Brandon Warne

While I would also -- even as an impartial writer -- prefer to see the kids, I can sort of see the blueprint here. It's easier to go to the vets, cut them loose, and make the kids earn it. As long as it doesn't become a Sidney Ponson/Livan Hernandez type of thing, I don't think it's terrible. I wasn't a Shane Robinson guy before, and I'm still not going to say he's a part of the future, but as a fourth outfielder he's not too bad. Sometimes you find a piece like that. I think Terry Ryan has a special eye for that type of player.

These are my favorite things to write, and I like to think if it's something I find interesting, a lot of other people might too. Thanks for your support (and reading!)

The Twins announced a pair of roster moves following Friday night’s game. With Ricky Nolasco (right elbow inflammation) and Brian Duensing (right intercostal strain) set to be activated, the Twins needed to make a pair of moves to free up spots.Caleb Thielbar was essentially sent down in favor of Duensing. Thielbar made six appearances spanning five innings in his stint with the Twins, striking out five and walking none while allowing three earned runs (5.40 ERA). The other, perhaps more surprising move, was sending left-handed starter Tommy Milone to Rochester. Relegated to the bullpen just a day earlier, Milone’s fate was ultimately sealed when the Twins decided not only to keep Trevor May up, but that it would be better for the veteran lefty to remain stretched out as a starter rather than work out of the bullpen. These moves also grant newly-promoted right-handers Ryan Pressly and Michael Tonkin potentially brief reprieves from being sent back to Rochester. Pressly arrived in Minnesota on Friday afternoon after the club placed right-handed reliever Tim Stauffer on the disabled list earlier in the day with the same injury Duensing had — right intercostal strain — while Tonkin threw all of one pitch on Thursday evening in inducing a foul pop off the bat of Tyler Flowers in his one-third of an inning of work. How long Pressly and Tonkin stay up may not only be determined by how well they pitch, or how soon Stauffer and Casey Fien can return, but also how well a couple of relievers pitch at Triple-A as well. A pair of righties — Lester Oliveros and A.J. Achter — have also turned heads, and could be a part of the next wave of Red Wings to come up should the Twins need help. Oliveros — who is not presently on the 40-man roster — has been extremely impressive for Rochester through Thursday’s action, posting a 1.69 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 10.2 innings (17.7 K/9) in six appearances. A source relayed to 105 The Ticket that Oliveros had been throwing in the mid-90s recently on a consistent basis and hit as high as 96 mph when he made a spot start in a recent doubleheader. Despite the non-roster status, GM Terry Ryan said Oliveros was in the consideration but ultimately was passed over. “The roster (situation) didn’t make the difference,” Ryan said. “I think it’s consistency. You saw in spring training; he didn’t hardly pitch. He was in the conversation though. So was Achter.” Achter’s numbers aren’t as eye-popping as Oliveros’ — 3.72 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 8.4 K/9 — but he has seen plenty of late-inning action, working the seventh inning or later in seven of his nine appearances. Ultimately, both figure to see some bullpen time with the big club before season’s end, as this depth ought to work to the club’s advantage. Trivia Against which pitcher does Torii Hunter have the most home runs in his career (five)? Injury Update Starter Phil Hughes — who left Thursday’s start with a mild left hip flexor strain — threw his usual bullpen on Friday and pronounced himself ready to start on Monday. Incidentally, that date lines up with a matchup against Oakland’s Jesse Hahn on “Hughes the Force” day, when the Twins will give away a Hughes Star Wars-themed Bobblehead doll. Old Friend Alert Pitcher Andrew Albers was called up by the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday to fill the roster spot of the departed Daniel Norris. Albers had a 1-3 record with a 3.09 ERA and 4.6 K/9 with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Albers’ stay in the big leagues — his first since 2013 with the Twins — was short, as he was sent back to Triple-A after the game. Samuel Deduno made a spot start for the Houston Astros Friday night against Roenis Elias and the Mariners, and to his credit did a pretty nice job all things considered. Deduno lasted four innings (61 pitches, 41 strikes) with four strikeouts, two walks and just one earned run on three hits. The Astros ultimately won, 4-3. Chris Colabello was honored as the International League player of the month for April. In 20 games, Colabello batted .338/.427/.592 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. This was Colabello’s second time receiving the honor, as he was also honored in June 2013 with the Rochester Red Wings. Reliever Alex Burnett was released from his Mexican League team Guerreros de Oaxaca roughly 10 days ago after posting a 6.23 ERA (12.5 K/9) in seven appearances spanning 8.2 innings. Burnett spent the bulk of the 2014 season with Sioux City of the American Association -- think St. Paul Saints -- as a teammate of Rene Tosoni -- also a former Twin. Affiliate Update Rochester (12-9) – The Red Wings fell 4-3 to another old friend, as Chris Parmelee and the Norfolk Tides pounded out 12 hits en route to a win. Josmil Pinto had a two-run home run, while Pat Dean took the loss with 7.1 innings of 11-hit, four-run ball. Dean fanned one and walked one and is now 2-1. Chattanooga (10-11) – The Lookouts jumped out with three first-inning runs and never looked back as Tyler Duffey pitched seven solid innings to push his record to 1-2. Byron Buxton had three hits — including a double — atop the order, while Jorge Polanco, Travis Harrison and Adam Brett Walker each chipped in a pair. Fort Myers (8-14) – The Miracle found themselves on the short end of a pitchers duel on Friday, 2-1. Four Charlotte pitchers — including rehabbing Rays reliever Jake McGee — scattered six hits and just one run as the Miracle mustered just a double from Alex Swim for their only extra-base hit of the night. Brandon Peterson and Brian Gilbert combined for three hitless innings of shutout relief, fanning six and walking two. Cedar Rapids (12-10) – Stephen Gonsalves was the hard-luck loser as the Kernels were no-hit by a trio of Lumber Kings. Daniel Missaki, Kody Kerski and Troy Scott combined to strike out 10 and walk just two in the no-hit effort. Gonsalves was stellar as usual, striking out eight and walking just one while allowing a pair of earned runs on five hits over seven innings. Michael Theofanopoulos tossed a pair of shutout innings in relief. Tanner English and Trey Vavra accounted for the Kernels’ two walks in the loss. — One Year Ago The Twins entered play on May 2 with a 12-14 record after dropping both ends of a May 1 doubleheader to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Losing pitchers for the Twins on that day were Duensing and Mike Pelfrey. Trivia Answer: Torii has five career home runs against retired lefty Esteban Loaiza. He has four career home runs against Freddy Garcia and Saturday’s starter John Danks. All three of these pitchers were White Sox at one time or another. This story originated at Cold Omaha here, where your click would be graciously accepted. Click here to view the article

The Twins announced a pair of roster moves following Friday night’s game. With Ricky Nolasco (right elbow inflammation) and Brian Duensing (right intercostal strain) set to be activated, the Twins needed to make a pair of moves to free up spots. Caleb Thielbar was essentially sent down in favor of Duensing. Thielbar made six appearances spanning five innings in his stint with the Twins, striking out five and walking none while allowing three earned runs (5.40 ERA). The other, perhaps more surprising move, was sending left-handed starter Tommy Milone to Rochester. Relegated to the bullpen just a day earlier, Milone’s fate was ultimately sealed when the Twins decided not only to keep Trevor May up, but that it would be better for the veteran lefty to remain stretched out as a starter rather than work out of the bullpen. These moves also grant newly-promoted right-handers Ryan Pressly and Michael Tonkin potentially brief reprieves from being sent back to Rochester. Pressly arrived in Minnesota on Friday afternoon after the club placed right-handed reliever Tim Stauffer on the disabled list earlier in the day with the same injury Duensing had — right intercostal strain — while Tonkin threw all of one pitch on Thursday evening in inducing a foul pop off the bat of Tyler Flowers in his one-third of an inning of work. — How long Pressly and Tonkin stay up may not only be determined by how well they pitch, or how soon Stauffer and Casey Fien can return, but also how well a couple of relievers pitch at Triple-A as well. A pair of righties — Lester Oliveros and A.J. Achter — have also turned heads, and could be a part of the next wave of Red Wings to come up should the Twins need help. Oliveros — who is not presently on the 40-man roster — has been extremely impressive for Rochester through Thursday’s action, posting a 1.69 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 10.2 innings (17.7 K/9) in six appearances. A source relayed to 105 The Ticket that Oliveros had been throwing in the mid-90s recently on a consistent basis and hit as high as 96 mph when he made a spot start in a recent doubleheader. Despite the non-roster status, GM Terry Ryan said Oliveros was in the consideration but ultimately was passed over. “The roster (situation) didn’t make the difference,” Ryan said. “I think it’s consistency. You saw in spring training; he didn’t hardly pitch. He was in the conversation though. So was Achter.” Achter’s numbers aren’t as eye-popping as Oliveros’ — 3.72 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 8.4 K/9 — but he has seen plenty of late-inning action, working the seventh inning or later in seven of his nine appearances. Ultimately, both figure to see some bullpen time with the big club before season’s end, as this depth ought to work to the club’s advantage. — Trivia Against which pitcher does Torii Hunter have the most home runs in his career (five)? — Injury Update Starter Phil Hughes — who left Thursday’s start with a mild left hip flexor strain — threw his usual bullpen on Friday and pronounced himself ready to start on Monday. Incidentally, that date lines up with a matchup against Oakland’s Jesse Hahn on “Hughes the Force” day, when the Twins will give away a Hughes Star Wars-themed Bobblehead doll. — Old Friend Alert Pitcher Andrew Albers was called up by the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday to fill the roster spot of the departed Daniel Norris. Albers had a 1-3 record with a 3.09 ERA and 4.6 K/9 with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Albers’ stay in the big leagues — his first since 2013 with the Twins — was short, as he was sent back to Triple-A after the game. Samuel Deduno made a spot start for the Houston Astros Friday night against Roenis Elias and the Mariners, and to his credit did a pretty nice job all things considered. Deduno lasted four innings (61 pitches, 41 strikes) with four strikeouts, two walks and just one earned run on three hits. The Astros ultimately won, 4-3. Chris Colabello was honored as the International League player of the month for April. In 20 games, Colabello batted .338/.427/.592 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. This was Colabello’s second time receiving the honor, as he was also honored in June 2013 with the Rochester Red Wings. Reliever Alex Burnett was released from his Mexican League team Guerreros de Oaxaca roughly 10 days ago after posting a 6.23 ERA (12.5 K/9) in seven appearances spanning 8.2 innings. Burnett spent the bulk of the 2014 season with Sioux City of the American Association -- think St. Paul Saints -- as a teammate of Rene Tosoni -- also a former Twin. — Affiliate Update Rochester (12-9) – The Red Wings fell 4-3 to another old friend, as Chris Parmelee and the Norfolk Tides pounded out 12 hits en route to a win. Josmil Pinto had a two-run home run, while Pat Dean took the loss with 7.1 innings of 11-hit, four-run ball. Dean fanned one and walked one and is now 2-1. Chattanooga (10-11) – The Lookouts jumped out with three first-inning runs and never looked back as Tyler Duffey pitched seven solid innings to push his record to 1-2. Byron Buxton had three hits — including a double — atop the order, while Jorge Polanco, Travis Harrison and Adam Brett Walker each chipped in a pair. Fort Myers (8-14) – The Miracle found themselves on the short end of a pitchers duel on Friday, 2-1. Four Charlotte pitchers — including rehabbing Rays reliever Jake McGee — scattered six hits and just one run as the Miracle mustered just a double from Alex Swim for their only extra-base hit of the night. Brandon Peterson and Brian Gilbert combined for three hitless innings of shutout relief, fanning six and walking two. Cedar Rapids (12-10) – Stephen Gonsalves was the hard-luck loser as the Kernels were no-hit by a trio of Lumber Kings. Daniel Missaki, Kody Kerski and Troy Scott combined to strike out 10 and walk just two in the no-hit effort. Gonsalves was stellar as usual, striking out eight and walking just one while allowing a pair of earned runs on five hits over seven innings. Michael Theofanopoulos tossed a pair of shutout innings in relief. Tanner English and Trey Vavra accounted for the Kernels’ two walks in the loss. — One Year Ago The Twins entered play on May 2 with a 12-14 record after dropping both ends of a May 1 doubleheader to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Losing pitchers for the Twins on that day were Duensing and Mike Pelfrey. — Trivia Answer: Torii has five career home runs against retired lefty Esteban Loaiza. He has four career home runs against Freddy Garcia and Saturday’s starter John Danks. All three of these pitchers were White Sox at one time or another. This story originated at Cold Omaha here, where your click would be graciously accepted.

The point is that if you do this, you end up signing Plouffe to a market rate deal through his age 35-36 season....

Or today?

It is not even May. Sheesh.

In today's marketplace, the contract I've suggested is a pittance. There's almost no risk to the Twins to pay Trevor Plouffe $7m a year. In fact, they'll probably have to do it as soon as next year simply due to arbitration.

I want to believe that was simply as a measure to make sure he was good health-wise, and I hope it isn't too late to revisit this. He's 32, there's no reason he should be landlocked right now.

I get that luxury quite frequently, thank you.

Right. And he was very good last year, and has played better lately after a tough start.

OK, so here's the deal with a potential Plouffe extension: I understand why people would like to wait out the remaining two years he has in arbitration. I get that. But as a super-two, he's going to get pretty expensive even as a decent third baseman over those two years. IF you wait them out and still want to sign him after that, you will then be forced to sign him to a market-level deal, which assuming he has played well will be about four years and maybe $10m AAV. Or, you can split the difference, take him until he's about 32, and play your cards after that. But if you wait it out and then want to sign him, you're not only signing him at market value, but until he's in his mid-30s. A four-year deal under $30 million carries basically no risk for the Twins here, unless he were to absolutely fall off a cliff. But if you're forecasting that, well, you know more than the team does.

Like virtually none of this is rooted in facts, or things that are particularly important.

This post originally appeared at 105 The Ticket's Cold Omaha: Prior to Monday night’s game — the opening of an 11-game homestand that ranks as the longest of the season — Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony provided injury updates on the pair of pitchers currently residing on the club’s disabled list, as well as an update on Trevor May: Reliever Brian Duensing (strained right intercostal) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session, and it is expected that he’ll throw live to hitters before Thursday afternoon’s game. Starter Ricky Nolasco (right elbow inflammation) came out of Sunday’s rehab start in Cedar Rapids — 5 IP, 5 K, 0 BB, 1 R (0 ER) — feeling good. “He had good velocity,” Antony said. “The breaking ball was good. He had good command and control, and the reports we got (from Cedar Rapids officials) said that he threw the ball well.” Like Nolasco, it’s unclear whether the next step with Duensing will take place with the big league team — skipping a rehab stint for Duensing in that case — or down on the farm. May (right elbow contusion) was basically business as usual a mere two days after taking a 100-plus mph line drive to what he called a “weird spot” near his right elbow. All told May considered himself lucky, given the number of different spots he could have been hit in the area that would have been far more catastrophic, and it doesn’t appear that May has any ill effects or massive scarring or bruising. The hope, at least in May’s mind, is that he’ll make his next scheduled start, which is slated to come against the White Sox on Thursday against Chris Sale. “I feel like everything is OK,” May said of the aftereffects. “I feel like I can (make the next start). I don’t think any definite decision has been made either way yet. I feel good.” May admitted he felt “blown away” with how fast the pain went away, and compared the remaining pain to as if he had “banged it against a door.” Sale will be a tough draw for May, who is no doubt pitching for his rotation future as Nolasco nears a return. — Speaking of May, it’s interesting to note how far he has come in a short time command-wise. Even in a very small sampling, May has 13 strikeouts and just one unintentional walk through three starts spanning 14.2 innings. Read the rest of this blog post here.

It's late April. Take a pill.

Well, they saw Cuddyer do it. Kind of.

Did paying Kurt Suzuki that kind of money prevent them from signing anyone else? Or heck, did having Nolasco prevent them from signing anyone else? This is a narrative, and one I don't particularly believe in.

I wouldn't trade for a pitcher like really ever unless I thought I was getting a great deal. You still gotta pay 'em and the injury risk is just too high. Sano could play first or DH. The bat is easily good enough to stick at both. I'm not worried about him and Plouffe on the same team, and I don't think anyone else should be either. I think there's an entire forest that is burning -- a simmering burn, but still -- and we're stuck here looking at two of the nicer trees thinking one has to go. That's just my take.

Well you draft, and develop, and after 11 years...oh.

If he has another year like last year, he's going to get $7 million in his penultimate arbitration year (this winter).

The gap is closer than you think. The MLB average wOBA for 3B last year was .316 and for LF was .318. And you can't equate moving someone off catcher to moving someone off third, because catcher aging curves and all that necessitate those sort of moves. If you were to move Plouffe off third to facilitate Sano, that would be of your own doing rather than being forced. And nobody knows what kind of left fielder he could be. He could literally be Oswaldo Arcia, or Alex Gordon. But for now, he's a really good defensive third baseman. I'd tell the kid to play somewhere else.

If he really is one of the best defensive third basemen of the AL as the stats suggest, I think you move Sano off third. Just my two cents.

There isn't going to be clarity on Sano for a few years. And that's the point; Plouffe is going to get really expensive in arbitration over the next two years. May as well cut into those costs if you can.

There’s a Minnesota Twins player who has quietly turned himself into one of the best players in the American League at his position, and it might be time the team takes notice financially.It’s not Joe Mauer, who is still signed to that hotly-contested deal through 2018. It isn’t Brian Dozier, who inked a four-year, $20 million extension just before the season started. No, it’s third baseman Trevor Plouffe, whom many in Twins Territory regard as flyover country geographically speaking. But while most weren’t watching, Plouffe outperformed the following third basemen last year in wOBA (a Fangraphs metric that takes all hits and properly weighs them before scaling them to on-base percentage for ease of consumption): Pablo Sandoval Evan Longoria David Freese David Wright Xander Bogaerts Nick Castellanos Now that’s a who’s who of third basemen in a couple of different respects. Of course, a number of those guys had down years, but it’s worth noting that with offense down league wide, Plouffe bucked that trend to have easily his finest big league season — finishing 11th among 24 ‘qualified’ third sackers. Plouffe batted .258/.328/.423, good for a .331 wOBA. For some context, the league-average AL third baseman batted .254/.314/.397, good for a .314 wOBA that places Plouffe a solid 5-ish percent above average. It wasn’t just offensively where Plouffe made strides either, as defensive metrics ranked him somewhere between the third and fifth best fielder at third base in the AL last year. And even if defensive numbers leave you feeling confused — quite frankly, that’s probably appropriate — think about this: do you still find yourself catching your breath before each of his throws across the diamond? If that isn’t sign of improvement, nothing is. So how did Plouffe reinvent himself? Read the rest of this blog here: Click here to view the article