Shane Wahl

Casilla's ability to move over to SS (where he is just fine) should not be overlooked by Gardenhire as that can mean the difference between having a legitimate bench bat and having Nishioka to start the season. Leaving aside who constitutes a "legitimate bench bat" amongst the minor league acquisitions this offseason (why no Derrek Lee?), the Twins have Plouffe as an emergency in-game SS if Carroll and Casilla are hurt/out in the same game. Maybe Burroughs (L), Bates ®, Pearce ®, or even Ramirez ® could be used off the bench. In fact, if Hughes is injured to begin the season, and they do what they should with Nishioka and start him at Rochester, the Twins would have two empty roster spots.

I would not abandon it at all either, but Rochester has better waters (ok, the analogy will stop). I would rather see him play every day for a month or so and hopefully become an actual backup middle infielder who can push Casilla and Valencia (since Carroll can play all three positions).

Great analysis. I don't understand how they wouldn't look at the difference between the two seasons and get him back on track delivering like he did in 2010 for this year. That will definitely be a thing to watch at the beginning of the season.

I guess I don't see the problem with both Dozier and Nishioka at Rochester in the middle infield, both spending some time at each position. We know that Nishioka can play shortstop (even if not very well) but I still question his ability to be a second basemen, so Rochester would seem to be a good idea to play every day somewhere and to become an actual backup middle infielder at worst. Being only a backup shortstop is a waste of a Twins roster spot, in my view. And Dozier would benefit from playing both positions as well. Florimon is the third option there and that is fine. There have been some people proposing Dozier start at New Britain, but that seems a bit excessive! I don't understand why the Twins stunt some of their prospects. That said, it would be interesting to see a New Britain lineup in April and a bit of May (perhaps) of: Aaron Hicks, Chris Herrmann, Brian Dozier, Angel Morales, and Evan Bigley . . . .

Haha, I agree with you Seth. Wow. And the Pavano vs. Baker convo was interesting, especially given the WAR facts.

Clearly they are not going to work a trade with the White Sox for him, so I would expect him to make the team unless he is bad in ST. But yeah, he is a bit old for AA.

I would absolutely take Joe Nathan instead of Matt Capps. Hell, the money isn't even that much of a difference. It just seems like the Twins wanted some kind of stability, to keep a "good guy" and to not have to pay whoever they were going to pick with that compensation pick. They clearly could have waited and paid him about $2 million though.

[h=3]Originally posted on November 10th on my blog. Some things are dated. Review of the GM Handbook[/h] Twins Centric has released their annual GM Handbook, a 134-page PDF featuring Michael Cuddyer (perhaps a big ? should also be there) on the cover and a wealth of information inside. Here, I am going to review the Handbook and offer a fifth blueprint for the Twins 2012 season. Some general comments are needed first. John Bonnes, Parker Hageman, Nick Nelson, and Seth Stohs are the equivalent of Joel McHale--they did the research and analyzed the 2011 Twins so you don't have to. After Patrick Reusse's Foreward (no comment here), the Handbook proceeds to analyze the 2011 season, the payroll and the 40-man roster questions. This is followed by my personal favorite part of the Handbook, the organizational depth charts. Seth Stohs does a fantastic job providing information for each position throughout the system. The Handbook continues with grades for every Twins player, arbitration-eligibles, and free agent and trade targets (also a strength of the Handbook is the depth of this section). Each of the four bloggers then outlines their blueprints for the 2012 season and the Handbook concludes with a much-too-short "What are you going to do in the offseason?" section of some select players in the organization. Understanding the payroll situation is vital for all Twins fans to be able to claim to know anything about what the team can reasonably do in the offseason (and this should be required before being allowed to comment on the StarTribune's website). John Bonnes makes the situation quite clear--as is, the Twins are committed to $77.25 million in player salaries ($75.55 million if you do not include the criminally horrible Drew Butera, Alex Burnett, and Jose Mijares, but alas, these three may continue to pollute the 40-man roster next season). The roster holes resulting from this payroll situation really set up the rest of the Handbook. The detail provided in the roster decisions for next year is a major strength of the Handbook. The 40-man roster still is depressing given how the Twins overvalue some seriously bad players and might risk losing some good minor league prospects in their obsession to add mediocre relievers each offseason. Seth provides sound reasons why he would add the five players he wishes to add to the roster (this is found down in his blueprint). Hopefully the Twins will think likewise (and include a 6th player from the list!--Solarte). As I have already said, my favorite part of the Handbook is probably the organizational depth charts. Let's just put it this way--let's hope that Chris Herrmann proves to be good for the Twins and let's also hope that Miguel Sano sticks at third. The catching and third base situation in the system is not good. The player report cards are as expected. Perkins at the top and a whole bunch at the bottom. The arbitration-eligibles situation is pretty clear. A pray that Jose Mijares is signed and traded in some package to some sucker team. The free agent decisions weigh heavily on the front office. It is possible for 0-3 of these players to be re-signed. Matt Capps will be gone, likely to be a decent setup man for some team in the NL. The Cuddyer-Kubel-Nathan question is the most important non-injury-related item in the Handbook. I will say that there is upside to not paying for any one of them. The trade targets section is fairly helpful, though Brandon Morrow is not going to be traded and if C.J. Wilson leaves the Rangers, Colby Lewis isn't going anywhere either. I still maintain that a Kevin Slowey for Ty Wigginton trade is very possible, but Wigginton doesn't appear at all in the Handbook. It is not at all clear why Matt Garza is included in this section. The Twins would never take him back, and the Cubs gave up way too much to get him, so they are going to keep him around post-Zambrano. Tyler Clippard would be nice (as long as Span is not involved). The free agent pool section is more helpful, certainly. And it comes with expected contracts for every player. This really helps when determining who may fit where and for how much (likely). Onto the blueprints: PLEASE NOTE that I started this review one day and then paused a few days to finish it. In the meantime, the Twins fired Bill Smith and named Terry Ryan interim GM. And then there was the $100 million payroll disclosure, which is probably the bottom end of some range with the top at $110 million. This actually does not seriously affect the blueprints all that much, though. I have to say that Parker Hageman's blueprint seems vastly superior to the others. Nick Nelson's is my next favorite because it opens up more possibilities for ad hoc trades mid-season next year (and is the closest to that $100 million figure). I like the general idea of letting Kubel and Cuddyer both leave, unless Kubel would be willing to accept arbitration or a two-year deal. I predict right now that Cuddyer ends up in Philadelphia which will really overpay him a great deal, and Kubel ends up in Boston or Texas (and he will be good in both places). Signing Joe Nathan is something I like, but if payroll is set to decrease it is going to be either losing Nathan or not signing a David DeJesus or Derrek Lee, at the very least. I like almost everything about Parker's blueprint. Colby Lewis would be a great idea, but if C.J. Wilson leaves the Rangers, there is no way the Rangers are trading Lewis away. I don't know if trading Slowey and X prospect for Ianetta is really better than just signing Barajas and trading Slowey for Wigginton, but Parker's blueprint excels in his good use of 4 or 4-5 million bucks here and there (Octavio Dotel, David DeJesus, Clint Barmes, and Derrek Lee--one of my all-time favorite players), and then dropping down in the 1-2 million range (Wuertz and Nix). Finally, the "what are you working on this offseason?" Player Development section is a great look into players at various levels, but this section would be better early in the Handbook. A small and minor quibble for an intriguing glimpse into things. I really would like to hear for Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Oswaldo Arcia though! All in all, this is a wonderful must-read for Twins fans. These guys are fantastic and they produce something that may be unheard of for other MLB teams (I don't know how many other teams have bloggers writing about them at this level). I will share my blueprint in the next post.

[h=3]Originally posted on November 10th on my blog. Some things are dated. Review of the GM Handbook[/h] Twins Centric has released their annual GM Handbook, a 134-page PDF featuring Michael Cuddyer (perhaps a big ? should also be there) on the cover and a wealth of information inside. Here, I am going to review the Handbook and offer a fifth blueprint for the Twins 2012 season. Some general comments are needed first. John Bonnes, Parker Hageman, Nick Nelson, and Seth Stohs are the equivalent of Joel McHale--they did the research and analyzed the 2011 Twins so you don't have to. After Patrick Reusse's Foreward (no comment here), the Handbook proceeds to analyze the 2011 season, the payroll and the 40-man roster questions. This is followed by my personal favorite part of the Handbook, the organizational depth charts. Seth Stohs does a fantastic job providing information for each position throughout the system. The Handbook continues with grades for every Twins player, arbitration-eligibles, and free agent and trade targets (also a strength of the Handbook is the depth of this section). Each of the four bloggers then outlines their blueprints for the 2012 season and the Handbook concludes with a much-too-short "What are you going to do in the offseason?" section of some select players in the organization. Understanding the payroll situation is vital for all Twins fans to be able to claim to know anything about what the team can reasonably do in the offseason (and this should be required before being allowed to comment on the StarTribune's website). John Bonnes makes the situation quite clear--as is, the Twins are committed to $77.25 million in player salaries ($75.55 million if you do not include the criminally horrible Drew Butera, Alex Burnett, and Jose Mijares, but alas, these three may continue to pollute the 40-man roster next season). The roster holes resulting from this payroll situation really set up the rest of the Handbook. The detail provided in the roster decisions for next year is a major strength of the Handbook. The 40-man roster still is depressing given how the Twins overvalue some seriously bad players and might risk losing some good minor league prospects in their obsession to add mediocre relievers each offseason. Seth provides sound reasons why he would add the five players he wishes to add to the roster (this is found down in his blueprint). Hopefully the Twins will think likewise (and include a 6th player from the list!--Solarte). As I have already said, my favorite part of the Handbook is probably the organizational depth charts. Let's just put it this way--let's hope that Chris Herrmann proves to be good for the Twins and let's also hope that Miguel Sano sticks at third. The catching and third base situation in the system is not good. The player report cards are as expected. Perkins at the top and a whole bunch at the bottom. The arbitration-eligibles situation is pretty clear. A pray that Jose Mijares is signed and traded in some package to some sucker team. The free agent decisions weigh heavily on the front office. It is possible for 0-3 of these players to be re-signed. Matt Capps will be gone, likely to be a decent setup man for some team in the NL. The Cuddyer-Kubel-Nathan question is the most important non-injury-related item in the Handbook. I will say that there is upside to not paying for any one of them. The trade targets section is fairly helpful, though Brandon Morrow is not going to be traded and if C.J. Wilson leaves the Rangers, Colby Lewis isn't going anywhere either. I still maintain that a Kevin Slowey for Ty Wigginton trade is very possible, but Wigginton doesn't appear at all in the Handbook. It is not at all clear why Matt Garza is included in this section. The Twins would never take him back, and the Cubs gave up way too much to get him, so they are going to keep him around post-Zambrano. Tyler Clippard would be nice (as long as Span is not involved). The free agent pool section is more helpful, certainly. And it comes with expected contracts for every player. This really helps when determining who may fit where and for how much (likely). Onto the blueprints: PLEASE NOTE that I started this review one day and then paused a few days to finish it. In the meantime, the Twins fired Bill Smith and named Terry Ryan interim GM. And then there was the $100 million payroll disclosure, which is probably the bottom end of some range with the top at $110 million. This actually does not seriously affect the blueprints all that much, though. I have to say that Parker Hageman's blueprint seems vastly superior to the others. Nick Nelson's is my next favorite because it opens up more possibilities for ad hoc trades mid-season next year (and is the closest to that $100 million figure). I like the general idea of letting Kubel and Cuddyer both leave, unless Kubel would be willing to accept arbitration or a two-year deal. I predict right now that Cuddyer ends up in Philadelphia which will really overpay him a great deal, and Kubel ends up in Boston or Texas (and he will be good in both places). Signing Joe Nathan is something I like, but if payroll is set to decrease it is going to be either losing Nathan or not signing a David DeJesus or Derrek Lee, at the very least. I like almost everything about Parker's blueprint. Colby Lewis would be a great idea, but if C.J. Wilson leaves the Rangers, there is no way the Rangers are trading Lewis away. I don't know if trading Slowey and X prospect for Ianetta is really better than just signing Barajas and trading Slowey for Wigginton, but Parker's blueprint excels in his good use of 4 or 4-5 million bucks here and there (Octavio Dotel, David DeJesus, Clint Barmes, and Derrek Lee--one of my all-time favorite players), and then dropping down in the 1-2 million range (Wuertz and Nix). Finally, the "what are you working on this offseason?" Player Development section is a great look into players at various levels, but this section would be better early in the Handbook. A small and minor quibble for an intriguing glimpse into things. I really would like to hear for Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Oswaldo Arcia though! All in all, this is a wonderful must-read for Twins fans. These guys are fantastic and they produce something that may be unheard of for other MLB teams (I don't know how many other teams have bloggers writing about them at this level). I will share my blueprint in the next post.

With last year's ranking in parentheses. 1. Miguel Sano (2) 2. Aaron Hicks (1) 3. Oswaldo Arcia (10) 4. Eddie Rosario (19) 5. Liam Hendriks (7) 6. Joe Benson (8) 7. Kyle Gibson (4) 8. Adrian Salcedo (12) 9. Chris Parmelee (14) 10. Brian Dozier (36) 11. Alex Wimmers (5) 12. Max Kepler (13) 13. Chris Herrmann (35) 14. Angel Morales (5) 15. Manuel Soliman (16) 16. Travis Harrison (NR) 17. Niko Goodrum (24) 18. Hudson Boyd (NR) 19. David Bromberg (11) 20. Levi Michael (NR) 21. Madison Boer (NR) 22. B.J. Hermsen (18) 23. Nate Roberts (27) 24. JaDamion Williams (NR) 25. Carlos Gutierrez (15) 26. Jairo Perez (NR) 27. Tom Stuifbergen (32) 28. Matt Hauser (NR) 29. Deolis Guerra (39) 30. Lance Ray (41) 31. Pat Dean (23) 32. Scott Diamond (26) 33. Danny Santana (50) 34. Tyler Robertson (NR) 35. Terry Doyle (NR) 36. Corey Williams (NR) 37. Matthew Summers (NR) 38. Tim Shibuya (NR) 39. Logan Darnell (48) 40. Bobby Lanigan (40) 41. Danny Ortiz (21) 42. Danny Rams (46) 43. Rory Rhodes (HM) 44. Angel Mata (NR) 45. Evan Bigley (42) 46. Bruce Pugh (34) 47. Dakota Watts (29) 48. James Beresford (30) 49. Anderson Hidalgo (31) 50. Jorge Polanco (NR) Honorable Mentions: Matt Bashore, Danny Lehmann, Josmil Pinto, Nick Lockwood, Kennys Vargas, Anthony Slama, Kane Holbrooks, Kyle Waldrop, Brett Jacobsen, Matthew Koch

With last year's ranking in parentheses. 1. Miguel Sano (2) 2. Aaron Hicks (1) 3. Oswaldo Arcia (10) 4. Eddie Rosario (19) 5. Liam Hendriks (7) 6. Joe Benson (8) 7. Kyle Gibson (4) 8. Adrian Salcedo (12) 9. Chris Parmelee (14) 10. Brian Dozier (36) 11. Alex Wimmers (5) 12. Max Kepler (13) 13. Chris Herrmann (35) 14. Angel Morales (5) 15. Manuel Soliman (16) 16. Travis Harrison (NR) 17. Niko Goodrum (24) 18. Hudson Boyd (NR) 19. David Bromberg (11) 20. Levi Michael (NR) 21. Madison Boer (NR) 22. B.J. Hermsen (18) 23. Nate Roberts (27) 24. JaDamion Williams (NR) 25. Carlos Gutierrez (15) 26. Jairo Perez (NR) 27. Tom Stuifbergen (32) 28. Matt Hauser (NR) 29. Deolis Guerra (39) 30. Lance Ray (41) 31. Pat Dean (23) 32. Scott Diamond (26) 33. Danny Santana (50) 34. Tyler Robertson (NR) 35. Terry Doyle (NR) 36. Corey Williams (NR) 37. Matthew Summers (NR) 38. Tim Shibuya (NR) 39. Logan Darnell (48) 40. Bobby Lanigan (40) 41. Danny Ortiz (21) 42. Danny Rams (46) 43. Rory Rhodes (HM) 44. Angel Mata (NR) 45. Evan Bigley (42) 46. Bruce Pugh (34) 47. Dakota Watts (29) 48. James Beresford (30) 49. Anderson Hidalgo (31) 50. Jorge Polanco (NR) Honorable Mentions: Matt Bashore, Danny Lehmann, Josmil Pinto, Nick Lockwood, Kennys Vargas, Anthony Slama, Kane Holbrooks, Kyle Waldrop, Brett Jacobsen, Matthew Koch

This is preposterous. If ALL of those factors work out positively for the Twins, there is no way they don't win 90 games, man.

Upper level hitters: Aaron Hicks (jumping up after falling on most lists), Evan Bigley Middle level hitters: Lance Ray, Daniel Ortiz, Daniel Santana Lower level hitters: Kennys Vargas (eventually), Max Kepler, Niko Goodrum Upper level pitchers: Lester Oliveros, Matt Hauser, Carlos Gutierrez, Delois Guerra Middle level pitchers: Clint Dempster, Manuel Soliman, Matt Bashore Lower level pitchers: Angel Mata

I wouldn't trust him to have another good season in 2013 and I think that a jump to $3 million or so versus 450K or whatever for Dozier would mean he is gone.

Also, Casilla is not going to be around in 2013, so the last year of the Nishioka deal should be the focus and preparing him to be a good player in 2013 is what is needed (if Casilla sucks this year or gets injured again, he isn't worth the money next year--and if he is very good this year, it is sell-as-high-as-conceivably-possible time with that guy).

If he can play 2B appropriately, then he has a good chance. And if Hughes has to start on the DL, he has a very good chance. I don't see them using a roster spot for someone who is only a backup shortstop (and a sub-par one at that). I would hope that he plays basically every day at SS and 2B with Dozier (and Florimon) at Rochester until mid-May or the beginning of June. Making the most out of the investment is what is needed now, and using him to start once a week and pinch run every other game for the Twins is not the way to make the most out of that investment.

Towles may surprise everyone and be that guy. He also can serve as a pinch hitter late in a game. Such a thing can not be said about Butera. I think the Twins should just pay Butera a nice salary to play at Rochester forever to help develop pitching staffs as they move through the system. Towles and Danny Lehmann deserve a chance (waiting for Chris Herrmann) as we all know what Butera and Rivera have to offer.

Because this is brilliant/amazing/wonderful, etc.