Tom Froemming

In a fan forum Wednesday evening, Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor indicated he would probably prefer to keep Trevor May in the bullpen. The plan for spring training, however, is for May to prepare for the 2016 as a starting pitcher. If given an opportunity, I have the utmost confidence May will force the team's hand and pitch his way into the rotation.After the season ended, the Pioneer Press' Mike Berardino wrote a piece that had a couple of telling quotes. May expressed his desire to return to the rotation and Terry Ryan expressed belief that May can be a legit 200-inning starter. So ... what's the problem? Management is letting the murky bullpen situation cloud its judgment of how best to use May in 2016, but if they leave the door open for May to crack the rotation, as they've indicated, it's gonna happen. Here's a quote from May in the Berardino piece: "There's no doubt in my mind I can be a go-to guy on this team -- on any team -- as a starter. I don't think I've achieved anywhere close to what I can achieve as a starter. I'm excited to come in next year and kind of open some eyes." This is a confident guy who thinks he has figured everything out. He wants the ball to start the game, and I'm sure he's putting in extra work this winter to be prepared to do everything he can to make that happen. There's no reason to doubt his ability to put in the necessary work and make adjustments at this point. Back in 2013, Eric Longenhagen of Crashburn Alley, who had been closely following May as a Phillies prospect, took another look at the former fourth-round pick. He noted May's stronger legs and noticed a productive switch from a 3/4 arm slot to throwing more over the top. Overall, Longenhagen felt May had made strides in his first year in the Twins system. The biggest knock on May throughout his minor league career was that he walked too many guys. Over 775 innings on the farm, he had averaged 4.4 BB/9. May impressed enough during the 2014 season to earn a promotion to the Twins, but again he struggled with free passes. In February, R.J. White of CBS Sports reported that May had taken up yoga. The especially interesting part was his reason why. "Every scouting report I’ve ever seen on myself says, 'Has trouble repeating his delivery.' Well, yoga is literally repeating moves, keeping your body under your control. I do the warrior pose, which is [the same as] striding and throwing a baseball. It has to help." In 2014, May walked 22 batters in just 45 2/3 innings with the Twins. Last season? He issued just 26 free passes over 114 2/3 innings. I'd say the yoga helped. So, over the past couple years May has managed to clean up his mechanics and solve his biggest question mark as a starter. He has been willing to make adjustments and knows himself as a pitcher. He's aware of his weaknesses, but is confident he can be a difference maker. Add it all up and I'm not betting against Trevor May pitching his way back into the rotation. Sure, when you take a look at all the options the Twins have, it can be difficult to see it happening. The club has five veteran starters already, all of whom are expecting to be in the rotation. On top of that, there's Tyler Duffey and Jose Berrios. But a lot can happen between now and Opening Day. Someone may get moved. It's even possible someone looks so bad this spring they pitch themselves out of a job. Unfortunately, somebody could get hurt. All three of those things could happen. But even if everyone makes it out of camp in the system and healthy, I believe May is going to make it very difficult for the club to send him back to the bullpen. One thing I keep thinking about is who I'd most like to see start a Wild Card game if the Twins can make it in. Is it crazy to say May? ... Probably. But, I'm not the only one with a baseball man crush on the guy. John Sickels of Minor League Ball predicted May would be an All-Star starter for the Twins in 2016. It's possible the person who will make the case for May in the rotation is actually Casey Fien. If he's looking good (I'm not certain he was ever really healthy in 2015), maybe the team feels more comfortable going without May's services in the pen. Or maybe Alex Meyer shows something in spring (is it possible we can pass along May's yoga instructor's number?). Or it's still possible the club makes an impact free agent addition. Plus, Glen Perkins and Kevin Jepsen are still at the back end of the bullpen. It's not like May was ever going to be the closer or anything. How hard can it be to find another viable seventh inning option? I understand the team is nervous to take May out of a role in which he's been successful. The bullpen can use all the help it can get, but if you looked around at some of the starting pitching matchups this October, you realized the Twins' rotation is also severely lacking in high-end talent. In the end, we're talking about at potential difference of 200 innings vs. 60 innings from one of the clubs most talented hurlers. It's an easy call to make. Click here to view the article

It was a lot easier to defend Mauer last year at this time. He was only coming off one bad season, after being really good the two years prior. He wasn't even really blocking anyone, either. Vargas was gonna DH and I didn't really expect Sano to come up until way later in the year, if at all to be honest. Now, we have Mauer coming off an even worse year and it seems there are at least three guys who deserve an everyday 1B/DH spot over him (Sano, Park, Vargas), and like you said more on their way. I hope he can turn it around, but if he can't he has to be a part time guy. Plouffe isn't the guy whose gotta go to solve the roster crunch. They don't have to try to get Sano slimmed down and ready for outfield. They just have to put their best players in their most appropriate roles.

If you've been a fan of the Minnesota Twins for a while, you're probably sick of hearing about payroll. It's a topic that's beaten to death, and the criticisms are often contradictory. People will rip the ownership for not spending more out of one side of their mouth and ridicule them for overpaying Joe Mauer out the other. You can't have it both ways. In no way am I trying to suggest ownership or the front office shouldn't be questioned. I'm just saying those are tired and lazy arguments and it's time to point frustrations in a new direction. The most important positive step the organization could take would be to stop taking into account how much money it has invested in a player when making roster decisions. They need to stop being so cheap, and accept the fact when they've made a poor investment. As much as I would have loved to see the Twins sign an ace or dump a bunch of money into the bullpen, the team's decision not to is entirely defensible. Big, long-term contracts almost never work out and relievers are pretty unreliable from one year to the next. It wasn't long ago all these multi-year contracts to relievers would have been met with pretty much universal disdain. But, of course, the Royals have changed all that. It's a copycat league. What is indefensible is to refuse to give up on guys like Mauer or Ricky Nolasco in an attempt to save face despite having numerous better options. As a big Mauer apologist, I'll always hold out hope that he'll get back to being an on-base machine. Maybe the farther Mauer gets from his concussion the more likely it gets he'll regain his hand-eye skills. And I don't think we've ever seen Nolasco healthy in a Twins uniform. There's some reason to hold out hope for him, too. But if it starts to look like more of the same from either Mauer or Nolasco the club must move them into lower profile roles. The goal has to be winning games, not protecting egos. The Twins don't necessary need to spend a bunch of money to build a playoff team. All they need to do is put the best 25 guys on the roster and set roles based on skills and performance rather than service time and contract status.

And a +1 to you, sir. I think those first three guys deserve to be locked in to their spots, but the next two should be open to competition. If that's going to be the case, I'm extremely confident May and Duffey will be the clear cut choices. I'm still holding out hope for Nolasco, and they should certainly give himself an opportunity to prove himself this spring. I don't think it's going to happen, but he should get his shot. Milone was solid for most of last season, and is a perfectly fine No. 5, but there's no upside beyond that. We know exactly who Milone is: a fifth starter on a bad team. That has value, but I'd rather see what May and Duffey can become. And I am all for shifting guys to the pen ... once they've failed as starters. May hasn't gotten enough of an opportunity to declare him a failure as a starting guy, and he has continued to improve his game since coming to the org.

In a fan forum Wednesday evening, Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor indicated he would probably prefer to keep Trevor May in the bullpen. The plan for spring training, however, is for May to prepare for the 2016 as a starting pitcher. If given an opportunity, I have the utmost confidence May will force the team's hand and pitch his way into the rotation. After the season ended, the Pioneer Press' Mike Berardino wrote a piece that had a couple telling quotes. May expressed his desire to return to the rotation and Terry Ryan expressed belief that May can be a legit 200-inning starter. So ... what's the problem? Management is letting the murky bullpen situation cloud its judgment of how best to use May in 2016, but if they leave the door open for May to crack the rotation, as they've indicated, it's gonna happen. Here's a quote from May in the Berardino piece: "There's no doubt in my mind I can be a go-to guy on this team -- on any team -- as a starter. I don't think I've achieved anywhere close to what I can achieve as a starter. I'm excited to come in next year and kind of open some eyes." This is a confident guy who thinks he has figured everything out. He wants the ball to start the game, and I'm sure he's putting in extra work this winter to be prepared to do everything he can to make that happen. There's no reason to doubt his ability to put in the necessary work and make adjustments at this point. Back in 2013, Eric Longenhagen of Crashburn Alley, who had been closely following May as a Phillies prospect, took another look at the former fourth-round pick. He noted May's stronger legs and noticed a productive switch from a 3/4 arm slot to throwing more over the top. Overall, Longenhagen felt May had made strides in his first year with the Twins system. The biggest knock on May throughout his minor league career was that he walked too many guys. Over 775 innings on the farm, he had averaged 4.4 BB/9. May impressed enough during the 2014 season to earn a promotion to the Twins, but again he struggled with free passes. In February, R.J. White of CBS Sports reported that May had taken up yoga. The especially interesting part was his reason why. "Every scouting report I’ve ever seen on myself says, 'Has trouble repeating his delivery.' Well, yoga is literally repeating moves, keeping your body under your control. I do the warrior pose, which is [the same as] striding and throwing a baseball. It has to help." In 2014, May walked 22 batters in just 45 2/3 innings with the Twins. Last season? He issued just 26 free passes over 114 2/3 innings. I'd say the yoga helped. So, over the past couple years May has managed to clean up his mechanics and solve his biggest question mark as a starter. He has been willing to make adjustments and knows himself as a pitcher. He's aware of his weaknesses, but is confident he can be a difference maker. Add it all up and I'm not betting against Trevor May pitching his way back into the rotation. Sure, when you take a look at all the options the Twins have, it can be difficult to see it happening. The club has five veteran starters already, all of whom are expecting to be in the rotation. On top of that, there's Tyler Duffey and Jose Berrios. But a lot can happen between now and Opening Day. Someone may get moved. It's even possible someone looks so bad this spring they pitch themselves out of a job. Unfortunately, somebody could get hurt. All three of those things could happen. But even if everyone makes it out of camp in the system and healthy, I believe May is going to make it very difficult for the club to send him back to the bullpen. One thing I keep thinking about is who I'd most like to see start a Wild Card game if the Twins can make it in. Is it crazy to say May? ... Probably. But, I'm not the only one with a baseball man crush on the guy. John Sickels of Minor League Ball predicted May would be an All-Star starter for the Twins in 2016. It's possible the person who will make the case for May in the rotation is actually Casey Fien. If he's looking good (I'm not certain he was ever really healthy in 2015), maybe the team feels more comfortable going without May's services in the pen. Or maybe Alex Meyer shows something in spring (is it possible we can pass along May's yoga instructor's number?). Or it's still possible the club makes an impact free agent addition. Plus, Glen Perkins and Kevin Jepsen are still at the back end of the bullpen. It's not like May was ever going to be the closer or anything. How hard can it be to find another viable seventh inning option? I understand the team is nervous to take May out of a role in which he's been successful. The bullpen can use all the help it can get, but if you looked around at some of the starting pitching matchups this October, you realized the Twins' rotation is also severely lacking in high-end talent. In the end, we're talking about at potential difference of 200 innings vs. 60 innings from one of the clubs most talented hurlers. It's an easy call to make.

Was pretty sure this was going to be about Miguel Sano and Max Kepler Good take on Meyer, it is strange they didn't use him as a Sept. call up. He should definitely get every opportunity to impress this spring. I mean the guy's gonna be 26 in a few weeks, how much longer until you just throw him out there and see if he can figure it out?

Thanks for sharing, that's a good read. And yes, it is available for free.

Yeah, that's a lofty bar to set, but why can't we go there? Jay was taken 6th overall, expectations should be pretty high for a guy you make that kind of commitment to, right?

Very true, putting Jay on a fast track to the bullpen is probably not going to be best for his long-term development. It did work for Sale, who was drafted in 2010 and made his debut that August. But, the takeaway I get when you look at the big picture like Seth has here is there are backup options like this. If they don't add anyone significant, and the bullpen starts out poorly or we have injuries, there are a lot of Plan Bs out there. Another one would be using Berrios in the pen if he can't crack the starting rotation and putting him on a development path similar to Johan or Liriano. That would allow you to ease him into the majors while also giving a big boost to the pen. Again, probably shouldn't be Plan A, but it's a backup option.

Yeah, I could see something like that. You have Jay as a starter in the minors to begin the year, and if the Twins don't look like they're going to be competitive you just keep him on that track. If the team is in contention again and in need of a bullpen boost, you give him a shot as a reliever. The White Sox used Chris Sale out of the pen for two seasons when he was about Jay's age. They have a similar build, maybe it would be best for Jay to have a lighter work load the next couple seasons as his body continues to develop and get stronger.

I hope if the bullpen falters early the team considers calling up Jay as a reliever. The Cardinals have had a ton of success doing that and transitioning guys back to the rotation when necessary.

With the Minnesota Twins inactive at the Winter Meetings, many fans and experts are wondering what the team's plan is in regards to its bullpen. The club is said to be focused on getting a lefty, but with so many of the current in-house options being unproven at the major league level, they could use any help they can get. While some are feeling disenfranchised by the team's lack of action, it may not take a blockbuster move to vastly improve the bullpen for 2016. Just take a look at what Ryan Madson did for the World Series champion Kansas City Royals last year. After spending several years as a top setup man, Madson finally got the chance to close for the Phillies in 2011. At what looked to be the highpoint of his career, Madson’s elbow blew out and missed three full seasons. The Royals signed Madson on Jan. 4 of last year, and ended up only paying him around $1 million. At the time of the signing, not many experts expected him to crack Kansas City’s deep, talented bullpen. Shockingly, Madson broke camp with the Royals and looked like the guy we saw closing out games for Philadelphia. There wasn’t a drop in velocity or performance, as Madson had a 2.13 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over 68 appearances. Last week, the 35-year-old landed a three-year, $22 million contract from Oakland, of all places. While Madson’s case is unique, given the extended absence, we’ve seen this act before with rags to riches relievers. Could the Twins manage to find a diamond in the rough in this year’s free agent crop? While attractive options such as Tyler Clippard and Antonio Bastardo are still there for the taking, the free agent market has dramatically thinned over the past week. While we can’t be sure of the front office’s lack of movement in addressing the bullpen, some Twins experts have suggested there may have been some sticker shock at the prices. Other teams haven’t had a problem opening their pocketbooks, but it’s completely reasonable for the Twins to be weary of relievers, since they have long been the most volatile group of players. How many guys have we seen go from top closers or setup men one year to DFAed the next? While there are certainly reasons not to shell out big bucks on the bullpen, it’s still an area the club needs to address this winter. Here are some free agents still available, who if healthy could be great low risk high reward candidates. Former Closers Down On Their Luck Neftali Feliz, 27, RHP Feliz’s stock isn’t nearly as low as Madson’s was a year ago, but I wouldn’t be at all shocked if he turns in a great performance on a one-year deal in 2016 and lands himself a lucrative three-year pact next offseason. He had an ugly 6.38 ERA over 48 innings between Texas and Detroit last year, but saw his velocity jump back closer to where it was when he was closing for the Rangers (94.6 mph). Joe Nathan, 41, RHP Everybody loves a reunion, right? He’s going to have to prove he’s healthy after undergoing Tommy John (again), but it shouldn’t take much of a commitment to sign the Twins’ all-time saves leader. Nathan’s motivation to keep pitching seems to be to end his career on his terms. He’s likely going to be more inclined to go somewhere he’s comfortable and has an opportunity to contribute. What better place than Minnesota? Long Shot Lefties Sean Marshall, 33 LHP Marshall’s recent history makes him a great comp to Madson at this time last year because he’s thrown just 24 ⅓ innings in the majors over the past three seasons (0 in 2015). But, he did get close enough from returning from shoulder surgery the Reds considered activating him from the DL in late September. From 2010-2012, Marshall had a 2.47 ERA and 10.35 K/9 while averaging over 70 innings a season. The Twins have an obvious need for a lefty. Eric O’Flaherty, 30 LHP O’Flaherty posted a 1.99 ERA over five seasons with the Braves.. At the end of that run in Atlanta, his elbow broke down, causing him to miss most of the 2013 & ‘14 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery. While he was effective in his initial return two years ago, but something went wrong last season, as he pitched to a brutal 8.10 ERA over 30 innings between Oakland and the Mets. Translation: He’ll be cheap. He turns 31 in February, so it’s possible he has another good run left in his arm. More Broken Relievers! Bobby Parnell, 31, RHP Parnell was expected to be the closer for the Mets in 2014, but never looked right in spring training and was shut down after just one appearance. He had Tommy John (sensing a trend?) and while he returned to the Mets’ bullpen, he didn’t look the same. He had a 6.38 ERA over 24 innings, but on the plus side he’s now healthy and approaching two full years from undergoing surgery. In the 2010, 2012 & 2013 seasons, Parnell had an ERA under 2.85, averaged at least 7.9 K/9 and his highest walk rate was 2.6 BB/9. 2011 was a down year, but that looks like an outlier when you look at his track record when he was healthy. Craig Stammen, 31 RHP Stammen is another former top setup man who has fallen from favor over the past two seasons. A late bloomer, he broke out with the Nationals as a 28-year-old in 2012, posting a 2.34 ERA and 8.9 K/9 over 88 ⅓ innings. He followed that up with another excellent season in which he had a 2.76 ERA with 8.7 K/9 over 81 ⅔ innings. All that work seems to have piled up, however, as Stammen was underwhelming in 2014 before falling apart and only throwing four innings with Washington last season. He’s apparently healthy after recovering from a torn flexor tendon. The Nats were expecting him to be ready for spring training, but they decided to non-tender him this winter. Finding the Next Wade Davis Brandon Morrow, 31, RHP Everyone seems to be trying to emulate the Royals this winter, for good reason, so why don’t we try to find the next Wade Davis? Morrow was once a dominant reliever with the Mariners, and has struck out over a batter per inning over his career, most of which has been as a starter. Morrow has been a starter the last six seasons, but he has managed only 54 ⅓, 33 ⅓ and 33 innings over the past three years. He likely would like to remain a starter, but maybe a team could convince him and his agent he’d be better off and more likely to stay healthy back in the bullpen. He is recovering from a shoulder injury, but could be ready for spring training. Tim Lincecum, 31, RHP Saving the most recognizable name for last. The two-time Cy Young Award winner had hip surgery in September, but hs is also expecting to be ready to go right around the start of spring training. Much like Morrow, there’s a case that could be made that Lincecum would be better off in relief, but he’s likely going to be looking for a chance to start somewhere. Timmy only has thrown 15 innings out of the pen during the regular season, but he was a key piece of the Giants relief corps during the team’s 2012 World Series championship run. Those are just eight guys that jumped out at me, but there about a dozen other guys who are intriguing names as well. Obviously, none of the players I mentioned above inspire much confidence, but then again, neither did Ryan Madson at this time last offseason. After taking a deeper look into what’s out there, I feel the Twins could add some upside to the bullpen without breaking the bank. Adding a Clippard or Bastardo would be ideal, but there are other ways to get Eddie Guardado some more help out in the pen. The real question is who is the guy? The Twins haven’t had much luck with these reclamation projects. Joel Zumaya and Rich Harden immediately come to mind. There’s a low percentage chance any of these guys makes a huge impact in 2016, but you never know with relievers.

The Twins definitely have above-average depth all over. I think last year's club was pretty fortunate as far as health goes. There were some guys here and there that missed time, but overall they were pretty lucky. I hope they hang on to the depth for insurance in case things don't go as smoothly. It's still crazy to me what happened with Arcia, Santana and Vargas last season. Who saw that coming? Coming into the year, I could've easily seen each of them getting 500 plate appearances, instead they combined for just 526 PAs. Makes you wonder if any of the expected everyday guys will fade or if anyone will show up earlier than expected like Rosario did last year. It's going to be fun to follow how the roster shapes up throughout the year.

I expect both to be fantastic, potentially franchise-changing players, but Buxton and Kepler have 0 good months ... at Triple-A. Some more time in the minors wouldn't hurt either of them. Keeping Hicks wouldn't have blocked Buxton, as he and Arcia could have been a really good platoon in a corner once Buxton takes over in center. Having to squeeze Sano into the outfield is a problem the organization created. Didn't have to be that way.

I'm excited to see Murphy, who no doubt filled a huge hole, but I just wonder if this trade, and the entire offseason to date, has been a good use of assets. And the only reason Hicks could be considered an extra piece is because they signed Park, which they didn't have to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see Park too, and they got an amazing deal on him (did his agent think Black Friday deals extended to baseball?). I feel the better course of action would have been to use the $23 million used to acquire Park on a reliever and a veteran backup catcher, keep Miguel Sano at DH and maintain what was expected to be a fantastic defensive outfield. I'm optimistic Sano won't be a complete train wreck in the outfield, but he ain't gonna be Aaron Hicks out there, either. There are still assets available in free agency, and there may be more trades coming, but all I'm sayin' is I don't really get what they've done so far. Maybe it's not fair to assess an incomplete picture, but hey, it's December and I wanna talk about baseball.

When the news broke of the Twins' trade of Aaron Hicks to the New York Yankees for John Ryan Murphy, the deal seamed reasonable enough. The club was dealing from an area of strength to address one of its greatest weaknesses. After seeing the free agent and trade markets evolve, things are starting to look worse.There was no reason the team had to deal away a player who would have been of value to the 2016 roster in order to solve the catching problem. True, Matt Wieters, the expected top prize of this offseason's catching group, was surprisingly off the market after accepting the Orioles' qualifying offer. Another potential target, A.J. Pierzynski, quickly resigned with the Braves. Did Terry Ryan overreact to that early activity? It's certainly starting to look like it. Here is a list of the other catchers who have signed so far: Tyler Flowers: 2 years, $5.8 million Brayan Pena: 2 years, $5 million Chris Iannetta: 1 year, $4.25 million Dioner Navarro: 1 year, $4 million Alex Avila: 1 year, $2.5 million Geovany Soto: 1 year, $2 million Josh Thole: 1 year, $0.8 million Jarrod Saltalamacchia: 1 year, $0.508 million Those are very reasonable prices for guys who you could consider serviceable backups at the very least. Another move that went down Thursday evening has me further convinced there is even more reason to question the Hicks-Murphy trade. The San Diego Padres acquired former top prospect Christian Bethancourt from the Braves, giving up basically nothing of value to their major league club for the '16 season. This move is especially notable because with Derek Norris and Austin Hedges already in the fold, San Diego is almost certainly shopping a catcher. Going to Atlanta in that deal is the perpetually busted Casey Kelly, a 26-year-old former prospect who had a 7.94 ERA in 11 1/3 innings with the Padres and a 5.16 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A. The prize of the return for the Braves is 17-year-old catcher Ricardo Rodriguez. So, basically a long shot to ever be a significant contributor and a complete lottery ticket. Sounds like a lot better of a deal than giving up your starting center fielder. In 143 career games at Triple-A, Bethancourt has hit .299/.327/.435 with 12 homers and last season between Atlanta and Gwinette he thew out 23 of 52 base stealers (44%). The Braves soured on him over questions regarding his game calling and an increase in passed balls. The fact that San Diego jumped on him despite not having a need at the position shows they feel he was being undervalued by the Braves, and it seems to me like experience and instruction could go a long way toward fixing those issues. While it's great that the Twins filled a huge hole in the organization by adding Murphy, who is a better long-term solution than any of the free agents listed above and has more of an MLB track record than Bethancourt, it's frustrating to think that hole could have been filled without having to part ways with Hicks. Click here to view the article

I hope you're right. But it does seem clear they could have upgraded the position without giving anyone up and only making a small investment. But, maybe they feel Murphy is the guy and he was their No. 1 target all along.

I'm starting to lean this way too. Reports came out early in the offseason the Pohlads told Ryan he could do whatever he wanted money wise. Gotta take that with a grain of salt, but when that's the message we get what else are we supposed to think other than Ryan is the problem?

When the news broke of the Twins' trade of Aaron Hicks to the New York Yankees for John Ryan Murphy, the deal seamed reasonable enough. The club was dealing from an area of strength to address one of it's greatest weaknesses. After seeing the free agent and trade markets evolve, things are starting to look worse. There was no reason the team had to deal away a player who would have been of value to the 2016 roster in order to solve the catching problem. True, Matt Wieters, the expected top prize of this offseason's catching group, was surprisingly off the market after accepting the Orioles' qualifying offer. Another potential target, A.J. Pierzynksi, quickly resigned with the Braves. Did Terry Ryan overreact to that early activity? It's certainly starting to look like it. Here is a list of the other catchers who have signed so far: Tyler Flowers: 2 years, $5.8 million Brayan Pena: 2 years, $5 million Chris Iannetta: 1 year, $4.25 million Dioner Navarro: 1 year, $4 million Alex Avila: 1 year, $2.5 million Geovany Soto: 1 year, $2 million Josh Thole: 1 year, $0.8 million Jarrod Saltalamacchia: 1 year, $0.508 million Those are very reasonable prices for guys who you could consider serviceable backups at the very least. Another move that went down Thursday evening has me further convinced there is even more reason to question the Hicks-Murphy trade. The San Diego Padres acquired former top prospect Christian Bethancourt from the Braves, giving up basically nothing of value to their major league club for the '16 season. This move is especially notable because with Derek Norris and Austin Hedges already in the fold, San Diego is almost certainly shopping a catcher. Going to Atlanta in that deal is the perpetually busted Casey Kelly, a 26-year-old former prospect who had a 7.94 ERA in 11 1/3 innings with the Padres and a 5.16 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A. The prize of the return for the Braves is 17-year-old catcher Ricardo Rodriguez. So, basically a long shot to ever be a significant contributor and a complete lottery ticket. Sounds like a lot better of a deal than giving up your starting center fielder. In 143 career games at Triple-A, Bethancourt has hit .299/.327/.435 with 12 homers and last season between Atlanta and Gwinette he thew out 23 of 52 base stealers (44%). The Braves soured on him over questions regarding his game calling and an increase in passed balls. The fact that San Diego jumped on him despite not having a need at the position shows they feel he was being undervalued by the Braves, and it seems to me like experience and instruction could go a long way in fixing those issues. While it's great that the Twins filled a huge hole in the organization by adding Murphy, who is a better long-term solution than any of the free agents listed above and has more of an MLB track record than Bethancourt, it's frustrating to think that hole could have been filled without having to part ways with Hicks.

The dominoes began to fall in terms of the market for starting pitchers when David Price signed with the Boston Red Sox earlier this week. There has been a flurry of moves in the aftermath, both in free agency and on the trade market, but one of the top options heading into the winter is still available: Johnny Cueto. With so many moves going down of late, it's starting to feel like Cueto may be running out of landing spots. Tuesday, SB Nation's Grant Brisbee took a look at potential destinations for the 29-year-old right-hander and came to the conclusion Minnesota would be an ideal fit. It's not that he feels particularly strongly about that opinion, however, calling it a dumb idea, but he defended it by saying Cueto to any team seems like a dumb idea at this point. Which is kinda true. The freshest images of Cueto in our minds is him being wildly inconsistent after a deadline move to Kansas City. But last I checked things worked out pretty well for those guys, though. In 13 regular season starts with the Royals, Cueto had a 4.76 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. That was before October, when things got especially weird. He had a poor first start against the Astros in the ALDS, pitched a gem with his team facing elimination in Game 5 of that series, got absolutely shelled in an ALCS start against Toronto before pitching a complete game two hitter against the Mets in Game 2 of the World Series. Throw in some past concerns about his arm and back and you get a very confusing picture. Taking a look back further at his excellent run with the Cincinnati Reds makes things look a heck of a lot more exciting, but his uneven performance with KC seems to have left a bad impression, despite his dominant performance on the grandest stage. Prior to being dealt, Cueto had a 2.62 ERA and 0.93 WHIP for the Reds. He would have been the 2014 NL Cy Young if it wasn't for Clayton Kershaw's historic MVP season. He missed most of 2013, but finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2012. That kind of resume would have made him the top free agent in some years. It was reported that Cueto rejected a six-year, $126 million offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks. They were so heartbroken they gave all their money to Zack Greinke and all their prospects to the Braves for Shelby Miller. So we know what Cueto hopes to get. The real question is what will it actually take to get him? Many of the big market teams have already made moves to solidify their rotations. The Cardinals are unlikely to be open to signing Cueto due to bad blood over a brawl a few seasons back. There will still be plenty of suitors, his agent made a good point that all 30 teams could use a Johnny Cueto, but the market has already shrunk to some extent. The money going to some of these pitchers ($90 million for Jeff Samardzija!?!?!?) is getting crazy, but it would not shock me if Cueto fails to beat that offer from Arizona. The big hangup will be that whoever signs him will have to forfeit a draft pick. For the Twins, that would be the 16th overall pick. The Twins already have quantity when it comes to options to fill their rotation. Adding another middle of the road veteran would make little sense. Guys like Mike Leake or Wei-Yin Chen are not going to vastly improve the Twins chances at winning over the next few years. What the club could use is some quality at the top, and when you look at Cueto's resume it's undeniable that he's been among the best pitchers in baseball If you don't think now's the time to spend money on a starter, just take a look at next year's market and try to find your guy there. Stephen Strasburg is the headliner, after that it's ... I don't know, Brett Anderson? The Twins could trade prospects for a starter instead, but did you see what Arizona gave up for Miller or what Miami wants for Jose Fernandez? No thanks. So unless you like the idea of the unknown and want to see the team make a run at Japanese righty Kenta Maeda, Cueto is the club's best bet to move the needle in terms of making a splash in free agency between now and the 2017 offseason. What do you think? Is the price plus the pick too much, or would it be worth it to add an ace?

I think ultimately that's who Santana will be for the '16 Twins, which is valuable since the club likes to carry a short bench. But, I have no confidence of his plate discipline ever improving if he's a part-time player. He's probably going to feel more pressure to do something in his limited at bats and remain overly aggressive.

Very true, that statement was aimed to be more about him still not taking walks against inferior pitching. I originally had that note higher up in the article, moved it back and didn't tweak the lead in.

Last we saw Danny Santana he was riding the bench, lucky to get a handful of at- bats a week as a September call-up. After a frustrating regular season, he decided to go back to playing winter ball in the Dominican. The results have not been encouraging so far, with many of the 25-year-old's weaknesses still being exposed despite facing inferior talent.The Monte Plata product has had a particularly lousy week with the glove. Tuesday evening, Santana committed his fifth error in as many contests. All five of those errors have come at second base, a position he's only seen limited time at in the minors, but the poor glove work serves as further evidence that Santana is ill- equipped as an infielder. Obviously, you can't read much into any winter league stats, but taking Santana's 2015 regular season showing into account, I think it would be best if the Twins completely gave up on him ever becoming an everyday major league shortstop. I had assumed the club made that determination when Santana was sent down to Rochester in late July, handing the everyday job back to the steady Eduardo Escobar. But when game 162 came around and Paul Molitor was filling out a lineup card of mostly reserves, he penciled Santana in at short, moving Escobar over to second base. That indicated to me that the club is neither sold of\n Escobar as its shortstop nor convinced that Santana is doomed at the position. With how poorly Santana hit in 2015, it almost went unnoticed that he also managed to commit the ninth-most errors of any shortstop despite making only 65 starts at the position. So, what's ahead for Santana in 2016? Aaron Hicks is out of the picture and it couldn't hurt to get Byron Buxton some more playing time at Triple-A, so I believe Danny Santana's last shot as an everyday player with the Twins (barring injury of course) is as the Opening Day center fielder next season. With a crowded outfield and prospects on the verge, his chance may not last long, but I would like to see Santana get one more real shot as an everyday player, assuming he shows us something between now and Opening Day. It's almost difficult to remember now, but Santana was every bit as electrifying a rookie in 2014 as Eddie Rosario was this past season. That same talent is still there. Things haven't been as disastrous at the dish for Santana in the Dominican, but it also does not appear as though he's is improving on his greatest weakness, either. Including Tuesday night's action, the notoriously aggressive Santana had drawn just one walk in 81 at-bats. Plate discipline often gets better as a player ages, and to find an example of a player turning things around quickly in that department you have to look no further than Eduardo Escobar. After drawing just eight walks over 216 plate appearances in the first half, Escobar managed to tally 20 walks over 230 plate appearances after the break. Obviously that's a small sample, but if Santana could take a similar step forward it would make him much more difficult for opposing pitchers to attack. While it's disappointing to see Santana fail to make strides so far this winter, I'm sure Molitor will give him every opportunity to impress during spring training. But if he can't even make strides in the Dominican League or even the Grapefruit League, his fate could be sealed as a bench player for the rest of his career. Click here to view the article