Jeremy Nygaard

You think that if Arcia is ready in 7-10 days that he gets some "rehab ABs" in the minors? Seems like a good thing to do.

That's assuming he comes up in September and never plays in the minor leagues again. Remember the concern that the Twins were losing a year on Hicks when he made the Opening Day Roster? Heck, Mike Trout debuted in July of 2011 and still spent the first month in the minor leagues in 2012. The thing about gaining the extra year is the numbers are concrete. If he gets 30 days now. You just have to make sure he doesn't get 142 next year to get that extra year. He gets 141, you get the extra year. The most extreme - and worst-planned - example is Jose Fernandez. If the Marlins would have kept him down for 12 days, they get an extra year... instead he makes the roster, starts the 6th and 11th games (11 innings total) and they lose a year of him. They could have kept him down, had him start the 13th game and kept him. Pretty costly 5-inning debut.

"Options" are short for "Optional Years", of which you get three. You can go up and down as many times as a team wants during those years. This is Hicks's third year on optional assignment, whether he's here or there, this is his final year he can be called up/sent down without being exposed to the waiver process.

Like Seth said, dude has looked like a completely different player at the plate. Like the Twins brass has said before, it takes him a couple weeks to adjust/knock the rust off. Dougie Baseball knows how to get the best out of his guys. Just wait til he figures outs Sano...

That's not how "years" work. Basically, you control a player for six groups of 172 days. If he gets called up in September, you burn through 30-35 of those days. The significant days are the Super-2 cut (around 2.130), 3 years and 6 years.

Hicks' ceiling - I've said it in the prospect handbook after Buxton was drafted - is a poor man's Buxton's ceiling. I'm guessing Buxton stays in Chattanooga - at a minimum - until mid-June. If he appears ready then, he'll jump straight to the Twins. Like TR says, he needs to force their hand. Hicks may be up before then. He'll play RF and give Hunter more days off/DH days. And he'll play LF whenever a LHP is on the hill. In a given week: Buxton plays CF 6 or 7 times a week. Hicks plays CF 0 or 1, LF 3 or 4, RF 2 or 3. Arcia plays LF 3 or 4, DH 2 or 3. Hunter plays RF 4 or 5, DH 1 or 2. Robinson or Schafer replace Arcia after the 7th in close games, defensively or as pinch-runner. Vargas (or Pinto) DH the rest

Also, Doug Bernier is a future coach and, right now, Danny Santana could use some help at shortstop. Getting a two-week mentor could pay dividends.

Before we overreact to the "Bernier move", let's remember that as recently as last year, there would have been no move. Nunez hasn't played for a few days, but every other player that wasn't able to go for more than a few days has been placed on the DL. All the pitchers and Arcia. The Twins are now willing to make that "short-term" move, which I'm happy about, but the rationale behind who's been added (Thielbar, Rosario and Bernier) certainly isn't consistent. It's all good for Brian Duensing, the move has taken the attention away from how brutal he's been.

Good find. As of late last night, it was still Hamburger. The day off they had early this week allowed them skip a fifth starter and start Dean on normal rest.

Doug Bernier was pulled from Rochester's game on Tuesday evening and he will be joining the Twins as Eduardo Nunez was placed on the DL with a left oblique strain. Bernier can be added to the 40-man in the spot of suspended Ervin Santana. After a scary scene Tuesday night, it’s been revealed that Chattanooga’s Levi Michael suffered a high ankle sprain while sliding into second base. If you saw the play, you probably expected much worse. It’s a tough break for Michael, who has missed extended periods of time throughout his professional career. Wilkin Ramirez was activated from Rochester’s disabled list. He takes the spot vacated by recently-promoted Eddie Rosario. Let's take a look at the on-field action for Tuesday night.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 15, Indianapolis 10 Box Score An offensive explosive for the Red Wings, led by Aaron Hicks. The Wings got contributions from all the starters and held on after jumping out to a 10-0 first inning lead. Hicks led off the game with a ground-rule double. This started off an inning that saw 14 batters come to the plate with seven hits, three doubles and ten runs scored. Hicks scored twice, came a home run short of the cycle and improved his batting average to .318. He would have had a chance to complete the cycle, but was pinch-hit for by Wilkin Ramirez in the eighth inning. Josmil Pinto and James Beresford also had three-hit games. The pitching staff was unimpressive, but did enough to get the win. Starter Jason Wheeler gave up five runs (two home runs) in five innings. Stephen Pryor gave up three runs in 2.1 and even #FreeLesterOliveros got roughed up for two runs on four hits (and allowed all three of his inherited runners from Pryor to score). He recorded two outs. A.J. Achter finished off the game with a perfect three-groundout ninth inning. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga - OFF Hopefully a day off doesn’t cool Byron Buxton off, as the Southern League Player of the Week has been on an absolute tear over the last 10 games. The Lookouts have used a hot start in May to propel themselves back to the top of a jumbled Southern League North, where they are tied with Tennessee among five teams who sit within two games of each other. Alex Wimmers will be on the mound tomorrow. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Bradenton 3 (15 innings) Box Score For the 10th time already this season (in only 26 games), the last-place Miracle provided their fans with “free baseball”. Aaron Slegers really settled down after allowing two first-inning runs. He was able to complete seven innings on 86 pitches. He struck out one and walked one. Madison Boer, J.T. Chargois and Brian Gilbert (credited with the win) all made scoreless appearances. Brandon Peterson walked four and allowed an extra-inning tying run to score. Todd Van Steensel navigated a dicey bottom half of the 15th inning to pick up the save. The offense managed 13 hits, but many players had seven plate-appearances and the team batted only .217 on Tuesday night. Mitch Garver had two hits, two walks and drove in two, but didn’t play the last third of the game after being lifted for a pinch-runner in the 11th inning. Zach Granite, Bryan Haar and Jason Kanzler also contributed multi-hit games. Kanzler, who also stole two bases, has seen his batting average creep back up to .218 after a very slow start. Niko Goodrum drove in two runs with a triple in the 15th inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 3 Box Score The Kernels improved to 15-11 thanks to hanging up crooked numbers in two of the first three innings and getting a very solid game from a trio of pitchers. After a Wisconsin error, the Kernels were able to plate two in the first inning. Nick Gordon scored on the misplay and Trey Vavra scored on T.J. White's groundout. The Kernels gave the runs back in the second inning. In the third inning, DH Jorge Fernandez had a three-run double to give Cedar Rapids the lead for good. Fernandez had three hits on the night, including two doubles. Gordon added RBI singles in both the fourth and the sixth inning to provide insurance runs. He also stole his second base. Mat Batts earned his third win, pitching six innings and striking out four. He allowed three runs, but only one was earned. Randy LeBlanc and C.K. Irby combined to pitch three scoreless innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Aaron Hicks, Rochester WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Indianapolis (12:35 CST) – RHP Mark Hamburger is listed as the scheduled starter; however, LHP Tommy Milone is expected to take his spot in the rotation. Chattanooga vs Jackson (6:15 CST) – RHP Alex Wimmers Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – RHP Chih-Wei Hu Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (5:35 CST) – RHP John Curtiss Click here to view the article

D.J. Baxendale and James Beresford helped lead their teams to victories, but there was plenty of other news in the system on Wednesday. The Twins had a trio of players - Phil Hughes, Casey Fien and Jordan Schafer - leave their game with injuries. The original word is that the players would be re-evaluated before anyone was placed on the disabled list. That seemed to change when Rochester closer Michael Tonkin wasn't used at the end of their game and then after the game it appeared he was recalled to the big club. There was also a self-inflicted wound announced this evening: Chattanooga reliever/spot-starter/former Top 10 prospect Adrian Salcedo will be suspended 80 games for testing positive for both a PED and a stimulant. Let's take a look at the three games that were played today.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Columbus 3 Box Score Aaron Hicks extended his hit streak to 10 games when he hit an RBI triple in the third inning. It led to a three-run inning and a lead that remained until the top of the eighth inning. Jason Wheeler struck out three in 7.1 innings. He allowed three eighth-inning runs, though they came in to score after Logan Darnell came in to relieve. Darnell allowed a single and a walk and was promptly replaced by new closer A.J. Achter, who blew a save by giving up a sacrifice fly to score the tying run. The throw from Hicks to Josmil Pinto actually beat the runner, but Pinto dropped the ball, allowing the runner to score. However, in the bottom of the eighth, James Beresford singled in both Eric Farris and Danny Ortiz to give the Red Wings the lead again. Beresford was the only hitter to manage a multi-hit game. This time A.J. Achter retired three of four batters to end the game and get the win. Rochester improved to 11-8. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Tennessee 1 Box Score Lookout starter D.J. Baxendale had his fourth solid start of the year and the offense provided just enough to avoid dropping their fourth game in a five-game set at Tennessee. The Lookouts got on the board in the fourth after Buxton got a leadoff single and then stole second base. He scored on an Adam Brett Walker groundout. Baxendale gave that run back in the seventh before being lifted for Jake Reed, who struck out two. In this no-decision, Baxendale went 6.1 innings, striking out eight and only allowing five hits and a walk. Two of those hits occurred in the seventh inning. Baxendale now sports a very healthy 1.07 ERA through 25.1 innings pitched. In his 25 AA-innings last year, the former Razorback gave up a 3.11 OBA and had an ERA of 5.76. In the ninth inning, DJ Hicks singled to lead off the inning. Walker followed that up with a double to drive Hicks in for the go-ahead run. Miguel Sano, 0-3 with a strikeout, walked later in the inning and eventually scored to add an insurance run. Zack Jones recorded his fifth save with a perfect ninth inning that included two strikeouts. The Lookouts improved to 9-10. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers - day off The Miracle enjoyed a day off on Wednesday. They start a four-game series with Charlotte on Thursday. According to the team website the first and last games are in Fort Myers, while the middle two games are in Charlotte. (What?) The 7-13 Miracle are in last place in the FSL South. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Quad Cities 4 Box Score The Kernels got a three-hit game from T.J. White and two hits from Zach Granite, but the offense did little else and failed to score a run. Nick Gordon went 0-4 and saw his average drop to .278. Mat Batts struck out six in 6.1 innings, but allowing seven hits and a walk led to four runs, three of which were earned. C.K. Irby faced five batters and retired them all, including two by strikeout. One of the highlights of today’s game was Brian Navarreto’s ability to control the run-game. He caught both potential base-stealers today and has now retired 10-of-15 runners trying to swipe a base. Navarreto, however, is only batting .145, so there is that to work on. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – D.J. Baxendale, Chattanooga Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Cedar Rapids THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Columbus (10:05 CST) – RHP Mark Hamburger Chattanooga vs Jacksonville (6:05 CST) – RHP Alex Wimmers Ft. Myers vs Charlotte (6:05 CST) – RHP Chih-Wei Hu Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (7:00 CST) – RHP John Curtiss Click here to view the article

B-Ref uses arbitration averages - the big difference between our figures is that I'm accounting for the fact that these guys aren't average players and their salary will reflect that. (And that's where we differ.) And I was only counting the out-of-options players, not the other young guys (which would bring it down further). Regardless of where it all actually shakes out, the Twins aren't going to drop $20m/year on a pitcher, so it doesn't matter. But they will have money to spend. Where we do agree, though, is that money isn't an inhibiting factor. They have seven guys locked up to multi-year deals, and, besides Nolasco, I don't think I'd say any of those deals are bad deals. I think the biggest question is whether or not Plouffe is part of the solution. Brandon says yes, I'm less sure... if he is, an extension through these next couple years makes sense.

You might be able to save a little in 2016. But you're really hoping to save in 2017 and get a year of free agency out of him. You getting cost-certainty, and there's value in that if you believe he's going to be part of the solution.

Regardless of whether he signs an extension or not, he'll cost around $6m next season. The point what that him signing an extension wouldn't be any hindrance to potentially signing free agents next off-season (or the next one after that).

You didn't read my earlier post. I'd expect them to have as much as $25m next year to play with...

From a payroll perspective - just for fun - if you take off the five pending free agents and add the three guys who will be out of options next year (Hicks, Pinto, Tonkin), give all the players their raises (even guys that should be non-tendered), next year's payroll will be under $98m. That includes $5m to the trio of Robinson, Schafer and Nunez and nearly $4m to Milone. That also includes players making more than $507,500 in spots of Meyer, Sano, Buxton, Rosario, etc who will be making the minimum. Long story short, forecasting the payroll looks really good for at least the next three years - which is the window of the extension in question.

Chris Johnson was signed for $4.75m before getting $6m/$7.5m/$9m and $1m buyout for a $10m option. That bought out one year of free agency with an option on the second year. Plouffe is currently signed for $4.8m in the same stage as Johnson and a very similar age. Any extension should probably come at nearly identical terms (3/$23.5m), though I'd be more likely to bet on a 2/$14 because I'm bitter about the lack of FA-years in Dozier's deal. But I digress. While I wouldn't necessarily bang the drums to do this deal, it wouldn't be a bad deal and if he continues to improve... it could work out very nice for the team (whether you keep him or trade him), without being a huge cost if he completely bombs.

It was in John Lackey's contract. But he did have a "pre-existing" condition. It should have been in Santana's contract too. Lackey probably got more money over the course of his original deal by giving the Red Sox that insurance. While he bet on himself that he wouldn't miss time.

Your assumption is correct. I think all we can infer is that the Twins will go over his medicals with a fine-toothed comb when they become available. He won't be able to throw, obviously, so it will all come down to what his price tag is going to be... and if anyone is comfortable paying him that after seeing his medicals. I wouldn't take the Twins out of the mix yet. But don't really put anyone "in" the mix until those questions get answered.

I checked in on the Aiken/Gonsalves angle. Nothing to it. It's going to come down to medicals and money. It would be a neat reunion though.

It would have been five years had he signed last year; it will be four for him now, regardless of when he signs.

I would like to see it become standard practice to include the Lackey clause in multi-year pitcher deals. "If you miss a year due to Tommy John, we tack on a team option for the vet minimum." I honestly can't believe that wasn't a bigger deal when it was included... apparently the MLBPA didn't think it was?

I think it all started when Ervin Santana didn't know how the steroids got in his body. Or Obama, he's pretty popular to blame too. Personally, I blame Scott Walker.