DocBauer

I hesitate to weigh in here as I already did, at length, when this topic first came to light. Further, from the various responses here it remains a very touchy and loaded subject. I felt all along, and the MLB investigation and comments have "backed up" my initial feelings, that there would be no suspension, good or bad, right or wrong, the amount of time, lack of witnesses, and no police report would seem to provide no "justification" for a suspension. I deliberately put justification in quotes not to troll or create controversy. Simply as a statement of reality. With all due respect to every poster, and every member of the TD family, unless you are actually personally associated with either party involved, our involvement in this situation resides in being fans of the Twins and outliers of the situation. Period. I am passing NO JUDGEMENT on either party in this situation. How could i? I have absolutely no first hand knowledge. The accuser has pressed no criminal charges, nor has she sought out monetary reperations. Does this make Sano guilty? Absolutely not. Nor does it exonerate him. At the end kf the day, it remains what it has been, a terribly uncomfortable turn of events that truly has no firm resolution. Playing the part of a truly neutral party in this...again, how could I not be...i hope Betsy finds peace with her revelations. And it is my hope that Sano will learn from this situation, regardless of any guilt he may or not be party to, to mature as a man and make certain he is not put in to, or puts himself in to, again. I feel passing judgement on either party is short-sighted. As a man, as a respectful lover of women, as a father, as a person who has been friends with and been involved with women who have been either accosted or abused, the big picture isn't about just baseball, or any blame or dispersion passed on either party involved. It should be about "what happens next"? Perhaps the reported incidents in Chatanooga were very real. Perhaps they were blown out of proportion. Perhaps Sano did or said things just being "young and dumb". I don't know. Honestly, do you? "What happens next?" is very real, however. There is a problem in society with situations of this nature. And again, this not about accusations to either party involved in this particular situation! In general, this is an opportunity for the Twins, and all of us really, to take a good hard look at education and tolerance. I truly hope for the best for all parties involved. And message board, fan site or not, I really wish we could just close this ugly chapter and move on, with the exception of turning a blind eye.

Being a Twins fan since the age of 5, or about 47 years now, I've grown up with the DH in the AL. But cable networks have afforded me, along with other networks, to "grow up", (NOT that I'm actually a "grown up" even at 52 now), watching a ton of NL games. I appreciate the supposed differences in two different leagues. I appreciate the classic differences of, supposedly, more hit and run, stolen bases, and situational ball in the NL vs more power and base to base play of the AL. IMO, time and inter-league play has diminished the differences to a degree. I've also never felt there was an absolute between the two leagues. But I have to say, I've always liked the DH personally. I've always felt that making pitchers hit was akin to having QB block and tackle. I've always felt the best part of the game was a melding of both approaches of the two leagues. Off my soapbox of viewpoint and reflection, I've always felt the BEST DH option was to have the most complete team you could have, and rotate different players in and out of the lineup at the DH spot. The Twins have had some excellent DH options over the years, like Thome, or Chilli Davis back a few years. But I always liked the Bush and Larkin years, and others, when you had a good bat to DH who was also a viable player. I think we have that now. Morrison is a legitimate backup to Mauer at 1B. Grossman offers a useful alternative on occasion. Mauer, Sano and others can have half days off with the depth and construction of the roster. It's not that I'd ever object to a single, big time hitter occupying the spot, but how much better is it to have flexibility vs a single dimensional player occupying a roster spot? I think we're in really good shape here.

Absolutely outstanding! Congrats! A step in the right direction to an already fabulous site that has to be the envy of every team sports blog site out there! I, and I'm sure others, have already noticed subtle changes in the site in reaching for change to obtain that next level of progression, excitement and excellence. I can only hope to do my best to be a part of the continued growth of Twins Daily.

Aybar is actually a huge surprise at this point. Thought he was a shoe-in as an experienced 2nd utility guy. Bullpen makes sense. Disappointed in Duffey and Busentiz not making it, but they didn't have good springs. But just like last year, the bullpen shuttle will move guys in and out and up and down. The pen is not a finished product yet.

I've stated this myself a few times previously. Throwing hard is great, but straight and not enough secondary stuff gets you killed. I sometimes think he just tries too hard to be dominant rather than consistent. The stuff is there!

Absolutely love his swing. As noted in the article, his progress has been steady with jumps here and there to being such a raw nut talented player when signed. His swing and quick hands tells me he will improve against LHP. To what degree and how quickly is yet to be determined.

Putting on my Twins-red/rose colored glasses: 1] The Twins have 6 players with 20 or more HR, another 3 with double digits. 2] Mauer wins his Gold Glove this season, is even a bit more productive, overall, from his 2017 season and signs an extension for 2 years for around $8-9M per. 3] Santana comes back healthy and strong with as good or better of a slider than before. He wins 13/14 games despite time missed. Berrios becomes the top SP with 17 wins. Odorizzi is again the solid pitcher he was in Tampa, and the better one he was the final couple of months in 2017, and joins Santana in the 13/14 win club. Not to be outdone, Lynn is stronger a full year removed from TJ, and Gibson's transformation the second half of last season is NOT a mirage. BOTH will also win 13/14 games. The Twins will win 90-ish and people will be dumbfounded the Minnesota Twins actually have a top and viable staff.

Thought I'd weight my $.02 or $.03, FWIW 1] Polanco seems like a really good young man. To my knowledge, he's never been in trouble for anything since joining the Twins organization. While I ABSOLUTELY believe it is a professional (or amateur in many/most/all cases) to know what is going in to their body...and their just shouldn't be an exception because this is your CAREER we are talking about...I'm not just going to say he is lieing. He is clearly regretful, and has manned up in public to apologize to everyone. Not a lot of guys busted have done so or appeared so remorseful. 2] Considering the preponderance the Latin ballplayers, specifically, it seems, from the Dominican, who have been busted, I have to wonder if their is any sort of language/communication barrier that helps allow for some of these incidents, or if there is, in fact, some bad information being told to these players back "home". Could these players be told something to the effect that it's OK, limited exposure, it will wash out of your system in time for the season, etc. Just seems to me, percentage wise, there has to be a component here yet unveiled. 3] I believe in punishing those who break the rules. Absolutely. Intentional or not, unless there is proof you were "swindled" in some manner, you are still responsible for what took place. Period. But I do have a very hard time with the pre-season ban. What is the punishment? 80 games. Great! Then it's 80 games. After that, you are cleared to play and in a sort of probation with Hughes penalties if found guilty again. But any suspension should just stop after the 80 games, IMO.

To me, it's hard to ignore Adrianza showing he could hit in the minors and then hit well with the Twins. Opportunity? Change of scenery? Tweaks at the plate? Hard to say for sure. And he could absolutely regress, but there is also some reason for general optomism. A decent bat with contact and speed at the bottom of the lineup with quality defense would not be a bad thing at all, not that he'd truly replace Polanco.

Being 100% transparent, I don't know that I've seen enough of Adrianza at SS to know if his defensive reputation is fully earned or not. I know I like what I saw last season overall. And his bat was a big surprise. And while a huge fan of Escobarm I think he serves the team best as that first guy off the bench to give rest days while still playing a fair amount. The choice would seem to be Adrianza, barring yet another surprise move by the FO. At bar slots in to 2nd utility spot. Haven't watched much of him the past couple of years, and don't think I saw him play at all this spring, but until/unless someone better becomes available, he brings experience and the bat seemed to come alive in ST.

I've been a hopeful fan and apologist for Vargas for some time. Really bummed it just never worked out with the Twins, for whatever reason(s). I wish him the best. I think this move is a bit "meh" but it makes sense. You trade a young DSL "flier" prospect who is years away for a decent OF prospect with some offense and offensive potential, (And positional flexibility), with multiple options remaining to shore up your AAA team and provide call-up/roster flexibility. It isnt always Burger King where you can "have it your way" and just order up the same player but he hits RH or switch hits. You acquire young pkayers with potential who may help. I'm really not crazy about Rochester's infield, but their OF and DH situation look good to bolster such a fine young pitching staff, and their seems to be a trio of young OF now for depth, competition and the magic word "potential".

I think power and AVG will fluctuate somewhat year to year, which is pretty normal, but I don't think we've seen the best of Rosario yet. Hes athletic, fast, has quick hands, and the ball just jumps off his bat.

Great question! And I am no expert, to be sure, but I think being a game caller and receiver is a lot like being a pitcher at those lower levels. At the lower levels, you can blow people away at times with velocity, or that one outstanding breaking pitch. But hitters also grow and adjust. And so must a pitcher learn to adjust to facing batters multiple times, be able to develop that second and third pitch, etc. And a catcher must not only learn his staff, but he also must grow in setting up hitters.

I say again, I don't think the team will stick with Hughes based solely on contractual obligation. As was pointed out in another thread/blog, (sorry, I can't recall which one now), the team has been pretty aggressive in some of their trade moves to take on full salaries of players in order to "pay" less in prospects or acquire higher rated prospects in return. But with the contract, a solid start the other day, most of these finalists having options, it doesn't really hurt to give Hughes that first month to see once and for all of you have something there or not. I absolutely love the pen depth this team has. And like they did at times last season, they can play the Rochester shuttle game with any "losers" listed above, plus Curtiss, Reed, Jay and even Melotakis possibly. I admit to being intrigued now by Kinsley. But sooner or later, now or when Santana returns, they are going to have to return him or make a trade. My guess? At the end of ST they make a trade to keep him, whether he breaks with the club or not.

I am going to have to disagree somewhat, FM, even though I also commented about some of this on page 1. Just like the ML team, milb teams have guys hurt and banged up. Not uncommon to have a guy or two begin the season on the DL. In that case, you do need "filler" pieces. Jaye is one of those. Slegers and Jorge are not. Slegers may not be special, but he's a legitimate back of the rotation possibility. Jorge is as well, though could be better if he really gets a 3rd pitch down. At worst, he might be a nice bullpen arm. Enns is debatable, IMO. LH and breathing and newly acquired, you give him some time to see for sure what you have. I'm disappointed in Romero beginning in AA, to be sure. But there is a bit of a numbers crunch, to begin the year at least, and he seemed to work well with the pitching coach there. I bet he's up in a month or so.

No intended slight to Enns, but I could see him being a swing man to allow for Romero to rise quickly to Rochester, and he should. Other than a good start, numbers crunch, maybe a little more time with Artega, not much of a reason to keep Romero in AA very long. And a couple months from now, May should be back. However, I could see him get early starts at A and AA before settling in at Rochester as well. Jaye has to be considered just a depth move. Very excited about the depth and potential of most all these guys. We hit the mark with just a couple of them in the rotation, a couple in the pen, it's a HUGE win! I understand where someone begins the season doesn't regulate them staying there long. But I hope the Twins will be aggressive with promotions for these guys.

And I'm probably wrong. Thought I read somewhere we had a 3rd year of arbitration or something. Maybe it was a QO. Sorry if mistaken.

IMO, sooner or later, the Twins need to make a deal for Kinley. The arm seems real. Winter ball, FWIW, and ST thus far, seem to mark him as a guy worth keeping. But the reality is he's still climbing a bit of a mountain to, essentially, climb from A+ ball to the ML. And when Santana is back, there is going to be some shuffling. I actually like Granite a lot. Quality instincts in the OF, elite speed and a GREAT approach at the plate. He knows who and what he is and doesn't try to pretend to be something he's not. But Grossman is clearly the better option to begin the season. He plays a competent, average defense in the OF, much improved over 2016, hits OK, provides OB, and has some pop. A potential late bloomer, to some degree, if he could just even out some of his numbers from '16-'17, you'd really have a very sound 4th OF overall, especially considering he doesn't have to play CF with this team. Someone gets hurt? Yeah, Granite is the starter.

As to Arietta, his numbers, when closely examined, still rate solid and he could bounce back. I would have been OK on a 2 or 3 year deal for him. But $25M per just seems crazy to me! Glad that wasn't our move!

Totally respect your viewpoint Mike but will choose to disagree. Gonsalves and Romero should be getting their feet wet this season and at least one will probably be a major contributor next season. Possibly both. Berrios should continue to grow, and with options, I believe Odorizzi is ours for 2 more years after this one. Is all of this a bit optimistic? Perhaps. But as you stated yourself, of just the 3 guys you mentioned, 1 should be good and 1 OK. Most important thing is the depth and number of potions available the next couple of years.

I'm not savy in the modern day metrics. I hear them. I understand a little. I'm a little old fashioned and look at K/9, BB/9, WHIP, etc. But I get it, regardless of which stats you look at, guy slid some last year. Maybe it's just me, but when a guy gets it done pretty consistently for a few years, then misses a season due to surgery, then isn't quite his previous self the next season, I'm going to line upon the "dud it before" side of the argument, especially when history also has shown pitchers coming back from TJ seem to take a step forward their second year back

Right now, I'd slot him behind Slegers as well for a call up. And that's not a knock on him, but the reality of Slegers having more AAA time. I think you're spot on with him as a solid back end SP, with his role probably being a long and swing man. To me, despite being a very different pitcher overall, he reminds me of Stewart. If he could just get that 3rd pitch to really develop, he might take off.

I dislike losing draft picks because you just never know, right? But this isn't the NFL where a "3rd rounder" is expected to be a top player for your team. 75th pick of 95th, you are giving up a "maybe" selection for immediate help. And while the Twins are currently, seemingly, lacking in a number of "blue chip" prospects, they have a quality and deep farm system in place. (And the "blue chip" numbers could easily rise after 2018 plays out). And who knows, Lynn could do very well here, love his time, and be re-signed, further negating the cost of said "maybe" selection.

To me, the guy released just has to be Sanchez. There is really nothing invested there. I get it's ST, and early, and guys are getting in work and the such. But he is a flier anyway, and has shown little to nothing thus far. Hughes may end up as a casualty also, but there is money invested, sunk cost or not, and he's younger than Sanchez as well. I know some will say Enns, but he's relatively young, LH and breathing, and offers at least SOME upside, perhaps in the pen if nothing else.

Hate to repeat myself, but I will, lol. The only negative is Mejia being forced out of the rotation, probably, when Santana is back and ready to go. (Of course, injuries can happen). And it's kind of a shame, though I love the Lynn signing, because I think Mejia has a future. But that being said: Santana Berrios Odorizzi Lynn Gibson Echoing the previous statement this is the best rotation the Twins have put out since I'm not sure when. Yes, Gibson still has to prove he belongs. And you can claim those 13 starts by Gibson are a SSS, but they are close to half a season. Additionally, it may have been a coalesence of the changes he made in the previous off season and ST coming to fruition. But less we forget, waiting in the wings for 2018 will be: May (when back) Mejia (assuming him to be the odd man out) Gonsalves Romero Slegers Jorge Rochester is loaded! And there is real depth here, in whatever order you want to rank these guys. Not that looking ahead to 2019 accomplishes much at this time, but, Santana can be brought back. Berrios and Odorizzi will be back. Lynn could be re-signed, particularly not only if he does well, but enjoys his time here. I believe the team still has ankther year of control over Gibson, though I could be mistaken. And Pineda will be back. Then you factor in the 6 guys just listed at Rochester. Absolutely the best depth and potential we've seen in ages for the rotation! And there still remains the possibility of a major trade or FA signing for 2019.