Seth Stohs

About 7 hours left to bid! Kyle Gibson is a terrific person. He has always been one to assist people in a variety of charities. Right now, he has four ebay auctions going for game used equipment and baseballs. (UPDATED to include Winning Bid Amounts) Autographed Game-Worn Hat and Signed Baseball ($202.50) Autographed Game-Worn Glove and Signed Baseball ($280.00) Autographed Game-Worn Cleats and Signed Baseball ($131.50) Autographed Game-Worn Cleats and Signed Baseball ($114.72) The winning bids will be matched, and the funds will be donated to Community Cooperative Ministries Initiative Inc's Thanksgiving "Holiday Helpers" in Ft. Myers. According to its Twitter Feed, "We operate Community Cafes & Markets, Meals On Wheels, Food Outreach & Social Service & Education Programs. We are dedicated to ending hunger & homelessness."

I think defense is important in left field. I also think offense is important. I also have said that I would not be in favor of the Twins signing Torii Hunter. I read the stats that say he's very non-good in the outfield anymore. Let's also remember, he's never really played much left field, certainly non in the last 12-13 years. I also said that I wouldn't go crazy if they did sign him. Others were talking about jumping ship on being a Twins fan altogether if they signed Hunter. Seems more than a little extreme to me.

According to Bob Nightengale, the Chicago White Sox have signed 1B Adam LaRoche to a 2 year, $25 million contract. Does he DH, or does Jose Abreu DH??

There is no downside to that. With the Twins having lost so many games in the last four years, we all want change, whether it's free agents or prospects. But each kid is different. Like you said, some are more mature than others. Different flaws have to be handled differently too.

He just got 95-96 on the inside part of the plate and crushed it. Don't have to worry about staying back on that.

I don't get the comparison... They're two separate players with their own flaws and features.

In the DWL, they play to win. They don't care about development (as much) there. So, that's probably why he's at 2B. We'd also have to see who the team's SS is. As for Thorpe, he's still rehabbing in Ft. Myers, though separate sources tell me that he's feeling really good. I highly doubt he'll pitch in the ABL.

I agree... I wouldn't, but I won't have a real huge problem if they do. I'm certainly not going to suddenly stop being a fan.

Thursday morning, RHP Alex Meyer joined 3B Miguel Sano, OF Eddie Rosario and LHP Jason Wheeler as the Minnesota Twins newest members of their 40-man roster. On Thursday night, he joined the Twins Hangouts podcast to talk about the honor, his 2014 season, subbing in the classroom for Jeremy, and much more. (Download on iTunes)We found out on Thursday morning that the quartet was added to the 40-man roster, but he actually got a call from Terry Ryan about a week earlier. His mom answered the phone at his home in Indiana, and screamed excitedly to Alex, “Hey, Terry Ryan’s on the phone. Get over here. He’s asking for you!” Alex understands that when Mr. Ryan calls, you go to the phone! Ryan told him he was going to be added to the roster. “I was hoping that’s what he was going to tell me. I didn’t know what else it was going to be.” Despite the fact that he was a “given” to be added to the roster, it is a big deal for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, being on the 40-man roster makes it much easier for a player to be promoted to the big leagues. Secondly, even if he were to return to the minor leagues to start the 2015 season, his pay will jump noticeably, though not as much as it will jump when he does get to the big leagues. Although he wasn’t called up in 2014, he was very happy with his season. Meyer said, “It was a good year this year. I had a blast. I was with a great group of guys. Some really good pitchers came through here that I was able to watch. For me, it was a great experience.” He highlighted one of the new Twins coaches as part of the reason he enjoyed his season so much. “Being able to be around Gene Glynn, who obviously was recently promoted to the big league club, was awesome. He’s a guy who, I think we’ll reap benefits from just… I’ve never played for somebody as knowledgeable as he is. He just sees things in a different way than other guys. He’s one of the most intelligent people in life that I’ve been around. I learned a lot from him. I was really fortunate to be able to play for Gene for a full year, and for Marty Mason.” There’s no question where Meyer wants to play in 2015, but he also has a strong grasp on what his situation was in 2014. He did miss two months in 2013 with a shoulder injury. “My goal was like anybody else’s in minor league baseball. You want to get to the big leagues. Obviously that didn’t happen this year which is OK because the Twins were pretty adamant on my making sure I finished the season whole and stayed healthy.” He left his final start after just one inning which concerned a lot of people. However, Meyer isn’t at all concerned about his shoulder. “Yeah, I went out my last start. It was unfortunate, I had a little shoulder tightness and couldn’t get loose that night. That stinks because we were in the middle of a really good playoff push too. You know what, I’ve been able to do everything I wanted to do in the offseason in regards to weightlifting, trying to prepare my body to get ready for next year. Really, that’s the only thing I can judge off of right now. I’m pretty confident. Everything feels good. My strength feels good. I have a peace of mind knowing that I’m going into camp, I’m going to be 100% and ready to go, trying to earn a spot in the rotation.” Some have suggested, including the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook’s blueprint, that maybe Meyer start the season in the Twins bullpen. It is a career path that the Twins chose for the likes of Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano. So what does Meyer think of that possibility? “If I can have half the career that Liriano or Johan Santana had, I don’t think I’ll be too upset about that. In all seriousness, I trust our coaching staff and our front office and what their decisions are. If they want me to go to the bullpen, and they think it would benefit the big league club, then absolutely, I’d be all for it. Like anybody else, my dream is to play in the major league level. They’re better at evaluating that than I am. That’s why they do it. If they think I’d be most successful out of the bullpen, well, there’s a lot of guys who make great careers out of it, I’d have no problem with that at all.” He continued, “We have some good starters coming in, and you never know what the front office is going to do this offseason in regard to that also. So, I’m up for whatever. I just want to do whatever I can to help that team win.” Meyer is fully aware of the Twins history, and he enjoyed watching the team in the last decade. He wants to be part of the group that turns around this stretch of four straight losing seasons. “There’s a lot of guys who have had a lot of success here before, going back to the early 2000s and the mid-2000s. I remember watching them. I’ve never played at the major league level, but I can imagine when you’re on the field with guys like Joe Mauer, who you’ve seen do it all, you can’t help but want to help those guys out, even if that’s coming out of the bullpen. I’d absolutely be all for that.” When asked what traits he would look for in a pitching coach, Meyer provided an interesting insight. Sure, it’s about mechanical and physical things, but it’s much more too. “For me, personally, I think it’s really good to have a guy who’s there for me mentally because not every guy is going to be Clayton Kershaw. Eventually you’re going to go through a streak of three or four or five games where things aren’t going to go well. I had a couple of times like that this year. I went through a stretch there in the season when I couldn’t get through the third inning for three straight games. I was really, really struggling. Marty Mason was there for me, almost laughing, saying ‘This isn’t a big deal. You’re going to get through this. You’re just going through a funk.’” Meyer was asked about several other topics. He talked a bit about what it’s like, from a player’s perspective, to be represented by Scott Boras. He talked more about what he’s doing in the offseason. There were a lot of topics, and Jeremy even asked if he would want to come up to Wisconsin and sub at his school. Asked about his goals for the 2015 season, Meyer said he’s going to just see what happens. “Every year I’ve set goals, and this year I won’t. I want to let them come to me. I don’t want to set any expectations because you never know what can happen. I’m just going to go out there, wherever they send me whether it’s Minnesota, Rochester, or in Cedar Rapids. I just want to go out there and pitch as well as I can, continue to get better as a pitcher, and whenever the big league calls, you want to make sure you’re ready. I just want to go out there and throws as well as I can. I just hope I can help the team sometime during the year whether it’s from Game 1 in April or whenever that time would be. ” Having covered the Twins via blog for the last twelve seasons, I feel safe in saying that Alex Meyer will NOT start the 2015 season in Cedar Rapids. Click here to view the article

Yikes on the audio for me.. but oh well... it's Alex Meyer. I think it was a fun interview. Thank you for the questions and feel free to leave your comments.

I thought Benson and Parmelee were both added the first time they were eligible. They were recalled that September when they were called up because they had been optioned in spring training. Remember, however, with Polanco and Kepler, they are both eligible for 4 option years because of their age/level when they were added.

I love these trees!

It's hard to say... I mean, Swarzak maybe... but unlike Gilmartin, Thielbar has been able to actually get the job done the last two years at a high level in the big leagues. Gilmartin's about potential at this point. Some of the others, sure, but again, we don't see what the Twins front office or minor league scouts and coaches and coordinators see.

Note that this is not yet a complete list. Jeremy continues to update it as he has time. There are several players who were in Cedar Rapids or lower that are also eligible that aren't on here yet, but will be when complete. Also, those guys aren't going to be taken. I think I included all (or at least most) of the eligibles in my article from Tuesday.

I don't think the Twins would be the team to initiate those discussions, but there has been no update on it in weeks.

Without looking at the history, but it seems like only 2-4 Rule 5 guys will stay with the team that selected them. It's pretty small. Twins have done well with Scott Diamond and Ryan Pressly the last few years.

Yes, on December 2, they have to determine status of the arbitration-eligibles. If they sign free agents, they would have to drop someone from the 40 man roster. That's a reason to keep some "droppable" players on the 40 man. Note - The four players added today can not be removed from the 40 man roster until sometime around spring training, by rule, not that any of these would.

November 20, 2014, Wheeler was added to the Twins 40 man roster.

In the nine spot, an OBP like he did last year, even without hitting much, would be nice!

People worry too much about what a pitching coach's style has been. Every pitcher is different, and a good pitching coach will help each pitcher develop to the best of their abilities. Guys that can strikeout guys should be coached differently than guys that top out at 90. All pitching coaches should (and probably do) say get ahead and throw strikes and hit the corners and move it around. That's the basic information. I want a pitching coach who doesn't have a style, but he's able to adapt with every pitcher. Guys get reputations as this type of pitching coach or that type of pitching coach based on their success stories. Cuellar with Johan and Pedro, but he also worked with a lot of other pitchers and had his successes and "failures" as well. But I guarantee that Cuellar isn't solely a changeup pitcher.

Adam's performance in the AFL likely helped the Twins case to not add him.

Here is more on Jason Wheeler. I chatted with him in May for this Twins Daily story. This will definitely effect the timeline of his next career as a lawyer... Not a bad fallback plan. His brother Ryan is an infielder. He has spent time in the big leagues the last three years with the Diamondbacks and Rockies.

The three givens and Wheeler. I like it. I actually think Wheeler has a bigger upside than Gilmartin... That said, I think there is a decent chance that Gilmartin could be lost.

Twins Daily would like to thank Steve Lien for giving us weekly updates of the Arizona Fall League. Today, I wanted to provide Twins Daily readers an update on what is happening in the other winter leagues.Venezuela Winter League Aaron Hicks decided to spend a couple of weeks in Venezuela, even pushing back his wedding. He played in 16 games and went 11-50. He hit .220/.381/.280 (.661) with a home run. He walked 13 times and struck out just 11 times. He stole three bases. He was released from his contract and returned home. Oswaldo Arcia started the season late and has now played in 12 games. He has 15 hits in 45 at-bats and is hitting .333/.392/.689 (1.081). He has hit four doubles and four home runs while driving in nine runs. He has walked five times and struck out nine times. Eduardo Escobar also started late, but he has played in 13 games so far. He is 14-56 with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI. He’s hitting .250/.283/.411 (.694). He has walked just twice and struck out 14 times. He has stolen five bases. Josmil Pinto has played in just one game and gone 0-3. GCL player Dubal Baez has gone 2-5 in limited playing time. Lefty Ryan O’Rourke has been used as a LOOGY in Venezuela. He has been credited with 6.2 innings of work over 12 games. He has given up five hits, walked three and struck out seven. Opponents are hitting just .208 off of him. Youngster Alexis Tapia has worked 4.1 innings over three games. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out three. Puerto Rico Winter League Kennys Vargas was told he didn’t have to play this winter, but he wanted to. He has played in 14 games and has gone 13-45. He is hitting .289/.414/.533 (.947) with two doubles, three homers and ten RBI. As impressive, he’s walked ten times and struck out eight. Outfielder Danny Ortiz has also played in 14 games. In 61 at bats, he his .246/.246/.426 (.672) with five doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI. He has never been a fan of walking. He has no walks to go with 17 strikeouts. Dereck Rodriguez has pitched in two innings over two appearances. He has given up three runs on four hits. He’s walked none and struck out one. Dominican Winter League Chris Parmelee will be playing in the DWL until December 4. In the 16 games he has played, he is 17-63 with three doubles, a homer and six RBI. He is hitting .270/.343/.365 (.708). He has seven walks to go with 19 strikeouts. Jeremias Pineda has 21 plate appearances over 15 games played. He is 5-18, hitting .278/.381/.333 (.714) with a double. He has walked three times and struck out eight. Jorge Polanco just started playing this weekend. I think it’s safe to say he got off to a good start. He went 4-5 in his first game and followed it up by going 4-5 in the second game as well. Lefty Pat Dean has made two starts and gone a combined seven innings. He’s given up nine hits, walked five and struck out six. Australian Baseball League Logan Wade had played in 12 games and gone 11-42. He has hit .262/.295/.548 (.843) with three doubles, three homers and eight RBI. He has also walked ten times and struck out eight times. Josh Guyer has pitched just once and it didn’t go well. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks and recorded just one out. Todd Van Steensel gave up one run on three hits in his one inning. He walked none and struck out three. We will post an update on the goings-on in the Winter Leagues every couple of weeks. Please feel free to ask questions. Click here to view the article