Jeremy Nygaard

I have the same figure on the R&P page, but I included Capps' buyout. I wouldn't be surprised if payroll dropped next year. I also don't see myself lighting things of fire or throwing things through windows if that happened either. I'll renew my season tickets and still find baseball entertaining.

Yeah, the Robertson inclusion was an error on my part. I was looking at projected rosters and not the actual camp list. He's in the clear.

You can waive a player that is injured. I'm not 100% of the semantics, but the Twins removed Oliveros (elbow) and Deduno (eye) from the 40-man with known injuries. That could explain why Wood hasn't been placed on the DL yet. I would guess waiving a player on the DL would require an injury settlement. The whole Tim Wood saga is a mystery. He signed a minor-league contract as a minor-league free agent. Then turned the "interest" into being added to the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 draft and parlayed that into getting a $675,000 major-league contract. (To put that into perspective, Diamond $530k, Worley $525k and Plouffe $520k, all have a greater track record and more experience than Wood.) He may clear waivers on account of that. In baseball terms, he's cheap; but in relative terms, he's vastly overpaid.

As the Opening Day roster nears completion (just a bullpen battle now, right?), there is still a pretty pressing issue that needs to be addressed: The Twins, with a full 40-man roster, need to add Wilkin Ramirez. Unless you're in the minority, you really don't care about this move because, for most, it's a guy you've maybe never heard of replacing a different guy you've probably never heard of. I applaud you people; I wish I cared less. Whether you care or don't, I'll offer my two cents about what happens next... The easiest move is to take an injured player and simply transfer him to the 60-day DL. The 60-day DL is essentially a 40-man exemption. It frees a spot up. Unfortunately (but, really, fortunately) the Twins don't have anybody injured enough to miss the next two months. The next option is removing a player by "releasing" him. There are a lot of different terms that I'm not going to bore you with, but basically the Twins can take a guy, offer him to the other teams ("place on waivers") and if they all pass, the Twins send him to AAA. They aren't really "releasing" him, but they're "removing" him from their 40-man roster. The term you'll probably hear is "outright". (And just so you know, a team can outright you once. The second time, you can elect free agency.) If the Twins want to go the way of option #2 with a player they believe has some trade value, they can "Designate a player for assignment". It works the same way as above, only they have a 10-day window to work out a trade. At the end, a lot of players are placed on waivers anyway. The interesting part of this equation is that the Twins don't really have anybody that screams, "Me! I'm the 40th guy on the roster." (In fact, I'm having a hard time coming up with candidates.) So... who goes off...? Drew Butera getting sent to Rochester and the Twins turning around and acquiring another catcher made me think twice... Do the Twins trade Butera? That would open up a roster spot. Doubtful, but possible. Does Joe Benson need a fresh start? I can't imagine the Twins would place him on waivers, he'd certainly be claimed. There are four pitchers on assignment in Rochester - Kyle Gibson, Tyler Robertson, Pedro Hernandez and Caleb Thielbar - and the Twins would be silly to part way with any of them. Maybe Robertson could slip through waivers, but, as a lefty, I'd doubt it. The names at AA also appear to have future value, but one name sticks out to me: Josmil Pinto. Pinto was a surprise addition to the 40-man roster in November. And, as mentioned before, the addition of Mike Kvasnicka gives the organization added depth. I would guess the Twins will place Pinto on waivers. Of course, many teams are placing guys on waivers for the same reason the Twins are, which means that many guys would go unclaimed. In that event, Pinto remains in the organization. At this point, it's hard to say, but that would appear the most likely move for the Twins to make. If that happens, the Twins swap Wilkin Ramirez for Josmil Pinto. See, two guys you've never heard of...

There's no way I let you forget that! I got your point then and I get it now. The only reason he was brought up is because my Twins guys brought him up when I told him I saw Denney going #4 to the Twins. He said something along the lines of "I saw a mock where we were taking Rivera at #4... he's a good player, but we view him as a 6th rounder right now." His point was... don't put stock into early mock drafts. (I agree, but they're like train wrecks...) Your placing him at #1 got people talking about him in the same breath as Crawford and Mercado. (You should probably call him and be his adviser, you drove his hype-machine!)

Talked to Twins source on Denney: definite 1st rounder, but not likely someone the Twins will take at four (right now). There was also a mention in a thread a while ago about Chris Rivera - Garrioch's original pick to go #1 - not viewed as a top 5 rounder.

...he went on to write that an NL scout said, "with all due respect to Gray, Appel is the best player in this class... and it isn't close." Interesting quote.

I asked someone with direct involvement of this situation who had more power, Sano or Bryant. Here's the response I got, "Good question... Sano has more raw power now and is 2 years younger. Bryant has always had real good loft power. I would argue Aaron Judge has more raw power/bat strength than Bryant, he's just not as good of hitter as Bryant." He also believe Bryant has 50/50 chance to stick at 3B, but will most likely end up at 1B. Personally, I like the idea of Bryant peppering the left field bleachers... but I'd prefer a pitcher, all things being equal.

All of today's moves are included: Butera and the others sent away from big-league camp. The minor trade to bring a Gopher home.

I don't see it going down that way either; though, at this point, no one knows. I would be less inclined to believe that Frazier would give the Astros the discount that Correa did, but Frazier would be a good pick. In my opinion, the Twins going to the podium with those choices would be ideal. And if they did, Denney wouldn't be my choice.

Lots of Aaron Hicks updates. Also Tim Wood appears destined for the DL.

Hicks' Twitter account. Winfield wore #32 while he played for the Twins as well.

Hicks, officially, is hooking #32 from Kyle Gibson. Apparently he decided to one-up his old man.

If you're looking for a higher-ceiling, you're probably looking at preps Kohl Stewart (football commit to Texas A&M) or (maybe) Hunter Harvey... you're also taking a much bigger risk. Anderson's more of a flyball guy than Appel, if that matters at all.

Windle got it done again. I'm fairly certain some team drafting late in the first round will take Windle and get a very solid lefty that will fill nicely into the middle of their big-league rotation within a couple of years. Windle fits the Scott Diamond/Glen Perkins/Kentucky lefthanders profile the Twins have added over the last handful of years.

I would guess the Twins will give him a few options. Hicks has worn: GCL Twins - 55 Beloit Snappers - 5 Fort Myers Miracle - 5 New Britain Rockcats - 31 - He wore 31 because his dad did (and Dave Winfield did). If you scroll a little ways down, you can see what numbers are worn by whom. Some early favorites: 1 - currently worn by NRI Ray Olmedo. 2 - worn by Dozier (and Span and Revere), I'm sure he'd take it if given the chance (he won't). 5 - worn by Escobar, who appears destined for the Opening Day roster. 11 - "big brother" Ben Revere's number last year; vacated when Thomas was sent across the street. 22 - worn by Wilkin Ramirez, who has a shot to stick. 31 - worn by Alex Burnett 48 - worn by Brandon Boggs, who has a shot to stick. 55 - vacated by Chris Colabello.

An encouraging sign for those in need of pitching - Stanek had "Top 5 stuff" in his win over #6 South Carolina. In what was easily his best game of the year, Stanek went the distance allowing zero earned runs against a solid lineup.

From what I gather about Manaea's most recent (7 shutout innings) performance was that he was a little erratic, but also looked a little more like his summer-electric-self. Most importantly, he did so in 41 degree weather.

Appel returned from break with a pretty dominant performance: 11 strikeouts along with 12 groundball outs. A Boras client (Carlos Pena) did sign with the Astros this offseason, so there must have been/be an okay relationship there. I still think the smartest thing they can do is draft Appel and play hardball. Worst case scenario: Draft 1st and 2nd in a much better draft... not ideal, obviously; but hardly the end of the world for an organization that is improving (from the bottom up).

Yeah. Mostly everyone with under 3 years of service signs a split contract. Major league payroll is determined by only their major league salary and, quite often, a lot of those figures aren't public knowledge. (Those were the only three I was able to learn.) You can take all major league figures and divide them by 182 (the length of the season) and then multiply by the days of service and that will give you the actual payroll.

Yup, they were added when they signed.

Updated to include the major leaguers optioned, reassigned and minor leaguers who were released by the organization.

TwinsDaily has learned that the Twins have made their first rounds of minor league cuts this morning. Leaving the organization - but wishing them luck on their journey - are: - LP Cole Nelson, 23, who played his prep ball at Peterson HS in Edina was acquired in the Delmon Young trade from the Tigers. Nelson played collegiately at Auburn and pitched 82 innings for the Miracle last year. The 6-7 lefty spent most of last season in the starting rotation. - OF/C Danny Rams, 24, was the Twins 2nd round pick in 2007 and was considered one of the most powerful prep bats in the draft. He was never able to make it past Fort Myers, where he spent his last two seasons. - P Patrick Arnold, 24, was signed by the Twins out of the Frontier League (Indy Ball) on January 12th of this year. - P Tyler Herr, 22, the 6-8 right-handed was one of the last remaining players from the 2009 draft, quite a feat for the 44th round selection out of Katy, Texas. Tyler pitched out of E-town's bullpen last season. - P Gerardo Ramirez, 19, was signed as an international free agent on March 12, 2011 and played two seasons for the GCL Twins. Despite posting a 4-1 record last season, he walked almost as many batters (10) as he struck out (13) and recorded an ERA of 6.62. Best of luck to these young gentlemen as they take the next steps in their lives. The Roster & Payroll page will reflect these - and the rest of today's moves - shortly.

Sometimes guys will go the JC route in hopes they can up their draft stock in one year. He'll go through draft process for the 3rd time in June. I read that article and viewed it as leadership.

Maybe it's been mentioned, but getting lucky with Matt Moore is a great thing for Twins fans to talk about. His signing scout was... (drumroll)... Jack Powell, who was the signing scout for Byron Buxton and Luke Bard and is out there looking for the next Matt Moore... only this time he'll be wearing TWINS on his chest.