mazeville

Have you watched any Twins games this year? Danny Santana is going to get a lot of playing time. And I don't even have much of a problem with that. He's young. He had an .800-plus OPS his rookie year. Give him a shot to figure it out. I do not think this is an either-or, Santana-Arcia thing. I think there's room on the roster for both.

No. Sano should be playing third -- and he won't be back for two weeks at the very least. I don't know what the heck this team is going to do about Trevor Plouffe and his .636 OPS and his gigantic contract. But it should no longer block Sano at third base. Not at all.

Arcia is definitely not blameless here. Something isn't clicking. But as a fan, I've watched as players like David Ortiz, Carlos Gomez, Danny Valencia, Chris Colabello, Francisco Liriano and JJ Hardy leave for other teams and thrive. I'm tired of it. Given that history, this team deserves zero -- ZERO -- benefit of the doubt when it comes to someone like Arcia. Not one bit. That's why so many people on here are angry. We have a garbage team. And you could field a very, very good team with our castoffs who went and became all stars on other teams.

Not saying that. But you could rotate the four easily, especially with Buxton flailing at the plate, while giving Santana playing time in the infield and outfield. You could also rotate Arcia into the DH spot to face righthanders. Hell, one of the better options would be to send Park down to rediscover his swing and so Arcia could be the everyday DH. Give the guy some regular playing time. It doesn't have to be every day. But work with him and put him in good situations.

I won't necessarily disagree with that. But he'd earned some benefit of the doubt his first two years here. And people sometimes react differently. And on the other hand, he'd also worked his butt off by all accounts all winter long. He is a talented, powerful hitter. That he has failed at this point is an indictment of the Twins' player development. Not everybody does develop. But the Twins have had such a problem developing players that they deserve to be heavily criticized for this move. And based on this post and other comments, they're not. "Oh, well, he stinks so the Twins should get a pass on Arcia." No. They shouldn't.

"Time to move on?" Why is it time to move on in June? Why not give him a month or two in the starting lineup to see what he can do when he gets a nice stretch of playing time? Because contrary to Nick's assertions, he has NOT been playing that much this year - only in very small spurts. He certainly warrants just as much of a chance as Danny Santana is receiving. This team ain't winning anything this year. The entire focus should be on young players. Period.

Arcia had a .276 average last year. He stunk in AAA, but that's not uncommon for a player who fully expected to be promoted when he was healthy and didn't.

Again, the issue isn't, "Will Arcia be David Ortiz" or "Is Arcia better than Danny Santana." It's not even "Will Oswaldo Arcia play with the Twins next year?" The issue is that Oswaldo Arcia, in his three years in the majors, demonstrated a legitimate power stroke. The Twins are going to lose 100-plus games this year. They have numerous players on the roster who are in their late 20s. And somehow they can't find a way to keep a player who is 25 and who hit 30 home runs his first two years in the majors? That's the problem here. And yes, this team has given up on numerous players over the years, only to have many of them come back to haunt the club. Danny Valencia is only the latest such player. This front office and the player development folks frankly have not earned the benefit of the doubt. Not after these five years. Not even close.

Arcia's numbers after being sent down to Rochester were shockingly brutal, but you could possibly explain it by saying the kid just pressed because he wanted to get back to the majors. Take that away, and nothing Arcia had done before that warranted being sent down and kept down. He had a .276 average and a .718 OPS in the majors before he was injured. He had a .752 OPS the year before. When he was 23. This year he has been playing in spurts. But his OPS is STILL better than, oh I don't know, Trevor Plouffe, who has destroyed his trade value this year with a .626 OPS. I get that there are too many people ahead of him. But there are too many people ahead of him for odd decisions. Signing Byung Ho Park when we already had strikeout-prone power hitters who were best served as DHs was one. Keeping Plouffe and deciding Miguel Sano was better off in the outfield was another. For a team on pace to lose about 110 games, dumping Arcia was not a good decision. Will he be David Ortiz? No. But there is a good chance that he will come back to haunt this team in some fashion.

I would like to designate the Twins' front office for assignment. What a dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb decision. I don't mind the Byung Ho Park signing. But I think Arcia should have been the designated hitter this season, given his power and hitting potential. I also believe that he will find another team and will absolutely rake. Neither Park nor Kepler are hitting much. And they have options. Why not send one of them down? Why not send a reliever? Why not, you know, trade Plouffe while you still can? And speaking of trades, it's looking like the magic fairy dust Abad used to be lights out this year has worn off, reducing his trade value. This team and front office need to understand that this isn't about this year at all. There's no point in somehow trying to rescue the season. They need to get themselves ready for next year. Twins don't need my ticket money this year.

This team needs to make a lot of changes. My guess is that this team will send down Kepler once Santana is eligible to come off the DL. I think that would be a mistake. But I think most of what this front office does is a mistake. I would release Santana or try trading him shortly after putting him back in. He's not a good enough defender to warrant his weak bat. I would trade Plouffe and put Sano there once he gets off the DL. You could trade Plouffe now, in fact, and use Santana as a super utility until Sano gets off the DL. I would strongly consider trading Dozier so I could open up a spot for Jorge Polanco, who has demonstrated an ability to hit at the major league level. Maybe Dozier's recent improvement at the plate will generate some interest. Maybe monkeys might fly out of my butt. Once you get rid of Santana, bring back Rosario and rotate your four outfielders - Buxton, Kepler, Rosario and Grossman -- with Arcia playing every so often but mostly spelling Park at DH while Kepler gets a time or two at first base. Also, release Kurt Suzuki and call up John Ryan Murphy. It's time to focus on the future.

Indeed. But I think they'd be better off trading Dozier because of that contract.

There's no reason to trade Nunez if he doesn't bring value in return. It's not like a Plouffe situation where you need to free up a third base spot, or a pitcher who has a massive contract and is blocking younger, better and cheaper talent. Nunez is reasonably priced and under team control. Granted, you could trade him to free up a spot for Jorge Polanco, but I'd want Polanco to play a regular position like second base. Yet Nunez's versatility and his strong play this season, and the lack of any reasonable return you'd get for him, means it's better just to keep him.

The problem here isn't that the Twins have called up Buxton -- he's dominating AAA now and if he hadn't had his two appearances in the majors people would have been screaming for his promotion. The problem is the way the Twins handled him up until now. They called him up too early last year. They handed him the CF job after trading Aaron Hicks (and not Trevor Plouffe). The whole thing has been an ugly mess. Hopefully, he gets it and plays well enough to stay. That's what I'm going to hope for. I'm not going to count on Buxton having a .900 OPS. But I will be thrilled if he can hit .250 with a few doubles and triples and stolen bases, but with world caliber defense and a style of play that makes the Twins more exciting.

That is depressing. I would trade Plouffe simply to open a spot for Sano. Even at his peak performance Plouffe wouldn't generate much of a return, so this is simply a trade to get some return now and open up the outfield logjam and improve outfield defense. I would definitely trade Ervin Santana. While the Twins "need" pitching they do not "need" Santana. He would actually command at least something on the open market and the Twins should probably open up some space for pitchers like Alex Meyer or Jose Berrios. I would also trade Abad and Nunez. And I would look to trade Dozier in the offseason after some hoped-for improvement. I don't know that TR would do all of these. But I would expect a couple of trades from the Twins. It's all horrible.

It does and it doesn't. Seth started out saying that he believes this team still has a chance. My whole point is that they don't. Not one bit. Frankly, I think that the Twins' trades have to start NOW -- start with Fernando Abad while he has some trade value as well as guys like Plouffe. The Twins are far better off if they're realistic about their chances. And contention is not at all realistic.

Um ... I get this. But there is no chance -- ZERO -- that the Twins even sniff the playoffs this year. To even get to .500, which is not yet sniffing the playoffs, the Twins would have to go 71-54. Not impossible, I get it. But that's a rather major reversal. Essentially, the Twins would have to go from playing like a 44-win team, which is their current pace, to playing like a 92-win team, just to get to .500. Want them to make the playoffs? Then they have to play more like a 100-win team. Not going to happen. And it's not just the rookies that are killing this team. Sano is not playing to his capability. Plouffe is just Plouffe -- a good, but not great, third baseman. Dozier is playing more like he did in the second half of last year than he did in the first half. Mauer is reverting to his 2015 form. The bullpen stinks. Phil Hughes has a bloated ERA. Ricky Nolasco has improved but is mediocre. Ervin Santana is OK but not great. The catchers can't hit. And they can barely catch. The defense is bad. The bullpen is awful. All that said, I understand this strategy. But the only reason I would consider a veteran-focused lineup at this point is to rebuild some trade value among guys like Dozier, Plouffe and various bullpen arms. The Twins absolutely must give up on any idea that they're going to compete this year. Because they won't. And the sooner they understand that reality, the better this will be. What an ugly dang season.

Agree with some, but not all of this. First, trading Plouffe should be at the top of any fix-the-Twins agenda. Trade Plouffe. Put Sano at third and put Arcia in right field, with Rosario in left and Santana in center until Buxton comes up. The problem with starting Arcia all the time is that your outfield defense suffers greatly. Rosario is struggling with the bat. But he brings some semblance of common sense to the outfield. I'd much rather trade Dozier than Polanco. You're not going to get much of a return for an unproven rookie, even one on the team's top 10 list. To be honest, the best spot for Polanco might still be shortstop. But this team apparently doesn't want Polanco at short. So whatevs. I still think the Twins should be open to trading any number of players, including pitchers. I'd consider trading Abad, any starter not named Duffey or Berrios, Dozier, Plouffe, Arcia, Escobar. I'd ponder prospect-for-prospect trades. Anything to right this ship. Frankly, nothing should be off the table -- even a trade of Sano or Buxton if the deal were right. (That's "if the deal were right" so don't go assuming that I'd give them away.)

I understand Terry Ryan has respect throughout baseball. But, honestly, do we not think it's not time to bring in someone from outside the organization? Terry has had five years to fix this. He hasn't fixed it. A few points: * Yes, he helped build the farm system; but he SHOULD have built up the farm system because the team has had top draft choices for years now and some of these top prospects (like Miguel Sano) were actually signed under Bill Smith. Relatively few of the team's top prospects have come to the team via trade. * Most of his free agent signings have not worked. Even the players who did work initially, Phil Hughes and Kurt Suzuki, were then resigned to longer-term deals and have regressed badly. * He had badly misaligned the roster. There are too many poor fielding corner infielders/outfielders/DH types; not enough guys who can get on base and few stud fielders. This team badly needs a couple of trades to realign the roster. (As a side note: The piss-poor fielding likely cost the team a win last night, or at least extra innings - a better left fielder likely gets Adam Jones' hit in the 9th). * The bullpen. Oh, the bullpen. That bullpen has cost the team several games this season, and everybody KNEW in the offseason that it needed to be fixed. And while Terry Ryan wants to reserve spots for his young arms like Burdi and Chargois, those guys aren't up with the team. Again, Terry Ryan is owed a lot of credit for the 2000s resurgence. But it really is time to overhaul the front office and bring in some outsiders.

I think the Twins have badly misused Alex Meyer, and it explains in a nutshell why the Twins are in the position they are in today. Meyer should have been starting for this team in 2014 when they had no realistic chance of winning and the team was badly in need of starters. Instead, the Twins decided to sign free agents like Phil Hughes (good initial signing, bad resigning) and Ricky Nolasco (ugh). And we had to tolerate Mike Pelfrey. Other guys who started that year included Yohan Pino, Sam Deduno and Kris Johnson. That year, in AAA, Meyer had a 3.52 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, 10.6 K/9. Yes, he walked too many. But for a team that had lost 90 games a year for three straight seasons and was trotting out the above guys and NEEDED to develop a topline starter, there was no reason to keep him down. Instead, they kept him in AAA. His confidence got shot. The next year he went into the tank and now he's pressing so badly you can see it in his face. This year, they call him up, pitch him once in nine days and then send him down after one three-inning start and just 65 pitches. My God. I get that maybe he just doesn't have the mental fortitude to succeed up here. But this was your top pitching prospect just 15 months ago. He needs a much longer leash than he's been given. He should have been called up far earlier. Sam Deduno walked four batters per nine innings and got nine starts in 2014 and didn't strike out nearly as many batters as would have Alex Meyer. I'm not saying that Meyer pitching in 2014 would have turned him into a stud. But it might have developed him the right way. Instead, the Twins signed free agents for a team that was losing badly year after year. Those pitchers didn't prevent the team from losing 90 games in 2014 (and, in fact, did little to get them on the cusp of the playoffs in 15) and meanwhile the guy with the best stuff in the system is languishing and unable to get more than a token start. This team is too aggressive in promoting some young position players. It is the exact opposite with pitchers. Quick: Name the last good starter the Twins developed on their own. I don't know, maybe they should do something different. And one thing they might do differently is actually reward players who continue to perform year after year in the minors.

I'm not going to hate on this move. I hope Ricky Nolasco has a sub-3.00 ERA and 15-20 wins and is in the Cy Young conversation. I hope he does well, period. Because players who do well are good for the team. Even if they're not on the team over the long term because they can become trade bait come the All Star Break. I'm not the biggest fan of basing decisions off a limited ST performance. But I also understand that Ricky Nolasco will cost the Twins $25 million over two years and there is no way the Twins can recoup that if he is a long reliever. If you're going to make a decision based on ST, give the first nod to the guy making $25 million in the hopes he performs at least well enough to become trade bait so you can open up a spot for Duffey or Berrios. Do I think the Twins should have signed him in the first place? Nope. Do I think the Twins should have traded him over the offseason? Yes. But I also believe the Twins tried to trade him and couldn't come to a deal. And I believe that if he remains injury-free and pitches up to his capabilities he could become a trade candidate at some point this year.

But I'd replace some of those homers with triples. I'd guess he'll get his power this year from doubles and triples.

Uh, he had a .400 .441 .545 .986 line in those games. I know it's a small sample size, but I would definitely consider a .986 OPS "pounded."

I think Duffey gets sent down and Nolasco is the fifth starter. I'm not a huge fan of it, but I think the Twins do that sort of thing. I do not agree that Buxton gets sent down. His spring hasn't been bad enough to require a demotion, and his fielding is so superior -- especially with Sano in RF -- that they'll want him up here. They've more or less said they expect his bat to take a while to adjust. And keep in mind that Buxton pounded AAA last year. He pretty much needs to play at the major league level to adjust to major league pitching.

The optimal solution, frankly, would be a strong spring. Then dangle Nolasco in front of the Dodgers or Angels and agree to pay some of the salary. I'm not saying they would want Nolasco. But I'm still holding out hope the Twins can trade him, even for a bag of balls and tickets to a Justin Bieber concert.