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?

"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.

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.

<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.

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.

I think it's an incredible waste to keep May in the pen.

#1 Santana PED suspension. Huge hit to the team. Probably 4 or 5 win difference at least. #2 Starting rotation meltdown after the all-star break where the Twins won 5 of 21 games. Cost us the playoffs and illustrated how weak the rotation could be especially without Santana. Tommy Milone, Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes all horrible in this stretch. #3 Joe Mauer's continued implosion that began in earnest in 2014. Having FULLY recovered from concussion symptoms for 2 + years, Joe surprisingly(or unsurprisingly to some) continued declining in almost every statistical category despite round after round of scathing rebuttals by his supporters on this forum. Again, his lack of production was a significant reason the Twins fell short of the playoffs. #4 Trevor May banished to the bullpen in favor of Mike Pelfrey. Despite some shorter outings early in the season Trevor was the Twins best starter early on. Unfortunately for him, MIke Pelfrey made a big big stink about being sent to the pen and Trevor was sent there in early July due to lack of quality relievers. This became a much bigger factor later on in the season when Mike became ineffective as he stopped using his split finger fastball. #5 As many here correctly predicted before the season began, the bullpen was a thorn in our side. When it became apparent that they were in full meltdown mode after the break Ryan failed to take corrective measures in time which cost the team on the order of 8-10 wins. Moving Trevor May to the bullpen was a desperation move and the Jepsen trade was too little too late. Huge fail on Terry Ryan's part.

Agreed. A rotation of Santana, Hughes, Gibson, May and Berrios / Duffey is far superior to the rotation in 2015.

If Ryan feels it's necessary to clear the logjam he will. Milone is easily tradeable and so is Gibson. Neither of whom are anything more than #3 or #4 starters at their best. What they do have going for them is youth. People do forget though that Hughes is 29 going on 30 and is just one year older than Gibson. If Hughes rebounds and pitches closer to 2014 numbers he can be EASILY moved. And despite what some posters INSIST on these forums, Nolasco is absolutely tradeable. Sure it may not be easy, but match part of his salary, package him up with Plouffe and you could get rid of him and get something halfway decent in return. Now Santana....that's a different story. At his best he's a #1 or #2, but inconsistency has been his Achilles heel and he's on the wrong side of 30 . I think next season at some point we'll see a rotation of Hughes, Santana, Gibson, May, Duffey / Berrios. I think Nolasco moves to the bullpen, is traded along with someone else, or hits the long term disabled list with a mystery injury.

I disagree. With Plouffe as the primary commodity in any deal and Nolasco as ancillary, all the TWins need to do is sweeten the pot to get something worthwhile in return. Maybe part of his salary and or a lower level prospect. You won't be giving Plouffe away for free. Someone will bite if for the only reason that Nolasco is a proven innings eater, only has two years left on his deal and Plouffe is icing on the cake.

He's definitely a trade able commodity. That's the angle I would pursue. I think you have to find spots for Duffey, May and Berrios eventually.

That would be the angle I would pursue as well. You want Plouffe but carefully…..push Nolasco into the deal. Because of the shortage of available 3rd basemen this offseason, I think now is the prime opportunity to get something for Trevor. Ryan absolutely should deal him.

Lets just see if he can make the team in any capacity in 2016. Remember he lost his starting gig in Rochester. He lacked control, confidence and walked a ton of people.

My thoughts exactly. Twins might as well trade away Vargas, Kepler and Walker for nothing. With Sano moving to the outfield and the acquisition of Palka and possible signing of Park they have no need to keep these three marginal prospects anymore. Lets be realistic, it was an outside chance that any of them had a shot at the lineup over the next two to three years. Everyone knows that Plouffe will get a four or five year deal next season and Mauer will be extended another 4. With Park becoming full-time DH soon there is no room for any of the kids to move up.

Agreed. Time to move on. Trade Santana to another team that could use him. Twins have options on the way up and he's only taking up a valuable roster slot. Trade him.

If they're really going to push towards a youth movement why not have... Santana (33) Hughes (29) Gibson (27) May (26) Duffey (24) / Berrios (21) Bye bye Pelfrey. Trade Milone and permanently bench Nolasco for the remainder of his contract. Simple easy best solution to the glut of starters we have. Right now the issue is quantity vs. quality. You can't have it both ways. Either go with the best starting rotation you can field regardless of contracts and prior obligations or continue with same old same old and miss the playoffs again in 2016 by a few games.

He'll blow it. You wait. 6 runs given up first three innings. Book it. Using a bit of reverse psychology.

I don't see such a rotation happening in 2016, I just don't. I would like to see it but it would take some trades.

I don't care what the Twins have to do, get rid of this clown. Trade him for future considerations, include other prospects to sweeten the deal, eat half his salary whatever. They have to get rid of this guy. There is absolutely no reason to Ricky Nolasco in the rotation next season or 2017 other than contract status. The future is now, it's time dump these non productive starters even if we have to eat significant salary. Oh by the way, I hope the league owners insist on adding a contract escape clause for players caught doping. Santana has taken Terry Ryan to the cleaners and is laughing all the way to the bank. The Twins don't need Nolasco, Pelfrey or Santana. Get rid of these guys and let the kids pitch. Wht a difference when you ACTUALLY HAVE talent (Duffey, May, Berrios, etc.) instead of expesive as beens and low velocity AAAA'ers.

May will be a starter in 2016. Pelfrey will be gone at seasons end and Nolasco will spend the rest of the season on the disabled list before the Twins dump him this off season. The Twins will not pick up Milone's option either. Next season it will be Hughes, Gibson, Santana, May and Duffey /Berrios.