laloesch

<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.

May did not REALLY struggle to get through 6 innings. He is not a true bullpen specialist or possibly a closer. He is a starter. PERIOD.

"Mauer going back to catching" In all seriousness I think the front office SHOULD consider it! If indeed they've truly given up on Pinto and Mauer continues declining there's nothing left to protect. He SHOULD NOT be hitting cleanup or #2, PERIOD. I get the whole hometown hero thing, blah, blah, blah, the monstrosity of his contract, etc., but he's just not an elite hitter anymore or a team leader. A lot of posters on this forum are in denial and throw around his OBP like it's the be all end all and can't accept the fact that he's a mediocre at best first baseman. He's also proven to be invisible in the clubhouse/dugout and effectively blocking Vargas & Kepler who deserve a shot. Platoon Mauer & Suzuki behind the plate through September and call Vargas back up. In 12 days call Kepler up and see how he fairs. Let Vargas handle the majority of starts at 1st for the remainder of the season. Time for Mauer to pass the baton and go back to full time catching for the remainder of his contract. That should give the Twins time to find another catcher and eventually replace him. PS....make sure Suzuki doesn't exceed 485 plate appearances next season or were on the hook through 2017.

I wouldn't fret too much about it. At this point all of the starters are tradable with the exception of Nolasco (whom the Twins have been trying to move, if the reports are right). I think Ryan will be selling one or two starters this offseason. We all know that Pelfrey is gone at seasons end and they won't be re-signing him. Nolasco might be on the way out as well. He has made it well known that he is not happy in Minnesota and the Twins should be able to sell him as a one season rental if they pick up part of his salary this offseason. After the last couple of starts Milone has proved that he is not exceptional, but he is a southpaw and insurance in case Berrios doesn't take. No worries though May will be a starter in 2016 along with Berrios at some point. At this point I think your locks are Hughes, Santana and Gibson. Milone is on the fringe with May and Berrios. I'm not including Meyer as it appears he's completely flamed out.

No. May is going to be better than Gibson and probably Berrios based on his build and repertoire of pitches. If you have to move a pitcher let it be Gibson

I'm not a fan of this deal, unless we unload Nolasco and either Milone or Santana freeing up two rotation spots. Next year the Twins need to have two slots for Berrios and May with Meyer as a distant possibility.

I agree 110% Ryan is WAY WAY too conservative of a GM.

I think the front office is going to be subtracting starters at the deadline. Hopefully Pelfrey and or Nolasco. They need to clear the way for Berrios and May. Meyer is less than 50/50 if he continues on the trajectory he is on now, so I'm not factoring him in.

My thoughts are that you focus on a quality reliever and possibly a catcher if available at a reasonable price. That said, if the proposals are outrageous Terry Ryan should stand fast. I don't think it's worth the premium talent (Sano, Buxton, Berrios, May, Polanco, Rosario, Gonsalves), etc at this stage of the game. If the Twins do manage to sneak into the playoffs as the wild card they will almost assuredly lose to the other wild card or get swept in that first series. I think the time to start shuffling talent for missing pieces will be next summer when some of these guys have a chance to play a bit more and establish value. However, if the right deal does come along NOW I'd be willing to move Meyer, Stewart, Duffey, Rogers, Pinto, Arcia, Santana, Hicks, etc. And of course Pelfrey and Nolasco are pretty much free if anyone even asks. The problem I see is that the Twins just haven't properly evaluated some of these prospects yet to make an educated decision. An example would be the slew of flame throwing relievers on the way up. Most if not all of them are struggling mightly right now unfortunately. But that could change dramatically in a few months once these guys start pitching consistently. I'm also not convinced that Pinto is as bad of a catcher as everyone makes him sound. Give the kid a shot later this season if you don't bring anyone else in. Suzuki is just not that good.