Seth Stohs

tough question and it does seem like it changes in the industry fairly frequently. Hit - If you're that good, you can get to the big leagues, but you do need more. Speed - hugely important because it helps on offense and on defense, also speaks often to athleticism. Fielding - if you can make the routine plays consistently, you have a chance. Power - As mentioned, it is expensive, and there aren't many top caliber power hitters anymore. Arm - Ben Revere has hit, field and speed, but he's still of value despite his arm. I guess that's the order I'd put them in right now. If we add the "new" tool of plate discipline, I'd put them probably even with fielding. Though I could argue for all three of them. Percentages: Hit: 33%, Speed: 18%, Fielding 17%, Plate Discipline 17%, Power 14%, Arm 1%

Doogie posted it mid-summer. Mike Berardino posted it 6 weeks ago, but today, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick confirmed that Josh Willingham is going to retire. What's interesting from the article is that Willingham said he had been offered a contract by a contending team. Congratulations to Willingham! He really did have a very good career. He was a 17th round pick back in 2000, and he spent time in the big leagues every season from 2004 through 2014. He even got to play in the World Series this year. 195 home runs. He was pretty classy too. I remember the first time I met him. I was in the locker room at Twins Fest, clearly probably looking nervous and out of place. He came up to me with his hand out, shook my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Josh Willingham." I think I responded, although inside I was thinking, "Um, yeah, I knew that." He was huge, incredibly strong, but seemed legitimately like a good caring person.

I'm with you... It's like with the Torey Lovullo thing... was he a strong choice? Certainly, but is he better than Molitor for the Twins right now? I don't know. None of us does. I do know that Molitor is a strong choice too. As for the other coaches, I have zero problem with any of them. Were there other candidates? Of course. Is there some guy somewhere who might have been better? Probably, somewhere. But, these are all good choices.

We only had about 15 minutes with him (and still took 20), so we didn't get too in-depth. You can listen to it too, to hear (even if the sound quality wasn't very good) for yourself.

Not sure... when they let Al Newman go, he went to somewhere (DBacks?) for a bit, I believe. Hard to really say that. When they let guys go 2-3 years ago, they were pretty much all ready to retire. Also, coaching is such a fraternity, so you will see guys picked for relationships as opposed to history.

I don't know. It's been four years... I'm 100% OK with them looking to win more in 2015... I'm not saying Pena or Yang (if that were to happen) would turn things around... those are just international signings which I'm in favor of. Bring players in from all over the place is a good thing. Create competition, make everyone better... and start winning some games.

I agree. I'm encouraged by this staff. It's exciting. Two more roles to fill, assuming the reports are true on Guardado and Allen, and I'm very curious how those two go. I definitely like the mix. Brunansky has earned the right to stick around. Allen has put in his time elsewhere. Hernandez has definitely put in his time. Glynn's background is so intriguing. Bullpen coach isn't one that I'm worried about any sort of history, so I like what Guardado can bring. First base coach is similar for me. Bench Coach is just going to be an assistant. I don't see any real background criteria for either of those two jobs. That said, it would be good to have someone who knows how to work with catchers. It may also be good to have an "infield" coach or an "outfield" coach. I don't know who they would be... It makes the return of Steinbach make a lot of sense.

According to Darren Wolfson (via Twitter), as of this morning, the Twins had still not been notified that they had own the bid. Tonight, Jeremy Nygaard tweeted that he's hearing (not sure where) that the Rangers may have won the bid at $1.5 million.

It's weird because I'm sure I sound like I'd be in favor of signing Pena, and I'm not necessarily in that camp. However, we just don't know anything about him right now. He was a huge prospect who completely flopped in several big league opportunities. However, he has been in Japan. Maybe he's made some adjustments. Maybe his elite power has been controlled enough and he won't strike out as much. I don't know. I just think it's great to hear names coming from all venues.

I've always liked Salcedo. He's still got potential. He wouldn't be in a top 50, but that doesn't mean he can't pitch in the big leagues. Cole Johnson is similar to AJ Achter. He was drafted just a couple of rounds ago in a very late round from college (Notre Dame)... Doesn't throw real hard, but he's aggressive and just has flown up the system by getting people out.

Why can't they look in both places? They can sign international players, minor league free agents, and still make waiver claims. Just because they didn't choose to add JD Martinez doesn't mean they don't look at claiming guys. And, we have to stop going back to Kubel and Bartlett as examples of minor league free agent signings that didn't work. There are plenty of examples of minor league free agents who have contributed too.

Allen has been a pitching coach for most of the last 20-25 years. I think it's fair to say he's "run a staff before." Pitching coach in the minors isn't (or shouldn't be) any different than at any other level.

Pioneer Press scribe Charley Walters chatted with Torii Hunter about his interest in returning to the Twins. Hunter was at his son's game at Notre Dame on Saturday. Hunter definitely is not lacking in confidence but he does seem to have his priority on winning.

To be fair, I've used "Sources close to..." before too, and it's because the Twins aren't ready or just haven't said anything. It's nerve-wracking after you put yourself out there until the team confirms. But, speaking only for myself, I've never "broken" any news without being really, really confident in my source. And frankly, if you tell anyone publicly who your sources are, you'll lose those sources in a hurry. Reputation matters. That said, when I wrote up this article, I was sure to credit the Strib for being the ones to break it. 1.) They deserve the credit in this case (Berardino in 96% of other cases), and 2.) if it turns out untrue, people know where it came from.

When did the Twins have guys that finished guys off consistently? Santana (who was a Rule 5) and Liriano (who was a throw-in in a trade). Pretty sure Anderson loved having them pitching in his staff. Pitching coaches, simply, need to work with what they've got.

I don't think anyone is coaching people to give up 0-2 hits.. Throwing strikes is the most important thing a pitcher can do. I'll never disagree with that. Strikeouts are great, but big league hitters are good.

My opinion... I would see him more as a starting pitching option. In my mind, I see this signing making Milone much more likely to be DFAd than Duensing. It doesn't make sense, to me, to bid on someone and then pay him 2-3 million per year for multiple years and throw him in the bullpen. Maybe, but if you're going to give that much for a reliever, why not got with the guys who will cost that much, for one year at a time. Duensing's done a good job (like all relievers, most of the time) for a while now. He's going to cost less than $3 million. I still think he's going to be tendered a deal. I think the most likely DFAd, if they were to sign him before the non-tenders, would still be Aaron Thompson.

The Star Tribune is reporting that the Minnesota Twins will select Neil Allen as their next pitching coach. Last week, we learned that the Twins search for a pitching coach had narrowed to just two: Carl Willis and Neil Allen. On Saturday night, the Star Tribune beat writers reported that the team had selected Neil Allen as Paul Molitor's pitching coach.The 56-year-old Allen played for five big league teams from 1979 to 1989. He went a combined 58-70 with 75 saves in the big leagues. Following his career, he quickly became a pitching coach in independent leagues. He coached in the Blue Jays system starting in 1996. In 2000, he moved to the Yankees where he was a pitching coach through 2006, with the exception of 2005, when he was the big league bullpen coach with the Yankees. Since 2007, he has been a pitching coach with the Rays AAA team where he has worked with many of the young hurlers who proved ready for the Rays. Though he has never been a big league pitching coach, he has been a coach for over two decades. Many thought that the Twins would select a pitching coach with big league experience, though it certainly wasn't necessary. One thing many fans were looking for was an outside voice, someone from outside the organization. Allen has no association with the Twins, and really little interaction with Molitor. Gene Glynn was a scout for several seasons with the Rays, so maybe that's a connection? Molitor's coaching staff is nearly complete. Tom Brunansky was quickly named the hitting coach. Soon after, they announced that Gene Glynn (3B coach) and Rudy Hernandez (assistant hitting coach) were named. Last week, a report surfaced that Eddie Guardado would be named the bullpen coach, though at this time that has not been confirmed. With the reported addition of Allen as pitching coach, the open coaching spots appear to be bench coach and first base coach. What are your thoughts? Click here to view the article

According to a Star Tribune report, the Twins will hire Neil Allen to be their pitching coach under Paul Molitor.

I agree. Definitely appreciate Steve doing these each week.

And Berrios in 2016... Theyre doing the right things for sure. And having people like Gibson and Meyer and Hughes in the mix certainly helps.

As we were praising the bold and aggressive work of Terry Ryan last year when he signed two starting pitches for like $83 million. I don't expect them to do anything near that this year, and I don't think they need to, but making huge offseason statements on November 22 isn't really fair either. And yes, Heiker Meneses is a great name!

Cecil Fielder came back from Japan and became a pretty prolific power hitter for a few years. OK, I wouldn't expect Pena to do that, but it's great to hear that the Twins are talking with players and their representatives from every avenue; Korea, Japan, Latin America, minor league free agents... I have no issues with this, preferably on a minor league deal... but it's intriguing.

Come on, jokin... It's not even Thanksgiving... If Heiker Meneses is the best free agent signing of the offseason, fine, but even last year the Twins didn't announce agreements with Nolasco and Hughes until Thanksgiving weekend... and that's really early.