Tom Froemming

His wRC+ is still better than Eric Hosmer's last year. Pretty sure Royals fans aren't clamoring for their front office to DFA him. Among Twins hitters, Mauer ranked 5th in wRC+, better than Max Kepler, should we DFA him too? Mauer's wRC+ was 102, so slightly above average if I'm understanding correctly. I understand his profile doesn't fit in among the majority of other first basemen in the league, but he's still valuable. There's no reason to suggest he should be DFA'd.

Among the 146 qualified hitters in 2016 BB%: Mauer in top 8.2% OBP: in top 21.2% BB/K and Swinging Strike%: in top 6.9% (inside the top 10) Contact%: in top 11.7% I understand people want sexier things like homers or at least slugging, but Mauer is still elite at the things he does best. This combination of skills means his floor is extremely high, I would argue among the highest in baseball, for whatever that's worth. The Twins won't be DFAing Mauer, not because of his contract or his status with the franchise, but because he's still good at baseball.

Anybody just seeing this in the morning who's a little suspicious of the original quote, MLB Trade Rumors still hasn't updated their post about it yet. And Rosenthal has tweeted the correction: "Correction: #MNTwins will not release Park if unable to trade him. Plan is to take him off 40-man, send him to minors if he clears waivers."

UPDATE It appears this was an error on Rosenthal' part, this article has since bee updated. "Park, recently designated for assignment, would need to be a trade. The Twins do not plan to release Park, to whom they owe $9.25 million over the next three seasons. The expectation is that they simply would remove him from their 40-man roster, and keep him in their organization." Everybody's human.

Buried in Ken Rosenthal's latest article was this tidbit on Byungho Park ... "The Twins will release Park, to whom they owe $9.75 million over the next three seasons, if they cannot trade him. The Rays then could sign Park as a free agent for the minimum, with the Twins paying the rest." Pretty shocking if this is true. Why wouldn't they keep him around in Rochester?

Here is a short YouTube video of him throwing in the AFL two years ago. To my eye it looks like he comes a little bit more over the top on the last pitch he throws in that sequence, which (as you alluded to) he has a reputation of doing. He also does a lot to try and throw hitters out of rhythm. He'll quick pitch or hold the ball for a really long time. Definitely tries to get every advantage he can. It's possible he's been getting by on gimmicks, and it's probably a bad idea to get too excited about a 26-year-old former 22nd-round pick, but I'm a believer. Like you said, the numbers are completely filthy.

H/T to Brandon Warne over at Cold Omaha on this one ... here's what current Assistant Director of Baseball Ops for the Braves, Kiley McDaniel, had to say about his defense: "he’s a plus defender at shortstop with a plus arm and above average speed, but the bat is light and there isn’t much power; his upside is a Cesar Izturis-type utility guy" Izturis was one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball for a decade. I haven't seen Adrianza play, but all the data and reports I can find are very complimentary of his defense.

If he can just coast to a .272/.352/.422 line like he had a the second half of last season, I'm totally cool with him being the top bench bat on a team that should have no trouble scoring runs.

Look at the staring lineup, who are you pinch hitting for? Maybe Castro, but not many managers like to put in the backup catcher unless absolutely necessary. Also, Grossman had a 126 OPS+ last season, maybe that was a mirage, but you gotta give him some credit. Outside of Dozier he was their best offensive player last year.

The Giants have never put him in the outfield over his entire minor league career. He has played 6,411 minor league innings, less that 100 of them have come at a position other than SS. Pretty clear they thought he was legit there. A lot of his time in San Francisco had been spent at 2B, but that's just because Brandon Crawford is a plus defensive SS.

I feel a little silly saying it, because there's probably a decent chance Adrianza gets DFA'd in a week if the Twins find somebody better floating out there, but I love this move. I've been clamoring for the Twins to add a legit defensive SS all offseason. No, this guy's probably not a threat to steal the starting gig (unless the new FO is really serious about improving the defense), but it's great to have a reliable glove man available to start once or twice a week and be a late inning defensive replacement off the bench. Some things to consider ... 1. Of the 88 players to amass 300 innings at SS since 2013, Adrianza ranks 3rd in UZR/150. He trails only Andrelton Simmons and Francisco Lindor. Sure, that's over a small sample, but still encouraging. 2. Adrianza has hit .311/.391/.431 in 439 PAs at AAA. Maybe there's more in that bat than he's show with the Giants. 3. I know a lot of people were intrigued by Pat Light's heat, but the guy averaged 5.7 BB/9 in Triple A over 57 total appearances. That's rough.

Some of the young arms should emerge eventually, but out the gate Chaggy is the only one worthy of breaking camp. Melotakis is on the 40-man, and should be pushed harder in his second season removed from Tommy John, but he could use at least another few months in the minors. Jake Reed is coming off a strong season, but it's not like he's dominated MiLB hitters. Nick Burdi needs to show he can just stay healthy for an extended period before he enters any call up conversations. Trevor Hildenberger has been amazing, he's maybe the next guy after Chaggy who most deserves a shot based on performance, but he's never even been to Rochester yet. Matt Belisle isn't going to block anyone. If one of the guys on the farm dominates, they'll find a way to give him an opportunity. It's likely somebody gets hurt (like Perkins last year) or is so bad they get cut (like Jepsen last year), if not by midseason they'll trade somebody away to make room (like Abad last year). One way or another, the cream always rises to the top.

I just realized I didn't address the elephant in the room ... Danny Santana. A lot of people, understandably, are frustrated that DanSan has stuck on the 40 man over so many of these other players (the list gets pretty long if we go back to last year too). But the fact remains that even with Dozier still around, infield depth is an issue. As the roster stands, we're just one injury away from having to rely on Engelb Vielma as the utility infielder and two away from having to call upon someone like Niko Goodrum, Tommy Field, Benji Gonzalez or Leonardo Reginatto. There's not that kind of dropoff when you go through nightmare scenarios in the outfield, at 1B/DH or even behind the plate. Right now Danny is needed as infield insurance, even though he's a terrible infielder. My hope is they will sign someone like Erick Aybar or Daniel Delscalso to provide infield depth, at that point I think we can expect to see Santana DFA'd. Until then, it seems his spot is pretty secure.

It was a shock to see the Twins elect to designate Byungho Park for assignment. There was plenty of speculation over who would be removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Matt Belisle, but nobody suggested it would be Park, who was just signed last winter. Image courtesy of Jennifer Buchanan, USA Today It was a shock to see the Twins elect to designate Byungho Park for assignment. There was plenty of speculation over who would be removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Matt Belisle, but nobody suggested it would be Park, who was just signed last winter. Looking at some of the other moves made under Derek Falvey, maybe we should have known better. It's becoming clear a goal of this offseason has been to eliminate redundancies. Last offseason, the Twins were faced with the challenge of figuring out what to do with Miguel Sano, thanks in large part to the assumption Park would take over at DH. The team could have been faced with a similar situation this year, but among Falvey's first moves was to non-tender Trevor Plouffe. Boom, problem solved. For better or worse, the team is now firmly committed to Sano at third base, his natural position. It appears, for now at least, the same could be said in regard to Kennys Vargas at DH. It remains to be seen whether or not the team signs a veteran slugger such as Mike Napoli, but it's clear now they have made the decision to prioritize Vargas over Park. There was really no reason to make that call this early, especially since Vargas has another option year. But the previous regime was criticized for dragging its feet in regard to making a decision on Plouffe's future, so it's difficult to argue with this move. As unnecessary as it seems, it does provides clarity. Of course, it's entirely possible Park remains in the Twins organization. But at that point he will no longer be on the 40-man roster, creating an even greater obstacle for him to return to Target Field. Regardless of any unforeseen additions, Vargas will not have that same issue. There have been a couple of other, minor moves this offseason in which Falvey and Co. have made tough decisions on similarly skilled players. It was unlikely both Adam Brett Walker and Daniel Palka were ever going to coexist, given their similarities. Walker had a crazy ride on the waiver/DFA roller coaster before landing with the Braves. That leaves Palka as the team's lone young slugging outfielder in Triple A. Behind the plate, the careers of Mitch Garver and Stuart Turner were intertwined, but much like with Walker/Palka, it was clear at some point the team would have to pick between the two. Turner was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Reds and will compete for the backup catcher spot in spring training. Turner has a realistic opportunity to break camp with the Reds, but if he's returned to the Twins it's more clear now than ever that he's behind Garver in the catching pecking order. Given the team's new depth behind the dish, Turner may even have to go back to Double A if he's returned to the organization. It never seems to be a good thing when an organization loses a player and receives nothing in return, which could be the case with Park. But sometimes such a departure can create huge opportunities just by opening up playing time for other guys in the org. So, looking ahead, what could be next for the Twins' roster makeover? Overshadowed by the Park DFA was the news that Trevor May is going to be given every opportunity to be a starting pitcher this season. With May in the mix, the Twins have no shortage of starting pitching options. Somebody will more than likely be pushed to the bullpen (Tyler Duffey?). With the addition of Belisle, however, things are looking very competitive among the reliever corps, as well. Some time between now and Opening Day, it's entirely possible we'll see another surprise move or two by the front office in order to provide clarity on the pitching staff. View full article

Happy to see this. Upgrades the bullpen without necessarily blocking the youth. Not long ago I asked Ted at Off The Baggy who he thought would get dropped from the 40 man if something like this happened, his guess was Buddy Boshers. That makes a lot of sense, given the presence of fellow lefty Glen Perkins, Taylor Rogers, Ryan O'Rourke and Mason Melotakis on the 40 man. Randy Rosario would also seem like a candidate, but I think since we're adding a pitcher it would be surprising to see Danny Santana removed from the 40 man.

Yeah but ... Eddie Rosario: 25.2 K%, 74.2 contact% Mallex Smith: 22.3 K%, 73.1 contact% I think Tampa's main motivation was to dump Smyly's salary.

Can't argue against any thing here. But I came up with a comp to the Smyly package. He was traded for Mallex Smith, Ryan Yarbrough and Carlos Vargas. I think Rosario is a comparable piece to Smith, if not more valuable. But Smith's main tool is his center field defense, so it's tough to compare the two. If Rosario wouldn't be enough, I'm sure Polanco would be. Not the same position, but I'm sure after trading Forsythe the Rays could use a 2B, too. Ryan Yarbrough had a nice year at Double A, but he's 25. A former fourth-round pick, a Twins comp to him might be a guy like Ryan Eades or D.J. Baxendale. Carlos Vargas is a 17-year-old shortstop who played in the DSL. He and Wander Javier were in the same international signing class. Javier got $4 M, Vargas got $1.7 M. So this would need to be a intriguing young international signee, but no one near the level of Javier. I don't have my prospect handbook on me (FAIL!), so I don't have a specific name for this one. So, for two years of Smyly (career ERA+ of 108 would be best on the starting rotation) would you give up Rosario/Polanco, Eades/Baxendale and an interesting 17-year-old, but by no means your top young guy? I'd do that in a heartbeat. Maybe that means the comp I came up with is nowhere near as good as the package the Rays got for Smyly, I don't know.

I disagree with this. With the team's depth of young position players, why is trading one of them for a pitching upgrade not an option? Dan Straily and Drew Smyly were both recently traded for packages that included one player with less that half a season of MLB experience and two minor league prospects. I don't know if you can find a comparable Twins package to those deals specifically, but I would assume the Twins could put together a similar package to upgrade the rotation. Those are just recent examples, there have been a number of starting pitchers traded this winter. Obviously, prospects are incredibly valuable to a team like the Twins, but there are already a lot of guys on the roster who are under 25, the farm system is still pretty strong and the No. 1 pick/top bonus pool should mean it's only going to get better. If your veterans like Dozier can't be used in a trade to upgrade the pitching, at what point do you try to use the prospect depth to improve the staff? Never?

Awesome stuff. Hopefully the coaching staff can figure out the right amount of info to feed Buxton. Regarding Bautista eliminating a pitch, I was always surprised opposing hitters didn't just refuse to swing at Francisco Liriano's slider. Could say the same about Tyler Duffey's curve, but I suppose that's tougher to do on pitches guys throw 30-40% of the time.

Better yet, move the Rays up here and we'll rename them the Minnesota Green Pastures

I agree, but it's incredibly frustrating that Molitor and/or Mauer can't handle that task.

Hmmm, Minnesota Marlins maybe? Hey, if the Lakers can move to LA, why not? Seriously though, this franchise is at risk of becoming an after thought. Takes a long time and a lot of winning to get the casual fans to come back.

Kinda did here in the third paragraph: "It takes a whole lot bad baseball and bad luck to lose over 100 games." But you are right, luck is a big factor. There aren't many teams you ever look at and project 100 losses based on talent. A lot has to go wrong. It seems like most people are projecting a win total in the low 70s, which seems fair. Really good luck maybe gets you to .500. Really bad luck maybe gets you back to 100 losses. Something I didn't mention I just thought of is even if Dozier and Ervin play well that'll only increase the odds they'll be traded at the deadline unless the Twins are in the playoff hunt. A so-so first half could result in a liquidation, and we could see a stripped down roster tanking over the last couple months. That's maybe the biggest wild card in predicting what's going to happen in a season: how the roster transforms between Opening Day to Game 162.

I would think Boshers & O'Rourke would be candidates too.