Rosterman

I don't see the Twins spending $100 millin on Ramps. He is not...Mauer in his prime, fer sure. That is a lot of bucks for someone who is coming off a career year. Sadly, the Twins will stick with Murphy, which still means Garver will be in the mix. I just have a hardtime paying Plouffe whatever he will get in arbitration, unless you plug him in as a jack-of-all trades. Keeping Plouffe means you don't need Vargas and you don't need Park. You have to pony up and make the decision longer term. You keep Plouffe for a year and lose him to free agency, or sign him for 2-3 years in the $25-30 million range. Then you let Vargas walk (or sell him to Japan) and possibly do the same with Park. I don't see much trade interest in either, unless packaged with a prospect or two for some minor league depth...which is not out of the question as the Twins may have a prospect or two they can't protect this year or next. Pa;la will need to be a 40-man add. But like Walker, who he is slowly passing, he will have to spend time in the minors, which means you still keep Grossman (who is cheap) as well as Santana on the off-season 40-man. Both players are on the fringe for the team, so IF you do sign a free agent, you have some wiggle room. Although the Twins making a $$$ free agent splash will probably not happen. At this point, Santiago is a lost cause, it seems. He would be another Mike Pelfrey if you resigned him thru arbitration, not knowing what you get and expensive, even if he does produce. I don't see him pitching to 15-7 with a three-something era next season. You essentially save some money that you aren't paying him or Pelfrey, and cutting ties with Meyer, who didn't look like he would be a starting option next season (hell, he only threw how many innings this year) and likely to be bypassed as a bullpen option, was probably a godsend. The question with moving May to the bullpen is the ability to throw innings. Will he be able to do 130, 150? How is that decision made. It is also a tough call on Duffey, who could join Dean and Albers in free agent land. If Duffey is, indeed, the longman out of the bullpen, let's start looking at that now, today. See how he is coming into a game in the 6th inning. It may mean more Dean and Albers and Santiago in the rotation this season (but let's look at Meija and Wheeler, too), but if you are looking at changing roles for next season, do some looksee now. The bullpen as a whole looks pretty weak, depending on the return of Perkins. You forgot about Pat Light, Ryan O'Rourke and possibly Alex Wimmers. Those names alone offer some competition to a group that will is pretty even in the competitive throwing field. Pretty much all these names will get a looksee in spring training: Jones, Hildenburger, Reed, Burdi, Bard, Gonsalves, Besenitz, Melotakis and maybe even Greenwood. Few of those are probably ready to come out throwing at the spring training in the majors, but expect ALL of them to have an impact sometime in 2017...although I don't know where on the 40-man all will be placed. The new general manager will have a task. We have Plouffe and Mauer blocking players, yet some of those players (Park and Vargas) really don't have a lot of worth. Even Walker, in the mix, is not someone you are getting lots of calls about. We have questionable fielding at 3rd and SS if we place Sano and Polanco there, yet who are our choices? Better them than, say, a Plouffe who could walk (and would his stock be high in mid-season, considering he will be a free agent, than this season or last). Do you like Polanco over Escobar? What to do with catcher? Spend money on Ramos, forcing shot/longterm decisions on Murphy, Garver, Turner down to Murray and Navaretto. If Park would return to Korea or somewhere, would you do it? What if Buxton still struggles...is Granite a future answer? And pitching, pitching, pitching. Going into 2016, I actually felt that if healthy, the Twins had a rotation that would get us into the 7th inning. How wrong was I. And even though the bullpen has showed some life and strong arms, they still haven't been put to the test in keeping the Twins ahead in games and working in a win-win situation. Yes, you have pressure everyday when playing in the majors, but it is different when a win counts compared to just trying to stay in the game...or finish the game. Would like to see you take a run at the Twins 40-man roster, as well as current members of Rochester/Chattanooga. Are they keepers or fluff. Look at each membere of the team and try to judge their worth in the major league marketplace. If there was an expansion draft, who would the Twins lose. Who on the team would a general manager actually call to discuss as a trade possibility. Who are placesetters for 2017. Out of all the players on the 40-man and the two upper levels of the minors, who COULD find a place on any 40-man roster for a different team in 2017 and should the Twins go there. Those are the pressing looksees of the new general manager. Working with what the Twins have that may be of modest or little value, figuring out the possibilities of immediate prospects, and looking at system depth out towards 2018/2019.

Considering all the names the Twins grabbed from free agency for pitchers since that wonderful 2012 season where we had Marquis, Diamond, Liriano, Deduno, Walters, Hendriks, DeVries, Vasquez and Blackburn (at his worst)...The Twins went and spent money on Hughes, Nolasco, Santana, Pelfrey, Correia and Stauffer. They traded for Worley, Kris Johnson, Milone, Santiago, Meyer, May, Mejia and Hernandez. You can name one hand the names that came from the Twins system in the past five years. We spent a lot of money on some talent. We traded little to get some names back (except we have ahd a shortage of real centerfielders since the trading spree of outfielders began).

Brunansky did some talk on the morning show on KSTP last week about players having multiple coaches and how you, the team coach, deals with all those other people offering advice. The easiest is that everyone's remarks are funneled thru one person. The second best is Bruno's approach, where he listens to the player's take on the advice, why they are listening, asks about their feelings about what they are doing, and then goes forth from there, discussing how we should actually tackle this problem and the advice. The player, first, ahs to recognize that something isn't working. They should feel it, or see it, at some point.

Vargas got caught in a numbers crunch. Arcia got caught in a numbers crunch. How many more players will be caught in this numbers crunch. Do the Twins know who they have, who they should be looking at, whom they should be trying to trade for...say, more future depth and numbers crunch then. At some point bad play plus losses means you go beyond Boshers and Santiago and Grossman and such and do give moe mileage to rookies, or even rookies further down the on ramp. What you have on the field now is not doing it!

The toughest call is always on guys like Landa, Rosario, Walker and such. We have ahd Kepler and Polanco in similar situations (as well as Wheeler in the season past). They weren't ready for the majors and you know you may have to carry them on the 40-man for one, two or even three years before getting them up and seeing any results. But if you cut them loose, another team COULD grab them (not a Rule 5 situation) and stash them at the back of their 40-man roster, having one less year to worry about their development. That is the situation I see with Walker and Melotakis. I doubt either will make an impact in 2017. Landa and Rosario are even further out, and could see cutting ties with Rosario for now. But, we'll see. How important is that extra spot. The kicker is that the Twins may be adding still more guys like the above to the 40-man, who won't make a call-up or impact in 2017 and possibly not see much action until 2018. Suddenly, you have 6-7 "prospects" on your 40-man roster doing little for your team. The evils of being a loser and getting high draftpicks, or having a farm system that is developing players in the low minors and getting a stack-up on talent depth.

Twins have to make a hard decision on Park at some point.

Yes, they wasted three years not giving him more of an opportunity to shine. You ahd players down, and don't bring him up to sit on the bench. You let the reserve guys ride the bench. And knowing you had Dozier at second, you played him at second at Rochester...especially odd since you have NO TROUBLE playing others out os position. That they didn't bring him up and start him in the outfield is the understatement of the year!

I'm not arguing that Plouffe IS a valuable player and will play...somewhere...in baseball. I just don't see the Twins to make him one their five highest paid players and not really have a fulltime position for him to play. He becomes an expensive utilityman, who will be a free agent in 2018. And supposedly he didn't attract much worthwhile attention in 2015, and no one is breaking down the door to grab him in 2016 (not that someone won't sign him for 2017). It is just his value. If the Twins were to keep him, they should've signed him to that contract taking him thru year one of free agency. They should've not bid on Park. At worst, we would still have Arcia looking for time in the outfield and Vargas may be on the farm, still, wishing he did go to Asia. Okay, I CAN stomach Plouffe for a longer time with the Twins IF Sano is the fulltime DH. But that means you have to deal with the issues of Park, Vargas, possibly Walker. In some ways, I would rather allow Sano to get big as a DH and play there for the next 15 years than have him hold down third for at least two more years, which at this point is what the Twins will comfortably need before they can plug someone of equal offensive value (to Plouffe) into the position. He is just soooooo darn expensive. Worth $25 million? Worth $30 million. Send him walking and hope you can bring him abck for $6 million next year (as he builds his worth) or even $12-15 million for two years (that is if you don't have him on your arbitration roster which, again, releasing him right now). And, if handled such, does he really want to come back then.

Seven guys, seven different stories. Remember, arbitration rewards players whether they are good or bad. Again, we can go back to David Oritz. You can cut a guy 20% (unlikely) or go for the figure they present. Someone decides one figure or another. You can sign before arbitration, usually somewhere in the middle. Trevor Plouffe. Even with THIS season, he is pretty much guaranteed $9-10 million easily - if he enters arbitration with the Twins or with what ever team he could go to in the stretch. Like Santiago, this becomes an issue of how much actually or how they play for you. No way should the Twins go to arbitration with Plouffe, who will then STILL be a free agent at season's end. Their alternatives - Sign him to a 2-3 year contract. But if they really wanted to keep him, they had that option this past winter. He would still cost around $30 million to do so, or if lucky, $25 million. BUT -- AND IT IS A BIG BUT -- if he is released, his dollar amount might fall to as low as, say, $5-6 million next season (unless someone DOES offer him multiple years) as he tries to rebuild a value. Plouffe is not without value. But should he be one of the top five payroll expenses and not have a position on the team. Hector Santiago. Will he produce better than Nolasco has in the past for the Twins (and assuming he would also do better in the future). He would cost the Twins $7-8 million, depending on his final numbers, which will be skewed by his play for the Angels. If the Twins do let him walk, they essentially save $8 million on payroll to invest elsewhere. Letting a guy walk doesn't mean he will immediately re-sign with you for a lower amount. After his showings so far, you would let him walk and seek out a similar (and more trusting option) this winter. Tom Milone. No one wanted him earlier for what his 2016 salary paid him. Seems like no one really wants him now. Any innings you keep giving him in 2016 could be given to someone else pitching equally as sullen. But at least the NEW guy will be around. Tommy Milone might be lucky and get a 40-man spot. But it might just get an invite with a major/minor split. He will pitch again in the majors. But not sure how often. Brandon Kintzler. Go to arbitration. Reward him for some fine pitching this season. But no reason to extend him, unless he totally blows you away around June 15th next year and the young crop is still dusting their wings in AA and below. Same with Ryan Pressly. You've blown more money on names like Tim Stauffer with no return. Eduarco Escobar. Once again, Eduardo enters arbitration NOT as a starter, so his price is less than if he was holding down the shortstop position. That is a blessing. At $3-4 million and showing his consistency, he is still worthwhile to keep as a reserve infielder. You might be able to flip him next summer for a similar return that you got for Nunez. He has proven he can adequately start at a variety of positions as well as be that emergency arm out of the bullpen. Kyle Gibson. Again, he won't break the bank in his first year of arbitration. But no way does he get a multi-year contract. He just hasn't shown himself to be that good. (Think: Joe Mays, Nick Blackburn). If he is brilliant in 2017, you can still afford him in 2018. He might get expensive in 2019. You hope he has value at some point, but right now, you need his cost of offset a rotation that is still weak on experience. Kurt Suzuki is a free agent. No one wants him on a competitive team. You can absorb his weaknesses on a non-competitive team, because ultimately a loss is a loss in the loss column, no matter how bad the pitches are called or how many runners run. I'm sure he will get a job. Pure backup. Can't wait to see the dollar figure. Hey, he didn't do bad for the Twins. The Twins maybe overpaid him, but they overpaid a bunch of guys...so our only "yell" at the front office is that they didn't spend their money wisely. So, the Twins will free up one roster spot with Suzuki. They will lost three other players and THERE IS NO REASON FOR ANY OF THE THREE TO RETURN, unless you do get rid of names like Danny Santana, Robbie Grossman, Byung-Ho park, Tyler Duffy, Kyle Gibson. Where the whole mess gets complicated is WHO THE TWINS HAVE TO PROTECT. Do they protect guys who will come up in 2017. Or do they have to stash even more names to go with the likes of Walker, Rosario, Landa and Melotakis -- all who you can argue will make any impact in 2017, let alone start of the 25-man in 2018. Those are the tough calls with a system that does show promise, but still the guys aren't there yet (or the Twins are taking too much time developing them).

The Twins need to look at bubble guys this September: Harrison, Wheeler and Wimmers come to mind. Happily, they don't need to add Gonsalves, Stewart, burdi, Reed and such (but next year maybe). They have to move some guys like Thiorpe to the AAA roster, I think, to avoid the minor league end of the draft, which could be devastating to the Twins in some areas. Sadly, the Twins were forced, for some reason, to add Melotakis, Landa, Rosario, Walker. Now you can't remove them without sending them thru waivers and having another team give them a 40-man. Yet I don't see any of the four contributing greatly to the Twins in 2017 except as a callup, and not until 2018 seeing them on the 25-man roster at best. And I would argue that the the Twins COULD remove Walker and Rosario, as they are being passed by other prospects. Yet both could be tempting grabs for teams with less prospects in thir own system that need protection. Hapily, Palka is the closest to needing to stick at the major league level. The Twins are sadly stuck with Walker still on the 40-man. That's where the gamble sometimes backfires. You carry guys for a couple of years and hope hope hope they are major league players. The Twins also need to add Jones.

You add in Bard and Jones down the line, and the Twins have some power arms. But they need to see some major league action and will have some ups-and-down. If Perkins doesn't come back strong, he could still be that 8th inning lefty. That the Twins weren't able to move Kintzler speaks loads for that guy. Nothing special. It's like Boyer, do we keep him or let him walk. You don't want them to wear out a welcome as in Fien or Burton or even Guerrier. Hey, anyone know what happened to Jesse Crain?

Escobar is the perfect utility guy. Happily, he should still be a reasonable bargain next season and should be kept around. Not sure what his third year salary will be in 2018. That is assuming Polanco is a true shortstop and will play it for the Twins, which he is doing well, now.

It will be interesting to see what kind of contract he can get from the Twins if he alsts towards his second year of arbitration. It may be a respectible contract (similar, say, to Span's) and if he keeps producing at his current level, he will always be a fine trade chip. But at some point, he will be passed by others in the system. 2017, a keeper. 2018, will have to produce well to keep a job. 2019....how much does he cost for what. Of course, Buxton, Walker will also touch upon his career with the Twins.

The whole thing makes little sense. In some ways, there was no need to add Dean, just go straight to O'Rourke. Now if we are going to start adding guys, let's see Wheeler and Wimmers, or maybe even Baxendale. People who we MIGHT want to keep away from otehr teams next year. Yes, adding Albers, than Dean, means we get a checkmark on their "thanks" list and they may resign for added depth (and the paycheck it does bring, which is substantial) next season.

Grossman or Santana. Choose one.

You could've gone outside the organization, but maybe your true answer is sitting right there in Chattanooga, with a guy who has managed these players and seen them progressed and tends to get the most out of them. From overuse of bullpen, to lineup construction, to not putting down his foot and getting batters to do something (take pitches, maybe work on bunting more, anything to change what they are doing badly)...you can/can't blame the coaches. Ultimately, their work reflects on the manager. Yes, there were lots of new coaches and maybe they all don't mesh, and then that becomes a problem because it is the manager's job to set the overall tone and on-field direction. 2015 was a decent season. We have to remember that the Twins were a tad over .500 and due to the weakness of the division and the runaways at top stayed in the wild card. But there was a lot of smoke and mirrors. They happily produced offense, which is showing up again in the second-half...with a rotation that has totally fell apart. Even some comments, to paraphrase, that came out of Molitor talk about Nunez NOT being a regular player, or would play rookies but the team still wants to win (sheesh!). To saddle a new GM with the old manager is vile! Part of a total system breakdown. You don't require that to happen.

Oh, and rumor has it that some guy named Jepsen will be the player to be named later. Why not, I say. We are already paying his salary!

Sadly, the names you mentioned don't have to be considered for additions until the off-season. I imagine Granite, and maybe Gonsalves, will go to the AZFL for some regular play. Garver would be interesting. If Suzuki goes, then Murphy gets the call. It would be nice to see a courtesy call and early add with Garver, but it probably won't happen. You first have to look at all names on the 40-man. Then you look at names like Wimmers that you might care to get a look at. They you think about rewards (Beresford, perhaps). Any other names at Rochester stand out? Not for the moment. Reed is there, Baxendale is there, Wheeler should get a look but they will probably hold off. The bigger question is where the Twins will find the 6-7-8 spots to add guys in the off-season, and the two names that will stay there (you need guys on the current 40-man to remove if, say, you sign a free agent). Not that the Twins don't have bubble names like Duffy, and Santiago and Escobar, both of whom could be denied arbitration, for example. Even Palka will be ignored. Will theyc all up Walker? Is he deserving? What to do about Park! I would love to see Mitch catch all the games, but he is currently adjusting to the Rochester staff, and not sure that the best use of his talents is to have him totally adjust to the major league staff, or even catch one or two guys regularly until seasons end. But having him sit on the major league bench, watch and listen the game, become a late-inning replacement...I think...would be rewarding to him and set the bar for next season.

You need to rush. You need that body at the World Series talking with others in the baseball field. You need to start looking at available players RIGHT after the seasons end. You need full evaluation of your system as guys are in Arizona and you prepare the 40-man roster and the winter meetings. Hey, the Arizona group may be available. Cutting ties after two seasons. Whew! There's only 30 of these jobs out there and there are easily 30 hungry assistants and a comparable enough of people who have done it and looking for a job,or in other areas of a team or in the major league structure. You are not working with a lack of candidates, many on par with Anthony (who by having this chance is positioning himself better for the job internally, posssibly elsewhere). Any delay means that the powers that be are still acting in total system failure and have no idea what they want and will be twiddling their fingers listening to people offering possible results and direction, then putting their minds together and deciding they have no idea what will work.

Yes, May didn't shine in 2014 as a starter. But he did show promise. He was also a bit rough in 2015 and pulled it together in a role out of the pen. But he still has the mix. He learned. Come 2016, he was used a lot out of the gate...multiple days, short stops in a game. Not a long man, not a setup, not given a role. Just put out there as a member of a bullpen. This is 21st century baseball. We now have roles. We have top of the rotation starters who can give us 200 innings and a chance to win every time they pitch. We have middle guys who might just keep us in the game. We have that 5th guy who might reach 125-130 innings and then be replaced by a similar soul. We have specialists in the bullpen. The closer. Two guys who see the ball in the 9th. We have a long guy. If you have the luxury, someone who can get a groundball, someone who can get a fly ball, someone who can strike someone out. And you have a couple of them coming in from the left side who can do more than jsut get their one guy out. Maybe The Twins Way is that everyone can play anywhere on the diamond when called upon. Sometimes it works for awhile (Nunez this season), but at some point, you develop a player and you leave them there and you either trade that player eventually when someone else comes along (Dougie M and A.J.) or move that prospect (Polanco, Sano perhaps). But you don't start shuffling guys around for the heck of it. Your system should be strong enough that are are always looking at depth of three at a position for the next five years (like the Twins at catcher right now, eh). Someone is moving the little standups around the cardtable and seeing what your lineup would look like with so-and-so, and what it MAY look like next year, or three years down the line. If you need to change a position, you do it BEFORE you egt to the majors. Of course, starting pitchers are a different case. You can get by with 2 or 3 pitches in the minors, but once you hit the majors, you better have four. Maybe you can be role arm in the bullpen if you don't adapt. Going to the bullpen is not necessarily a step-down...it is, afterall, a major league job. But it is also a mindset, like how every bullpen guy can't close a game...how every starter has trouble getting thru that batting order the third time, how batters can't adjust when the other team actually looks at the tape they have on your swing. At best, when they IMMEDITATELY moved May into the bullpen in spring training, I was hoping they would still stretch him out, making him that - most time - minimum three inning guy, possibly becoming a spot starter rather than dipping down to the Deans and Albers in the organization. At worst, when Perkins started to falter, I was wondering if they would try him at closer, which almost seemed the case when he was working consecutive days, but not in the high pressure situation. Somehow, I think, we have THE LOST SEASON OF TREVOR MAY. Nothing was accomplished. He moved backwards more than forwards. Even if you to rebrand him as a starter, can he pitch 150 innings in 2017...can he go 175...and what is his homework assignment for the off-season. Are the Twins thinking that far ahead? Or is/was it a total system failure.

He will go the Fall League,right?

There's some major league meetings coming up next week and expect St. Peter and Pohlad will both be there doing some interviewing, or so I would hope.I wou ld really love to know the true exact questions they are asking new candidates. Vision of the organization?What kind of team do you see us fielding?What do you need for front office support? How much money do you need to do this?

It makes you suddenly realize how foolish it is to make a single player the brand of a team...either when they drafted Joe Mauer in the first place, or gave him the extension. Of course, the thought still remains of Joe Mauer being a lifetime boon to the organization, if he so chooses to remian anywhere in the game of baseball. But it also shows that when a player diminishes in value (this time because of a position change), it can also hurt the team in the long run. If we had never signed Joe, we would've had Prior and that baggage of an overpriced draftee who would've hated being signed by Minnesota (assuming he would've signed). We would've kept A.J. and not have Liriano and Nathan and Boof. Wow, suddenly things start to look royally different. We could've traded Mauer, too. I wonder what the backlash would've been like. Of course, we could part ways with him right now if any other club saw $20 million of contributions from him on the field. And I think we could happily absorb the ramifications of such a move. But it ain't happening. In hindsight, we didn't need to move Ramos. We should still have Pinto. Heck, we should've developed Danny Rams! Two questions remain. The game of baseball has changed. ANy money you give to a player is a sunk cost for one season or multiple seasons. At some point, you may jump on your desk and say you were the "master of the game" and did something totally right. On the other end, you suddenly say I am paying a guy $30 million a year for his good years, write-it-off and move on. I think the sport will be seeing more and more BAD longterm really rich contracts, but if they give results for one or two important moments in the team's game, it will continue to happen. The money, sadly, is there. The other question is "What is Joe's longterm situation with the Twins organization?" Will he retire in two seasons or continue on in the sport, and if not with the Twins, where? Is he worthwhile signing to a lifetime "end your career with us/personal services contract" or do the two parties part ways and maybe in a couple of years Joe joins the likes of Hrbek and such as a roving ambassador and batting consultant. Will Joe continue his career as a hitting instructor (and can he do that). Will he buy a team? It will be interesting to see what happens to the "Mauer" brand as his career winds down.

I almost think the fans would boo him more than come out, if they do. Sadly, NO. There is no place for him, and he would see that too and not sign with us.

You have two options with reserve players. One) They are reserves. In the pinch, they come in and play. If someone goes down longterm, they have the ability to play everday at the position of choice and stay there as long s needed, or... Two) They are that bench guy, contributing late-inning subsitution, perhaps pinch-running, or a bat off the bench. But when a player goes down, they stay on the bench and you play your top prospect from the minors as much as possible...because they are your future, unless... Three) You prospect is blocked and they have to stay on the roster somehoe (Polanco). Then you may have the best of both worlds. But if a player is deserving of everyday action, they should play everyday. If a player is a role player, then they are labeled as such and used as such. And eventually salary becomes a consideration. And, role players should have limited action/at bats at best.