even care. I'm honestly more interested in the food that's going to be served at the Super Bowl party I'll be attending. Haha! AJ Murray: My pick is Denver winning 24-21. Expect to see Denver go ahead with a late field goal in the 4th. Alex Meyer: I'll go with 31-20 Panthers. Too much Cam in this one and not enough Peyton. I don't think Peyton has the fairy tale ending, even though I'm hoping he does as a Colts fan. Onas Farfan: I'd like Broncos to win. This could be Peyton's last ride. Score 30-28. Todd Van Steensel: I want the Panthers to win, expect it to be low scoring. Carolina to win 17-13, and Cam Newton dabs his way to an MVP. Matt Fox: I am picking the Carolina Panthers to cover and win 27-17 in a tight game for 3 quarters. A long punt return by Ohio State Buckeye Teddy Ginn sets up another Buckeye Corey Brown for a touchdown midway through the 4th quarter to put the game out of reach. Tanner Vavra: I hope the Broncos win so Peyton can finally retire on top like he's trying to. It could happen, but I think Carolina is going to win 20-17 Mat Batts: I will say Broncos win 27-24. They will kick a field goal on their last drive with the clock running down. One final two-minute drill for Peyton Manning. Tim Shibuya: I will have to root for my "hometown" team, the Denver Broncos. They were the closest football team to me growing up, so by default, I always rooted for them. We'll go with the Broncos defeating the Panthers 17-14. Brian Dinkelman: Going with Denver 24-23. With many people expecting Carolina to win, seems like the opposite happens. Plus, would be a good send off for Peyton. Jeff Manship: I'm predicting the Panthers to win. They have shown their dominance all year, so I'm going to go with a score of 34-17. I expect Cam to rise to the occasion and throw for 2 TD's and rush for a TD with over 300 yards passing. Ryan Walker: 28-24 Panthers. They've just been so electric. I don't see the Broncos beating them. LaMonte Wade: 17-14 panthers. Whichever offense can run the ball effectively will win the game in my opinion. Both defenses secondaries are too good to throw on all game. Jared Wilson: I expect to see The Sheriff come out on top and ride off into the sunset after one of the greatest NFL careers the sport has ever seen. He deserves to go out on top. Score: 27-24 Broncos Luke Bard: I hope I can get as close as last year! 31-16 Panthers! AJ Achter: Panthers 31-20. As much as I'd like Peyton to end his career with a win, he and the Broncos offense are going to have trouble keeping pace with Cam and the Panthers. Austin Diemer: Panthers winning 24-17. With two very strong defenses, I think Cam is going to be able to execute more and get the job done. Brandon Peterson: I got the Broncos winning 24-20. I think that the Panthers may win, but really hoping the Broncos do so Peyton can go out with a win. Going to be a good game, Broncos D will win it for them. Adam Brett Walker: I think the score will be 27-21 Carolina with the win. I think Denver will turn the ball earlier which will lead to a a panthers score. After that they will have control of the game and get the win. Bryant Hayman: I think the Broncos are going to take this one 38-35. I think Peyton is going to have a great game, and the defense is going to have a crucial stop late in the game against the Panthers. -------------------------------------------------------------- Unofficial Predictions: 26 have picked the Panthers, 21 have picked the Broncos. Again, please feel free to make your Super Bowl Predictions in the comments below. Click here to view the article

I'd be curious to see a list of the thirty 'third catchers' around baseball and see who they might be. Last year, the Twins' guy was Eric Fryer. Garver and Turner will likely be at AA. In AAA with Hicks will be Juan Centeno (who has some big league experience - minimal) and Carlos Paulino, who is very good defensively. So while I don't think they went crazy in the offseason, I think they got their catcher of the future in Murphy and improved the defense overall at the position with depth. I'd literally like to see a 50/50 split with the catchers at the start of the season, even for two full months. Suzuki, when fresh, has generally been solid. Murphy needs reps with all of the pitchers and getting more consistent ABs than when he backed up Brian McCann will give a better idea of what he can be. Once we get to June or early July, the ratio can shift to 60-40, either way depending upon where the Twins are at the time.

I think there is very good chance that Murphy is the primary starter sometime in the middle of 2016, and going forward. Hicks is the #3 guy this year, but could easily be the #2 guy with injury or in 2017. It's a big year for Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver, to see if they can be options for 2017.

On November 11, the Minnesota Twins traded Aaron Hicks to the New York Yankees in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy. Exactly three weeks later, December 2, the Twins claimed catcher John Hicks from the Seattle Mariners. The Twins needed to strengthen their catching depth in the offseason, and I guess they also wanted to keep at least one Hicks on their 40-man roster. Twins Daily was able to catch up with John Hicks at Twins Fest.2015 was an incredible season for catcher John Hicks. It was filled with ups and downs. He had a strong spring training, but he got off to a slow start. He turned it around, and he earned his first big league promotion.He got his first hits, and he saw how the game can humble a player quickly too. Following the season, he went through being designated for assignment but then being claimed by another organization. He now finds himself with the Minnesota Twins. Let’s start at those two ultimate moments for any baseball player. For those of us who will never experience it (which is most of us), can you imagine the moment when you first get told that you’re heading to the big leagues? Secondly, can you imagine getting your first major league hit? John Hicks was not expecting the moment when it came. His season started out slow, especially with the bat. “The first few months of the season were not as planned, offensively. I felt good behind the plate all year, and when I got to Tacoma and got in the box, things just didn’t click. Things didn’t come up with me from spring training, I guess.” However, in July, Hicks hit .345/.393/.436 (.830). He slowed some in August, however, Mike Zunino was really struggling in the big leagues, and the Mariners decided to send him down to AAA. In Tacoma on August 27th, Hicks was behind the plate. “We’re in the middle of the game. I’m catching. It’s about the 6th or 7th inning. (Former big leaguer) Pat Listach was our manager in AAA. A couple of innings before, he and I were talking about a hitter on the other team. The next inning, that hitter came up. We ended up striking him out, attacking him like we had talked about. So I ran into the dugout and he asked me about it. I told him. He said, ‘Awesome! Alright, well, you’re done. You’re out of the game.’” Hicks had no idea what to think about that. He did what he was supposed to do, and it was successful, so why was he taken out of the game? What was he to do? He went and sat on the bench. “People were coming up to me and saying, ‘Are you going up? Are you going up?’ And I’m like, ‘I have no idea. He just told me I was out of the game.’” Soon after, Hicks walked back over to his manager. He asked if he should head out to the bullpen to help warm up pitchers. Or do something to stop thinking so much. That’s when he got the news from Pat Listach, ““Nah, nah. I’m waiting for confirmation, but you’re going to the big leagues.” The emotion hit him right then and there in the dugout. “It kind of hit me. It was a rush of emotions, and I couldn’t stop smiling. Then he told me to go in and pack. I went in and called my parents. There’s a three-hour time difference from Tacoma to back home (Virginia), so it was like 1 o’clock at home. I think my parents were fine with me waking them up.” My guess is that they were just fine with that phone call as well. But there was a lot of packing to be done, and quickly. “I flew out to Chicago the next day. They flew out my mom and dad, my two brothers and their wives, and then a good family friend, and they all came out and watched.” A couple of days later, August 30th (one day before his 26th birthday), Hicks made his major league debut in Chicago. The opposing pitcher was Jose Quintana. He didn’t take too long to get that first big league hit out of the way. “It was exciting. I went up, and everybody asked me, ‘Are you going to be really aggressive? Are you going to swing at the first pitch?’ I didn’t really know. I said I’m just going to go up, and if it’s a good pitch that I like, I’ll swing. I got up there and took the first pitch. Then he threw me a cutter that ran in, and I stayed inside of it, and I hit kind of a soft liner over second base, in front of the right fielder. I got to first base, and the first base coach leans over my shoulder and said, ‘Hey, there’ll never be a better BB player than you are right now, hitting 1.000, one hit, one at bat.’ I’m like, ‘All lright.’ It obviously went down a little from there, but it was fun.” It was a struggle from there. He ended the season going 2-32 for the Mariners. His other hit was a double and came off of the Angels’ Jered Weaver. Following the season, Hicks was designated for assignment by the Mariners. They called him to let him know that they had about a week to try to trade him or put him on waivers. “It was a long six or seven days, waiting to hear something. Got the call from the Mariners first. He said ‘I’ve got good news and bad news.’ He said you’re no longer a Mariner, but the Twins picked you up.’ Alright! I was really excited to hear that. Got a call from the Twins, talked a little bit with them.” --------------------------------- Before we look forward, let’s look further back. John Hicks grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He attended Goochland High School where he teamed with Ben Verlander, now a minor leaguer in the Tigers organization. “He’s a couple of years younger than I am. He and I actually work out together in the offseason.” But was there any AL Central trash talking? “We spend a lot of time together working out and hitting. He was very excited for me when I got picked up by the Twins. My oldest brother and Justin (Verlander) went to high school together and they’re still really good friends. Justin and my brother went back and forth, and Justin had a few things to say about when I face him, but we’ll see.” Although he was drafted in the 31st round out of high school by the Angels in 2008, he went to the University of Virginia. He played over 60 games all three years. He hit eight home runs each season. He hit a combined 54 doubles. Following his junior season, he was the fourth round pick of the Seattle Mariners. ----------------------------------------------------- He has primarily been a catcher his whole life. “I pretty much only caught in high school. I started catching when I was 11. I had an older brother. He’s two years older and he was a pitcher, so it just kind of worked out that he needed a catcher. My first two years of college, I didn’t catch every game. When I didn’t catch, I played first base and DH.” Clearly the Twins wanted to improve their defense at the catcher position in the offseason. They let Eric Fryer leave as a free agent, traded Chris Herrmann, and DFA'd Josmil Pinto. They acquired John Ryan Murphy from the Yankees as well. Hicks has always taken a lot of pride in his defense behind the plate. “That’s always been something I took pride in, defense. If I can go out and work with that pitcher, and we can use that scouting report that we get before the game, and use that well, and we post zeroes, we’re going to win games. Whether I go 4-4 or 0-4, if we go out and win, that’s what it’s all about.” He will need to learn the pitchers, as well as gain their confidence. That doesn’t happen overnight. “That takes time. Spring training is very important. Taking the time to get to know him and know how they like to attack hitter. They need to have confidence in you that if they have a runner on third base and a hitter that’s going to chase up there that they can throw that curve ball or split or slider in the dirt and you’re going to block it for them. It should never be a doubt in their mind that you will. For me, that’s huge. If they trust me that I’m going to get it done, then we’ll get somewhere.” Hicks likely starts the season as the Twins third catcher. In other words, he is likely to start the season in Rochester. Should there be an injury to Kurt Suzuki or John Ryan Murphy, Hicks would get the call. That is an important role on a team because catcher is certainly a position where injuries can happen. They can send him up and down without needing to clear waivers, which they needed to do with Eric Fryer as he was out of options. Hicks has two option years remaining. Hicks enjoyed the Twins Fest experience for several reasons. “It’s been good. Like I said, we’re getting to know the pitchers, and the position players too. Putting the faces to the name. Getting to know them a little bit better so when we get to spring training, we can just jump into it. I think it’s huge. And, it’s fun to get out here and see the ballpark and all that.” He will be starting his trek from Virginia to Ft. Myers on the 14th. He’ll make stops in North Carolina and northern Florida before getting there in plenty of time to report. “I’m excited to be here. I think it’s a good situation to be in. I’m excited to get out in spring training and get it going.” Click here to view the article

The only one I've got is "if they feel it gives them a better chance to win."

Regarding Meyer, from someone in the know, he will go to spring training, competing for a spot in the bullpen. They're not willing to shut the door on him starting since he was arguably the best SP in the International League in 2014, just one season ago. Sometimes players have bad seasons.

I agree... Chargois, Reed, Melotakis, Burdi... they all need to prove it on the mound and overcome their 2014 seasons (each has something to prove based on last year). I'd add that Meyer needs to show something on the diamond too before coming up. Rogers is the one that I think will be ready Opening Day, or could be, though working out of the bullpen is completely new for him. Which is why they do need some stop gaps... maybe it's Pressly, Tonkin, Graham... maybe it's Abad, Kintzler. Even Fien, to some degree.

Did you read the part about him missing two seasons? And also throwing really, really hard? When a guy misses two seasons with injury, why do we care about age so much. He'll probably debut as a 25-year-old despite missing two seasons?

Not as much as I was envisioning... Ha!

I've been thinking a lot about that... Lots of big league potential in that group.

I've posted that pronunciation here and on Twitter quite a bit because it isn't what you'd expect, and obviously not everyone is on Twitter or sees every comment on here, so I'll probably post that from time to time.

Known as “Shaggy” to his teammate, JT Chargois (pronounced Shag-waa) is one of the most intriguing players who will be in Minnesota Twins spring training in Ft. Myers later this month. Blessed with a fastball that reaches into triple-digits, he also throws a slurve and a changeup. “Pretty much just grip it and rip it.” JT Chargois has pitched in 60 games in his four years of professional baseball. 48 of those games came in 2015. Unfortunately, injury and Tommy John surgery cost him both the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He returned to the mound in games in 2015 and earned his way onto the Minnesota Twins 40-man roster. He was invited to Twins Fest last week where Twins Daily was able to catch up with him.In the 2nd round of the 2012 draft, the Twins selected their first of two closers from Rice University. Three rounds later, the Twins selected Rice’s co-closer that year, Tyler Duffey. It was an interesting situation. “If he played first base, or he made a lot of throws, they’d call me in,” Duffey told Twins Daily in spring training. “If I was getting loose, they said ‘You take the 8th and JT will take the 9th.’ It just depended upon the situation. If we needed his bat or something, they wouldn’t mess with him. It was fun though. It wasn’t really a competition, but we kind of fed off each other a bit… We’d have strikeout competitions. It was fun.” Chargois grew up and went to high school in Sulphur, Louisiana, a city of about 20,000 people just west of Lake Charles. Former big leaguers (And Mr. Jennie Finch) Casey Daigle went to the same high school. As a freshman at Rice, Chargois pitched in 15 games and hit in just three games. After that, it was hard to keep him out of the lineup. As a sophomore, he pitched in just seven games. He hit in 63 games. He batted .299/.378/.379 (.757) with nine doubles, three triples and two homers in 63 games. Following the season, he spent time playing in the Cape Cod League. That’s where he made a strong impression on the mound. In 17 games, he posted a 0.43 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. As a junior, hit hit .323/.411/.376 (.787) with 10 doubles in 51 games. However, on the mound, he pitched 37.2 innings over 25 games out of the bullpen. He went 4-1 with eight saves and a 2.15 ERA. He walked 12 and struck out 38. Chargois would start at first base or DH and come into games late. Well, either he or Duffey would. he noted, “We pretty much switched roles in the back of the bullpen. That was fun, challenging each other.” After the draft, Chargois signed quickly and spent the summer in Elizabethton. He struck out 22 and walked five in 16 innings over 12 games. He posted a 1.69 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP. By then he was solely a pitcher. An upper-90s fastball will also make that an easy decision. That was just fine with the right-hander. He pointed out, “Surprisingly, I don’t really miss it (hitting). I have enough going on worrying about pitching.” Chargois’s career was off to a fast start. There was so much to look forward to, and then came the arm issues, and the question marks. Chargois missed the 2013 season. He spent the first half of the season attempting to rehab. Unfortunately, it didn’t take, and in September, he had Tommy John surgery. He also missed the entire 2014 season. Putting it in its most simplistic way, Chargois said, “It was a rough two, two-and-a-half years.” Following surgery, he put in a lot of work. He spoke about the rehab process. “I felt like through the rehab there is so much throwing. There’s more throwing that goes into your rehab throwing than actually pitching in a game. I felt more sore and more exhausted during the throwing program than I actually was throwing in games. It was pretty rigorous.” He returned to the mound in the Instructional League following the 2014 season. He was the player there that was being talked about. Rumors came out that he was consistently hitting 99 mph on the radar gun. “I felt like I was lucky, really lucky. My body responded really well. It’s almost 50/50 whether you’re going to come back, so it’s scary. There’s not a guarantee. As successful as the surgeries are, it’s not a guarantee.” Following rehab, he stayed in Ft. Myers at the Twins complex, something he did again quite a bit this past offseason. “Last year, being the first year coming back from injury, I wanted to be down there pretty much the whole offseason. I wanted Chad (Jackson) around, Eric Beiser, our strength coach. It worked out. They took care of me. Comfort. Security. It’s just a good situation. Dorms down there. Living arrangement. Quality of food. It’s just a good situation.” In 2015, he was hoping to start in Chattanooga, but the team decided that he should begin in Ft. Myers. He pitched in just 16 Miracle games. In 15 innings, he gave up just four earned runs on 12 hits and four walks. He struck out 19. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star team but was instead promoted to Chattanooga. “I can say coming out of spring training, I was disappointed. I really wanted to play with basically the group that I started with (in Chattanooga). I wanted to be with those guys to start. There was a reason I went to Ft. Myers. I really needed it. I’m glad I did actually. Going up to Chattanooga, I was hitting full stride.” He gave the Lookouts a guy they could rely on in the back of their bullpen. He pitched 33 innings in 32 games for Chattanooga. He recorded 11 saves and posted a 2.73 ERA. He struck out 34, but he also walked 20. But that doesn’t tell the story. In his first 12 games with the Lookouts, he gave up three runs in 11.2 innings and went 1-0 with five saves. He had one clunker. On July 12, he gave up six earned runs on three hits and three walks in ⅔ of an inning. Then he ended the season with a 0.46 ERA in 18 games (19.2 innings) and opponents hit just .164 off of him. He gave up just one more run (on August 27). Note: This is also a reason why looking solely at ERA and WHIP for relievers isn’t the best way to measure their success. During the Chattanooga Lookouts run to the Southern League championship, Nick Burdi pitched the eighth inning. JT Chargois pitched the ninth inning. Jake Reed and Brandon Peterson were also dominant performers in that Lookout bullpen. Though the players were close, there was a measure of friendly competition among them as well. “I loved it. It’s kind of a competition. There are a very limited number of bullpen spots. I love having those guys around. I feel like I text Burdi all the time, wanting to compete. In the stadium. In the weight room. They’re great guys and great teammates. We feed off of each other and it’s a great camaraderie.” And being part of that championship with his teammates, the teammates he started with meant the world to him. “That group has won a several championships already. We won it in Elizabethton. I was really disappointed. I felt I was ready to come back when they won in Ft. Myers in 2014, but they won it then. I don’t know how to explain it. The camaraderie is great. Great talent. At the end of the year no one wants to go home. You want to play and you want to win.” Following the season, Chargois was able to go home. He had pitched enough for his first year back after missing two years. He didn’t go to the Arizona Fall League. He didn’t pitch in a foreign winter league. He was able to enjoy a normal offseason. Most important, he ended the season healthy. “Everything’s good. Following Dr. Andrew’s rehab program and just continued to do that throughout the season, modified it a little bit. Going through an injury like that, you understand the importance of doing all the little things that you have to do for your arm and your body.” Of course, in mid-November, the thought of being added to the 40-man roster comes to mind. It is a big deal for minor leaguers for a couple of reasons. First, financially, it is a nice boost to a minor league contract. Second, and probably more important, it removes one obstacle from an eventual call up to the big leagues. Third, it means you are required to go to big league spring training, an opportunity to be seen and work with the big league coaching staff and players. Though we at Twins Daily felt that it was a lock that he would be added, until he found out and it was official, you never know. “Talking to my agent, the days leading up to it, I was anxious, excited, nervous at the same time. I was on a little mini-vacation in Houston, hanging out. I was headed to the weight room and got the call. It was kind of crazy. Rob Antony let me know. It was really good news, but he also challenged me at the same time. It’s not something that’s just, you can’t take it for granted.” He won’t take it for granted. He’s already working in Ft. Myers, preparing for the season. What are his thoughts heading into spring training? Does he think he can compete for a big league job? “Absolutely! Not trying to waste any time. Mentally I’m ready. I feel like showing everyone in the front office and coaching staff that I can perform. I’ve turned my mindset into performing.” Chargois was last a Target Field after the draft. He saw Minnesota in June. This was his first trip to Minnesota in the winter. However, the opportunity to be there was a highlight for him. He was very excited to be there, meeting fans, as well as future teammates and coaches. “It’s good seeing guys that are accomplished in the major leagues, seeing how they work, seeing their routines. They know how to push things. Know when to back off. Definitely helpful being able being around guys like that. Being able to observe them. It’s cool. It’s really cool. Putting on this jersey, being around this stadium around the fans, the accommodations are really nice. It’s a great life!” It is a life (the big league life) that JT Chargois will need to get accustomed to, and probably soon. Click here to view the article

Can't imagine there are many minor league signings that are 'win-now' types. My only point, bring in depth, guys like this who have been there (Matt Thornton, some like that would be the same thing). I'm a "prospect guy" but I fully acknowledge that you can't just always go that direction.

Clearly the best case scenario would be where the guys that will and can help them win are also the guys with the potential... But, they've lost for long enough... now, at least for me, it's about winning now. The talent will rise to the top in time and when appropriate, but at this point, bullpen roles should go to the pitchers who can help them win. I don't know - and I'm not saying - that means Brandon Kintzler or Ryan Pressly or Nick Burdi or who... that'll play itself out.