DocBauer

Seth, do you have a breakdown of Garver's past two months by any chance? This team has a big hole at catcher going forward. They have nothing at AAA to offer for reinforcement except Murphy. And considering what he's done, performance wise, before, he might still be OK despite his horrific season. Sometimes young guys flounder and then recover. But the Twins also need to find out what they have in him. He wouldn't be the first young player to struggle, injury re-hab or whatnot, then come back to the show and perform better. And while their are some young catchers in the system that offer encouragement, Garver offers the most, and is closest. I don't know if the answer is to bring him straight up or not. But the fact that he's still in AA despite impressive numbers, and a hot spell, and not already in AAA to build toward September and/or 2017 is ridiculous and a huge mistake. Granite, Melotakis and Hildenberger are the same, but I'm focusing on Garver at the moment.

Ryan missed the mark big time in various areas the past few years, which is why he is gone now. But to be fair, he has done a very nice job picking up very useful bits and pieces here and there over the years that have turned out to be real contributors. These are some fine examples. (Might have had a 6th had the kept catcher Hicks) But to be equally fair, I don't know if Ryan can be complimented entirely for these moves, and past moves. Surely various Twins scouts also had a hand in at least discovering and recommending these guys. Not that he is old, but he is old enough, and had some health issues, that I wonder if the life time baseball man will hang it up for good? If not, I could easily see another team bringing him on as a scout or advisor.

These reports are just about the hilight of my day. I keep wondering, with some of the strong hitting performances at E-Town, if a couple of these guys could see some action at Cedar Rapids before the year is done?

Nothing wrong with removing players who don't fit and/or blocking youngsters who are ready to audition. Play them and try to win. Winning helps breed winning and a winning culture. Still thinking of keeping both Santana and the younger Dozier for 2017.

Seth, there's some strong hitting performances at E-Town from a few youngsters, including Kirilloff. What are the chances a couple of these guys moving up to Cedar Rapids to close out the year?

Berrios's next start simply has to be with the Twins. A little disappointed Jay came out of the pen. I hope this doesn't mean he's done starting for the year. I understand limiting his innings, but they aren't very high at this point either. I'd think he could make a few more starts before switching to the pen for the remainder of the season.

Neither. Still debatable in my mind to keep Santana vs keeping him to help stabilize next year. (Or trade in the offseason after teams begin their re-set) Same with the younger Dozier. Nolasco, Milton, Plouffe, Suzuki and probably Kinzler and Abad should all go. Otherwise, keep doing what you are doing on the field, promote the youngsters up to take the places of those traded. Bring up more in September. We're building for 2017 now. Win or tank as the end result is not the point IMO. It's all about experience and building up the kids.

Also, I do see the Twins job as being a bit of a plumb, as long as there are no harsh restrictions involved. You wouldn't be in a high pressure media market. You have a fabulous facility here and in Ft Myers. And with the restocking of the farm system, a lot of good young talent close, and some of it already "arrived" some of the heavy lifting for the continent rebuild has been done.

I don't see any way Antony can really do anything in 2 1/2 months to impress anyone he should be the new GM. For starters, any trades made would doubtfully be splashy, and would take time before you'd even see a payoff. Further, said trades may have been well in to conversation before Ryan was removed. The fan base is frustrated, and ownership knows this. And the comments about system wide failure speak to me of an outside hire. And while Pohlad has been blasted for is "research" of examining other teams media guides at least suggests he's further considering/opening up addition spots for new personnel. I'm really kind of excited here. Though until I actually see the list of candidates and the final choice, I remain a tad leary.

First of all, I have always been a Mauer fan and supporter. And I dont care about the value of his contract. He earned his money fairly. It's not his fault his career has taken a dive due to his concussions (plus wear and tear) Get over the hate. And I've previously argued that fine defense at 1B, contact, and quality OB have a place in the lineup. There are many ways to build a roster/lineup, and not every position on every team is stocked by a player who is pigeon-holed in to a certain type. And while I wholeheartedly agree Sano IS a 3B, and is OK there, and will get better, (little weight loss would probably help), and any move to QB is probably years away, I do see a potential problem at 1B/DH. There are a lot of unknowns here to be uncovered still. But Vargas is not some fly by night washed out prospect. He's young, has some real potential, has a nice milb track history of production, showed his potential in 2014, but had a rough 2015. Park has real potential. Fully healthy, we may not be even debating his worth at this point. And he has a nice glove at 1B. Palka appears to have nice potential, and may have been a steal. Walker is an enigma, but an enigma who has produced at every level, seems to be making some adjustments, and shouldn't be counted out even if he needs more AAA time, or a full season, in 2017. Additionally, a team doesn't HAVE to have a full time DH. But if you've got real depth in the OF and 1B, you can roll everyone for half days off through the DH spot. Unfortunately, Mauer's skills as a batter have diminished greatly. I won't bag on him for his OB or good defense. Those are fine things. But are those things enough to continue taking up a roster spot these next two seasons when we may actually have good young hitters knocking on the door? I don't know if trying to move him to a team with a chance to compete for the next couple of years is the answer, (with his blessing and eating dollars of course), or attempting a buyout to move on, or suggested retirement are the answers. But I'm just not sure he fits with the future direction of this team any longer.

Honestly, with further reflection on all matters, I think what the Twins should be doing is trading/cutting the obvious and then staying pat. The obvious moves are to be rid of Nolasco, Milone, Kinzler, Ramirez, Plouffe, D Santana and Suzuki. Get what you can, probably A ball players with some potential, eat salary that is already spent anyway, and just clear space. These moves allow the team to instantly promote Berrios, Wheeler, Chargois, Wimmers (Boshers and Hildenberger are possibles), Polanco and Murphy as direct replacements. Promote as necessary to AAA, but especially include Garver, Granite and Hildenberger, plus probably Melotakis. (I've stated this before) I can see arguements for and against trading Abad vs re-signing him, but I'm on the fence there but OK either way. What I would not do, unless offered something pretty darn nice that I'd be silly to refuse, is trade E Santana, Dozier or Nunez. Why? Santana provides a solid, decent, still relatively cost controlled veteran SP for 2017 to help fill and stabilize my staff which probably includes Gibson, Duffey, Berrios and either Wheeler or May. (Meyer and Hughes on the outside looking in for now) Despite some arguements to the contrary, there is no reason to expect Santana to suddenly decline dramaticly. He may have even greater trade value this time next season with only a year and a half remaining on his deal. Further, he could still be traded during the offseason once teams begin to set their rosters. Dozier is good. Dozier is not old. We're still not 100% sure what we have in Polanco. (Twins own fault there) We are hedging our bets by keeping Dozier for now as Polanco auditions and gets experience. Perhaps he grows in to a full time slot gradually? I also feel the same about Dozier in trade value this time next year, or the offseason. And I'd keep Nunez. And not just because he's having this great season. What if Sano gets hurt? While I fully believe in Sano playing 3B, and only getting better, what if you move him suddenly to 1B/DH? What if Polanco struggles, especially if you've traded Dozier already? What's wrong with Escobar, Dozief, Nunez and Polanco all opening 2017 as your starting middle infield and utility reserves? And by not trading Santana or Dozier...at least now...you can audition Murphy, Polanco, Wheeler and a host of RP the remainder of the season, as well as how your other prospects finish AAA and AA, fairly assess their time table after a complete season and possible September audition, and then re-assess your top needs in the offseason and still look to move Santana and/or Dozier at that time.

You are correct that Polanco hasn't had his opportunity and we all know that has to change. And soon! I'm still torn on trading Dozier. He still brings a lot to this team, but his return should also be good. And he's still young enough to be part of this rebuild. I find the Polanco vs Dozier debates to be interesting. I see no reason why Polanco can't be a fine defensive 2B, as good as or better than Dozier. But they are different types of players. And that's OK. Polanco may develop some double digit HR power, but will probably never be a 20+ HR guy like Dozier. But he will almost assuredly hit more, have a decent to good OB, and provide speed and quite a few doubles. Losing Dozier's HR would stink, but it should also be offset, eventually if not immediately, by 1B/DH becoming more settled, Rosario and Kepler.

I would still consider keeping E Santana unless the return is nice. Plouffe, Nolasco, Milton and Suzuki should all be gone soon. Not convinced moving Nunez or Escobar is a good move. I don't feel the necessity to gut the roster for the sake of doing so. And both offer ability and roles, TBD, and offer additional roster depth and flexability. Especially if we do consider moving Dozier at some point. But I want Polanco up. I'd consider moving on from D Santana even though there is still potential there. And both Kepler and Rosario can play CF here and there when Buxton needs a break. Berrios and Wheeler in the rotation now. (Still want to stretch out May, but might not happen now until next year) Chargois and Wimmers up in place of Ramirez and whoever else is moved. I'd like to bring Boshers up too, but we need to see if we actually have something in Wimmers. And as crazy good as he's been, I'm not sure how you don't bring up Hildenberger at some point. Not sure about Palka. I like him. I still hold out real hope for Walker as well. But there are so many AB and Walker is still a work in progress and Palka just got to AAA, so I guess I'm a no for now. Granite and Garver should both be at AAA tomorow. Could see Garver in September, but Murphy needs a fair audition for now.

I appreciate the job Ryan did his first term with the Twins. And his first couple of losing seasons on this second term weren't entirely is fault. But the past few seasons, it just seemed like he didn't have a plan in place. I was of the opinion he was gone, despite arguements of the previous TWINS WAY of doing things. Comments from Ryan himself seemed to indicate he was on the hot seat. But again, I'm really surprised it happened at this time.

Just curious, but do we have any breakdowns for Murphy on a month to month basis? His numbers just aren't good overall, but he also planted himself in quite a hole to begin the season. It seems as though he's been at least a little better the past month or so. Mitch Garver is amongst the Twins milb batting leaders in slugging, OPS, HR and RBI. Every report I've ever heard has him as quality behind the plate and throwing. He's not ready now, and there is no guarantee as to how he turns out, but he provides future optomism. I'd still trade Suzuki if the market bears a solid offer. But it sure appears we'really going to have to sign a veteran of sorts in the offseason.

Interesting and gratifying to see Garver on so many of the batters lists.

I don't think trading Ramos, inofitself, was a mistake, even though it would have been nice to keep him. Mauer was in his prime, there were no concerns with Mauer NOT catching at the time, and they had a tradable asset. The problem was trading for too low of a player value wise. The fact that Jepsen was controlled for a second year didn't bother me. In fact, I liked that we weren't renting a player for just a couple of months. The pen needed help, and the kids weren't ready yet. If Jepsen had performed as a solid, experienced setup man this season and not imploded, there would be so much discussion about him. To the original point of the article, I feel anymore that Ryan just doesn't have a plan. Never directly, since he never announces plans of any sort publicly, he's pretty much intimated "wait until the kids get here and you'll see". But then they jerking Meyer and Polanco around, and Kepler his first time up. One could argue they did the same thing with Vargas last year. Last season, they were going to "go for it" but brought in only Jepsen, and later than they should have, signed Cotts, and moved the wrong pitcher to the bullpen. I didn't want the Tulsa trade and I'm glad we didn't make it. This year, it was fix the bullpen. And we signed Abad and trusted in a full return of Perkins. I've always argued one could dismiss the disappointing 2011 and 2012 seasons due to the fact 2010 was such a good year and the core of that team was back for 2011. 2012 was a return to health and some retooling. But 13 and 14 were a mess! Someone has to play, someone has to pitch, and you need a full roster. So we signed some mediocre SP to long term deals but did absolutely nothing for SS and CF! Where is the plan? It just feels like half in and half out all of the time. NOW, we're starting to see some of the fruits of the milb system take root at the ML levdl...FINALLY...but TR still won't use the "R" word as if it's dirty somehow. There is definately a disconnect somewhere.

I didn't like the Capps trade because I felt they already had an equivalent pitcher on board and I liked Ramos a lot. Though, to be fair, they did have a pretty good catcher at the time. Like any young prospect, particularly one not in your top 10, there is no guarantee that he will turn out excellent and you will later regret the move. My problem with trading for Jepsen is I just wanted a better arm, sooner, and another addition and not move May. ( Pelfrey to the pen may have accomplished the same thing) Regardless of how good, or not so good, Jepsen ultimately is, I don't think anyone could have predicted him being this poor in 2016. I initially liked having him for a second year, and the lack of any additional moves besides Abad, or relying on Perkins, are not Jepsen 's fault.

Honestly, Walker has done better than I thought he would in his first go-round at AAA. He's not ready yet, but he's surprised me. Melotakis is a guy I've had my eye on for a while. If not for injury, he'd be at AAA already, if not the ML level. I'd like to see Wimmers, Boshers,Chargois and Hildenberger all up at some point this season. But at this point, and I can't believe I'm saying this, there is no room for all of them. Not until trades or September anyway.

In regards to management sticking with the status quo if these young...and still getting younger...Twins have a quality 2nd half; I'm not convinced that would be the case. For starters, this makes 5 90+ loss seasons out of 6 (probably). Further, management has already been on record saying they are taking a hard look at the organization from the FO on down. Additionally, even a strong 2nf half can't erase such a poor and mismanaged 1st half. If anything, it might reflect just how poorly the initial roster construction really was. I say enjoy the kids, enjoy Berrios, Chargois, Polanco and anyone else still to come up, and realize the dreaded "rebuild" that Ryan won't utter is actually taking place. We'll see how it all plays out.

He's pitched just under 70 innings on 13 starts before his promotion. No telling how many innings the Twins want to hold him to this season, but he should definately have room for a few starts at AA before limiting him down the stretch.

What is up with Wimmers? Has he really found a role for himself? After such a so-so career, and a not so great AA to begin the season, he's pitched quite well at Rochester.

While anyone's milb track record is never a tell all, much less any form of guarantee, he hit reasonably well in the minors and showed some of the pop we've seen from time to time, with SB ability. And while his one excellent year with the Twins, when he was possibly promoted too quickly, is certainly not his ceiling. But we've seen flashes where he has had good AB and good games. And the one thing that was pointed during a game once was his quick hands. Whether it's with the Twins or not, with time and a better developed eye, I think his tools and quick hands could still make him a decent hitter.

LOL. Not snarky at all. Just saying, he's young enough and athletic enough to continue to improve and possibly turn in to a useful super utility type ballplayer. Maybe one we'd even regret losing. But with the 4 OF's we have now, I'd rather lose him to get Polanco up than Escobar or Nunez, both of whom I like to man SS and utility along with Polanco. At least for the next year or two until the likes of Gordon and Vielma prove ready.

Gladden's game calling leaves something to be desired. But I like him as the color guy. I enjoy his perspective and stories as a former ML player and former Twin.