I can see Schafer having up to 4 more seasons being done at 31 or I can see him having a knee injury and never seeing much of the big leagues again. He's valuable depth at the moment.
Decent 4th outfielder. No reason to cut him since he's currently the 2nd best option on the roster. They need to find two more outfielders to move him to a more appropriate role.
I don't think Rosario has earned himself anything except a look-see for a promotion to AAA. A hot month in a league about the same level as AA doesn't show me enough. Going with Aaron Hicks to start the season for the third time should get Terry Ryan fired. There is plenty of room for two free agent outfielders on the roster and in the payroll. There is actually less room in the rotation than there is in the outfield. Only 40% of the rotation slots are up for grabs versus 60% of the outfield.
Not only is it a 2nd rounder but the compensation round happens in between. The pick is around #55. The average WAR from a pick that low is less than 2 WAR (or $10M if you prefer). If you can get a guy you like for the price you want it is definitely worth forfeiting the pick. http://www.hardballtimes.com/how-much-is-a-draft-pick-worth-in-2014/
Keep both Santana and Escobar. Both guys carry enough risk that you need a backup plan. The Twins will be looking to trade Plouffe at some point when Sano forces the issue and he'll need a defensive caddy for late innings. I like seeing Santana at SS most of the time to see if he can handle it or they need to move him somewhere less challenging like Plouffe and Dozier. He could continue to play the OF occasionally as long as he keeps hitting well enough to justify it. Teams that have trouble finding playing time for all of their talented players are usually contenders. Depth is good over 162 games.
Goodrum projects as a utility guy. Might as well move him around the infield and sometimes the best way to learn a position is to play it every day for a while.
I think due to age at signing that Polanco and Kepler get 4 option years. "I'm guessing that he had to be added for a reason, was he coming up on minor league free agency already? I felt that Polanco was added early last year, too"
Removing Kepler from the roster would require them sending him through waivers and he would get picked up by somebody even if that team just wants to try to send him through waivers again.
Mike Pelfrey is 30 and hasn't been good as a starter since 2010. I think he'll quickly realize that it's the bullpen or get out of baseball. I agree that he could do better in a bullpen role if he can dial up the fastball.
I'm tired of the Twins pinching pennies by using AAAA talent. Arbitration salaries are generally a steal unless the player is awful and if the player is that bad they should be replaced regardless. If anything they should be looking to upgrade on their bench by spending more money. The Orioles are a good example of how a contingency plan can lead to wins.
Turning away free agent talent this offseason might be regretted in June. There is a lot of room in AAA for young players with options. This team should look at all opportunities to improve and that includes free agent talent. The idea that the Twins should only look internally and consider Danny Ortiz and AJ Achter as real options seems ridiculous to me.
Gardy didn't platoon because he was a player motivator first and foremost. He liked telling someone they were the starter rather than having two "bench" players. It also made his job easier to pencil someone into the same lineup spot every day. Making the manager's job easier is not a good reason to do something.