Dman

Nice article helping me see Sparkman in a better light. I know it was his first spring game but he didn't have great control and got hit pretty hard so I soured on him pretty quickly. His last time out was much better but he will need to more to convince me he has a chance to be on the 40 man. The competition for 40 man spots especially bullpen spots this year is going to be really tough. Colina, Chalmers and Ober are already on the 40 man and while I haven't seen them pitch this spring the Twins would be hard pressed to DFA any of them at this point. Then you have Hamilton, Ferrell, Law and Minaya to compete with not to mention other Twins prospects like Hackimer, Mason and Valdez. He is going to have to be better than all of those guys just to find a spot. Granted there will be injuries there always are but so far what I have seen from Sparkman I don't see him as a better option than Hamilton or Ferrell to this point and I haven't seen Law pitch yet this spring so he might not be a better option than Law either. If he is Wissler like we are going to need to see more K's and less hard contact. I hope he finds the mojo but he really needs to impress if he wants a spot on the big team.

Totally agree with you that a 4th option helps the player in this situation. Without the 4th option the Twins would likely need to use him in the pen as the rotation is filled out right now. They could make him a long man and try and keep him stretched out but it generally isn't the same as being in a routine ready to go every 5th day. I think the league does him a dis-service if they don't allow him to have a 4th option year. If you look at the spirit of the option rule it is to force teams to play good players, players that are good enough to play on another team instead of just stockpiling them on the 40 man. In this case though the Twins will have no plans to drop him from the 26 man and allow him to move to another team so that point is moot. He will get payed more being on the 26 man short term but his development as a starter could be set back as well. Also he did miss a lot of development time early on with his arm and sickness not to mention the short year last year. Honesty I think he cracks the 26 man at some point this year as guys get injured or need time off. He just needs to prove that he belongs first. Having the option to go up and down also should help his development as he can be integrated in more favorable circumstances. I think that without the 4th year option he will need to be deployed from the pen which would mess with his starter routine as well and possibly earnings later on as starters are more valuable than relievers. Personally I think there is a good case for a 4th year option benefiting the player and the team in this situation.

I like that calculation but I think you also have to bank on the fact that Buxton will be hurt at some point every season and for taking on that risk I think the Twins would look for a bit of a discount to those numbers as well. He has had some concussions and we know what those did to Mauer and Morneau. His shoulder issue is not a small thing either and he has had wrist issues as well. I think there is a reason they are coming to the table here. HIs injuries could sink him in a hurry. IMO Buxtons value lies between Jackie Bradley Jr. Level production to George Springer level production. Jackie got 12M AAV and Springer 25 AAV but the contract was front loaded and ends up more like 22.5 AAV. Your Calc for Buxton at 18AAV settles him right in the middle. Personally I think that is a number that gets it done but I am not his agent. I think the Twins would like to hedge and keep that number lower mainly because of injury risk but I guess we will have to wait and see. I think your number is a good starting point though so let the negotiations begin.

I swear I saw an article that mentioned Broxton had an opt out but looking back I cannot find anything. Does anyone else know if he has one or not. If not the Twins won't need to add him until there is an injury most likely to Buxton. If he has one he might force their hand to add him. The thing is we already have 7 outfielders on the 40 man so somebody would have to go to make room. Who knows maybe Broxton will slump down the stretch and it won't really matter. I know it is early but the outfielders on the outside looking in are playing hot right now. So hot, I honestly don't know who will win left field and who will be the backup outfielder. Kirilloff is off to a slow start but it is very early and he will likely heat up. Cave is only marginally better right now with a 422 OPS. Rooker and Garlick are neck and neck for the slow footed right power bat\platoon. Broxton is in the process of Making Cave look irrelevant and being a righty whose slugging right now is better than Rooker and Garlic could be a real weapon to move around. He also could be an elite defender in left and cover Center better than anyone not named Celestino. There are so many possibilities right now I have no idea what the Twins will do. Lot's of spring left and the pitching will get tougher the closer we get to the the regular season so plenty of time to sort things out but right now there are 5 good options for two spots. Who wins them is anybody's guess at this point.

I know everyone said Canterino has a quirky delivery but seeing it makes you better understand why people were wondering about him starting. Still his inning was pretty dominating 10 pitches 8 for strikes. He paces around the mound like a caged lion and is ready to throw right away. Very interesting mannerisms for a pitcher but I have to say I came away impressed watching him on MLBtv. He appeared to have very good control of the strike zone and I think his motion messed with hitters timing. There isn't a ton of room on the 40 man but the way he is pitching someone could get bumped later on this season if he keeps pitching like that. Thorpe pitched well again striking out the side. He had some battles getting to full counts but he won them all today. Really nice to see and I hope he can keep it up. Garlick continues to roll with a 2 for 2 day but how about Broxton? He is off to a hot, hot, hot start this spring. He had a mammoth HR today showing off his power. He has kept the K's down and made contact so far. They need to put him in the starting lineup here shortly to see how he does against better pitching but he has been very impressive so far. I can see why the Twins like Winder as no one made contact against him but his control was off today and he didn't aggressive enough in the zone as he gave up two walks. He also K'd one batter and gave up no hits and no runs so pretty hard to complain when the only complaint is he threw too many pitches. He has things to work on but the stuff looks like it is there. Colome came out and pitched better today but I can see why the White Sox didn't trust the numbers. It took 24 pitches to get through the inning but he did K two guys so he did his job. Still early in he spring and the old vets don't seem to worry about much more than getting there work in so probably no big deal It was nice to see a little more offense out there and fun to see some good pitching performances as well. getting excited for the season to start.

I think you are right that it shows a lack of confidence in Gordon and watching him this spring I can see why. He looks like a boy among men out there. Next year the Twins will have to choose between keeping Gordon and Blankenhorn because they will have to add Lewis and if Lewis isn't ready for short then they will need another FA to fill that slot once again. So if they do keep Nick on the 40 man this year then he is there to cover for Short in an emergency nothing more, nothing less because I just don't see him being an answer for the Twins even in a Utility role. He doesn't fit any of the things the Twins covet as he has little power, average speed, not great at getting walks, not a great defender. I just don't see the upside. I think he can hit and he hit well in AAA last year but honestly I think the Twins can do better. Hate to give up on a top 5, 1st round pick but If they can find a trade partner I would do it.

It won't be cheap to extend him but if they don't do it now, as in this year, it won't get done. Once he is one year away he'll take his chances with the Market. He has game changing tools with the bat and injuries being the only things holding him back. I think they should try and get a couple more years out of him but maybe the Twins are OK letting him go and pivoting to Celestino hard to say. They can only pay so many players big money so they will carefully pick and choose where to spend it. I hope they extend but I wouldn't be surprised if they declined as well.

The Polanco played today I would much rather have Arraez back in that spot. I know it is just one game and spring training but he really looked bad out there in this game. For someone who plays baseball for a living it was shockingly bad. Well tomorrows another day but they probably should play him more this spring if he is that rusty at 2nd.

Robles got dinked and dunked and committed an error. Tough inning and he didn't look horrible. Hopefully a few adjustments and things work out better next time out. Rogers decided to dance around the zone until Wes came out and told him to throw strikes and then things went better. Those are the two guys that gave up runs. The two guys we are supposed to be depending on, so would have been nice to see them be more dominant. Everyone else did their job pitching wise. Since I called Minaya out last time, I was happy to see no walks this time out and surprise things worked out better for him. No K's either but they didn't square his stuff up so progress made today. Broxton is making contact so he is holding up his end to this point. If he keeps the K's down he will be an option for the Twins or if he opts out another team. Only hitter really worth mentioning today is Kirilloff who had two hits. The stroke is nice if he keeps it up I believe left field is his unless Rooker or Garlick have huge springs. Pretty ugly game defensively but it is spring. There is still a bunch of games to get in shape for the regular season.

Yeah he didn't appear that interested his first time out. Lots of fairly straight stuff right down the middle. The surprising thing to me though was the absolute rock solid contact that was made. Yeah I know it is his first time out this spring but getting hit that hard in general puts a little fear in your heart even when it is only spring training. Speaking of down the middle despite his three walks every time Sparkman got ahead he seemed to throw it straight down the middle as well. I didn't see a lot of movement on his stuff either. Unless he has another gear in there I don't see him helping the Twins this year. Shepard looked better to me, and was to a degree but he also seemed to lack a true out pitch. It didn't look like he had enough deception to trip guys up. Granted Rocco gave both of those guys chances against Boston's better hitters but they really, really struggled as Boston managed solid contact on those two as well as Colome. I know it is early spring but Sparkman and Shepard aren't going to get many chances so they need to shine when they get the chance. Felt bad for both of them. It was fun to watch Hamilton but he wasn't quite as efficient as I thought he might be. Still he looks like he has the pitches to possibly be a callup at some point this season. Rooker and Garlick are really battling for that last outfield spot. Both have looked good early this spring. Looks like Garlick will most definitely stay on the 40 man now as the way he is playing there is no way he passes through waivers especially since Tampa would have a shot to grab him. Nice to have some righty outfielders with thump just wish they were a tad better defensively.

He looks better at the plate than I thought he might. If the offense is there they could certainly call him up this year. I sure hope he is ready soon as he seems like best centerfield prospect that we have. I hope Buxton stays healthy but if not it is nice to know there are options.

While I like Kepler he has had a hard time against lefties. Personally I sense a platoon coming on. Rooker and Garlick have both been hitting well so far this spring and having a right handed bat for Keplers lefty kryptonite seems prudent to me. I think Arraez will get the leadoff spot. While he might not have the speed you would like out of that spot he has everything else. I could see them mixing in Max as well but I do think that against lefties they will want to work right handed bats into the lineup and Garlick and Rooker seem to fit the bill. Will they be in right or left hard to say but I know they had Rooker in right some last year when Kepler needed days off. I think Buxton operates best out of the nine spot but with Simmons maybe he ends up in the 7 or 8 spot hard to say. Having Buxton in the eight spot would give the Twins two speedsters back to back who if they get on base would have Arreaz to move them over or drive them in. In the end while I know Kepler is fine in the leadoff spot he has really good power and could be more valuable further down the order. Also if he does get platooned then the bat that replaces him will be better off further down the order as well. I think IMO Arreaz ends up in the leadoff spot.

Yeah I think your comp of Blankehorn makes more sense. Taken in the third round and someone with HR potential, pretty much double digit HR's since 2016. Still would be hard to beat some of Bryans best years for HR total but certainly a guy with the potential to be Dozier like IMO. There is a lot of competition for the Utility role on this team. Personally right now I would choose Blankehorn over Gorden but have to admit Gordon had a better OPS in AAA than Blankenhorn had at AA in 2019. The sample size isn't the same though as Nick hasn't played a full season in MiLB in three years I believe. So that is an issue as well. Nick needs a really good year to establish that he can first play a full year and second produce at an above rate to regain his prospect status and chances to be a MLB player.

Totally agree but Nick's body just hasn't developed much at all and with the build he has power won't come easy. I know he has been trying but it hasn't translated yet. I think when the Twins picked him they thought his body would develop more than it has to be honest.

I get where you are coming from but I don't see him ever having Doziers power. So while I could see him having a productive career, with Polanco and Arraez in front of him the odds are really against him. If he profiled better at short then maybe he might stand a chance, but second appears to be his home. I mean Gordon is Arraez without the great plate discipline and a little more speed. Both are dinkers and dunkers for the most part taking decent at bats but power is not a big part of their game. Don't get me wrong I am still a fan of Gordon and he might still have a utility role but the 40 man is going to get crowded soon and the Twins are going to have to decide between, Polanco, Arraez and Gordon and I think Gordon loses. They will need to add Lewis to the 40 man next year so something has got to give and I think it will be Nick Gordon. I like him but there appear to better players in front of him and behind him. Maybe he can show out this year and make me look bad, but as always he has a tough hill to climb.

I know, I know it is just spring training and it means nothing but my bleeding heart can’t let it go. So meaningless first impressions of todays game are as follows. I thought Thorpe did a nice job today he had a walk and hit a batter but he gave up no hits and no runs. After the slightly wild first inning it looks like he might live up to the early season hype. Rooker and Garlick with homers and Cave with a double all say high to Alex Kirilloff with extra base hits. Letting him know there will be competition for left field this spring. Larnach had a rough day but we are only two games in. Arraez was doing his normal routine, 1 hit, one walk, no K’s day, only to be outdone by possible Sire of Fort Meyers, Andrew Romine who went 2 for 3 today and out OPS’d Arreaz. Jeffers got a hit but also left three guys on base early on in the game. The surprising Blankenhorn showed a good eye at the plate with two walks. Maybe there is hope for a good utility guy there yet. I know the conditions this early in the season are not ideal but Minaya with three walks did not help himself today. He has time to turn it around but golly gee wiz he is in the basement right now. At least Andrew Vaquez is back and although he didn’t have his K stuff today he made quick work of it with a double play ball. Nice job Andrew good to see you back. He’s real wild one; Mr. Anderson might need the matrix to keep his ball in the strike zone. Wes Johnson has his work cut out for him. He has to throw strikes to get guys out so hopefully there is vast improvement soon. Jax did what Jax does pitch to contact and get guys out. Not sure if he can continue to make that work but he has done well to this point so here’s hoping he continues to roll. And finally who the heck is Luke Farrell? He got three K’s in his one inning of work and he put himself on the Sire for Fort Meyers map and I didn’t even know he was on our team. Pretty dominant inning of work so will be keeping my eye on him hoping this wasn’t peak Ferrell and it is all downhill from here. That is what my heart says. My brain says I am full of it and none of this matters at all.

Thanks for that! That takes a little bit of the steam out of it for me as that is kind of the Ryne Harper scenario. Without a tough fastball it is hard to make it. Maybe Slider/Curve can get it done? Will have to wait and see I guess. Anyway he had a good day today.

I know, I know it is just spring training and it means nothing but my bleeding heart can’t let it go. So meaningless first impressions of todays game are as follows. I thought Thorpe did a nice job today he had a walk and hit a batter but he gave up no hits and no runs. After the slightly wild first inning it looks like he might live up to the early season hype. Rooker and Garlick with homers and Cave with a double all say high to Alex Kirilloff with extra base hits. Letting him know there will be competition for left field this spring. Larnach had a rough day but we are only two games in. Arraez was doing his normal routine, 1 hit, one walk, no K’s day, only to be outdone by possible Sire of Fort Meyers, Andrew Romine who went 2 for 3 today and out OPS’d Arreaz. Jeffers got a hit but also left three guys on base early on in the game. The surprising Blankenhorn showed a good eye at the plate with two walks. Maybe there is hope for a good utility guy there yet. I know the conditions this early in the season are not ideal but Minaya with three walks did not help himself today. He has time to turn it around but golly gee wiz he is in the basement right now. At least Andrew Vaquez is back and although he didn’t have his K stuff today he made quick work of it with a double play ball. Nice job Andrew good to see you back. He’s real wild one; Mr. Anderson might need the matrix to keep his ball in the strike zone. Wes Johnson has his work cut out for him. He has to throw strikes to get guys out so hopefully there is vast improvement soon. Jax did what Jax does pitch to contact and get guys out. Not sure if he can continue to make that work but he has done well to this point so here’s hoping he continues to roll. And finally who the heck is Luke Farrell? Can someone on this site fill me in because he got three K’s in his one inning of work and he put himself on the Sire for Fort Meyers map and I didn’t even know he was on our team. Pretty dominant inning of work so will be keeping my eye on him hoping this wasn’t peak Ferrell and it is all downhill from here. That is what my heart says. My brain says I am full of it and none of this matters at all.

Nicely stated. I think it depends on how the Twins feel about matchups. Rooker in the field is no picnic but he is a right handed power bat in the midst of mostly lefties. Garlick is Rooker light and seems less likely to make it and or even stay on 40 man IMO but if he has a big spring who knows. Broxton they have on a Minor league deal so unless they decide to swap Garlick for Broxton then he most likely starts in AAA waiting for an injury to be added to the 40 man or playing so well they add him later. His odds of starting with the team are very, very slim IMO. In the end I tend to agree with you though. Kirilloff seems the most likely to start there if he looks good this spring. Arraez will likely get a few days there every now and then and Cave can back everything else up as needed. I don't believe Cave has options left so they essentially need to keep him, trade him or DFA him. Would be a waste to DFA him IMO. So yeah your scenario seems the most likely to me as well. I think they wait for injuries to determine the next guy up for the outfield.

I'm not sure why Cave gets such a bad rap. in 2019 he OPS'd 805 and Eddie Rosario 803. Granted Rosario's slugging % was slightly better but he also made more outs. Also Caves sample size is small but he has never gotten consistent playing time so it is the best data we have. The thing is though he is not a "bad" offensive player and that is why the Twins have chosen him as the 4th outfielder the last three years. Cave does have the stiffest competition for his spot he has ever had in Kirilloff, Rooker, Arraez, Broxton and maybe even Garlick. So his odds of being the choice are not that great IMO. The Twins, however, might not feel the same way. They know what Cave and Arraez will give them but everyone else is a wild card at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if they kept him around just in case those guys are not up to the task and struggle or as injury insurance to start the year. I also wouldn't be surprised if they worked out a trade as well. I think we will just have to wait and see.

I think we all want to see Celestino but his bat is still questionable so not likely to start the season with the big club. If he isn't hitting that well at the higher minor league levels why would he hit at the major league level? Why burn an option just for his defense when we can use Broxton to do the same thing? Broxton is likely not the long term solution but if he can at least make contact with the ball he can be Buxton insurance for this year. If Celestino is lighting up the minors then I am sure the Twins would gladly bring him up if needed it just seems like odds are he will need another year or two before he is ready. Thus the Broxton talk. Also I doubt the Twins would have brought Broxton in if they thought Celestino was in any way a certainty to be ready this year.

Yeah Hamilton is the guy that sticks out to me as well. He seems to have decent control and a decent K9. He's been set back with injuries and has a chance to prove himself now that he is healthy. Gibaut is the other dark horse for me. He has elite spin rates but can't seem to keep things under control. If Wes can help him then he could end up elite as well IMO. I am hoping but not banking on Broxton finding a way to get consistent contact with the ball. If he can do that he would be a better option for the fourth outfield spot than Cave because he can play center field pretty well. Not Buxton level but likely better than anyone else on the team. The odds seem slim that he will find it but if he can then he could surprise as well.

I agree. Cave is the one they will shop. Granted he is best defender in left of the bunch but the bat is good not great and he will be arb eligible soon so why not plug in Rooker and Kirilloff on the cheap and see what they have. I do agree that given the current circumstances only Rooker or Kirilloff are going to make it to the 26 man. Someone has to start in AAA who that is I guess we'll have to wait and see. I think they keep Cave this year as injury insurance but they can't carry him next year as there are too many guys who will need 40 man spots. I think this is his last year with the Twins IMO.

I don't think fans hate Boras as much as how MLB is structured. With some teams having 60M to 70M payroll and others 200M which teams are likely to get the cream that has risen to the top? Yep the Yankee's, Dodgers, Nationals etc. So when teams like the Indians can't keep a homegrown player like Lindor because he alone would be a quarter to a third of their payroll as a fan that sucks. The guy you watched come up. watched perform in the clutch and become one of the best players in baseball is ripped from your team because your team can cannot compete financially. Do I think the players get screwed more often than not and Boras is at least somewhat of an equalizer sure, but while I am a fan of baseball players I am a greater fan of the team I root for. So when Boras moves my favorite player to the highest bidder and I am rooting for a team that gets supplemental picks it doesn't feel fair when Boras moves player Z to team X simply because my team can't afford the player. Is that selfish on my part? sure, but so is wanting your team to win and others to lose, it is part of what makes you a fan, wanting your team to win. If you are a top revenue generating team you love Boras because he prices out half the league most of the time so they have less competition for great players. If your team is one of the bottom revenue teams probably not so much because he makes it hard to keep your star players and field a competitive team. It isn't so much about hating Boras as it is how the market system in baseball is setup. Boras is doing his job and doing it well but market inequalities do make him look villainous to fans when he moves the best players on their team to another.

Wow that is a very encouraging article. Makes me wonder if he makes the final 26 as part of the bullpen or if they keep him stretched out in AAA in case of injury. He is about the only left hander we have that has the potential to be a decent starter so I am guessing AAA. I sure hope his gains are for real we are going to need him either this year or next for sure.