Seth Stohs

I hate to be like that too, but I certainly am. If someone writes "Trevor Mays" or "Alex Myers," odds are that post lost some credibility in my mind.. even if the post is great!

I agree with this. I think he'd be a good 2-4 year guy. Maybe Mientkiewicz goes to AA in 2015 and becomes a bench coach in 2016 and takes over as manager in 2017-2018. Might be a nice progression.

It came up a day or two ago in another thread. I don't think any of that would be a disqualifier. His drug usage was 30-35 years ago. his family stuff is personal and seems to be managed. That's not to say that it's not part of Terry Ryan's decision-making, but it shouldn't be a disqualifier.

The Spelling thing does bug me, and Stringer Bell mentioned the prominent ones. People have names. they deserve the respect to spell them correctly. I was going to write up a list similar to this, so I'm glad someone else did. With #2, you say that we don't need every ex-Twin to come back, but the opposite is always true. The "Bringing back the band" thing annoys me too. For instance, Kubel was well worth the risk, an injury-filled year after a big season on a minor league contract. Ditto Matt Guerrier. I liked the Jason Bartlett signing as a minor league deal where maybe he could shake off some rust in Rochester and see where it goes. The only bad thing was that he made the opening day roster rather than being given a chance to get playing time. The term "Pitch to Contact" as it is defined by so many is a pet peeve. The term "scholarship" is an annoying one. Bringing up the old trades from 3, 5, 10, 15 years ago bugs me. Can't do anything about it now.

Earlier this week, we looked at the organization depth at first base for the Twins. Today, we make the jump across the diamond to the hot corner and see all the third basemen in the Twins organization.Major Leagues Trevor Plouffe put together the best season of his big league career. At the plate, he hit .258/.328/.423 (.751) with 40 doubles, 14 home runs and 80 RBI. As important, he made some huge improvements defensively. He is arbitration-eligible for the second year (of four). Eduardo Nunez and Eduardo Escobar both got time at third base when Plouffe was out of the lineup. Escobar is perceived by many as a utility infielder, though in 2014 he played most every day at shortstop. He played a lot of third base in previous seasons. In 465 plate appearances, the 25-year-old hit .275/.315/.406 with 35 doubles and six home runs. Nunez played in 72 games with the Twins after being acquired from the New York Yankees. He hit .250/.271/.382 (.654) with seven doubles, four triples and four homers. He is arbitration-eligible and may be a non-tender candidate. Minor Leagues Doug Bernier played in 124 games in Rochester before his September call-up. He played all over the diamond including in the outfield. He played 44 games at third base. He was removed from the 40-man roster and became a free agent. 28-year-old Deibinson Romero had a very strong showing with his bat in big league spring training. He spent the season in AAA where he hit .265/.364/.406 (.770) with 31 doubles and eight home runs. He can become a minor league free agent again this year. Miguel Sano is the big prospect. A year ago, he was a Top 10 prospect in all of baseball, but Tommy John surgery cost him the entire 2014 season. He’ll need to be brought along slowly and cautiously in 2015, but that doesn’t take away from his best tool, his power. He hit 65 home runs total in the last two years at three levels. He will turn 22 years old in May. Hopefully he can come back healthy and force the Twins to make some decisions on him and Plouffe. Brandon Waring tied for the team lead in home runs in spring training. OK, he hit two, but the 28-year-old was sent back to AA. In 106 games, he hit .212/.311/.406 with 28 doubles and 13 home runs. He came to the Twins as a minor league free agent and will be the same following the World Series. Nate Hanson split his season between New Britain and Rochester again in 2014. The 27-year-old who graduated from Eden Prairie High School and then went to the University of Minnesota and was the Twins 28th round pick in 2008. In 2014, he combined to hit .256/.327/.369 (.696) with 33 doubles and six home runs. He can become a six-year minor league free agent following the World Series. Stephen Wickens hurt his shoulder in spring training and missed a large chunk of the beginning of the season. The 25-year old rehabbed with the Miracle and then spent time playing various positions for the Rock Cats. In 72 games, he hit .242/.296/.301 (.598) with eight doubles. He played mainly 3B and 2B, but also got time in the outfield. Niko Goodrum was the Twins 2nd round pick in 2009 out of high school. He had been a good fielding shortstop until 2013 when he was moved to third base. Offensively, he hit .249/.337/.336 (.672) with 19 doubles, five triples and three home runs. He has very good speed and stole 35 bases in 39 attempts. Defensively he was a work in progress, adjusting to the hot corner where instincts are as important as range. He would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if not added to the 40 man roster. Bryan Haar split the season between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. He was the 34th round pick in 2012 out of the University of San Diego. In 108 games with the Kernels, he hit .267/.319/.446 (.765) with 20 doubles, five triples and 14 homers. He moved up to the Miracle and played in just 10 games. He played the majority of his games at third base but also got into 19 games at first base. Logan Wade is a 22 year old Australian who spent most of the season in Cedar Rapids playing second base and third. He missed extended time due to injury and struggled mightily in his return. In 75 games with the Kernels, he hit .233/.272/.380 (.652) with 12 doubles, four triples and seven home runs. At 5-11 and just 155 pounds, Jonatan Hinojosa is certainly not your typical third baseman. He is more of a middle infielder, but in 2014 he played a lot of third base in Elizabethton and at Cedar Rapids when he returned there late in the season. He didn’t hit in E-Town, but when he got to Cedar Rapids, he hit .341/.378/.494 with seven extra base hits in 20 games. He missed 50 games this year due to a PED suspension. Tyler Mautner was the Twins 14th round pick in 2014 out of the University of Buffalo. At 21, he hit .210/.306/.383 with 13 doubles and five home runs in his 45 game professional debut in Elizabethton. TJ White was the Twins 18th round pick in 2014 out of UNLV. He signed quite late and played in just eight games in the GCL before finishing with five games at Elizabethton. Ruar Verkerk signed as a 16-year-old in 2013 out of the Netherlands. The 6-3, 180 pound third baseman played in 25 games with the GCL Twins. He hit just .147/.216/.147 (.363) with no extra base hits in 68 at bats. As you would expect, he is quite raw and has much to learn about the game. Nelson Molina was the Twins 11th round pick in 2013 out of high school in Puerto Rico. The smooth-fielding shortstop actually played a little more at third base in 2014 (18 games). He hit .243/.305/.287 (.591) in 45 games. He added three triples and was 12-14 in stolen base attempts. Rafael Valera is a 19-year-old who made his US debut with the GCL Twins in 2014 after spending two seasons toiling in the Dominican Summer League. In 47 GCL games, he hit .254/.370/.341 (.710) with eight doubles and two triples. He was also 13 of 15 in stolen base attempts. He also played in three games for the Miracle when they had a need for a body. Roni Tapia signed as a 16-year-old in 2013 out of the Dominican Republic for $550,000. He made his professional debut in 2014 in the Dominican Summer League. In 50 games, he hit .269/.306/.386 (.692) with 15 doubles and four triples. In 25 games at third base, he committed 20 errors. Jermaine Palacios also played as a 17-year-old in the DSL. In 49 games, he hit .270/.404/.399 (.802) with 11 doubles and six triples. In 40 games at third base, he committed 10 errors. SUMMARY Trevor Plouffe took a step forward in his offensive and defensive games in 2014. He certainly goes into 2015 with the third base job. Like one year ago, his hold on the job is still somewhat slippery due to the presence of Miguel Sano. Sano is the big prospect, one of the best (and literally biggest) in the game. He has elite power potential. The team, and Sano, need to be patient in his return from Tommy John surgery. There are some other prospects worth watching at the position who will need to develop. Also, Travis Harrison played 15 games at third base at Ft. Myers in 2014, though it appears his move away from the position may be permanent. Click here to view the article

Yeah, I'm kind of in the same place. He had Tommy John in mid-March. I do like being cautious with him, but we just have heard so little, and Ryan's response was so definitive. Could be that they don't trust the leaders on his team in the DSL. Could be that after the holidays (which is when we originally heard he could play) the teams are all about winning titles and getting to the Caribbean World Series. You'd hate to throw Sano right into that, thinking he could try to do too much.

Doogie verified that RHP Mark Hamburger signed a minor league contract with the Twins for 2015. It includes an invitation to big league camp. Last week, I was chatting with Mark and he commented, "Definitely beyond excited to be with my hometown Twinks." It will be fun to watch which potential minor league free agents will want to sign with the Twins and which ones the Twins will bring back.

There aren't any other manager jobs open. They're not competing against anyone. They have three really good candidates, and now today, the STrib is reporting that Terry Ryan may call a few more people. There's no real rush, though it would certainly be good to have a guy a day or two after the World Series.

Yes, Terry Ryan invented the 100 pitch limit... No other teams in baseball do that. My guess is he'll hear each candidates thoughts on various pitching philosophies and that's just one piece of the hire. Obviously he doesn't want someone who will have guys throw 150 pitches each time out.. Mike Maddux would be great... and he wouldn't be micromanaged.

Pretty sure that has absolutely nothing to do with there not being a manager yet.

Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes that Chris Colabello played with an injury through most of 2014. He has nerve damage in his right thumb. He exchanged text messages with Chris Colabello's agent and quoted a Colabello from a local newspaper article. The injury apparently happened on April 23 against Tampa Bay, but he said he was hitting so well and taking good at bats that he didn't want out of the lineup. Commendable, but we have seen so often what happens when injuries linger. One of those consequences could be heading overseas. Colabello admirably turned down the offer to play in Korea for a million dollars last offseason, but could that decision change this year? He may be more open to it.

They traded him to Pittsburgh, and he posted a .681 OPS in 25 games for them and then lost him. Like I said, "well" was probably not the right word, but he was a free agent at the end of 2014 and he wasn't coming back to the Twins. He went to a perfect location for him in Colorado, and hit for average. The Twins got two 28ish year olds who were bit players for a guy with zero value in August last year.

Maybe "well" isn't the perfect word, but Morneau had zero value and they got two players for him.

No, they should not bat him leadoff (regardless of what my friend Brandon Warne says)... I think #2 is the perfect spot for him.

I can't really tell what to make of this... I'd say the Twins did pretty well for Morneau. I'd also say that they did great in the Liriano trade as well. It's a 40 man roster spot opening up. That's all. The rest is just details, but this is a good move for the Twins and for Johnson.

49 minutes to go... keep the questions coming in for Kyle, but also for Jeremy and I to discuss.

Again, my point was not to at all say that service time as anything to do with promoting them, at least not for relievers. It was just to illustrate where they all are relative to needing to be added to the 40 man roster. Twins need, number of options ahead of them that they need to pass, etc., will have a bigger part in that decision.

I'm pretty sure I never suggested that. I was just pointing out where each was. I fully expect Burdi to be up in 2015. Reed has a chance, but remember he was a 5th round pick. The Twins wouldn't send him to the AFL if they didn't think he could be close. But I'd still put it at less than 50% because he's got a long way to go.

I agree with this. I think he took a nice step this year. I think he would have stayed in the bullpen, and he has the stuff and velocity to be Perkins-like. Now, we just wait until 2016.

Very good questions. Thank you! Keep them coming!

I guess in my opinion Joe McEwing and Sandy Alomar, Jr. are very viable candidates, and had Chip Hale not taken the Arizona job, he was obviously a very strong candidate (and no, playing for the Twins in the mid-90s doesn't mean he's an internal option).

Absolutely it was an easy decision to decline the option (I would think). Plenty of other, less expensive, better options. That said, Burton (and Fien and Thielbar and others) are a good example of why signing minor league free agents can be so terrific. Burton signed a minor league deal, though I'm pretty sure he was pretty much guaranteed an Opening Day spot because of his history (similar to the Kubel thing)... Signing the extension was certainly questionable, though I don't have any issue with it either.

Darren Wolfson over at 1500espn reports that the Minnesota Twins have sold the contract of LHP Kris Johnson to the Hiroshima Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. The Twins acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Duke Welker, who the Twins got as the Player to be Named Later in the Justin Morneau trade. He has been a terrific AAA pitcher the last few seasons, but he has not been able to translate that success to the big leagues (in admittedly very minimal opportunity). Earlier in the day, the Twins declined the $3.6 million option on Jared Burton's contract (and paid him the $200,000 buyout). That takes two players off of the Twins 40 man roster.

maybe you can explain this one, but I have been impressed by how thorough the search has been. They've interviewed deserving internal candidates, which I think is great. They have certainly gone outside the organization. I personally can't see anything to complain about. I think there are 3 really good candidates that each have really good reasons why they could be a good manager. For me: Molitor - players like him, minor leaguers know him and respect him like crazy, willing to dig into analytics. Mientkiewicz - fire (much like Gardy 15 years ago and now), youth (can be around for a long time), and he's managed all the top guys who will be the next core. Lovullo - has managed at various levels, has been a highly thought-of candidate for several years, loves analytics, and someone different. All three played in the big leagues. All three are clearly really smart baseball people. I don't think there's a bad option here.