Jeremy Nygaard

Not long ago, Baseball America rated Miguel Sano as a Top 3 prospect in all of baseball. Not long ago, Miguel Sano was the star of a documentary about baseball in the Dominican. Not long ago, Miguel Sano was the "Next Big Thing" with power comparable to Harmon Killebrew. But you know what? Miguel Sano ain't Harmon Killebrew.I'm not talking about the light-tower power that Killebrew had. Sano has that. I'm not talking about the ability to be the face of the franchise that Killebrew had. Sano has that too. I'm talking about something that Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau have talked about. I'm talking about autographs. Legible autographs. Killebrew's was beautiful. Download attachment: killerauto.jpg Sano's on the other hand... I've never been an "autograph hound", but I've always enjoyed collecting them and displaying them in my basement. My first Sano autograph came as a result of sending an 8x10 to Fort Myers in the spring of 2012. It was a picture of a skinny Sano in his Elizabethton jersey. The signature was such a scribbly mess that he had to label it "SANO" in case I couldn't remember who he was. The signature certainly wasn't going to help. Download attachment: 20141229_125017-1.jpg I also purchased an autographed Sano on eBay around that same time. Another very narrow signature that doesn't resemble his actual name. Download attachment: 20141229_125135-1.jpg When Spring Training 2013 rolled around, I decided to send another 8x10 to Fort Myers, this time Sano was featured in his Snappers jersey. He again responded (very quickly) and this signature was much different but hardly improved. Download attachment: 20141229_125032-1.jpg As TwinsFest approached last January, I decided to bring a Baseball America magazine to have Sano sign. Fourth signature, fourth variation. Download attachment: 20141229_125116.jpg I recently purchased another Sano auto and, shockingly, it looks very similar to the last signature. Of course, it was probably signed at a similar time as the one I got at TwinsFest. Download attachment: 20141229_125146-1.jpg The thing that remains in common with all of these examples - and every other signature that Sano has done? Not a single one looks anything like his name. Harmon would not be impressed. On the bright side, though, at least Hunter is back to teach a lesson or two to the kids. He should start with Sano and fixing his signature. Click here to view the article

The Twins have a formula they use to determine the renewal rate. It's almost like they use a tier system. If you look at all the pre-arb deals over the last handful of seasons, you'd see it. I would guess that almost everyone of my proprojections will be within $5,000 to $7,500 cause that seems to be the value of a tier. I'd have to go back and look, but I believe the highest renewal last year (or possibly the year before) was $520,000. And as far as Trout goes, the Angels gave him more because there was rumblings that if they renewed him at near-minimum, he wasn't going to consider a long-term deal. He had leverage. Nobody on the Twins roster has any leverage. They'll get what their formula tells them.

Age is probably a factor and you make fair points, but it's about service time when extensions get compared to one another. You are making a comparison on controlable years. Now, if Dozier's side approaches the Twins wanting the Kipnis deal, you've outlined a few great points to negotiate around, maybe making it for less guarantee through the arb years and a smaller buyout on the option year(s).

No say. Contracts are simply renewed.

Guys who have signed deals through their arbitration years aren't harder to trade (if they're good). They're easier. Teams know exactly what guys are going to cost. Span is a perfect example. You have one good year and your contract is very team-friendly and movable.

I had compared raises given over time. For example, Arcia got a bump from minimum to $512,500 last year. Hicks got only a slight bump from minimum last season ($507,500) and I don't see him getting a big one next year based on his season in 2014. The Twins have a formula, but they aren't willing to share with me.

With Span, the Twins had an option on this year (his first free agent year). If they followed that pattern with Dozier, and using Kipnis's deal as an outline, I could see Dozier get 4 years and $23. That would be $2/$4/$6/$9 and a $2m buyout on $12 or $13m for his first FA year. Maybe tack on another option year at the end.

When the Twins opened Target Field in 2010, they did so with a $97 million payroll. This was the highest payroll the Twins have had by a whopping $25M. They broke $100M the next year by spending $113M and fell back to just a shade over $100M in 2012. However, payroll fell to the mid-$80 million range in both 2013 and 2014. Enter 2015.The Twins have spent on free agent outfielder Torii Hunter, extended Phil Hughes and signed free agent pitcher Tim Stauffer. But the biggest addition was the four-year commitment the team made to pitcher Ervin Santana. Now the Twins have gone back over $100M. Let's take a closer look. Multi-year Deals** 1B Joe Mauer: $23M (3 yr/$69M remain for '16-'18) SP Ervin Santana: $13.5M (3 yr./$40.5M remain for '16-'18) SP Ricky Nolasco: $12M (2 yr./$24M remain for ’16-’17) SP Phil Hughes: $9.2M (4 yr./$48.8M remain for for ’16-’19) C Kurt Suzuki: $6M (1 yr./$6M remain for ’16) RP Glen Perkins: $4.65M (2 yr./$12.8M remain for ’16-’17 Commitments: $68.35M in 2015 ($201M in commitments through 2019) Pending Free Agents RF Torii Hunter: $10.5M P Mike Pelfrey: $5.5M P Tim Stauffer: $2.2M Commitments: $18.2M in 2015 Total commitments in 2015 to players with six-plus years of experience: $86.55M Arbitration-eligibles 3B Trevor Plouffe (second of four): $4.75M LRP Brian Duensing (third of three): $2.85M P Tommy Milone (first of four): $2.75M OF Jordan Schafer (second of four): $1.45M RP Casey Fien (first of four): $1.25M INF Eduardo Nunez (first of three): $1.05M Projected total: $14.1M in 2015. Commitments plus arbitration: $100.65M (for the above 15 players) That leaves 10 spots unfilled for the opening day roster. With nine pitchers already penciled in, there are three spots for pitchers: Kyle Gibson ($520,000), Caleb Thielbar ($520,000) and J.R. Graham ($507,500***). The seven fielders that could fill out the opening day roster are Brian Dozier ($580,000), Oswaldo Arcia ($525,000), Eduardo Escobar ($520,000), Danny Santana ($512,500), Kennys Vargas ($512,500), Aaron Hicks ($510,000) and Josmil Pinto ($507,500). These ten pre-arbitration players total $5.215M for a grand projected total of $105.865M, the second-highest total in franchise history. --- Some other things could affect this figure: --The Twins sign Brian Dozier to a contract extension. Jason Kipnis signed an extension as a 2+ player, which Dozier is now, and got $2M for his last pre-arb year and $4M/$6M/$9M to buy out his arbitration years. Signing Dozier to a similar contract would increase payroll by $1.42M. (The Indians also committed $30.5M for his first two free agent years with an option for the third year.) --The Twins don’t roll with those 12 pitchers, which is probably likely. There are many options for the fifth rotation spot and the loser(s) could be pitching successfully for the Pirates next year. --I’m not convinced the Twins break camp with Hicks and Nunez on the roster. If Hicks wins the CF job, Santana plays SS and Escobar is a utility player. Nunez is out. If Hicks doesn't win the job, Santana moves to CF, Escobar is the SS and Nunez is a utility player. Hicks heads to Rochester. Both scenarios leave Schafer as the fourth OF and opens up another bench spot. Chris Herrmann, at the minimum, is where I’d put my money. This decreases payroll, too. Of course, there’s still the possibility the Twins add another veteran or make a trade. **Future commitments don't figure in option years or their buyouts. ***The CBA calls for an increase in the minimum and reports have put that figure at $507,500 for 2015. Click here to view the article

And tweeted, "I love LA" this morning.

This is certainly one way for small-market spenders to compete with the big boys. I also think this is a move that doesn't go unnoticed by players and agents around the league. You out-performed your contract, how about a raise? You have to toe that line cautiously, but it sends the right message to your players.

It amazes me how much the Twins Prospect Handbook has evolved since Seth created it in the winter of 2008. I was just a guy who saw it on SethSpeaks.net, thought it was intriguing and figured purchasing one (or three) would be a small token of my appreciation for the work Seth did. Plus, I could use it to get autographs at TwinsFest. Those 77 pages, almost entirely filled with player biographies, became reference material as my interest in the minor leagues intensified. I would look forward to the next installment each winter. I don’t remember how my involvement with the Twins Prospect Handbook began, though I feel like it had to do with writing a once-a-week Minor League Report at TwinsDaily.This is the 3rd year I’ve been involved in the creation of the Twins Prospect Handbook. Coincidentally, it’s also the 3rd year I’ve truly been amazed that Seth used to do it all by himself. To the many of you that have purchased a copy in the past, I want to thank you. It really is a “labor of love”, which sometimes feels like a lot of labor and a lot of frustration. We’re going to be sending this year’s version to the printer sometime Thursday (hopefully). You see, the issue is that there never is an end date or a start date to minor-league roster moves. We’ve targeted the Rule 5 draft, though, because we know there will be some additions and subtractions and we’d like to cover those moves for you. In addition to the bios that you’ll be able to read, you’ll also get the chance to read a lot of articles written by a slew of talented writers. I’m not going to ruin that for you – I’ll let them – but I’ll tell you about some of the contributions I made to the book. My great interest is in the draft. So I’ve tried to tidy up the happenings of the 2014 draft into a neat, little story. Basically everything you need to know about the draft and the six months following it is covered. Want to know why the Twins assigned Nick Gordon to Elizabethton? It’s there. Interested in the business side of the draft, like the draft pool and revenue that the Twins received from MLB? That’s covered too. Of course, I can’t begin to talk about the MLB Draft without talking about the next MLB draft, so the first Twins 2015 Draft Preview is also included. Who is Kyle Funkhouser and what do you need to know about him? He’s just one of nine players introduced to Twins fans as potential players that could be added to the system next June. If you’re a normal reader of the Handbook, you probably know that I enjoy talking to scouts and getting some of their thoughts on (or off) the record. In the previous two installments, I’ve included interviews with area scouts. This year I stepped my game up and wrote an article about the world of International baseball. I tapped Twins International Scouting Coordinator, Howard Norsetter, to help me out. And since we only profile players that played in America, you’ll also get some “bonus bios” on some recent international signees. Obviously, to sum up 200 pages of content in a few hundred words is impossible. But I’ll tell you this: I’m amazed at what Seth and Cody do. Seth’s network is larger than Verizon (and that’s why the man never sleeps) and Cody has a thing for statistics (even first basemen double plays) that is really unbelievable. Soon it will be available. We really hope you purchase a copy. We think you’ll like it; we certainly do. Click here to view the article

On Monday evening, Seth and Jeremy were joined by Cody Christie. The three discussed the upcoming release of the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, as well as some other Twins moves. The Prospect Handbook will be available with the next ten to 12 days.The handbook features a lot of stories and bios, come back to Twins Daily for more information about purchasing your own book, or books for friends and family who love the Twins, soon. Last night's show can be watched here: . Miss an episode? Download on iTunes or listen on Libsyn. Click here to view the article

Besides 12-13 when he was playing 2B, Rosario has played more games in CF than any other position. In his career, he's played 169 games in CF and only 40 games in the corner. I would anticipate that he'll continue to play CF, unless he's in the same OF as Buxton. Not sure why the Rafters didn't play him there after Buxton left.

Here's a link to Rosario's AFL Championship Game home run.

Twins right-handed prospect Alex Meyer is set to join the Twins Hangouts podcast tonight at 9:00 central time. He was one of four Twins minor leaguers that were added to the Twins 40-man roster. Meyer, along with Miguel Sano, Alex Meyer, Eddie Rosario and Jason Wheeler filled out the Twins 40 man roster. Tonight at 9 pm, Seth and Jeremy will discuss the additions of these players as well as the omissions of others.You can check out our event page or the . If you couldn't catch us live, no big deal, visit here: our webpage or download from iTunes. Please send us questions or comments about the new format! We'd love to get feedback of any kind! Click here to view the article

Mischievous and deceitful. Chicanerous and deplorable

Seth and Jeremy took a week off but return to discuss the Twins pending 40-man roster decisions, arbitration decisions, Twins coaches, Twins rumors, and much more. They tried to keep the show to 30 minutes... but failed. But, only by three minutes. Check out the condensed Twins Hangouts podcast and let us know what you thikn. You can also check out Seth's preview.You can check out our event page or the page. If you couldn't catch us live, no big deal, visit here: our webpage or download from iTunes. Please send us questions or comments about the new format! We'd love to get feedback of any kind! Click here to view the article

Although there hasn't been a lot going on in Twins Territory, Seth and Jeremy will find plenty to talk about Tuesday night at 9pm. The search for a new manager appears to be coming to a close, so we'll recap the latest. Byron Buxton left yesterday's AFL game - and possibly the league soon - after "jamming" his right middle finger. Buxton and Jake Reed were named to the Arizona Fall League's Fall Stars Game earlier in the day. That game takes place on Saturday night. The Twins have also (slowly) started to make their off-season moves, so we'll talk about those too.You can view the show live (YouTube) Our event page is located here. If you couldn't catch us live, no big deal, visit here: our webpage or download from iTunes. Please ask questions! We'd love to get feedback of any kind that we can discuss on the show. Click here to view the article