South Dakota Tom

Can you imagine how much everyone on this board would be freaking out if we hadn't done anything about catcher as of this date and the end of the winter meetings?

I had the same starting 9 (right now) but like your idea of Benson over Nunez, and adding Arcia to the bench. However, given the question you posed, I say the answer is no. I believe there is one more move in which players are traded for pitching, though it could come from prospects being traded instead of regulars. I also flip your lineup and put Buxton on top (probably not from day one) followed by Mauer, Dozier, Sano, Park, Plouffe, Rosario, Murphy, and Escobar (or Escobar then Murphy). I do like that lineup - starting to feel like the FO enjoys writing it down over and over again as well.....

No, we have an unthreatening staff as well.

Muy buena, es verdad! Good numbers, Madre Dos! Hope your house keeps churning out 20% of our top prospects for a long, long time.

I don't believe this is the "great leap backward" defensively that others do. Yes, catcher may be the only defensive upgrade (though a full year of Escobar's steadiness as SS, Buxton in center and Hicks in RF is an upgrade over the early-season roster from last year). Other positions remain the same. Plouffe has a great arm, and is better-framed to make the move to a corner outfield position. Sano just needs to be in the lineup everyday. Every member of that team can grow into those positions, and while Rosario didn't play a lot of 2B lately, he has played the position extensively in his career and is an acceptable defensive player. Another poster wondered about who the targets might be, and while I'm not as well-versed on minor league talent as several others on this site, I look at players like Kyle Zimmer from KC as a AA (just starting AA) pitcher with potential, and either a Gary Sanchez from the Yankees or Andrew Susac from the Giants or, yes, Jonathan Lucroy (who isn't really young, but is a strong defender and hitter who's cost-controlled through 2017) as a catching upgrade. Don't know how to make all the parts fit, but I'm sticking with my plan...

How do we keep Trevor and Miguel in the lineup together? How do we find the right catcher? How do we shore up the bullpen? Should Torii Hunter have a role? Do we need another starter, or just swap out some that we have? Can we afford an ace? How do we do all this under a scenario that the F.O. might actually consider, from an economic perspective? I think it can all be done, by next spring, with relatively few moves. But two of them are big. We would trade Brian Dozier and Kyle Gibson. We would not resign Cotts, Boyer, Hunter, Pelfrey, Robinson, or Nunez. We would sign two free agent relief pitchers. The idea is that the combination of Gibson/Dozier brings a cost-controlled young defensive catcher with offensive upside and front-line pitching prospect, perhaps a year away from the bigs. The holes get plugged in a different way than I've seen, as well. It's not Polanco to 2nd, but Rosario. The defensive arrangement would be young stud/Suzuki at catcher (keeping Kurt below his vesting option), Mauer, Rosario, Escobar, and Sano around the infield. Outfield would be Plouffe in left, Buxton in center, and Hicks in right. We would move Hunter to a coaching role. Customary DH is a combination of Arcia/ABWIII/Vargas. Bench is Suzuki, ABW, Santana, and Vargas. We have some pop in our pinch hitters for a change. Rosario/ABW/Arcia would be Plouffe's backup in left, Hicks would be depth in center, Arcia and ABW would be behind Hicks in right. Plouffe, Escobar and Santana would back up third, Santana would back up SS and 2nd, and Plouffe, Vargas, Sano would back up 1B. Max Kepler would start at AAA. Starters would be Hughes, Santana, Nolasco, Duffy, and May with Berrios, Milone, Meyer and the prospect received for Dozier/Gibson in the wings. Bullpen would be Jepson, Perkins, Duensing, Neftali Feliz, Tommy Hunter (both F.A. acquisitions), and some combination of existing relief and starters (thinking right now Milone and Meyer). "A" lineup is Hicks, Mauer, Sano, Arcia (putting a lot of stock in this guy's rebound, no doubt), Plouffe, Rosario, Escobar, catcher, Buxton. But the big keys to this transformation are moving Rosario to second base and Plouffe to left field (and given Plouffe's ability to play SS and 3B, I think he can be an effective LF, though not trying to clone the Alex Gordon experiment and expect the same results). This allows us to trade Dozier, keep Rosario in the lineup at a position where his OBP doesn't hurt you, keep Plouffe and still play Sano, and beefs up the three biggest holes - catcher, potential frontline starter, and relief, all while being cost-controlled and maintaining budget. And the trades are not that substantial - some combination of Gibson and Dozier for a great catcher and starting pitcher prospect. Or it could be simplified, depending on how you want to approach it, and Dozier is traded for a catcher, and Gibson remains. I just feel both are sell-high candidates right now, and this team has not sold high on anyone in a long time - they've looked for other team's castoffs and low-dollar free agents, but this gives them trade chips that will bring back quality in return. How would you shape the roster for next year?

We have a rotation, today, of Santana, Gibson, Pelfrey, Milone, and Duffy. Let's say, theoretically, that we arrive at game 162 and need a game 163, or, better yet, a one-game playoff against the Yankees or Blue Jays (no other scenario seems very plausible right now, at least not one involving the Twins). Santana could pitch a game 163, though I'm not certain I'd want him to unless he starts picking it up a notch or two. I'm assuming Phil Hughes will be ready by then, but not certain I want him pitching in Yankee Stadium or against Toronto with his fly-ball tendencies and the way those lineups are constructed. What's your post-season rotation right now? The more I thought about it, looking at a rotation of Gibson, Milone, Duffy and Hughes, putting Pelfrey into the bullpen, still leaves me wanting. The person in my opinion that I'd most like to see starting a game 163 or Wild Card road game on the East Coast is sitting in AAA right now, and won't be on our playoff roster unless we bring him up before September (something that seems the club has not discussed publicly as being even a possibility). I realize there are other lineup issues to resolve if October baseball is a possibility, and feel free to discuss them all. But specifically, who is your game 163 starter or Wild Card starter, and (assuming for fun we win that or those) your ALDS rotation?

With the roster shuffling that's already occurred, I find this list less daunting than I'd feared. There will always be guys you want to add to the roster but also enough wiggle room to make trades or off-season acquisitions. Thanks for the link to your previous post (for some reason it didn't appear when I plugged "40 man" into the search tool).... There have been so many theoretical trade threads lately that I thought this list would be a good sideboard to those options. At least it doesn't appear that any top prospects would be exposed by a too-full cupboard. In an unrelated note, anyone know why all the posts show up in Greenwich Mean Time? This post, for instance, said it was done at 5:40 a.m. when it is 11:40 p.m. CDT.

As we approach the non-waiver trade deadline, many commenters have discussed the logjam that we are facing in the roster decisions that will need to be made this off-season. While we search for potential catchers, relief pitchers, and other assorted pieces of the puzzle (both this year and next), it would help me greatly if someone could list the names of those we need to add to the roster this offseason or risk losing to Rule 5 or minor league free agency. Whether this is in the form of a proposed trade, or just informational, I would love to see a list of those who need to be added, as well as suggestions of those who will need to be removed in some form or fashion to make room for these prospects. Assuming no major trades (or that a trade only swaps an equivalent number of rostered players for new players) how many need to be added - and trimmed - in the next six months? Who would you add? Who would you remove? Here is a link to the existing 40-man (plus Nolasco makes 41). http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/team/roster_40man.jsp?c_id=min

With Tonkin being optioned back to the minor leagues, the Twins have created a hole in the lineup in advance of a 10-game road trip, with the first six of those games in National League ballparks. Some people have suggested that Oswaldo Arcia could return, or a utility player such as Doug Bernier. However, it has appeared to me that the Twins have tried to introduce new prospects during road series, in order to avoid the double-edged nerve-sword of a simultaneous major league and home debut. This would apply to three of the names being bandied about as potential replacements, and a case can be made for each one. Alex Meyer - since his switch to relief, he has been very strong, and he only faced a couple of batters last night. Fans are anxious to see what this now-25 year old prospect will bring to the table. He is clearly an upgrade to the bullpen in terms of strikeout ability, though fears of his release point, consistency, and walks remain. On the other hand, Molitor has spoken frequently of wanting an extra bat for the lineup during NL games, and expressed confidence in the starters' ability to go deep into games. Since we were sporting 13 pitchers prior to Tonkin's departure, that would suggest that the 25th man will be someone who is both on the 40-man roster (saving that 40th spot for Santana a week from Sunday) and can contribute in some fashion to the big club. Two prominent names vying for that spot are Miguel Sano and Max Kepler, both in Chattanooga and both all-stars in the league. Kepler has been white hot lately, and plays multiple positions in the outfield and first base. Sano is a bigger household name, and while he is a big swing-and-miss candidate, contact equates to something special for fans to see. However, he plays third base and has not had significant time in any other position and it seems less likely that the Twins would remove Trevor Plouffe from the lineup. That would mean that Sano plays only as a pinch-hitter or Plouffe plays at first base for a game or two giving Joe Mauer a day off. There are some day games after night games coming up, so that possibility should not be entirely discounted . Do you expect a major league debut tomorrow night in Milwaukee? If so, who do you expect to see?

I like the fact that Nolasco's spot and Berrios's spot in the rotation line up (you know, just in case....)

Seth, et al - this is a great series, but I would like to see a 2014 slash line for the player. It helps me decide whether the projected lines are reasonable progressions or regressions. Several of these profiles have not contained a 2014 baseline. Add doubles, triples, SBs, SOs, whatever, but at least avg/obp/slg plus doubles/homers.

The eyeball test last year didn't suggest to me that a quicker outfield would have contained Ricky Nolasco. That man's era wouldn't have dropped half a run if he pitched for the Royals post-season defense. I'm not an advanced stat person, but it strikes me that someone who consistently underperforms his peripheral numbers simply means that he pitches less well in crucial situations. That his hr/walk/strikeout ratios versus his era means that one batter per game that you "really need to get out" he doesn't get out as often as all the other guys he pitches to. That's what you see when you look at the guy some of the time as well. He augers in and digs a hole and his numbers reflect that. It's like that relief pitcher we all hate (no names here) who allows in the inherited runner, but keeps his era low because the guy after him keeps his runner(s) from scoring. Yes, I think defense matters - it inspires confidence, and confidence influences pitch selection, and stops a pitcher from trying to be too fine, and allows him to relax. Most everybody reading this wants him to find that peace and confidence and relaxation (even in the absence of the stout D).

We have 52 replies but one question: what do we have? Is he a late-inning stopper? A top of the rotation guy? A long reliever? A #3? You have to let this guy pitch! He's going to be whatever he is, but his confidence is not going to increase or decrease depreciably in minor league baseball. He has big-league talent, and he needs to slot in to this team now. He's way past worrying about his ego getting bruised by being hit. He might rise to the occasion but we are never going to find out until we put him on the field. He does not strike me as a pitcher who needs more seasoning. Whatever strengths or shortcomings he has, he is ready to work them out in the big leagues. Ready or not ready, he's a big boy. I think he's ready - to find out. (I know I am ready to find out).

Most of the folks here remember that Pelfrey was, for several months of 2013, the best starting pitcher we had on the staff. For a period, Sam Deduno took over. So I'm a little reluctant to "anoint" anyone. Anyone here want to look at 2013 posts about who we thought would be the core rotation come 2015? I'm also very reluctant (points well made by Leviathan and brvama) to put a lot of stock in stats compiled in March. I've been to spring training. I don't want it to be a full-blown competition. I would rather pitchers went to the mound saying that they were going to work on their mechanics/slider/cutter/location without feeling like raw numbers were going to dictate their futures. That same mentality applies to batters - we know that Hicks can rake when he knows what's coming. I'll make one more point here. I try to trust the staff to decide what's best. At the same time, I do understand that this decision is, always, more than which pitcher gives the team the best chance to win today. It's an imperfect analogy, but I watched a Duke team in the early 80s when Krzyzewski marched out freshmen Dawkins, Bilas, Henderson, and Alarie over holdovers Emma, Engelland and Meagher, because he knew that those freshmen were the core of the future. This team needs a blueprint. It needs leadership; it needs to sell tickets. But more than anything, they need to figure out a path to be "good" and that's been sorely lacking for a few years. If that means we choose the guys that are eventually going to be on the good team, then do that. I'll be giddy it if we strike lightning in a bottle. I watched it happen a dozen years ago. But if we keep losing and dancing around the rebuild with a roster of guys who are, today, better than the alternatives, I'm not just going to avoid going to games. I'm gonna join that riot.