Rosterman

Yes, what kind of playing time with all those of days. But the Twins also DON'T need that many pitchers. They have two guys capable of long relief (at least) in the pen. The hopes are that Pineda and Odorizzi will be able to get you into the sixth inning sooner rather than later. Although that will be decided soon. The Twins MAY have a better chance of sneaking Austin thru waivers, especially if he doesn't show anything in the first 4-5 weeks of the season. Again, though, glad we have him as an alternative if something would happen to Cron or Cruz. Better him than nothing. Especially with Conzalez handling third. Heck, I would like to see Nick Gordon start the season if Polanco goes in the DL. Just saying...give fulltime reps to the future, rather than the reserve.

Something for nothing. AAA depth.

Hey, we have Adrianza in the wings!

The thing is with better drafting and a well-rounded team, can you better spend any (or all) that money more wisely year in and year out. At what point do $5-10 million dollar outfielders give you the same play> Is he the brand you need to sell your franchise?

Ryan Pressley got a good extension, too.

Be interested to see the fate of Austin. Will he get a temporary roster spot? And Reed, too, since Cave has options. I see Romero will probably start in the minors (and hopefully start). Curious to see how the AAA/AA rosters break out. A lot of names down there for those two teams, and looking at the Twins current minor league system, it is really really pitcher heavy! Also, Adrianza. Is he on the bubble? Could anyone not on the 40-man be added. That is a big hurdle. The Twins aren't exactly rich in release candidates with nearly a dozen minor league prospects on the 40-man. And the death of the situational left, or a pitcher now appearing in more games than innings pitched...that will be a thing of the past!

Anyone know what the Twins do in Ft. Myers? Is it a dorm room situation and players get meals. Do they have to pay a stipend to lie there? What is the food situation these days at most minor league parks. Do they feed players a decent meal at least, or is it still picnic food? Do most teams below AAA use community host housing....or do players just pile into an apartment? How bad are facilities for hanging around all day at a park. Workout. Lockerooms? Hey, there was a time when major league ballplayers needed a second job in the off-season, too. And they had to prepare for a career after baseball. The big question comes when college players start getting paid to play any sport compared to people playing sports where college is not the major pipeline. Yes, many athletes get a free ride (room and board) but still have to make academic standards and need to stay in school (thus preventing some work).

Berrios is the number one concern. I'm sure they wanted to lowball Gibson. So, the Twins have three starters who could be trade bait before July 31, and a whole horde of talent in the wings. Not that deep-sixing a rotation and replacing them with young-uns makes for a competitive team in the long run. How much is Gibson worth? Three years $46 million? Higher? Option Year?

Wait, aren't they doing something about requiring two guys on each side of second base?

The pain is that with so many "prospects" on the roster - Littell, Thorpe, Moya, Vasquez, Romero, Gonsalves, Stewart (and Wade, Arraez and Gordon), the Twins ability to play musical chairs with any of the minor league free agent types is hit-and-miss. You play them, discard them (and they might move on) but you do need a 40-man spot for them to take. So do the prospects get the call first or names like Harper and Morin and Collns and Guilmet as well as the placeholders currently on the 40-man like Magill and Duffey (and maybe Mejia). Who will close? No situational lefty anymore...these guys are having their career destroyed now having to pitch to 3 guys!

Yeah, that was always an interesting aspect. Multiple teams show interest, you pull the player back...maybe. What will be more interesting in teams making a claim. Of course, freeing up roster space can include a player...but this means a team doesn't have to work out a trade or anything. Pure dump. Also interesting on setting rosters for the playoffs.

Well, post-secondary education, and you are paying for it (or you get a scholarship / bonus money in baseball). In my early days of arts I did four years of free and cheap summer stock getting experience, having to find another job when that job ended. And, like sports, never made it bigtime although I have had many survival years in my first ten years and my last 15 - with a real job in-between. Yes, it is a struggle. Probably more than it should be for those formative years. Man, look at ALL the players playing Indy ball hoping for the one more chance to be on a major league minor league roster!

I like the roster expansion. Get that extra guy for the bench. The union should love having thirty more players making minimum. It's too bad about the tighter September rosters. I would think the union would LIKE to see more players get major league experience, even if it is a couple of weeks. And sometimes the opportunity to bring up a guy who needs a big more time for pensions and such. I'm wondering if we may see more disabled list visits for "fake" injuries. Plus of note is that a pitcher now needs to go on the DL or back to the minors for 15 days. Interesting about making a pitcher face three batters. Man, what if they are wild wild wild. I guess this could be a game changer in some ways. Also, will teams need to have as deep bullpens (13 pitchers). Any comments? Going to miss the need for a lefty specialist. Also we will never see Astulido pitch again now! Make the bases bigger? Heck, let's make them even bigger. And sink them into the ground so no one ever trips over them. The trading deadline as a media event? Now two waiver rounds in August. You put them out there and they are gone gone gone for nothing (but salary pickup) or you wave bye-bye and eat the salary. Interesting. Lots of player trades for prospects (and some salary eating) happening in July now. Let's destroy the shift! I hear managers and pitching coaches hated walking out to the mound anyways. Maybe they need a trapdoor on the mound instead. So fewer commercials. They have to charge more to pay for that extra player, y'know. Can't make a decision on the DH yet, eh? Items still up for discussion. I would like to see arbitration remain at Super Two or Three Years. If players produce, they are going to get paid. Unless you are an over 30-free-agent, it seems, looking for that huge contract. Again, talent wins out. There are more and more players now than ever, it seems, and - I'm sorry - you do make a good living playing pr ball once you reach the majors. As for arguments about increased minor league pay. After six years, players can make more money (or if they make the 40-man). The first couple of years should be a step about internships. Hey, look at what minor league teams pay their staffs (or better yet, what major league teams pay people in the front office that aren't executives). If you make it to the majors, you are one-step away from being set for life, compared to many many many others in this world...with enough time for another second career in the wings.

I almost picture Austin making the bench until a decision has to be made on Sano. Who you cut from the 40-man to add someone is the BIG question coming out of spring training. If you add a pitcher, Magill or Duffey will be out!

You do want to cut players on the 40-man who won't make the majors sooner rather than later. If something happens to them and they become injured, you are obligated to keep them on the disabled list for a certain period of time, allowing them to not only make major league pay, but then having to option them back to the minors once their rehab is done. Be interesting to see who is in the next round of cuts. Picture Gonsalves, Arraez, Wade and Gordon. Moya and Littell could also be in this group if the Twins are deciding to have Romero and Mejia fight for bullpen spots down to the wire. Remember, these guys can ALL be called back to play games as spring training continues. The Twins do have a number of 40-man guys on the bubble that they will probably keep up as long as they can and play the possible injury game (Duffey, Austin, Reed, Torreyes, Magill) all who could be lost or removed from the roster when the time comes.

A one-year deal, with the option of flipping him if the Twins don't compete in 2019. But doing so, you lose a draft pick. You also lose one (or both) of Perez and Mejia. Often we forget that a signing means someone goes from the roster. Also, signing him now would also mean opening a roster spot. Who does go with that move. Tyler Austin on that much of a bubble? Is he actually a better choice for a longterm deal (yes, he throws lefthanded) than, say, signing Kyle Gibson for the same number of years and/or amount? How hurt is anyone that spring training has begun? The Twins got burned last year from slow starts of Lynn and Morison, so I picture the front office going with what they have, unless we do have any serious injury concerns.

You often can skip the fifth starter in the early going, so you do have an extra bullpen arm for the first month of the season. In some way,s if the Twins are rebuilding, you do want to showcase Gibson, Odorizzi and Pineda so you can flip them at the trade deadline, since you haven't signed any of them for the longer term. More important is to have your next crop of starters getting regular innings at AAA with the hope for mid-season call.

Go back and look at this pitching staffs of the sixties. No running 25-30 pitchers thru the mound. Sometimes the Twins had just four starters (some who relieved), one or two swing men, and a bullpen of 4-6 arms. Maybe a dozen arms all season. Of course, a starter pitched every fourth day and many did complete games, or at least got you into the sixth. And a bullpen arm would pitch multiple innings, even every other game. Worthington was amazing for the Twins. He basically was a nothing for his first decade in the National League, then showed some light with the Red before dominating with the Twins, except his last season where Billy Martin basically convinced him to return from retirement and still managed to squeeze some work out of him. 1969 was a perfect example...the Twins had 11 pitchers appearing in 21 or more games, and four guys who were in a half-dozen games of less. 9 pitchers started games. 7 pitched more than 100 innings. Three 240 or more innings. But in the days of the closer, Nathan was second best of the time to Rivera. Aggie was a gem, although he wanted so badly to be a starter. Mike Marshall worked more innings than many a bullpen arm in the modern-era of baseball. And Ron Davis got so many opportunities you wonder what someone was thinking.

Injuries last season prevented him from making a name for himself, bringing his speed and defense to the majors. Instead it was Jake Cave who got the call. And LaMonte Wade passed him on the depth chart and other outfield candidates are further in the wings. Glad the Twins were able to at least get a low level pitching prospect for him, rather than just letting him walk. But Granite is the perfect example of the numbers game. You get one chance when you are a player of a certain caliber. You may be decent depth in an organization, but if you can't make good on being that "call-up" when needed, you will be hop-scotching thru other organizations. Yes, he is a decent fourth outfielder, if you can afford to carry that extra bench base player. The Twins haven't in the past.

Interesting. So what is Rosario looking at from the Twins now. Or Buxton, perhaps. Makes you wonder WHY the Twins gave up on Hicks. Or does it.

Well, the Twins will try and get their money's worth out of Castro. But someone else will catch two out of five games...maybe. The big maybe is...do you send Garver to Rochester to catch more often than not with the arms of the future. And can you trust another body (Astudillo) to do the job when called upon to catch in the majors. I am curious to see where Navaretto ends up. And if the Twins push Jeffers and Rortvedt. Especially Jeffers. I doubt that either of the two youngsters will show up before 2021 in any major capacity, so the Twins still need a catching combo for 2020 and could probably stick with Garver and Astudillo. Curious that they did explore other opportunities, which would've meant Castro as an expensive backup and Garver in the minors for sure, as the market for Castro is not huge right now. Although I did say Garver could start at AAA, I'm not sure WHY I would think that. Except that he could catch 3-4-5 starters who will be part of the Twins rotation the end of this season and all of next season?

Good signing in some ways. He can backup third or first well, depending on Sano. Where the question comes is the need for Adrianza. And, also, that bench bat that could play 1B/OF (Austin) or just 1B (Dudas). Looks like Austin will be out for sure now. But see the 40-man spot opening up with the waiver of Torreyes, who could stay with the Twins as more insurance. But the guy is a solid bench bat and can rotate thru the infield, maybe getting equal at bats to everyone else in the line-up one way or another.

You always love the ones that got away and have confusion about the musical chairs same years. Shows that a career with one team in baseball is few and far between, even in the good old days.

Well, I always like to look ahed with the crystal ball. Who will be in the pen in 2020 and 2021. Will any of these guys be a closer-in-training in 2019? If not, then we need to BUY a closer. Not a lot of hold over salary, and enough names in the minors to make us forget people like Duffy and Addison in the near future. Addison Reed is more of a tradechip now than a solution. What is the status of Romero as being a rotation stud? Seems a shame to doom him to the bullpen if he has any promise as being a major arm...unless he can become the light's out closer we need...next day. I'm happy with the bullpen. A veteran closer would be a plus and the Twins can afford the investment if there IS an arm that won't stick it to your payroll in years 2-3-or-4 of a contract.

It's like Denard Span...it might be a bargain contract if Kepler produces and easy to trade for younger talent. Span had defense and speed. Kepler has defense and power.