Seth Stohs

Great article, Nick, and definitely puts things into perspective. Until Greinke and Sanchez sign, we may not see that next tier sign, and I think this flexibility allows them to be in on the likes of Jackson, McCarthy, Marcum and others in the $8-12 million range.

UPDATES: According to the Twins press release, the deal is for two years, at $5.5 million. He will make $2.05 million in 2013 and $3.25 million in 2014. The option for 2015 is at $3.6 million with a $200,000 buyout.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1235-Twins-Burton-Near-Agreement-for-a-Contract-Extension

According to Darren "Doogie" Wolfson (via twitter), he has learned that the Twins and the representatives for Jared Burton have reached an agreement on a contract extension. It sounds like it would before for 2013, 2014 and that there would be an option for 2015. Terms of the deal have not yet been announced. We will update them here as soon as we get them. Last week, the Twins tendered him a contract. This is the final year of arbitration-eligibility so the contract would buy-out one year of his free agency and the option could buy-out another. Burton came to the Twins last year in a minor league contract. He made the Opening Day roster and was a mainstay in the back-end of the Twins bullpen. The 31-year-old righty went 3-2 with the first five saves of his career last year. In 64 games and 62 innings, he posted a 2.18 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He walked just 16 and struckout 55. He gave up five homer runs, but two of them came in his first Twins outing. How do I remember that? Because when he came into the game, I told my whole family (with some extended family around) that Burton would be the Twins closer by the end of the season. The vehemently disagreed after the two gopher balls. Burton was available on a minor league contract because he missed time in 2010 and 2011 with arm injuries. The Twins used him wisely in 2012. What are your thoughts on the extension?

According to Darren "Doogie" Wolfson (via twitter), he has learned that the Twins and the representatives for Jared Burton have reached an agreement on a contract extension. It sounds like it would before for 2013, 2014 and that there would be an option for 2015. Terms of the deal have not yet been announced. We will update them here as soon as we get them. Last week, the Twins tendered him a contract. This is the final year of arbitration-eligibility so the contract would buy-out one year of his free agency and the option could buy-out another. Burton came to the Twins last year in a minor league contract. He made the Opening Day roster and was a mainstay in the back-end of the Twins bullpen. The 31-year-old righty went 3-2 with the first five saves of his career last year. In 64 games and 62 innings, he posted a 2.18 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He walked just 16 and struckout 55. He gave up five homer runs, but two of them came in his first Twins outing. How do I remember that? Because when he came into the game, I told my whole family (with some extended family around) that Burton would be the Twins closer by the end of the season. The vehemently disagreed after the two gopher balls. Burton was available on a minor league contract because he missed time in 2010 and 2011 with arm injuries. The Twins used him wisely in 2012. What are your thoughts on the extension?

yeah, we're talking a lot about CF with Benson/Hicks/Mastroianni... however, Arcia is probably the most big-league ready of the bunch, and if RF were to open up, I think they'd be pretty comfortable going to him.

I would put the Twins top 10 or 15 up against anyone else's farm system. I may be proven wrong, but I think they can be i nthe discussion.

THanks for the feedback everyone... I was kind of proud of this story, and it's kind of been pushed to the background today with some fairly big stories. Ha!

I just posted this on Twitter a bit ago: My new updated Top 10 Twins prospects: Sano, Buxton, Arcia, Meyer, Hicks, Gibson, May, Rosario, Berrios, Kepler.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?1233-Revere-Traded-to-Philly-for-Worley

Sources are reporting that the Minnesota Twins have traded CF Ben Revere to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for RHP Vance Worley and a prospect. The prospect is Trevor May. Revere was the heir apparent for the Twins Center Field job going back to when Denard Span was dealt to the Washington Nationals for RHP Alex Meyer. He will go to the Phillies where he and Span will compete (with BJ Upton) for NL East (CF) supremacy. Vance Worley has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Phillies. Overall, he is 18-13 with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He also has 238 strikeouts in 277.2 (7.7 K/9). Trevor May is a 6-5, 215 pound left-hander. He was the #69 overall prospect according to Baseball America last year. As a 22 year old in the Eastern League (AA), he went 10-13 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. However, in 149.2 innings, he struckout 151 (and walked 78). He should fit pretty easily into the Twins top 10 prospects. He is currently ranked as the Phillies #2 prospect. Revere's Twins tenure is best known for his web gem frequency and his speed. He loved playing with the Twins and fans loved the smile that he always plays with. He is certainly limited offensively as a singles hitter, but he can steal bases. Some in the organization always saw him more as a 4th outfielder, so to get a solid MLB starting pitcher plus a very talented pitching prospect for him is a great move by Terry Ryan and the Twins!

Sources are reporting that the Minnesota Twins have traded CF Ben Revere to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for RHP Vance Worley and a prospect. The prospect is Trevor May. Revere was the heir apparent for the Twins Center Field job going back to when Denard Span was dealt to the Washington Nationals for RHP Alex Meyer. He will go to the Phillies where he and Span will compete (with BJ Upton) for NL East (CF) supremacy. Vance Worley has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Phillies. Overall, he is 18-13 with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He also has 238 strikeouts in 277.2 (7.7 K/9). Trevor May is a 6-5, 215 pound left-hander. He was the #69 overall prospect according to Baseball America last year. As a 22 year old in the Eastern League (AA), he went 10-13 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. However, in 149.2 innings, he struckout 151 (and walked 78). He should fit pretty easily into the Twins top 10 prospects. He is currently ranked as the Phillies #2 prospect. Revere's Twins tenure is best known for his web gem frequency and his speed. He loved playing with the Twins and fans loved the smile that he always plays with. He is certainly limited offensively as a singles hitter, but he can steal bases. Some in the organization always saw him more as a 4th outfielder, so to get a solid MLB starting pitcher plus a very talented pitching prospect for him is a great move by Terry Ryan and the Twins!

Ryan Flaherty got a lot of playing time for that Orioles team. He'll likely split time with Casilla at 2B next year.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?1229-Twins-Select-RHP-Ryan-Pressly-in-Rule-5-Draft

With the 4th overall pick in the 2012 Rule 5 draft, the Minnesota Twins drafted RHP Ryan Pressley from the Boston Red Sox organization. John Manuel reports that he throws up to 95 mph. The 22 year old split the 2012 season between Hi-A and AA. More to come.

With the 4th overall pick in the 2012 Rule 5 draft, the Minnesota Twins drafted RHP Ryan Pressley from the Boston Red Sox organization. John Manuel reports that he throws up to 95 mph. The 22 year old split the 2012 season between Hi-A and AA. More to come.

Discuss the Twins pick(s) here, as well as if they lose any players in the MLB or Minor League portions... I'll be profiling the player(s) that they select shortly after they are selected in an Article, but use this as the place to chat throughout the draft.

clutter - From what I understand, the format at 1500espn will stay the same. Although the games will be on KTWN, 1500espn will still be all sports and get post-game shows and such. They'll get the exclusive interviews and such... at least that's what I understand.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1228-Former-Rule-5-pick-is-most-underrated-player-in-Minnesota-Twins-history

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the annual Rule 5 draft will begin. First will be the Major League portion. It will be followed by the minor league portion. The Twins have had some successes in each. The nabbed 3B Brian Buscher from the Giants in the minor league portion. In the major league portion, they have added names like Gary Wayne, who was a solid lefty reliever for the Minnesota Twins for a few seasons, including 1991. The most recent success was Scott Diamond. Today, I want to write about one of the most underrated players in Minnesota Twins history. In my opinion, this player is the best player that the Twins have selected in the Rule 5 draft. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2811[/ATTACH] The initial assumption many will make is that I am referring to Johan Santana. However, I don’t believe that he is at all underrated in Twins history. He also was not a player that the Twins selected in the Rule 5 draft. Admittedly, it may be semantics, but in that 2000 Rule 5 draft, the Marlins took Santana. The Twins used the 2nd pick to select RHP Jared Camp. The teams had previously agreed to a deal in which they would make those picks and then swap them, with money being exchanged as well. In my opinion, the best player that the Twins have drafted themselves in the Rule 5 draft came to the organization on December 4, 1989. Shane Mack was the first round pick of the San Diego Padres in 1984 after a great career at UCLA. His pro career began in the 1985 season because he played for Team USA in the 1984 Olympics. He debuted with the Padres in May of 1987 and hit .239/.299/.361 (.660) in 105 games (267 plate appearances). In 1988, he played in just 56 games for the Padres and hit .244/.336/.269 (.605) with three doubles. 1989, he played in just 24 games for the Padres AAA team, and hit just .225/.344/.325 (.669) in that time. Although he had that first round pedigree, and the major college background, Mack was a bust to that point in his career. The Padres exposed him to the Rule 5 draft. The Twins scouting personnel saw something in Mack that told them that he still had a chance to be a solid big league player. Maybe it was that they just saw a great athlete who needed a change of scenery. Whatever the reason, they selected him in that 1989 Rule 5 draft, and he came to big league camp in 1990. There is little risk in making a Rule 5 selection. It’s just $50,000 to make a pick, and if the player is returned, it is for $25,000. Or, in the case of Diamond, a trade can be worked out. According to Twins Trivia, the Twins have made 17 selections since 1986, and only two of those players remained on the Twins roster the entire season after being taken (Mack in 1989 and Wayne in 1988). The Twins were a last place team in 1990, so the 26-year-old Mack got plenty of opportunity. In fact, he played in 125 games. He earned the playing time. He hit .326/.392/.460 (.852) with 10 doubles, four triples, eight homers and 44 RBI. He also stole 13 bases. In 143 games in 1991, Mack hit .310/.363/.529 (.893) with 27 doubles, eight triples, 18 homers and 74 RBI. He added 13 more stolen bases and helped the Twins to their 1991 World Series championship. He played in 156 games in 1992. He hit .315/.394/.467 (.860) with 31 doubles, six triples, 16 homers and 75 RBI. He stole 26 bases that season. He had a down season in 1993. In 128 games, he hit .276/.335/.412 (.746) with 30 doubles, four triples, 10 homers and 61 RBI. He stole 15 bases. His final season with the Twins came in 1995. He played in just 81 games, but he hit .333/.402/.564 (.966) with 21 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs and 61 RBI. In those five seasons with the Twins, Mack’s OPS+ numbers were 133, 140, 139, 100, and 147. In 633 games, he hit .309/.375/.479 (.854). He hit 119 doubles, 24 triples, 67 home runs, and 315 RBI. He also stole 71 bases. His OPS+ was 130. He became a free agent following the 1994 season. He spent the 1995 and 1996 seasons in Japan, playing for the Yomiuri Giants. He came back to the States and in 1997 and 1998, he played a total of 129 games for the Red Sox, A’s, and Royals. When the Twins Hall of Fame ballot came out last month, Mack’s name was on it for the first time. It is inexplicable why a player who did that well for the Twins for a five-year stretch was only put on the ballot this year. Looking at the site results, based on number of tweets, we see Dan Gladden with 47 tweets while Shane Mack has just four tweets. Remember Mack’s 130 OPS+ in his five seasons with the Twins? Gladden’s OPS+ in his first season with the Twins was 90. Other front-runners include Corey Koskie, who deserves it at some point, but he has a 116 OPS+ in seven seasons. Chuck Knoblauch, who absolutely should be in the Twins Hall of Fame, had a 114 OPS+ in his seven seasons with the Twins. Of course, we shouldn’t make much of anything that’s voted by fans. Other deserving Twins Hall of Fame candidates, Dave Goltz (0) and Brian Harper (4) are not racking up twitter mentions either. That it took so long for Mack to even be recognized on that ballot is one indication of just how underrated Shane Mack is in Twins history. During those five years, he was one of the top five outfielders in all of baseball. Did we appreciate at the time that the Twins had both Mack and Kirby Puckett roaming the outfield? Shane Mack and Johan Santana are a couple of cases of the best case scenario of what can happen for a team using a Rule 5 draft pick. Scott Diamond’s 2012 season is certainly encouraging. If a team can find a player who performs to the level that LHP Gary Wayne did for the Twins for four seasons, that is a major success. At Twins Daily today, we will be sure to highlight who the Twins select in the Rule 5 drafts, Major League and Minor League portions. We’ll also look back at any players that the Twins should happen to lose.