DocBauer

Your point is granted in regard to Nolasco. And I don't dislike Nolasco. Unfortunately, things just didn't work out. And not only do you have Milone as an option instead of him, but Berrios should be ready at some point, if not soon. So my one concern is comments and reports about not trying to move Nolasco for fear of selling short. To me, that is misguided. Both parties need a change. And I would really hate to think the Twins would consider not starting Milone, or Berrios simply to give Nolasco a shot at improving trade value.

I tend to agree on May, even though I'm not happy about it. It just seems so obvious to me that a talented young starting pitcher with potential should actually be starting. But then again, depth is a great thing to have. And it's been a long, long time since one of the Twins biggest problems was having too many starters. While finding a real, viable LH for the pen is absolutely paramount, with May and Jepsen, I could almost see the right side pretty well set, along with Fien, Tonkin and Pressly, among a couple others. And eventually, Burdi, Reed, etc. But if I could have it my way, we'd get the quality lefty and still find room for a 1 year deal on a proven RH option to fortify and deepen the pen until one of those young kids arrives. I've always liked Lee, and the risk appears to be small with a potentially nice payoff. But when I look at the depth in the rotation now, Berrios on the way as well, and I factor in the limited number of innings Lee could work, and the fact that I still view the Twins as not yet a finished product, in regard to the re-build, I'd really like to concentrate on the younger and longer term options.

Again, based on the scenario as presented. There is only room for Berrios as presented. One assumes he could be swapped out for Duffey or May. I'd love to see all 3 of the kids in the rotation! But it's not going to happen. At least, not in the immediate future. To me, it's just a difficult no. I'd rather spend the time, energy and opportunity to focus on our talented young starters.

On the surface, the easy answer is yes. Looking a little deeper though, I'm not so sure. Berrios probably begins in the minors, Duffey probably in the rotation, and May in the bullpen...unless he starts before moving to the pen when Berrios comes up. In the Lee scenario, there probably isn't room for any of these talented youngsters. At least initially. And I think that would be a mistake.

Smart, well thought out, and difficult to disagree with. I might argue that a fully healthy Hughes is slotted ahead of Santana, but really, it's not going to matter much. Gibson obviously holds the 3 spot. And I absolutely believe that Duffey is in the rotation as well. Assuming Berrios begins in the minors, and he probably will due to depth to sort out and not service time, the 5th starter SHOULD BE May. He's not only young and talented and part of the future, he was pitching very well last season before his move to the pen. But rotation depth, and his success in the bullpen last season, almost certainly marks him for that role in 2016. (With hopes he may be able to return to the rotation in 2017) So you can start May, then move him to the bullpen when Berrios is ready. Or, you have Milone and Nolasco to fight for the final spot....until Berrios is ready. Right in line with your thinking. I would hope they wouldn't start Nolasco simply to help increase trade value.

Marshall would be my pick. Between he and Runzler, you'd be increasing the likelihood of finding a talented and veteran steal on the rebound. From there, you have the likes of Rogers and others for the second LH in the pen. (Milone?) In the past, the Twins did well converting LH starters such as West, Reyes and Swindell, for example. I haven't taken the time to really look at the LHSP market to see if there is a likely candidate for a move of this nature. But it should be considered.

Byron Bauer......can I be next? No agent, I'll represent myself. All I ask for is the league minimum and a clean jersey with my name spelled correctly.

Perhaps like May in 2016 and then back to the rotation in '17?

Duffey's emergence clearly shows the potential and reward to be had by drafting relievers and experimenting with them. It's not like you get to draft a Clemons or Verlander at the top of the draft board every year. Sometimes you have to groom a pitcher, not just draft one ready made. And to the Twins credit, the list of relievers that were given a starting shot really isn't that long. Tyler Jay appears to be a different sort of experiment. While his velocity will almost undoubtedly dip to "only" the low 90's as a starter, rather than the high 90's as a reliever, the fact that he comes to the Twins with a couple additional pitches already in the fold with potential makes him more of a starting candidate to begin with. If memory serves, didn't he often pitch multiple innings in many of his games? *side note: while Gutierrez was given a shot to start, wasn't that at least partially attributable to having more time to work on his secondary offerings for a relief role?

I read it in a book somewhere. Let me see if I can find it again. I'll forward you the title. "Baseball for Dummies" or something like that.

FWIW...I like Suzuki quite a bit. But I like him as a gutsy gamer of a guy who gets the respect of his teammates as a quality reserve. I don't know how good Murphy is going to be. I don't think any of us do, but we all hope for at least ML average. (which isn't such a bad thing considering how difficult it seems to be to find a catcher of this quality level as of late) But I imagine a lot of the conversations that have been taking place for young catchers that seem to have the big shine on them start something like: "Let's take a look at your top 10 prospect list..." And unless you feel really, really good about a guy, or he's really proven something, I'm not sure I'd pull a trigger on a move like that either. I also think Rosario is the better overall player than Hicks. He may never be the best OB% or contact guy in the world, but he has the look of a quality AVG hitter, has some good pop and power potential as well as speed and defense. I'm just not convinced, despite improvements last year, that Hicks is going to come close to his original ceiling. But remember, comparing an OF and a C based solely on offensive numbers really isn't a true comparison at all.

*A second note on the OF:* I don't see a problem with Arcia as the 4th OF, and I think it likely. He can play a corner OF spot, DH, perhaps PH here and there. With Rosario and Santana both able to play CF, the 4th OF doesn't have to be the classic 3 position player in this case. If you are Molly, you have to be a bit creative, but you move Arcia, Sano, Plouffe, Park and Mauer in and out of the lineup at the OF corner, 3B, 1B and DH so that matchups are favorable, everyone plays, no-one sits often, but you avoid Arcia and Sano in the OF together as much as possible.

Back to the basic title, "what holes need to be filled?"...... If the Twins are truly inclined to have Buxton begin the season in Rochester, obviously ST will sort some issues out, then we MUST find another option that can be a legitimate player there. If we don't, we will literally be starting a 4th straight season with a question mark in CF to begin the season. What kind of winning or competitive team has ever done that? Davis would be an excellent option, though I don't believe he's the only option. But solid, available, not overly expensive, not in a position to expect or demand a permanent gig? He might be the best choice. The team, as currently constructed, has exactly ZERO LHRP options that are proven. This also must change. Bastardo would be a perfect option. His signing will help the bullpen balance and depth immensely and not cost a fortune. Barring that, the team would have to look at lesser option, make a trade, or look/hope for a Swindell or Reyes starter converted to reliever option. Isn't it easier to just sign the proven commodity rather than trade prospects? Rotation speaking, Berrios opens in the minors barring a run of injuries or the such. Not for service time, but because the depth is enough that we probably need to sort a few things out. Does May open in the rotation, where he should be, and where I want him? Or, with Hughes, Santana, Gibson and Duffey already there, does May go straight to the bullpen for 2016 and have Milone and Nolasco fight it out for the 5th starting spot? 5th starter or long relief is the only way Nolasco should be kept around. Solid career pitcher. It just hasn't worked here. It's time to part ways and move on for both parties, whatever that takes. I've read about not wanting to trade low. But, would you dare put him in a higher position just to attempt to raise trade value at the risk of the team's record, or the regression of another younger, better pitcher? I'd sure like to think the answer is no.

I don't know if you can call them a great core or not...but you are making my memory take a stroll down the lane. Bostock, Larry Hisel, Ford, Smalley, Wynegar were all some pretty good ones. Unfortunately, they didn't fimish their careers in Minnesota, with the exception of Smalley coming back of course.

What baffles my brain right now is what to do about CF. Davis, who is solid but unspectacular, is used to being more of a role player than full timer? Revere? A lot of people want to blast him, and he doesn't have much of an arm, but he's got real speed in the OF and on the base paths and was solid at the plate last year with a decent OB. That can't be said about a lot of the Twins bats last year. Assuming they would have interest in signing, do you go heavier in your investment for Span or Fowler? They could play CF for now, then slide to a corner spot later. At the absolute worst, they see time as a multi position role player. They have to be interested in signing, and they would take more dollars and years, unless they are on a make good 1 year.

I wanted to like this, but I just can't agree with the "until it blows up in their face" part. I'm just not there yet. We still have to find someone to help cover CF, allowing Buxton to begin in Rochester since that seems to be the plan as of now. I think that clears the way for Arcia to begin the season as the 4th OF. It gives us a dangerous LH bat off the bench and to play OF and DH, and allows time to see if Arcia can fully rebound. At least until such a time that Buxton and/or Kepler are ready for promotion, at which time some adjustments would have to be made.

As I stated in the first thread, one of my all time favorite Twins. Right up there with Puckett and Hrbek. Cuddy was good. He was classy. And he always seemed to put the team above himself. While there was a but of negativity surrounding his last go round with the team, I'd have to include Kubel in that list of recently retired players that brought hope and winning back to the Twins.

+1. I'm not, never have been, a big FA, throw money at a problem to fix it, kind of guy. But FA IS one of the ways to build and supplement a roster. There are/were options to add a very important element to our bullpen without having to trade prospects for. That window is closing.

Unquestionably, one of my all time favorite Twins! Puckett, Hrbek and Cuddy are quite possibly my top 3 position players of the past... (way too many)... years. Class, leadership, production and team-first attitude. In this case, I wish baseball was like football and we could sign Cuddyer to a one day contract so he could retire as a Twin.

alarp33, forgive me if I attempt to be brief. I posted concerning this matter a couple weeks ago in the forums section, and hit high points a couple pages ago in this thread. As of NOW, to repeat, I see a versatile and diverse role player. But the potential for more absolutely exists. Santana was never in a Twins top 10 prospect list, but he was in various top 20 lists. He was always, at worst, in the "keep an eye on" lists with reference to speed, power for his size/position, and overall athleticism. He turned 25 just a few weeks ago, was 24 during his disappointing 2015 season, and only 23 during his rather outstanding 2014 season...skipping AAA almost entirely, playing only 24 games total. He was 22 in '13 at AA, 21 at Ft Meyers and 20 at Beloit. He split 2010 between Beloit late and Elizabethton early as a 19 yo. He made his debut in the states in the GCL as an 18 yo. Look at his steady and rather aggressive progress through the system and you will see a player generally young at each and every level. Career milb AVG/OB of .276/ .319 and 6 straight seasons of double digit SB with a high of 30 in '13 at AA before making his ML debut in 2014. Milb OB 43 points above his BA. Yes, we want the OB higher, but again, consider the relative youth and potential. And when we talk potential, reflect on his 2014 rookie season at 23 yo...forget the awful and out of whack 2015 for a moment...and put it all together. At just a recently turned 25 yo, with his speed, decent pop, quick hands and some compromise between his milb numbers and his rookie campaign, I feel it's not unrealistic to think he could become an exciting and solid top of the order producer.

Great post! I don't think it's going to happen, bumping Perkins from the closer role...not now anyway...but he is not a "lefty", he is a closer. I have no problem adding Storen. I'd love to have Storen. But I'm confused on this whole scenario. More than likely, May or Duffey will be spending most of, if not all of, the next season in the bullpen due to keeping your best arms, and depth in the rotation. We also have quite a few highly regarded, hard throwing RHRP that are getting close, at least one of whom will probably make an appearance at some point in 2016. Additionally, of course, there is still Jepsen, Fien, Pressly and Tonkin. But where is the LH option? We don't have a power lefty that projects for 2016 unless later in the year perhaps. So again, I'm a little confused where Storen is the priority at this point.

Well thought out. I think your numbers make sense. However, I disagree with your comments regarding greater value based on defense. If Sano actually goes to the OF and sticks, yes. But either now, or say next season after some roster shuffling, he were to play 3B, he'd be at worst even in defensive value, more than likely, or greater simply by being a 3B vs an OF. Yes?

Not sure about "everyone", but your point is made. There are those who project real regression. Considering his milb numbers and what appears to be a pretty natural hitting ability, I expect progress instead. I certainly don't think we've seen the best of Rosario.

Agreed. As of now, that is also how I see him, super utility, versatile help offensively off the bench. But if you look at his milb track record and his rookie year, and for a moment ignore his disappointing 2015, you can see the potential. He certainly wouldn't be the first guy to not be able to handle ever day duty in the infield but find himself in the OF. At that point, I could see him bloom with just a little more discipline. Based on talent, previous results, but again, ignoring '15. LOL

Absolutely. But you don't look at the construction of a roster, especially at this point, with the expectation or knowledge of when someone might be injured. So in a vacuum...opening day lets say...there is no room for everyone. Obviously there will be starts missed for some reason or another, or extra starts. But at that point, doubtful you'd pull a May out of the bullpen for that situation. More than likely, it would be your long reliever or someone from Rochester. In a dream scenario, though I intend no ill-will toward any of our players, the older Santana, (or someone) might be traded at some point to allow for all the younger arms to be in the rotation.