laloesch

I really like this move. If the Hughes extension, Santana and Hunter free agent signings are the three offseason moves I'd give Terry Ryan a solid A-. Extending Hughes was a no-brainer and signing Santana will give this rotation a solid 1 2 punch for at least four years. It also could mean that Nolasco is expendable and will be shopped this season. After all, he did tweet he wished he was still in LA back in late September. Move him out and we still have a strong rotation of Hughes, Santana, Gibson with May, Meyer & Berrios competing for #4 & #5. I like it!

Exactly. I am starting to get excited about this rotation. Stability is what they've needed. If the youngsters (May, Meyer, Berrios) progress we also have guys available in the minors as replacements should we decide to trade.

Maybe. But maybe not. If he pitches like last season through the remainder of this deal this contract is a bargain. Gotta give major props to the Twins FO for spending the money and keeping him, signing Santana, Nolasco, etc. Now if Nolasco turns it around this season and Santana pitches to his full ability the Twins have a SOLID front three to that rotation.

My mistake on the rule IV vs. V typo. The only thing with Santana was that by the time he joined the Twins as a major leaguer in 2000 he was 21 years old. When he turned 25 he had already completed the transition to full time starter and WON 20 games in 2004. Meyer will be 25 in January. Do the Twins really want in the bullpen at his age? I still think the better path would be to make the team as the fifth starter (assuming he earns it) or pitch in Rochester as starter until there is an opening.

Not sure that Meyer, May or Berrios is going to get a real shot at the rotation anytime soon. With Pelfrey and Milone still on the 40 man i think its highly unlikely any of the before mentioned three breaks the rotation this season to start with. Nolasco is under contract through at least 2017. Santana 2018. Hughes 2016 (they should extend him) and Gibson is not a free agent until 2019.

I'd much rather see the Twins keep Meyer in AAA as a starter than plopping him in the bullpen where he'll get used sporadically. He's only pitched 1 season at AAA and by all accounts his off speed stuff needs a lot more work. Why not keep him in the role he was traded for and work on that in Rochester? People keep mentioning the Santana example as a route to follow with Meyer, but they forget that Johan was a rule IV pickup.

"Twins have interest in Kyle Kendrick" Pukes all over keyboard and ruins laptop. Dammit!

Preferably I would do nothing. I think the Twins have enough pieces on board and should let the prospects play unless they go for a BIG NAME pitcher like Shields or Scherzer which isn't going to happen. Based on what we've been hearing so far I wouldn't be surprised if Ryan signs Santana to a 3 year 36 million dollar deal with an option and Kyle Kendrick to a one or two year contract with an option, say 18-27 million dollars. Ryan has said he is looking for two starters. That would mean a rotation of Hughes, Santana, Nolasco, Kendrick and Gibson/Pelfrey/Milone fighting it out for #5. May and Meyer would spend at least another two seasons in AAA alongside Berrios. Again I am TOTALLY opposed to this, but I have a feeling this is the direction the Twins are moving. Santana's fastball sits in the low 90s and tends to increase in velocity as the game goes on, starting around 88, 89 and reaching as high as 95. His fastball has slight movement to it which can often favor left-handed hitters who try to pull the ball. His change-up offering is in the mid 80s and can be difficult to tell if he is throwing a fastball or a change-up. The pitch seems to have a slight break down as it crosses the plate while his fastballs cuts ever-so-slightly toward the left-handed batter’s box. Through his career, however, Santana’s best pitch has always been his slider. The slider clearly moves from left to right with late break. Kendrick in contrast has unspectacular stuff, starting with a sinking two-seam fastball that averages right around 89-91 MPH. This pitch does show good arm-side tail, but does not miss many bats. Kendrick leans heavily on an 86-87 MPH cutter, throwing it about a third of the time when facing a left-handed batter. He also throws an 82-84 MPH changeup, a pitch he has gone to just as often against righties as he has against lefties. His final offering is a slurvy breaking ball around 80 MPH that might actually be two different pitches. Kendrick is pretty hittable, as only his cutter misses bats at close to the league average rate."

I agree as well. I know the Joe Mauer contingent of fans will freak out if they traded him, but let's face it. Joe is a mediocre first baseman who has no business hitting 3rd in anyone's lineup. At the very least, he should be moved down in the order to #5 or #6, eliminating all the rally killing double plays.

Bam! I think you hit the nail on the head with this statement. Concussion this concussion that, his problem is the refusal to swing at first pitch strikes. He has had that trait his whole career. The predictability of his hitting is so precise that teams have focused in on his batting approach and attempts at pulling the ball to right field. He is WAY WAY to predictable and it's killing him. If he doesn't figure out how to change things up and vary his approach his career is over as an all-star hitter.

Yeah! The idea of batting Arcia, Sano and Vargas 3-5 is intriguing to say the least.

Ideally I would say #1 as well. We need to set our sights on an ace quality starter like Jon Lester who should have been acquired in the 2007 botched Santana trade. If the Twins hadn't fumbled and asked for BOTH Ellsbury AND Lester in that deal we would have gotten Lester, Masterson, Lowrie and Crisp which would have been a fantastic deal. At this point it's water under the bridge, but the Twins still need another strong starter to pair with Hughes and then we can fill out the rest of the rotation with internal candidates (May, Meyer, Berrios and Gibson). I am omitting Nolasco as I feel he was a foolish desperation signing, but unfortunately we are stuck with him for another 3 years. If we can't do #1 then I want the Twins to do absolutely NOTHING or #2. Let the kids play (May, Meyer, Vargas, Santana, Rosario, Sano, Polanco and eventually Buxton) and see what happens. Sure it will probably involve A LOT of losing, but we've already had 4 years of this and the light at the end of the tunnel is by passing the torch to the youngster instead of washed up veterans and has beens. Agree on #3. I will be genuinely ticked off if the Twins insist on signing a junkballer which will push May and Meyer back down to AAA for one or two more seasons. Why Ryan would do this is beyond me. Competition is good, but restricting the growth of prized starters in AAA makes absolutely NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!

Agreed. Will someone please tell Ryan this? Forget all the fringe #5 junkballers on the market. Just let May and Meyer start for goodness sake. Either way you look at it the Twins are going to have to go through the transition anyways. Just get it over with. Both these youngsters are already 24/25.

My thoughts exactly. These kinds of moves make me wanna puke. This is CLASSIC, CLASSIC Terry Ryan dumpster diving. The first being the Torii Hunter signing and now a potential signing of Vogelsong, a 38 year old starter whose only had two good seasons out of ten (five as a starter). The only thing I can make of this is that Masterson has brushed off the Twin's interest in him and no-one is talking to them.

1) Yes 2) No 3) and No! We don't need anymore soft tossing sinkerballers with mid 4 era's on this staff.

Yawn. Torii Hunter is all talk. Always has been. He says he favors the Twins in free agency and turns around and signs a deal somewhere else. Sound familiar? He did the same thing in 2007, turning down a VERY respectable deal from the Twins (3 years, 45 million dollars), in favor of the Angels (5 years, 90 million), which was at the time an insanely stupid contract for a guy sporting a career .334 OBP and lifetime .274 batting average. His best years were 2006 & 2007 with Minnesota when he hit 32 & 28 HR's with 98 & 107 RBI's. He has a LONG infamous history of saying controversial inflammatory stuff, including racially charged rants about blacks from the Dominican republic and latinos. Also, don't forget about his thoughts and insights on playing with openly gay players in the clubhouse. I think it's safe to say that he's a very blunt personality, probably an understatement. Some may call this guy a fearless clubhouse leader ready to speak his mind, others a trash talking clubhouse cancer. You be the judge on that one, but I for one will be glad to see him sign elsewhere.

May is going to better than Gibson. Much more dynamic of a pitcher. Has four solid offerings and a good fastball. Give him time this season and he within two years he will be the second best starter on this club behind Hughes. Meyer on the other hand, i'm not as sure about. He has a blistering fastball and can flat out strike guys out, but his off-speed stuff is just not there yet. I'd like to see him start the season in the bullpen as a long reliever similar to Santana's tract. There's no point in him pitching in AAA anymore, same with May.

I agree and I don't think its worth getting upset about either. The Twins need to stop *bleeping* around with the pitching prospects and go full throttle. Meyer and May are ready and BOTH NEED major league starts this season. It's time to turn these two lose and see what they can do in a full season. May started 10-12 games last year and it started off real rough but he seemed to turn the corner towards the end. Trevor features 4 solid pitches including a low 90's fastball that can reach 94-95. That is nothing to scoff at. Meyer had a great season at AAA although many argue his offspeed stuff still needs a bit of work. I can seem him starting the season in the bullpen but eventually transitioning into the rotation later on. Both of these prospects are 24/25. If the Twins don't commit soon with M&M they might as well throw them on waivers and let them go. I don't really see the urgency of signing this Korean.

I will be upset if we pay anywhere close to 13 million a year for him. In fact I'll be disgusted if we sign him at all. I just don't see the logic of it. Sure the starters weren't good, but the outfield is the biggest need in my humble opinion. Address that first and foremost. Ryan is probably under pressure this season, but they need to be patient with the starters. We have Milone, Meyer and May ALL ready to go this season. Berrios is a year away tops. That's six starters not counting Berrios, Darnell or Gilmartin. Why spend this kind of money on a 30 years old, who has only had two winning seasons and sports a career average 4 + era. It just doesn't make any sense when you consider he's a sinker / meatball tosser (aka Silva / Blackburn type) and we have one of the sketchiest outfields in all of baseball. To me this is a no go decision. The Twins have a huge mess in the outfield and are about to shake the infield up too by moving Santana to short stop full time. I don't like the thoughts of signing ANOTHER mid 4 era starter when we have tons of options within.

Those deals were never TRUELY on the table In my opinion. It was typical Red Sox vs. Yankees BS / feuding going between Epstein versus Steinbrenner. In some ways it was clear tampering so that neither franchise got Santana. Selig should have stepped in and told them to knock it off or make a clear offer. Anyways, if the Red Sox had offered Lester and Materson plus one prospect I'd have jumped on it. The Yankees offer of Hughes and Ian Kennedy plus one other (Twins also wanted Joba) would have been good as well. And from what I understand the Dodgers were also in on it, offering two of their top prospects from James Loney, Clayton Kershaw and Jonathan Broxton. However, they eventually backed off because they were worried about the cost of signing Santana to an extension. (funny how they have unlimited money now). In my opinion the Pohlads should have fired Smith on the spot after that trade. He should have also put Ryan on notice (who was then scouting but also consulting with and approving Smith's moves). The fact that we walked away with basically walked Gomez and a bunch of junk is brutal and inexcusable. But at this point it's water under the bridge. Your right, the centerfield is truly a mess. Santana, Hicks, Rosario, Schafer and Arcia are all options I guess. But I hope they figure something out there as it could be a long season of sloppy play in the outfield.

I will be angry if the Twins sign Materson, which keeps May and Meyer in AAA all season. Materson's velocity has dropped significantly to the point that he barely cracks 90 on his fastball. DO we REALLY need a right handed version of Milone? A junkballer? I just don't see the logic of this. May and Meyer will BOTH be better pitchers then Materson, Nolasco and Gibson. This is utter stupidity signing this guy. If the Indians want nothing to do with him, you can bet he's damaged goods.

Thank you! The Twins don't need to go out and sign ANOTHER reclamation type pitcher be it Masterson, Billingsley, Josh Johnson, Morrow, etc. Not with Pelfrey and Milone on the roster. By all accounts Ryan has all but committed to Pelfrey starting this season (gags and then slaps forehead). Signing another starter will only be a waste of payroll and further retard the growth of May and Meyer both of whom will be 25/26 this season. Such a signing would mean that May would go back to AAA and pitch most of the season in Rochester alongside Meyer & Berrios. I really think the Twins start 2015 with the following rotation (I don't like this either): 1. Hughes 2. Gibson 3. Nolasco 4. Pelfrey 5. Milone / May By August Pelfrey will be history and hopefully May will have stepped up like Gibson did last season. Meyer should then be able to start 10 games or more. However, the wildcard / monkey wrench in all of this is Milone. If Terry Ryan sticks to his stubborn guns and trots Pelfrey and Milone out, start after start, until mid season it will not be good for either of the M&M pitchers regardless of how well they do in AAA. YES! WE DON'T NEED ANYMORE starters, unless they go big and sign Lester. Lets be real it ain't gonna happen, not in a million years.

I'll believe it when I see it. That said, reportedly the Twins are already talking to Tori Hunter about that LF spot. Sure he's not 25 years old anymore but it will buy them some time in the outfield. If the Twins are going to go for it, you have to make a play for Lester, Shields or Scherzer. My preference would be Lester, but I doubt it happens. We already have two anchors on the payroll (Mauer and Nolasco).

Really? I wonder if Miguel Sano weighs 400 lbs. yet? The kid has really porked up since joining the Twins organization. At this rate I wonder if he could even be an outfielder let alone a 3rd basemen.

Agreed. If the Twins sign any starter he needs to have much higher upside than Nolasco and not just another clone. Ricky is a protypical NL innings eater, mid 4 era, junk ball tosser. He was a desperation signing. His numbers last season shouldn't surprise anyone but he should pitch better this season. Hughes on the other hand was a gamble as well but the ceiling is much higher. By the way, if he pitches like last season leading up to the all-star break in 2015, the Twin's FO needs to get their rear ends in gear and put together extension paperwork before his price becomes astronomical. But back on topic. Unless we are going all in and make a run for Lester I want nothing to do with the next lower tier of starters like McCarthy, Morrow, Capuano, etc. We have the prospects in May and Meyer who are ready to go and Berrios is a half season away potentially. There is no reason to clog the rotation with a bunch of expensive mid level free agent starters and block the development of these three. In my opinion May outpitched Pino, Darnell and Johnson in his final 3 or 4 starts. A guy with 4 solid offerings like he has is money. Meyer is also close as well, although his offspeed stuff needs a bit of polish. Barring more injuries he should be available to start the season as a bullpen arm / spot starter in 2015. Don't forget about Berrios though. This kid has rolled through the minors so far ( I don't count his 3 inning start at Rochester against him). 2015 is a huge year for Jose. If he pitches in Rochester like he did in New Britain, I don't see how the front office can't consider him as a fall call up. There just isn't a need for another free agent starter at this point considering we have south paw Milone as a stop gap option and Pelfrey (gags) under contract for the season. Hughes Gibson Nolasco May Milone / Meyer