laloesch

Agreed. With ALL of the relievers drafted the last two years, the Twins are bound to have a success story soon (preferably this season). We have a long list of names to choose from (Reed, Melotakis, Chargois, Burdii, Rogers, Darnell, Meyer, Berrios, etc.). Would it be a good idea to start Berrios and Meyer in the bullpen allowing them to gain experience at the major league level?

That's an interesting point.

I think Nolasco is a 50/50 at this point. TR is trying to get rid of him and he was straight up horrible last season. I think the rotation is Hughes, Santana, Gibson, Duffey and Milone (as much as I would like to see May get the nod over him). If the Twins can't find a taker for Nolasco he will come down with a mystery injury and be on the DL for most of the year and the Twins will unload him in 2017 or cut him.

"Twins are RUINING Meyer" Please provide proof of this statement. Alex Meyer has ALWAYS been wildly inconsistent in his minor league career with the Twins and Washington. Blanket statements like this are factually inaccurate. That said, his flameout last season shouldn't be a surprise to anyone given he was walking 4+ guys a game on a fairly consistent basis. It does not bode well for him that he has taken a big step backwards with his control and part of the reason he's fallen so far off the radar for the Twins. 2016 is a HUGE year for Alex. If he doesn't make a big turnaround this season he will have very little chance of ever being a starter with this franchise given he's 26 and counting. I think that there might be promise for him as a power reliever but that would be a big disappointment given how highly he was touted in the past. As of right now he shouldn't even be in the conversation for a major league rotation spot this year over Berrios, Duffey and May. I don't think the Twins had anything to do with that. Alex has to bear some responsibil

I don't think it's unreasonable thinking. My opinion is that Santana Hughes & Gibson are locks and solid starters. Hughes will be better this season there is no question in my mind. Nolasco is on the block. He might have a chance in ST to redeem himself if Ryan can't move him immediately, but I have a feeling that if Duffey, May & Milone out perform him, he's in the back of the pen. Meyer is off the radar IMO. He will have to fight his way back in AAA before having a shot at a rotation spot. Earliest I see that happening is mid 2017 with a solid full season at Rochester. That leads me to Milone and Gibson. Both are cost controlled and solid mid to back rotation starters. I would be listening to trade offers and offering them as potential chips. I am also of the opinion that Milone has value as a left hand bullpen specialist that we are searching for, assuming he will accept the assignment. We don't HAVE to have a lefty starter. That opens the way for May who should be a starter and Berrios. If either one falters you still have Milone and Rogers who by all accounts is a solid prospect.

I don't see why the Twins can't go with option 2 to start the season with Milone in the pen as the lefty specialist. However, knowing he was unwilling to accept that role with Oakland it's probably best the Twins trade him when Berrios is ready. What would also be interesting is starting the season with May in the rotation and Berrios starting in the pen in a similar fashion to Johan Santana.

Then the title should be changed to say "May should be bullpen bound" ....then he can advocate xyz.

Maybe that's the angle, maybe not. Molitor was pretty outspoken back in his playing days, so he could be spilling the insider beans so to speak. Terry Ryan however is a double talker so I take what he says with a grain of salt.

I disagree. May should trump Berrios because he hasn't even debutted yet. May should trump Nolasco for sure because your manager ALWAYS puts the best players first.

Ughhh......Waste of talent and sounds like Terry has nothing up his sleeve as far as bringing in a talented reliever. Not good. Bullpen was one of the weakest links last season and will be again this year unless something changes. May has the best stuff and multitude of weapons of any of the potential starters save Santana. I think this is a grave mistake. To waste his pre-arbitration years as a reliever stinks. The Twins need to get on the phone and move Milone while figuring out what to do with Nolasco. They also need to bring in another reliever or there is no way May will be in the rotation.

10% body fat?!? Really? No way! No disrespect and all but he's like 20-25% maybe more. There is no way he's 10% body fat. He'd have a well defined six pack at 10% and wouldn't be carrying around extra junk in the trunk (butt & thighs).

If Duffey is relegated to the pen behind Nolasco and Milone after last season I think I'm gonna puke. It’s time to take the training wheels off and let the better pitchers pitch. That means Duffey & May start and Berrios is on standby for the next opportunity. If Tommy Milone is not willing to accept a BP role then it’s time to move on from him as well. Nolasco will not pitch anymore games as a starter for the Twins. The rest of your assessment seems pretty spot on. I cringe at the thought of a Sano, Rosario, Arcia outfield. Rosario will have to cover a TON of ground playing alongside two substantially slower outfielders, one of whom has very poor defensive instincts (Arcia).

Yes, at age 22 and already 270lbs.? Yes, he's in trouble. I'm 6'-5" and 215. I didn't hit 200+ consistenly until I was around 30. I also played 3 sports (Football, soccer and tennis). If he can't control his weight at that age he's going to balloon to well over 300 by the time he's 30, if he's lucky. Now that would be okay if he was an offensive lineman possibly a tight end, but outfielder.....no way. I can tell right now that he isn't all muscle judging by the video. He's carrying around quite a bit of junk in the trunk and has a bit of a flat tire going. Twins need to sit him down and have a talk before this gets out of control.

Good point. All three could be rotated as closer.

I'd do that deal. Milone is bound determined that he is a starter (kinda like Mike Pelfrey). The Twins don't need him either. He's fine as a #5 maybe #4 starter but we already have enough of those as it is.

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> The timing for the request is odd but not without its merits. After all, Sano finished the 2015 regular season dealing with a hamstring injury that limited his play. While the early offseason hubbub revolved around Sano’s transition to the outfield, as was pointed out in early November, Sano did not expect to see any time in the outfield in winter ball, saying that he was just told to get a feel for the position during batting practice and warm-ups. The Twins later clarified that they would use the time during spring camp to teach Sano a corner outfield position. However, if injury was a concern, why let him participate in winter ball at all? The main goal the Twins outlined for Sano’s offseason was to trim down. According to the Star Tribune’s LaVelle Neal, Sano finished the season at 270 pounds -- nearly 8 pounds heavier than his measured 262 at the beginning of camp and 40 pounds more than his weight when he checked into camp in 2013, which he then considered his “ideal weight”. An emphasis was placed on his diet and conditioning this offseason and his withdraw for winter ball may allow the organization to keep close tabs on his weight, particularly if he reports to Fort Myers. With the Twins’ stated intentions of using him as an outfielder in 2016, ensuring that Sano does not inflict further damage to his hamstring while monitoring his conditioning does not seem unreasonable. Click here to view the article Judging by that video he's an easy 20-30lbs. overweight. I can't imagine that man lumbering around in the outfield at 270. If he can't lose some weight he's not going to be in the outfield long term. He makes Delmon Young look small.

LOL. I couldn't help but comment on how true this statement is, especially the Saturday Honey-do's where nothing significant is accomplished.

James Shields was pretty darn good last year. I get that he's 34 and now everyone is automatically writing him off as being past his prime, but good lord the guy has pitched 9 straight seasons of 200+ innings and still managed a 3.91 era, 33 starts and 9.6 k’s per 9. Sure he gave up more homeruns and walks, but it's not like he hasn't had spikes in the past with Tampa. And if he had any kind of offense backing him up down in San Diego he'd be close to a 20 game winner. In fact i'm almost drooling at the prospect of acquiring a 9+ k per 9 innings starter. That has ace written all over it, even if is for three years 60+ million. Given what Grienke just signed for that's a huge bargain. Would I take Shields in exchange for Nolasco for more money and one more year (three total)? Absolutely! It's almost a no-brainer. But it would likely mean that Berrios and May might not sniff the rotation for the next two seasons unless Ryan moves other pieces (Milone, Gibson, Hughes). Besides why would the Padres do it? It's not that big of a salary dump for them and the return (unless the Twins sweetened the pot) would not be worth it.

Interestingly but not suprisingly, the Twins are actively seeking to deal Ricky Nolasco according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation on MLBtrade rumors: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/twins-seeking-to-deal-ricky-nolasco.html#comments I think this is wise course of action by the Twins.

I've noticed this as well. Much much worse lately.

And I really don't care spycake. Like I said, agree to disagree or don't and be done with it.

Yo momma's team

Please....

Well we disagree then. Your not changing my mind.

Oh really? Maybe you should tell Terry Ran and the Twins that. After all they signed Pelfrey and Nolasco in the first place.