Rosterman

For some reason, he seems healthy, but something must be showing in the early days of spring training, as well as the numbers game that he can't possibility make the bullpen out of spring training. So, if you are going to try and senak him thru waivers, do it now. Other teams will have to add him to their 40-man. He would have to be paid and earn service time if they put him on the 60-day. Yes, you'd still keep him, but at some point might be making this same decision. Yes, it would be wonderful to keep him, but right now the Twins need to find space for 10-11-12 pitchers on the 40 man and they have 18 pitchers currently on the rosters at Rochester and Chattanooga. Plus more knocking on the door for advancement from A+. It tends to be a numbers game, and right now being a relief pitcher in the Twins isn't the same as it was before the off-season. The Twins added THREE arms. Three decent arms. If you are in the high minors and not going to make it to the Twins in 2018, you days are numbered. Yes, thought J.T. had "closer" possibilities written all over him. But the business of baseball is so strange. Wow, all those power arms drafted that haven't materialized for the Twins!

The big question is cost for 2-3 years. And the loss in the draft. Will any of the three actually be a game changer, not just for one season but for more seasons? All three are good solid pitchers, but spectuacular? For the cost? But, yes, if a rival signs them, it changes things. If you sign them, what do you do with the rickle down changes it brings within the organization.

The Twins do have some 40-man roster problems, especially with the signing of two more pitchers and the moving of the likely candidates to create open roster spots already to the 60-day. With 26 pitchers still in camp, half need to find space in the minors, which alredy have 19 pitchers on the rosters at the top two levels. Not much depth in position players, and that really creates a mess. Who to subtract to add someone temporarily when the time comes. IF the Twins would need a new catcher because one of their two roster guys is injured, a palce needs to be made. Same with pretty much any other spot. Yes, there are likely candidates to be cut loose from the major league roster, and the ones with experience would probably be claimed by other teams (Slegers, Rressly) and you don't want to cut those promising arms, of which there are an abundance (Thorpe, Jorge, Romero, Goncalves, Littell, even Enns). Hope everyone stays healthy and the Twins figure out how to work Hughes or Sanchez into-or-out of the plans.

Yes, the two big questions for the Twins are (1) The Future of Joe Mauer and (2) What to Do With Sano. If he starts the season, you have Vargas make the team for sure. But then, you ask, what happens when he returns. The need for Vargas is certainly first base depth. Yes, you can play Sano there. Kepler played 1st in the minors. You don't need Eduardo or Ehire playing first. Garver is the backup catcher. Vargas also has to be hungry. He is playing for a job with the Twins and a job beyond in 2017. His prospect of being at first for the Twins in the distant future is zilch. Rooker and Diaz are both probably ahead of him, just not there yet. Sano will have to be moved eventually, but to fulltime DH (another Vargas only position) or 1B is the question. Hopefully Vargas shows hunger. Gibson, too, entering free agnecy. Ervin Santana is in the hot seat, too. Either pitching strong enough to get the extension, or a solid multi-year free agent contract. Odorizzi also needs to pitch well to win in his last arbitration year. Plus Dozier needs to shine. Lots of incentives for players to play hard. Maybe they play too hard and suffer. But should be an interesting 2019 in Twins land.

Can you sign a player that is a difference maker, and for how much. That is the question. Or do you continue to develop players to replace players when they walk. Who's available and for what STARTING jobs on each team...but always, at what price. When you start looking at mid-tier free agents, you have to weigh them against inexperienced prospects that DO have an upside.

Should think about a 2-3 years extension with a buyout clause.

So they get two decent salary years or Odorizzi for a position of strength in the minors. Good deal. But still, can afford to purchase at least one more arm...unless Hughes IS showing signs of life. See Trevor May going to the 60-day now, too.

Depends on how the front office is positioning the Twins of the Future. Hopefully we would be done with signings like Colon. Wait, maybe we will be done with signings like Rodney and Sanchez. Anyways, where does he play, who is in the wings, what does he bring to the lineup and roster. Two things: Mauer WILL NOT want to be a parttime bench guy if he comes back anywhere in 2019. Second, he will command a minimum of $8 and someone will offer 2-3 years at $10-12 million a year., if they have a need for him and his bat on their roster. But it eventually comes down to Joe. Does he need the money? Does he want to play in a different city? Does he even want to continue with baseball in any way down the line?

Well, you can start adding up the Payroll for talent that shan't get you to the playoffs. Suddenly you are at $5 million, then throw in Rodney and you're at $10 while languishing at AAA are some possible top-flight relief arms. Next thing you know, they will sign Napoli, making them lose Vargas (or someone). $5, $10, $15 million can get you a dynamite arm instead of filler.

Well, the Twins missed out on bringing back Bartolo Colon, so this is the next best thing...I guess.

You need a top-flight rotation to keep the scoring at 4 runs or less. Yes, you need an offense that can produce 4-5 runs a game, too. But the best offense can't stop another team scoring BIG against you. Last two seasons, look at all the Ervin Santana heartbreak because of a weak offense or a bullpen that couldn't hold a (slim) lead.

The Twins have a bunch of pitchers to make a quick decision about before their value plummets. Are Romero and Jorge actually in the plans, or can still cater trade possibilities. Do you cut ties with Phil Hughes? Is May a starter or bullpen guy (could May close). Duke, Reed and Rodney have pushed back the youngsters, who have done a pretty good job of pushing themselves back, too...how does Chargois, Reed, Melotakis, Busenitz fit into the future bullpen plans or will they be pushed aside by others. Is Garver best served riding the bench, or actually catching games pitched by Jorge, Romero and Gonsalves at AAA for a good part of the season. Actually working behind-the-plate and keeping those skills developed. But if the Twins add a Bobby Wilson, they need 40-man spaces. Too many "prospects" on the 40-man roster! TraideBait if you can get proven talent...better than letting them walk via the waiver wire.

Will Romero or Jorge crack the Twins rotation, especially if they add, say, Archer? Both on the 40-man taking up places. Nick Gordon.....what is his worth? Did he make Baseball America's Top 100? Is he that far ahead of Lewis, Javier or.....Palacios? Interesting. Bring back Carlos Gomez? $33 million for four years control is a decent deal!

I'm just at a loss of whom the Twins would trade. For anyone. Is there a market for Romero or Jorge, from the 40-man roster? If you do a trade to the Astros or Rays, you need to trade someone, anyone from the roster. Otherwise, you are throwing away another name to add someone. Where do the Twins have offense depth. Right now, every bat on the 40-man could play in Target Field come April. The number of prospects redy to push any of the roster spots is...nill. I just don't see the Twins having major league ready assets to trade. Especially for a talent that still ahs team control. And anyone on the Twins major league roster not named Buxton and probably Sano is far from being on the top of most team's wishlists.

I will say that Ervin pitched GREAT for the Twins the past two seasons and lost many a heartbreaker, to the bullpen or modest offense. I doubt that he will have any trouble finding a job in 2019, as well as 2020.

Kepler could be a victim of numbers. Right now, I would trade Eddie Rosario. His value is probably the highest ever (think Delmon Young when he was hot and then followed it up with.....). And you do have to look at the overall picture. Is Kepler the future Jacque Jones, a Michael Cuddyer (was he ever a consideration for first base) and will be breakout before you have to pay him big bucks, or do you have to ink him to a longterm contract. If you say goodbye to Kepler, you are stuck with Granite and Grossman in the outfield this season. Lamont Wade is a prospect to watch. Edgar Corcino is areserve in waiting. Your best bets for the future are Kirilloff (who may be fast tracked) and the loser in the shortstop arena (would Royce Lewis be doomed to outfield play). But like someone said, it is hard to get solid starting pitching, but an outfielder hitting .250 and 20+ dingers and player the corner can be a dime a dozen, or a band-aid, Will Kepler be a superstar? In 2016 I saw a guy who was learning on the job, listening to coaches, working hard, and trying to adjust. In 2017, you saw that the league caught up to him. Can he adjust even further? How much is his talent natural and how much of it is techincal. The question the front office ask, today, is: beyond getting an arm for the rotation, what is our potential roster for 2019 and 2020, Would the 2018 team suffer without Kepler in the outfield (and Grossman/Granite there) and an arm better than Mejia, Gibson and whomever in the rotation?

Like the Twins, I will think about a season ticket package and put aside the money and tell myself it will happen, and then NOT send in the form but dumpster dive for select tickets to certain games.

You would NEVER mention the magic name of Mauer, especially in anything that COULD go public. At the time, Joe WAS the franchise player. He was also a catcher. Overall, it wasn't a bad contract. If the Twins are hamstrung in anyway, it is finding the playing time and a place in the batting order for someone who is still a good, solid player, but not in the role or at the position that you currently desire. But, hey, stuff like this might make Joe want to go elsewhere in mid-season, or walk when he hits free agency again. A free agent contract is a gamble. You have to say THIS IS WHAT I will pay for at least one solid season and hopefully more, or don't go there. I still wonder at the need of players to have length in their contracts (although many have the option of going back into free agency mid-contract) as at some point, don't you feel guilty NOT producing for a team that hired you as a gun, rather than developed and nurtured you and exploited you during your early quality seasons (okay, some are not always quality. If responding, you mention the contract offer and that there are other fish in the sea. That you have added to the bullpen, a weakness in the season past. That there is promise in the system for mid-season, if not sooner. And that you DO have other options...yes, the team you see on paper todfay will NOT be the same team that comes north to Target Field in April!

It's complicated. First of, drafting. Your placement is also hindered by the amount you have to spend vs. the number of guys you basically need to sign each draft season to keep the minor league system developing. Actually, the draft is almost a parallel of free agency. What determines a guy getting multiple millions from someone getting a few hundred thousand. More askew because you are totally rewarding potential rather than (a a home team) contributions made in the past. And then you still have the hundreds of guys who don't get signed, but do sign at some point, for basically a 1 in 40 chance of getting a cup of coffee in the big leagues. I like to think Jack Morris is the eprfect free agent example. He walked from the Tigers, who ahd every incentive to reward Jack with a BIG multi-year contract, because he was one of many Mr. Tigers at that point of his career. But there was also the chance that he was on the downside. Jack took the "hired gun" route to the max, and got a lucrative deal with the Twins for one season, and then turned around and got an even better two-year deal with the Jays with a taken buyout, and then signed a pretty low deal in his last year to try and stay in baseball. Would the Tigers have given him $10-12 million over three years at that stage of his career? Would the Twins up the ante to a multi-year contract at Jack's age and the budget they had at that point in time? Budget. You can't legislate minimum overall spending for a team. But if you did, do you basically see more of what is happening now, high-price salary sent to rebuilding teams so bigger teams can have money to spend...and the receiving team basically gets an aging vetean for nothing as the other team uses the write-off for the current season, not the future season/s. It would be like (almost) saying that since the Twins offered, say Yu, $20+ million a year for five years...that means they can spend that $20 million still today (and tomorrow) on product, rather than just $5 million of $10 million. Which brings up the question, what happens to the money NOT spent. Does it pay off your stadium investment (the Twins are doing this ahead of schedule, I believe), go into development (which now has caps on how much you spend) cheaper beer and brats, lower ticket prices, raises for front office staff, better butter on the popcorn. Like so many unionized businesses, the players demand their share of the pie, usually 55%. No, the share of the pie is whatever ownership wants to pay for certain levels of talent. A rebuilding team doesn't have to spend that amount. A rich team is spending 55% but, like the Dodgers and Yankees, can still spend more (and they do). They spend more because they have to pay penalities which are rewarded to teams NOT spending their 55%. Go figure. Plus the outmake and outspend a team like the Twins almsot 2-1. Which also means they can afford to have $20-30 million sitting on an inactive or disabled list. (Look at the Twins in 2017...Phil Hughes and Glen Perkins NOT playing and controlling x-amount of salary dollars). I'm sorry, the best player/s in a free-agent class don't have to be the best paid players in baseball or at their position JUST because there is lesser competition. They are paid what they are perceived to be worth to a team, and how that team will have to juggle money today and tomorrow. Yes, the Twins were prepared to commit $20+ million to ONE player for the next 4-5 years. That's a good sign, or smoke and mirrors from the front office (something we have seen in the past..."we are in the game, look at us...dang, we didn't get the prize"). If the puzzle piece succeeds, you are loved. If they start treading water (look at Mauer comments the past few years...up and mostly down at one point) we cry "Foul!" It is hard to run a major league franchise in any sport. You want to pay for play (as fans do too). Again, look at the Draft. It shows you everything that may be wrong with the sport and free agency-type ideas. What are you aying someone millions to do...ride the bus and star in A and AA ball, never make the Big Leagues, drive a better car than msot of their teammates, rewards for being a Top High School of Collegiate player? Same with Free Agency...are you getting the rewards that player gave to his previous team during his early and arbitration years? And don't get one started on arbitration. Yes, the system rewards you above expectations for years you played for cheap. But often at a price. You become too expensive for a team to keep and end up signing on the cheap elsewhere (then getting lucrative deals after-the-fact, see Anthony Swarzak and Brian Duensing, for example, or Pat Neshek). Again, being paid for what YOU DID, not what you MAY DO FOR SURE. It's the FOR SURE that is the tell. You just don't know, and you must gamble.

Well, the plus is that Kyle needs to pitch bigtime to get a free agent contract. So does Ervin, to cash in on a lightweight middle 2018 marketplace. How hungry are Gonsalves, Littell et al. If anything, the Twins actions showed last year that the leash could be short if others are pushing the envelope.

So they have $100 million willing to spend. Let's see what they can get for $20 million a year now for 4-5 rounds. Time to pony up the checkbook.

We should've resigned Chris Gimenez!

Yes, Twins start season minus Sano and Santana. But they di need a backup for 1B. Is Vargas still in the mix? Grossman over Granite for 4th outfielder? Of course, Escobar at 3B, Ehire as the spare...both Grossman and Vargas as DH with Granite on the bench. Okay, a Sano-less field staff. But now the rotation. Is May or Hughes in the mix? If not...the Twins need a fulltime body and someone to give a looksee.

How much are these guys worth. Plan and simple. Enough to break the bank? Any approach "franchise player" status? Yes, the flipside always is that money saved go into the pockets of owners. That teams should spend 55% or so of their revenue on players -- be THAT player is good or not. At some point, it does have to end...or stabalize even more. We saw an increase in the $$$ for middle relief that is hard to comprehend in the grand scheme of things. Next thing you know, multi-year $7-10 million contracts for bench players. How much are players wrth? Yet are owners banking the money, or putting it into their own pet projects or billfolds. In the end, the fans end up paying more for everything and, just maybe, not getting the best possible product.

Well, there goes the automatic 200-innings thing for 2019 out-the-window. An extended spring training for Ervin. See them signing at least Garcia, ir not another end-of-the-rotation guy who will be hungry enough to prove they can pitch better than Gibson or Mejia when the time happens. Of course, who knows -- Hughes or May?