Rosterman

The Twins were thinking about Thielbar. Duensing will shine if they keep him in the bullpen.

I would think Swarzak would have some value for a team looking for that middle reliever who can eat innings. The Twins can't cut him without losing him. I would be exploring ANY trade options for the guy right now. The other issue: Who on the current 40-man roister is expendable. If the Twins needed to add someone, anyone, who would go. Roeinke, Wood? Butera or Herrmann? Do the Twins really need to keep Pressly (we will find out). There isn't a lot of chaf to cut and you either have to find a place for a Benson, Hicks, Arcia in the majors, perhaps, because you aren't waivering them off the roster. Even with names like Boggs, Ramierz, Caba in the background and worthy callups if someone goes down, they would still need a roster spot. That is where things get difficult. Hendriks, DeVries, Gibson are the abckup starters. You don't add Perdumo, Walters, Vasquez because there is no way to add them right now. Even Harden, if you choose to carry him, will need to find a 40-man spot. So that does put folks Like Swarzak, Butera, Florimon on the bubble (out of options) and will have the Twins taking hard looks at people like Burnet, Robertson and Escobar.

Neither is on the 40-man, so doubt that either will get a callup next year. See how they deal with pitch selection and fielding. Buxton got a little of the hard minor league life and Eliz and will do more of the same at Cedar Rapids. Unless he tears up A ball and moves to High-A and tears that up, he'll be putting in his time...hopefully returning to Ft. Myers and it's everyday play and state of the art conditioning facilities for the latter part of the year. Sano still has issues...maturity, weight, language, fielding skills. He should get all that at Ft. Myers and if an injury happens in AA ball, he'll move up if he can play everyday and face harder pitching. Picture both starting 2014 in the minors if they don't need to be added to the 40-man, but getting a preview look. I picture Buxton actually getting to the majors first, depending on the play of Benson and where the Twins end up putting Arcia. The Twins HAVE to address the who's on first and who will DH issue sooner rather than later.

Yeah, he did clear waivers. How did that happen? Could've been grabbed in the Rule 5. Was free to find a job with any other team (Florida, Houston).

I still like the Twins looking at Myers or Padilla....both could bullpen if/when Gibson becomes available. Saunders would be nothing but short term. Jiurgens would be a nice acquisition. And I would still grab Webb and start him at AA and see if he can work his way back. Yes, would like one more starter, a better infielder (even thrid base....move Plouffe to right field) and bring back Thome!

Oh, the question: what Punto bring to the Twins? That row of fans that paint his name on their bare chests and yell "Punto" when he comes to bat!

Naw, better production from Plouffe, equal range and better average from Carroll, and the upside of everyone else is equal to Little Nickie. His time has come and gone.

$4.5 and $5.5. Let's get another guy + one of the non-tenders just to be safe! And Stephen Drew!

Tovar is the forgotten gem. He played where he was needed. Wish he had stayed with the organization in some capacity. Passed on way too young. People would argue about how great a catcher Brian Harper was (shades of A.J.), but he was dependable, put the ball in play, would work a pitcher, and was a solid block behind the plate. Tom Prince, for any of his aging shortcomings, could still lay down a sacrifice bunt when necessary, an art in itself. Eric Soderholm was abandoned by the Twins waaaay too young. I always liked Jason Tyner, but he became too expensive and was easily replaceable. Right now, wish he was the centerfield plan circa his 30th year of age. Maybe Mastro will be his reincarnation.

It boils down to make me an offer, and if the numbers sound right, you grab it (either way). An agent may say....Dempster turned down 2 for $26 and wants three. You can believe him or not, but you have to offer a number with three then. Like last year, The Twins were thinking low for Nathan. The Range rs said $9...Joe liked that number and said an immediate yes. Could he get more, we'll never know. It's called gambling.

It's not a matter of bringing in free agents or not. The matter is, there is money there to heartily explore this route. The other route is to stand pat. The Twins are somewhere in-between. You can say suck it up and lets get rid of Morneau and Willingham and bring up prospects a year or two early and give them earlier cause to arbitrate, and not have potentially great stats while theya re force-fed the majors. We can stock the hometeam with hasbeens and wantabees for a couple of seasons and feed the rookies into the core. But, ask yourself...why do you want to attend Twinsfest 2013 and who are you excited about seeing at a table where you have to pay $10-20 for an autograph. The down-on-the-farm guys, and watch...the Twins will probably charge $5 to get in that line. They have a new stadium, Prices have held or slightly risen. You get 10% concession discounts with a season ticket package and All-Star game priority with a full season package (means you have to pay retail to mlb for ASGame tickets). I didn't renew this year. I'll take a chance buying a cheap ticket from a season ticket holder, bearing in mind that there will be less on stub hub as we will have significantly less season ticket holders...and I can always pick some up for most game days. The Twins, if nothing else, has to combat negativism. Not getting players, not spending OUR money, not doing anything with prospects, not putting the trees back up, not competing. I see a lot of negatives building up. Signing some guys will give hope. Spending money gives the thought of staying competitive. The only prospect that excites us is Kyle Gibson, and we keep being told he can't pitch a full season. All these negative vibes. And the ultimate negative vibe, if the Twins do nothing, it can only get worse. How getting worse than last place is beyond me, but it will be worse. Makes me want to be a Houston fan...at least they have nowhere to go but up.

You have to make a splash and throw some money around and do it early and go for the multi-year contract that may be reasonable unloaded if you fail (i.e. Marlins). It has to hurt that the Royals seem more competitive and bigger spenders than the...Twins. You don't get free agents by wandering the winter meetings and saying "we would like you to come and play for us in Minnesota...here is our one year offer with a nice option for a second year. Please come back and ask us what we really would pay you if you get another offer so we can shake our heads and go 'aw, shucks, what are they thinking.....'"

Who are them other 13? Knoblauch has burned to many bridges. No one can find him or he won't come to events. Tovar is memorable to few. Great guy. But has passed on. Smalley would be nice choice...two good runs with the team and now broadcasting (wish he would coach).

The Twins, remarkably, managed to clear four roster spots, which means that if you look at the roster before the 40-man adds, they retain only 28 players from the mess at the end of the season, whew. Anyone know the number of free agents in the marketplace, now, with arbitration guys. Add in the minor league free agents....are any other team rosters this side of the Astros or the Marlins as empty as the Twins? Out of the 32 teams, are there 50 open spots, or 70 open spots? This is what makes the winter meetings a fun time. 10-12 get taken by Rule 5 guys. Each team may have one (maybe two) other guys they cut loose for free agent signings (Butera may be the Twins loophole for that if they fill holes). Otherwise, a lot of guys will be getting split or minor league only contracts to spring training.

He's a guy the Twins may have drafted if they drafted earlier in 2011. The Nats drafted him, paid him a $2 million bonus, and the Twins got to see him pitch at two levels in 2012. They dealt from a position of strength in the organization. And if you look at the overall picture, Span is a great contract, but to advertise him as the best centerfielder out there is hardly a given. They are a lot of similar, if not better (and higher priced) centerfielders as free agents, a decent choice of corner outfielders, and other teams willing to part with players. Just as long as he doesn't pull up totally lame (you can live thru Tommy John), this is a great top of the rotation pitcher. For an organization that has questionable prospects, it made us look better with Gibson, Wimmers, Hermson, Salecedo, Hendriks, maybe Hernandez, plus Barrios and possibly Bard filling spots in 2014 and 2015. We all have this "win now" mentality brewing....but the Twins may have too many holes and not enough committed funds to pull it off in 2013.

Benson and Kepler in the line-up somewhere. Levi Michael? The return of Trevor Plouffe?

In some ways I agree with Teflon. Better to have two guys who can win 12-14 games and be around for 3-4 years for the same amount of money.I don't see Grienke averaging more than 15 wins a season over 7 years unless he is with a powerhouse team all those years.

Yeah....they can dangle Hendriks who finally got a win. Someone might find Hermsen tantalizing. They have a grouping of outfielders, with Benson possibly being the wrong prospect out, but no one stepping into the fold next year.Dozier is a chip that wasn't overtly exciting for getting a 3/4ths shot at the Big Leagues, and Escobar is....well, replacement value. No catching. No corner infielders about A ball. Slama is a prize chip, but the Twins don't think so.

I agree. Over on SB Nation, one is taken aback, at times at pieces that do show they are humorous takes or fiction. But to have a blatant piece get billing as being legit, and even running on top of real news as it recently did, is just not right. I don't pay attention to all those other facts regarding the poster that you mention, but at some point...well, it is someone hurting the site as a whole in the long run.

I was surprised the Twins didn't go after Redmond for the Rochester job last year, and then immediately grab him to be bench coach this year. Nothing against Steinbach, but Redmond showed leadership potential and, as we now see, potential to be a major league manager.

Still good eight names that can be kept or shuffled off depending on free-agent signings or free agnt claims that need to be added to 40-man. Don't see them needing more than 4-5 places for protected minor league guys (Slama).

You could be Twins tickets for a quarter. Don't know about free shipping, though.

It's pretty darn perfect. Of course, the option is resigning Butera as a free agent to a much lower salary than he would get in arbitration, and the chances of him getting a million from anyone else should be slim or none. Also, we must ask how bad the need is for a third catcher.

Benson's time with the Twins may have come and gone. You hope for a good showing, and a nice glimpse if someone is injured in 2013. and then use for potential trade bait...as you do have others on his heels. of course, that is assuming he doesn 't become Mike Trout and you still want to stay with, say, Revere.

Kyle Waldrop!