mcrow

If all the dials align...maybe. If all the young guys take a big step forward and they still have Dozier on the roster.

I think Walbeck was pretty good behind the plate, not much at the plate but that was fairly normal for catchers of his time.

I think that the Twins will have a better team than they have had in the last few years but by how much is a question. Really depends on what they get out of the lineup because the rotation is definitely better.

Good for him, I was hoping he'd step it up and earn a spot on the roster. So far I'm fairly pleased with the way the rotation is setting up. Maybe not going to make a big enough jump to contend for the playoffs but should be a significant increase in wins. It is just spring training but I feel good about the progress with the pitching.

I'm sure both he and Gibson will see significant time in the majors. There are always injuries and pitchers who end up being disappointing. I think Hughes and Pelfrey both will hold a spot for the year but they could very well go the other direction as well.

What I'm saying is unless they are the type of player that is going to be a big upgrade there is no reason to sign some 30+ year old guy that's maybe a marginal upgrade. I think Drew might be the only positional player left on the market that makes sense for the Twins.

Looking that FA's still ont he market there really are no appealing LF, CF, DH or SS on the market that really makes a lot of sense. Most of what is left are guys in their 30's, many of which are not clear upgrades anyway.

There's still going to be a spot for one of the young guys to make the rotation unless they sign Arroyo. The fact of the matter is we don't have many prospects that are good enough to pitch in the majors and the couple that might be ready are iffy proposistions. Pelfrey had a rough first half but was significantly better the second half which typical of people coming off of that surgery. Also, I don't really carry what a guy is doing on the mound so long as he's getting outs.

I'm not sure why there has been all the hate about resigning him. The guy was coming off of surgery and was clearly getting stronger as the season went on last year. I think it's a good move to get a back of the rotation guy that could potentially be a solid 4th-5th starter so you are not relying on the younger guys so much.

No, I like what they're doing so far. They have: Nolasco Correia Hughes Pelfrey To mix in with some young guys. Pelfrey was solid the second half of the season, if we get that out of him next year I can handle that for a 4th-5th starter. The Twins needed options with some experience and now they have them. Now, if they add one more vet they can potentially have 5 vet starters out there with a couple of younger guys battling for the 5th spot or there when someone melts down. Some people hate the Pefrey signing but I believe he was around a 4.5 ERA the second half. Generally speaking it is not a good thing to have three spots in the rotation that your young starters more than likely will have to fill. Ideally, you have four experienced starters and maybe one spot that one of your prospects can fight for.

If the Twins can get the Pelfrey of the second half of the season he is worth signing, if they get the first half Pelfrey then I'd say no thanks.

Sure, you can never have too many starters but if TR thought he had a good chance of getting some good starters out of the minors soon he wouldn't be looking to sign a 36 year old to a 3 year deal either. If you think you have a good chance of having 2-3 major league ready starters coming up over the next two seasons you might be looking to sign a vet to a 1-2 year deal.

Unless Arroyo is a complete trainwreck and can't even make it in the rotation at all, if the Twins got two more years like his recent years that would be a pretty decent deal, IMO.

Hard call, Arroyo has a much better track record in recent years. Maybe you have a guy in Pelfrey that you can have for 2 years instead of three for Arroyo but Pelfrey is probably 5th starter or maybe 4th at his best. Arroyo can be a 2nd or 3rd starter, assuming he continues to pitch well. So do you take a guy who might be a mid 4's ERA type of guy for 2 years or a guy who might be a mid to upper 3's for 3 years? Chances are that 3rd year wouldn't be a good one but there is no reason to think you can't get another two good seasons out of Arroyo. There is a chance that Pelfrey isn't even good enough that you'd want him in your rotation this year.

I think the fact they are still looking for experienced starters tells you that they are not confident at all with what they have in them minors. If you sign Arroyo and already have Correia(if he pitches well this year they're going to want to resign), Hughes for 3 years, and Nolasco for 4 you'd have 4 starting spots locked down for at least 2 years. So these moves would indicate they don't expect much help from the minors over the next couple of season at least.