Seth Stohs

Ever since Minnesota Twins manager mentioned to the media a couple of days ago that he would like to add a potent bat to his bench, conversations among Twins fans have revolved around just one player; Jim Thome. And why not? Twins fans’ memories of the hulking, Paul Bunyan-esque slugger look glowing to 2010. Thome came to the Twins and, in 108 games, he hit .283/.412/.627 (1.039). It was his best OPS since 2002. He gave fans many very lasting memories. I was at the game against the White Sox when he hit the walk-off homer against Matt Thornton and the White Sox. He hit his 600th home run for the Twins. He played a memorable role in Harmon Killebrew’s memorial service at Target Field. And there was his commercial with the big, blue ox. Late in the 2011 season, the Twins traded him back to Cleveland, where he began his career. Many thought that was the close of his career, but when Charley Manuel called him and asked if he wanted to pinch hit for the Phillies, he jumped at the opportunity, even willing to bring a glove to the ballpark. At the end of June, he had just 70 plate appearances in 30 games. The Phillies were out of it and traded Thome to the surprising Orioles where he played in two less games but accumulated 35 more plate appearances. Combined, he hit .252/.344/.442 (.780) with seven doubles and eight home runs. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3345[/ATTACH] Why should the Twins sign Thome? He is a better hitter, even at 42, than the guys on the Twins projected bench. He might hit 6-8 home runs. He is a legend, a future Hall of Famer, and a great person. He would be very inexpensive. Why should the Twins not sign Thome? Well, he is 42. He can’t play defense. He can’t run. If he walks, he’ll need a pinch runner. He gets hurt a lot. The Twins have lots of options for the DH/1B spots with Justin Morneau, Ryan Doumit, Joe Mauer, Chris Parmelee. A right handed bat makes more sense. Thome has not been successful most of his career as a pinch hitter, and he doesn’t hit left-handed pitching well. As you can see, as much as I like Thome and respect him tremendously, I just don’t think it makes any baseball sense to bring back Thome. That is not to say that I would be disappointed if they signed him though. However, there are some other options remaining on the free agent market. A couple of the below players may make more sense to the Twins than Thome, and a couple of them obviously make no sense. Bobby Abreu – Abreu will turn 39 years old on March 11. He has had a tremendous career hitting .292/.396/.477 (.873). However, the last time he posted an OPS of .800 was 2009 with the Angels. He began the 2012 season with the Angels, but before the end of April, he was released after playing just eight games. A week later, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers where he hit .246/.361/.344 (.704) in 92 games. He has always had great plate discipline which might help him as a late-inning option and a veteran some of the young players could emulate. Johnny Damon – Damon will be 39 years old through the 2013 season. In his 18 year career, he hit .284/.352/.433 (.785). He had some very good years with the Royals, the Red Sox and then the Yankees, but the last few years have not been good. The Boras-client has been a one-year guy the last three seasons. He spent 2010 with the Tigers, 2011 with the Rays, and last year, he signed with Cleveland on April 17 for $1.25 million. He was released in early August after hitting .222/.281/.329 (.610) in 64 games. Derrek Lee – Lee did not play in 2012 after splitting the 2011 season with Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Combined, he posted a .771 OPS in 113 games. Although he will be 37 years old through most of the season, it is unlikely that he returns in 2013. Carlos Lee – Carlos Lee’s six year, $100 million contract is over. Although his power dropped significantly through those six year (to just eight in 2012), he was able to remain healthy. In 2012, he was traded from Houston to the Miami Marlins for two minor leaguers. In 147 games last year, the burly right-hander hit .264/.332/.365 (.697). In his 14 year career, he hit .285/.339/.483 (.821), although he hasn’t had an OPS that high since 2009. He also no longer can really play in the outfield. The intrigue with Lee is that he is a right-handed bat to compliment all of the Twins left-handed bats. Scott Podsednik – “Pods” provides no power to the bench, but his name has been thrown around the rumor mill in connection with the Twins. Why? I have no idea. In 2009, he played for the White Sox and Rockies. In 2010, he played for the Royals and Dodgers. In 2011, he played in the minor leagues in the Blue Jays and Phillies organizations. In 2012, he played for the Red Sox, but he was traded to the Diamondbacks on July 31, but Arizona released him two days later and he re-signed with the Red Sox. In 64 games for Boston, he hit .302/.322/.352 (.674). He has stolen 309 bases in his 11 year big league career. He will also turn 37 in mid-March. Scott Rolen – The seven-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner has been hurt quite a bit the last two seasons. In 92 games in 2012, he hit .245/.318/.398 (.716). In 65 games in 2011, he hit .242/.279/.397 (.676). He has had a lot of back problems and turns 38 just after opening day. He’s had a terrific 17-year big league career, but retirement and a lot of spa time would seem to make the most sense. Ryan Theriot – The 33-year-old utility infielder has been part of the past two World Series teams, the 2011 Cardinals and the 2012 Giants. Last year with the Giants, he played 91 games at second base and hit .270/.316/.321 (.637). His career OPS is .691, but he hasn’t approached that number since 2009. So, as you can see, there are other bench options that the Twins could still considering signing via free agency. None of them are particularly appealing. Maybe there are some trade possibilities, but frankly, since 2013 is about rebuilding, why would the team give up any prospect for a part-time player? This is certainly a hot topic among Twins fans since, well, there isn’t much to talk about. What do you think?

Definitely prefer a RH bat... I'd be thrilled with Colabello, though this is where it's probably wise to remind people that spring stats are not always indicative of regular season numbers... Thome is a great guy and he was a great player for a long time. Hate to say it, but I think he's pretty much done. Certainly wouldn't play him over Doumit. I'd be fine bringing him back as a 1B coach.

Correct.

He put up some pretty strong numbers in 2012. he's like 5-8, 175... don't expect a ton of power, although he does take a massive swing sometimes!

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Danny_Santana_is_a_legitimate_shortstop_candidate_for_the_future022513 Mackey today wrote about Danny Santana, the shortstop that the Twins added to the 40 man roster this past offseason. There's no question that he has the physical tools to one day be a solid big league SS. Having seen him play a handful of games, you can't help but see the tools. You can also see the mistakes, and as Ryan says later, that's what needs to be cleaned up. If he can become more consistent, he has a real chance. If not, he could be the next Estarlin de Los Santos. I ranked Santana in my top 15 Twins prospects because I do believe he has a chance. Of course, only time will tell.

Obviously I agree that you're probably right, but we can't say with 100% certainty that is the case. Maybe Roenicke makes the team and has an unbelievable year and finds a way to make himself really valuable. There are always diamonds in the rough, guys who figure something out later in their careers and have 3-4 really solid seasons. With bullpen arms, you just never know.

Slama becomes a minor league free agent following the 2013 season, so they will have to make a decision on him by the time World Series finishes. If they let him become a free agent, he will be gone. No question.

Josh Roenicke threw more innings than any other reliever... that's valuable for a long reliever, and if there are question marks or youth in the starting rotation, that's valuable. Seems to me that he or Swarzak would be the guy for the long relief role. My guess is one stays and one goes, and I would guess that both would be claimed by another team.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19694 Another prospect list. This year, Jason Parks does the Baseball Prospectus 101. In previous years, this was Kevin Goldstein's list, but now that he's with the Houston Astros, he can't be doing this stuff anymore. Here are the Twins ranked: #8 Byron Buxton #21 Miguel Sano #46 Aaron Hicks #60 Oswaldo Arcia #64 Kyle Gibson #88 Alex Meyer

Twins Lineup: Joe Benson CF Jamey Carroll 3B Joe Mauer DH Josh Willingham LF Justin Morneau 1B Ryan Doumit C Wilkin Ramirez RF Brian Dozier 2B Ray Olmedo SS Vance Worley SP Pirates Lineup: CF Presley, SS Mercer, RF Snider, DH Sands, 1B Jones, 3B Hague, C Sanchez, LF Pie, 2B Hernandez. RHP McPherson. Name the 3-4 MLBers in that lineup? (Pressley and former Twins Garrett Jones?)

We don't know that it matters. Like you said, if they're mediocre and replaceable, they probably will be removed. If they look like they can contribute, they'll make it. I think Mr. Ryan just wanted to provide a bunch of competition. But to say that it doesn't factor in... it absolutely should be a factor.

Just a quick reminder to the Twins Daily readers, be sure to remember the great resource that Jeremy Nygaard has provided and continually updates here, the Rosters and Payroll page (http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=901-roster-payroll). MLB Trade Rumors posted the Out of Options players a week or ten days ago, and Berardino did yesterday, but you can look into it all yourself here. It's really an incredible tool, full of all kinds of great information.

My assumption is that the 96 that he struck someone out with was probably 94 which is more than enough... especially when his slider is coming in at 88-89 mph (which may be 86-87). That's some nasty stuff, and he also has a good changeup and a slower curveball. His stuff doesn't mean a lot of strikeouts necessarily, but he should get a lot of groundouts.

He would have been up last year if not for missing over 2 months with a broken leg. Believe me, I want to see Slama get an extended look with the Twins to get a chance to prove that the minor league numbers aren't a fluke. As I wrote in the prospect handbook, Slama is really a case of the numbers versus the scouting reports. The numbers are undeniable. He's been pretty incredible with the strikeouts, the low WHIP and the low ERA while pitching in save situations. The scouting side of it notices a few things too. 1.) The guy tops out closer to 88 than to 91. Today on the Hammond Stadium radar gun (according to the radio guys), he was hitting 88-89, but that gun is 2-3 mph fast. 2.) Walks have always been an issue (along with working fairly slow because of all the 3-ball counts), and today certainly didn't help that. The walks will bother Gardy more than the hits. 3.) They don't think he'l be able to consistently get left-handed hitters out because of his delivery and where the ball comes out of his hand. I want to see Slama get a real, extended opportunity. He is a really good person, works really hard, etc. He has put up the numbers, which should count for something, especially the AAA numbers, but he is also what he is in terms of pitches. He doesn't throw as hard or have as much bite on his pitches as guys like Luis Perdomo, Esmerling Vasquez, Casey Fien, and yes, even Jeff Gray. So, I get it, but from a personal level, I want to see him get a chance.

Normally shortly after the minor leaguers report, which is in about a week, many of the players just added to the 40 man roster this past offseason will be sent to minor league camp. That was the case with Arcia a year ago. However, with the WBC and now this injury, I fully expect that he'll be in camp a couple of weeks longer. This certainly hurts as it is never good for a player to miss time, but the Twins know what they have in Arcia.

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Mackey_Twins_catch_a_glimpse_of_future_starting_pitching_rotation022413 Phil Mackey got to Ft. Myers in time to watch the Twins inter-squad game on Sunday morning. He was able to see Alex Meyer, Trevor May, BJ Hermsen and JO Berrios. The article has lots about the young Twins pitchers. The page also shows video of Alex Meyer pitching to Danny Santana.

Anthony Slama in for the top of the 9th. Walked the first batter (Kiermaier), which is one of the keys for him. O'Malley reaches on an error by Rosario, runner to 3B. O'Malley steals second. Slama walked the next batter to lead the bases. 2-run single gives the Rays a 6-2. lead... Gotta post this message, maybe it'll help Slama get an out.

Chris Colabello had a single in the bottom of the 8th but didn't score.

Luis Perdomo in to pitch for the Twins in the 8th. Wil Myers struckout looking. Single by Figueroa. Hak-Ju Lee grounded out to 1B. Morrison struckout.

Btm 7 - Danny Santana walked. Brandon Boggs struckout looking and on the pitch, Santana was picked off at 1st base by the catcher. Eddie Rosario walked. Josmil Pinto popped out to deep second base.

Jared Burton with a 1-2-3 7th inning.

Morneau had a single in the 6th inning, but that was it.

Top 6 - Brian Duensing pitching, James Beresford at 3B, Danny Santana at SS, Josmil Pinto is catching. Shelley Duncan got out. Chris Gimenez got on when a one-hopper went off of Santana's chest. Wil Myers doubled to right with Gimenez advancing to 3B. Bourgeios grounded to SS for a single to score the run and advance the runner. Fontenot had a broken bat single to score another run. Beckham grounded to Morneau who booted it. Keirmaier then popped up to Beresford. Double steal. Sean O'Malley grounded to Rosario for the 3rd out.

He and JO Berrios and Andrew Albers are not on the official list of Non-Roster invites, but they are there preparing for the WBC and the Twins are supportive of that.