Seth Stohs

Guardado has been one of the guys that comes to Ft. Myers each spring the last 2-3 years to help coach/mentor.

Or Carl Willis, or any numbers of others that could possibly be in that final two.

In a subsequent tweet, Berardino tweeted that Bobby Cuellar was called by Ryan and Molitor to tell them they are going in a different direction and he won't be back with the team.

Pioneer Press's (and former Twins pitcher) Charley Walters is saying that the Twins will announce Eddie Guardado as their bullpen coach. (via Mike Berardino via Twitter) Interesting choice. He's helped at spring training. He will certainly light things up and get things going...

The Red Wings announced that the Twins have re-signed infielder Doug Bernier to a minor league contract. He was the Red Wings 2014 MVP. Here's a story I did after talking to him in spring training.

Yeah, I felt at that time like an idiot for not having mentioned him. But, he fits several criteria. Since Molitor hasn't managed and hasn't worked with a pitching staff, having someone with big league experience in the ptiching coach role could be important (though certainly not mandatory). He has his successes with Cy Young Award winners and All Stars. He is respected around the game. I think he makes a ton of sense. That said, I still think Viola may have been a good option as well, and I still think Marty Mason makes a lot of sense too. I just wonder... do people think Willis would be a guy from "within" since he pitched for the Twins in 91 and for a couple of years after that?

They've definitely been more close-lipped on the pitching coach, and frankly, there is much less information for guessing too. I mean, there were 10 candidates for the manager job and we heard about everything but there were also a bunch of obvious candidates. It's impossible for us to know who would be a good candidate for pitching coach. As for the phone interview, we don't really know what that means. It's possible that the Mets gave the permission for the Twins to only call him as opposed to meeting him in person. We just don't know.

Minor League Deal... Absolutely! He was pretty good, and he's still young. Like some others, he's a good reclamation project. My concern is that when a guy is hurt every year, he's hurt every year. There is some upside considering his youth.

Why would Thielbar be on thin ice? All he's done is get the job done for the last two seasons. And, he's cheap for 2-3 more years.

It's being reported now that Billy Butler has signed a 3 year, $30 million deal with the Oakland A's. My first thought: Billy Beane LOVED Jeremy Brown!!

The thing about Salcedo is despite being a minor league free agent (and staying with the Twins), he is still very young... he's still a tremendous athlete. He still throws hard. I think he's still got a chance.

Deolis Guerra signed with the Pirates.

Now that we've seen signings from elsewhere, I started a forum on minor league signings from other organizations: http://twinsdaily.com/topic/15984-minor-league-signings-2014-15/

Seeing the Zack Duke (3 year, $15 million) contract, the Twins should strongly consider Gilmartin, Wheeler and Ryan O'Rourke.

This forum is meant for discussion minor league free agents signed from outside the organization. There is already a forum for minor league signings of players staying in the organization. The Rochester Red Wings announced that the Twins signed infielders Argenis Diaz and Heiker Meneses. Diaz played a few games with the Pirates in 2010 but has been in AAA forever. He's 27. Meneses is just 23 years old. He's been in the Red Sox organization since signing as a 16 year old. He's played (poorly) as high as AAA the last two years. Both of these would appear to be depth.

This is all stuff that might come up in an interview... or at least it did when they hired him. I would think the Twins did their due diligence with all of this before even hiring him for Rochester.

Yes, he does... I had a big list and apparently forgot to type some of the names. Thank you!

Yes, Brett Lee should be on this list. He's eligible. And thank you, I have now added him.

According to Doogie (via twitter), the Twins have also re-signed IF/OF Eric Farris. I like this one. He's very versatile.

I think Mason is interesting. I know that the pitchers who have worked with him really like his style and the things he finds for them to work on and improve. He is an "outsider." He does come from the very successful Cardinals organization. i'd have no problem with them hiring him at all. He's not a big name, so most probably wouldn't like the hire, but it could be a good choice. I mean, it's hard to know. Leo Mazzone could have been the Twins pitching coach the last few years and they probably woudln't have been much better.

Haha!! That's right. Not THAT Jose Abreu... But yes, that would be awesome!

Might as well kill the lead right here in the first paragraph. When the Twins announce the players that they are adding to their 40-man roster on (or before) Thursday, we will see the names Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. Will the Twins choose to add any more than those three? We’ll find out then, but for a look at who all is eligible, keep reading.Each year at this time, major league teams need to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings in early December. A year ago, the Twins added Kennys Vargas, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Logan Darnell. Who is eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft this year? Players who signed when they were less than 19-years-old in 2010 and players who were 19 or older when they signed in 2011. Of course, if they’re on the 40-man roster, they can’t be picked. The Givens As mentioned in the header, Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Alex Meyer will all be added. Unless something completely unexpected happens in the next couple of days, their odds of being added to the 40-man roster are 100% Miguel Sano was actually signed in 2009, but since he signed in October, after the season ended, he was not eligible a year ago. He’s an elite prospect. There is no question. He will be protected. Eddie Rosario had a difficult 2014 season, much of his own doing. Even if he had not had a spectacular Arizona Fall League, he would have been a given to add. Finally, Alex Meyer may wind up being a bullpen arm, but the fact that he could become an ace if all goes well means that he also is going to be added to the roster. The Possibles There are several other options to be added. We went into much more detail in the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook, but here are some of the names that could be considered. Sean Gilmartin – I would put the odds quite high, maybe 75%, that he is added to the 40-man roster this week. Acquired from the Braves organization in the Ryan Doumit trade, the lefty put up solid numbers between New Britain and Rochester. The former first-round draft pick could be a back-of-the-rotation starter or a lefty reliever. Levi Michael – The Twins top pick in the 2011 draft has been hurt pretty much his whole career. In 2014, he returned to Ft. Myers where he played well for six weeks before fouling a ball off his foot and missing almost two months. He returned and hit very well in 15 games in New Britain. Maybe his ceiling is that of a utility infielder. Those are the types that get selected in the Rule 5. I’ll put his odds at about 50/50. Jason Wheeler – Another lefty, this 23-year-old was the Twins eighth round pick in 2011 out of Loyola Marymount. At 6-8 and about 250 pounds, Wheeler does not throw real hard, though he can hit 94 at times. However, he’s got good control of three pitches. He made starts at three different levels in 2014, including a start in Rochester. I’d put his odds at about 45% Jason Adam – The right-hander came to the Twins in the Josh Willingham deal in August. The Twins didn’t have much time to see him in the regular season so they sent him to the Arizona Fall League. He pitched to mixed results. The Twins want him to start, and he did reach AAA with the Royals as a 23-year-old. Might be worth a spot. I’ll put his odds at about 33% Niko Goodrum – Twins second round pick in 2010 has terrific tools. He was moved to third base this year after being a very good shortstop in the lowest levels. He hasn’t been able to put up the numbers, and he will soon be 23, but there is no denying the athleticism and the tools I don’t think he would be selected though because I don’t think he has a skill set that would stick in the majors. I’d put his odds at about 25% (Other first-year Rule 5 eligibles: Jose Abreu, Madison Boer, Tyler Grimes, Steven Gruver, David Hurlbut, Cole Johnson, Tyler Jones, Matt Koch, Brett Lee, Chris Mazza, Aderlin Mejia, Josue Montanez, Jeremias Pineda, Randy Rosario, Tim Shibuya, Jhon Silva, Matt Summers, Matt Tomshaw, Stephen Wickens, Corey Williams, JD Williams, Reyson Zoquiel.) Second/Third Year Eligibles There are several cases of players who go through the Rule 5 draft one year, make strides and then get added to the roster a year or two later. The following players have been eligible to be selected previously and could be again this year. (Pat Dean, Dallas Gallant, Jonatan Hinojosa, DJ Johnson, Kyle Knudson, Mike Kvasnicka, Ryan O’Rourke, Michael Quesada, Alex Wimmers) Of that list, the player who may have the best chance of being selected could be lefty Ryan O’Rourke. If you look at his overall numbers, they won’t stand out. However, when you look at what he did against left-handed hitters, it’s remarkable. In 2014, lefties hit just .103 off of him. He also had a 41:4 strikeout to walk rate against same-siders. He struggles against right-handers, but he could pitch in the big leagues now as a LOOGY. Signed Minor League Free Agents Since the World Series, the Minnesota Twins have signed many of their own six-year minor league free agents. If they sign others, those players also could be eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Two years ago, the Twins signed catcher Josmil Pinto instead of allowing him to become a six-year minor league free agent. Then in November they added him to the 40-man roster so he wasn’t exposed to the Rule 5. A few years further back, the Twins signed a pitcher to a six-year minor league free agent contract who had just started throwing a knuckleball a year or so earlier. That player was RA Dickey who was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Mariners just weeks later. (James Beresford, Mike Gonzales, Mark Hamburger, Nate Hanson, BJ Hermsen, Danny Ortiz, Jairo Rodriguez, Reynaldo Rodriguez, Adrian Salcedo, Tony Thomas) On this list, there are a couple of intriguing names. Mark Hamburger had big league time with the Rangers, served a suspension, returned to the Twins and pitched well in a variety of roles with New Britain and Rochester in 2014. That versatility could be of value to a big league club looking for arms. James Beresford just signed on to stay in the Twins organization. He has now succeeded at every level of the minor leagues. Though he played almost exclusively at second base in 2014, he can play three infield positions. A team interested in a utility infielder might be draft him. SUMMARY The Twins have 36 men on their 40-man roster right now. In other words, they can only add four more players unless they remove others from the roster. They could just add the three Givens and still make a Rule 5 pick. What do you think? Which of these players would you want to add to the 40-man roster, and at the expense of who? Click here to view the article

I would say that Blackburn's first two big league season's were pretty solid, not 'very good.' after that, it was too many strikes and too many injuries. I think that was an anomaly of a year. I had many chats with John Manuel about the Blackburn ranking. But typically Baseball America and all such rankings (mine included) tend to value upside more than big league proximity.