Rosterman

We now MUST see Sano play EVERY GAME at third base thru the remainder of the season. Just to see if he can! No substitutes. And rethink the decision NOT to bring up Adam Walker from Rochester. You can still reach him on the phone. Especially when looking at September 7th's lineup. He could be playing the outfield tonight!

After last night's game, I wonder if Molly or Allen or anyone will notice that this is the third time in recent appearances that Kintzler came in to get outs in the eight...and then died in the 9th. The guy can't sit on the bench between outs. Speaking of the 'pen. We have, what, 10-11-12-13 (yes, 13 when Milone and May return Friday). Can anyone tell me any specific roles for any of these guys? Who is the long man. Who setups the eighth. Who do we go to for a ground ball Who can strike someone out. Who do we call on when we want strikes and not balls. Who is worn out. After the mess last night with six guys needed to get nine outs. Sheesh. Maybe the Twins should've signed Dan Johnson from the Saints who can also pinch hit. Escobar really doesn't look that bad on the mound. Oh, did I mention that Kintzler loses it when he has to sit between outs?

Man, I was hoping for the new Twins lineup of: Schafer RF Beresford 2B Grossman LF Sano 3B Vargas 1B Centeno DH Escobar SS Murphy C Buxton CF Let's give Ervin a sure fire victory!

You could even add Tyler Duffey or Michael Tonkin or Byung-Ho Park or Eduardo Escobar or Hector Santiago or even Adam Walker to the list, not to mention one or two of the guys who topped out at Ft. Myers. Oh, and Alex Wimmers and Ryan O'Rourke aren't necessarily givens. Jeez...we are looking at half the roster as expandables! The question is when is the absolute best time to start non-tendering players. The day before rosters need to be set in November, or right after the World Series, or even now? Note that a lot of teams seems to be making additions to their 40-man rosters right now with some prospects as September callups and jettisoning some bodies. I was doing some rough estimating and the Twins will need 6-8 spots to protect anyone that really needs protection, although I'm probably wrong on a few of the names. Hurlburt will have an opportunity to be a minor league free agent, There's no other organization names that will be missed if they depart in this fashion (maybe Van Steensel at the worst). I believe. Names like Garver, Baxendale, Granite, Gonsalves, Jorge, Palka, Steward, Jones and Wheeler all come to mind. I don't see other organizations grabbing Turner, Goodrum, Busenitz, Westphal, Slegers, Peterson, Ortiz, Michael, Harrison, Eades, Hicks or even Thorpe. But this is where it all gets difficult. You need to move out guys if you aren't seeing their potential to impact the major league level at some point, as this year's Twins have shown you can always fill in holes from the scrap heap if need be, with an occasional gem. But five guys on the current 40-man who weren't a Twins prospect and basically picked up during the year and off-season on the waiver wire seem to be waaaay too much, unless, of course, you do need bodies to jettison before you do a real 40-man again. Plus look at the names above. 3/4 of them would probably happily resign with the Twins as minor league depth (although it does cost the Twins more money to pay minor league free agents with experience than prospects still on a learning curve). And you also need a couple of stray bodies in case you sign a free agent, something about 40-man adds in November have to stay put thru spring training. If they do keep Plouffe and Santiago, then there really won't be much of a payroll difference between the Twins at the beginning of 2016 and the beginning of the 2017 season. But who knows what a new president of baseball operations and his general manager and staff will do once that time comes. But the off-season has basically begun and one the World Series is done, it does move pretty darn fast.

We have 17 guys coming off the bench right now to play. The Twins can offer pinch-hitting, late inning replacements, defensive replacements. Then can rotate some guys in and out (like how they have been using Suzuki at the end of the game rather than the other way around). But any player playing should be in the psoition you expect to see them play next season. If Sano IS the 3rd baseman, he's starting every game there. Doesn't ,mean he can't be rotated out. If you want to see Plouffe or Vargas at first, you do so. If Dozier stays at second, you have to play Polanco at shortstop and see how he does in continuous games and now two months of the season. You also find the correct spot in the lineup that you expect to see next year. Will Buxton BE the lead-off man, well, start it now. See what happens if you drop Mauer down in the order. BUT IF THE GUY isn't going to be on the roster next year, or has a fringe chance, then he is a bench player, period. And I still don't see how getting Walker up here and giving him a half-dozen at bats and a game in the field would be a bad thing. Just like pitching. Is Duffey a starter (we have seen his work) or let's try him out in relief (even if it means we see Milone/Dean/Albers in the rotation, I guess). Will may be able to throw multiple innings when he comes of the DL today? If so, do that, with days off in between. We need to give - sink or swim - relief innings to Wimmers and O'Rourke because they are on the 40-man bubble. The 40-man roster decisions this year will be harsh. There are enough guys to add who can come up next season so we don't have future prospects languishing on the roster. Those decisions will be some o the first ones the new general manager/PBO HAVE to make. Especially the fear of losing those guys at Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers that might be eligible for the minor league portion of the draft.

Unless they do jettison Plouffe and Santiago, who alone with Suzuki and Milone, will lower the payroll some. A few guys will get raises. But Mauer is still eating 1/4 or 1/5th. Hughes/Santana another 1/5. Perk/Dozier and a resigned Plouffe would take another 1/5. Plus there is the drop in attendance and overall concessions and such, which is no one's fault but..... Plus they have to payoff Ryan and Molly and any front office staff that will depart. Plus they included airfare home in the Park contract. They could save a few bucks by not making it roundtrip.

I think as a veteran minor league guy Beresford probably pulled in close to $40-45 grand. If he was on the 40-man, he would've gotten more for the season. There is some reward in minor league salary if you hang around. But, yes, this will be a nice $50 grand payday!

Yes, he may be far from perfect. He might be one of those sluggers that gets assorted cups of coffee (starting with this September) and become the next Mark Funderburk, or Bernardo Brito, or Rusty Kuntz, or Cotton Nash. The thing is that if you think so little of him and his work, his progress, that in a year in which you have total system failure you see Mastro and Schafer and any number of others more worthy of him for a callup and major league play and time, then why do you have him on the 40-man. If he is so ill-regarded, you didn't have to protect him last Rule 5...because if you don't think he can make or stick with your roster after his 2016 minor league season, then you basically wasted the spot. You have 18 pitchers currently up on the roster and throwing. You have 17 choices for the nine spots in the batting order. You could easily have added this one more name to the list and help make a dream-come-true. Remember, Kepler only got into three games and seven at bats (with 3 Ks), so was it useless for him to get that early exposure to what major league life is like? Sure, it will cost the Twins an additional $50 grand and an extra hotel room. Is he worth it or not?

Yes, true, how often does Dozier leadoff. Yet you have to chuckle at Molly's comment about Dozier not being a power hitter. Just like Nunez was only a utility guy. I can agree that if you are going to match catchers with certain pitchers, you have the ability to do it. Especially this late in the season have the guys who are familiar with certain pitchers pitch to certain pitchers. It makes total sense for Murphy and Berrios to be a team now and in the future (assuming Murphy did catch Berrios in Rochester). I, though, would bat Schafer lead-off. We do need him to get those extra game at bats to see how he ranks as a 4th outfielder option for the Twins.

I'm not sure if Dozier followed by Sano is the best bet. The joy of batting leadoff is that no one has done anything yet. So you do get to set the stage. Mauer batting behind you is better than Mauer batting in front of you, and not sure, yet, if Dozier is the guy who can work a pitcher for 5-8 pitches in the opening salvo. But if you do bat Dozier third or fourth, who bats behind him. Plouffe is still a better candidate for now as cleanup with Sano 5th. I do wonder what Kepler would do in the leadoff spot. Yes, Buxton could use the extra at bat a game, if he keeps on his current tear. Or maybe the dinosaur in all of this is still Mauer. Should he continue to bat second or third, or give him a rest for September and let's have Vargas in the lineup more.

The process is simple. People either want to work for the Twins or not. They come in with their ideas and plans and hired or not. I'm sure there are a lot of folks out there looking at any job for an organization on a rebuilding brink like this. How many Presidents of Baseball Operation jobs are there that pay x-amount? How many teams have assistant general managers that want to be general managers, plus the ones looking to move to more of a challenge (possibly up) and those that have worked the job. I'm still scarred about who will be making the decisions on who is hired. Real scared. But I hope it is sooner rather than later.

Yes, he is young and still raw (but any younger or raw than Buxton or Sano). He slams the ball (any less than Vargas). Are there at bats for him in the majors (he could've come off the bench and pinch hit in the past few games, stepping aside for a pinch runner and a defensive replacement). Is he in the Minnesota Twins plans for the future? This will be up to the new general manager and such. But right now, the Twins have two guys pretty much the same at Rochester. And the other one also ahs to be 40-man protected this winter. So, if even before the management change, you weren't all that high on the guy, why did you not move him then? Or even if not that high for him in the future of the organization (where there is a logjam at OF/1B/DH with the likes of Palka, Sano, Park, Vargas) you could still bring him up to showcase a bit. He might strikeout in all seven at bats over the final 25 games. He might not. He IS someone you have to make a decision on as 40-man spots become tight. Already the Twins are on the bubble with some folks like Duffey, Wimmers, not to mention guys still two years away from getting a major league look like Landa, and Rosario. Is it money? Man, they want to take a long hard look at Schafer as the 4th outfielder? I would take a longer and harder look at Granite and put him on the 25-m,an next year as a defensive replacement pinch runner type at this point since you have to add him to the 40 man. But, yes, the only slam against a player that would've been bigger was if they had left Vargas down on the farm. They can argue the Mejia had his innings in and got a taste with the club. But can't you do the same with Walker of whom you are asking to return to Rochester for another season and to repeat his efforts, maybe cutting down on k's a bit. I'm glad Beresford was given a 40-man reward. I would've liked to see Wheeler get a couple of major league starts on par with AAA buddies Dean and Albers, since he was better than both. The Twins season is a lost cause. You can't even expect them to be spoilers as they play amongst the central division teams. So it is all about guys potentially padding stats, taking time off, showing what they can do, fighting for a job with the Twins in the future. That is the key...FIGHTING FOR A JOB WITH THE TWINS in the Future. If the player clearly has no chance to be a 25-man or 40-man Twin in 2017...don't play those guys. Man, we added quite a few to the 25-man roster this year (I think we are at 49 guys who played on the team, tying a record). What do they lose bringing up just one more guy! Who is already on the 40-man! Who is considered a Twins Prospect! Who played the entire year at AAA and showed his strengths! If you don't like what he did, if there is really no room in the inn for him, then hopefully he can get a shot elsewhere.

Lots and lots of fun names. I think both Fundeburk and Hill continued with long careers as coaches in the minor leagues. But just hitting home runs in the minors doesn't guarantee a major league career, or even a long stint in the majors. Both Walker and Palka might fall into that category.

He might become the next Brian Dinkelman, or even like fellow Australian Glenn Williams!

Looks like Chad Allen will be joining the major league coaching staff for the month!

The Rochester daily newspaper reports that James Beresford will get his day in the major leagues. He was recalled after Monday's game, along with Kennys Vargas and Tyler Duffey. Beresford joined the Twins organization in 2007 out of Australia and his toiled thru the minor league system, primarily as a second baseman and shortstop, advancing steadily thru the system until hitting a roadblock and spending the past 3 1/2 seasons with the Rochester Red Wings. He had signed this last season as a minor league free agent to continue his career in the Twins organization. Kudos to Beresford who is still only 27. I'm not sure the limits on the number of guys on the 60-man disabled list, but both Park and Santana could be moved there now. Also hope that they try Duffey in long relief over starting (but that means Milone or Albers is the other starter, sigh). Molitor is quoted as saying he will stick with a 5-man rotation thru the Mets series. Looks like the decision on Wheeler will happen in November when the 40-man rosters need to be set. The names I see needing protection from the Rule 5 are Garver, Baxendale, Gonsalves, Granite, Stewart, Palka, Wheeler and Jones. Possibly Goodrum and Jorge. I think names like Slegers, Eades, D.J. Hicks, Irby, Vielma, Turner, Westphal, Van Steensel, Peterson, Wade and Vavra are pretty safe. Hurlburt could leave the organization as a minor league free agent. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/baseball/minors/2016/09/05/james-beresford-red-wings-twins/89892098/

The Sunday Trib said both we be activated on Tuesday and stay with the team.

Someone somewhere mentioned that Dozier leads off and Twins batters get to see more pitches since he can take a walk or work a count. Unfortunately, he quickly shows a pitcher the one pitch he shouldn't throw again.

It is such a tough call. Dozier might be his most valuable after this season. A bad 2017 would bring him back to his former level or tradeability, plus he would be verging on free agency. It is the most important job of the new President of Baseball Operations and his General Manager. Who to extend and keep. Who to trade for now or not trade for future. Who do buy. I hope he/she is given a clean slate and no one will wince if a certain first baseman is jettisoned, a foreign born guy is released, a top prospect or two is moved, some field staff fired, and changes are made to the minor league system If nothing else, it will keep the Twins in the news and might help sell some mroe season tickets.

We are seeing the Twins future lineup right now. Murphy catching. Eitehr Garver as backup (although they might want him to catch fulltime) pr Centeno. I don't see the need to keep Centeno on the 40-man roster, though. It's a gamble that someone would sign him for their 40-man. Mauer, Dozier, Polanco, Plouffe. I see Plouffe staying, now. Don't know why. If he puts up really great numbers, he will be a sought after free agent. Maybe that is the tradeoff, he NEEDS to put up great numbers to increase his value. For abckup, you got Escobar. Outfield. Buxton, Kepler, Rosario. You have Walker, Palka and Granite in the wings at AAA. You have to choose between Grossman and Santana as the 4th outfielder (no brainer here, right). Or maybe you bring back Schafer (not). Actually, all three could be non-tendered and you should be able to find a suitable 4th outfielder...anywheres. DH. Sano. Of course, you can shuffle him between third and Plouffe at firs tand so on. Back up will have to be either Vargas or Park. Park will have to go back to Korea and work all winter on hitting, or find a winter league to work in. He can be sent to the minors AGAIN if need be. Vargas can't. I'm curious to see how Vargas is used in September and he needs a topflight spring training. I think he would thrive in the foreign leagues and draw a bigger paycheck than over here. We have Santata. We have Hughes. Gibson needs to do something. Santiago is still on the bubble. Berrios will improve. May is only good for 130 or so innings, so he could start the season as a long man in the bullpen. (Albers, Dean, Milone are all gone). We do need to look at Wheeler as being in the mix in case of injury. Meija is also thesuitable abckup. Hopefully Rochester will have otehr Lookout pitchers on their starting staff (Stewart, Gonsalves) uistead of Dean, Darnell, Albers. Kintzler is a one-inning pitcher we have discovered. Don't let him sit between outs, Molly. If Perk is back, he will be given the chance to close with Kintzler in the wings and possibly Presslye. You need long guys. Why Rogers didn;t pitch multiple innings more often is beyond me. He is my choice (not Dean). Duffey is my choice for right-handed longman. I want to see the Twins put him in that situation here in September...not starting. I would like to see Reed step up and open the season with Chargolis. Then we need some specialioty guys. Who egt get a fly out. Who can get a groundout (Kintzler). Who can get a strikeout. Baxendale, O'Rourke are in the mix. Tonkin will still be around. Wimmers and Light may need to stay, so their September and spring training will make their careers. It is still a catchall and will be an interesting spring training. Zach Jones should be in the mix, too. Burdi, Bard, Cederoth, Hildenberger are all getting close. But what we see here, now, in September is pretty much what the new GM will work with, unless he trades prospects for vets and they decide to make a go fot it in that way in 2017. But please, Twins...we have seen enough of Albers, Dean, Milone, Centeno, Suzuki, Santana (wait, he's disabled), Grossman, Schafer, Boshers. If you are going to give these guys playing time, don't. Give it to Walker, Garver, Palka, Reed, Meija, Wheeler, Landa. I listed nine guys NINE GUYS who shouldn't be on the 40-man come November. We lose games with them playing anyways. So let's lose games with guys who need to feel the excitement of major league ball, who dream of playing major league ball, and are a part of the Twins organization past, present and future.

Walker NEEDS to come up, if nothing else to meet the coaches, sit on the bench, and see a pitcher or two as a pinch-hitter. Palka power has come abck down to earth, but he is still a prospect to watch. So, is Diaz the Twins firstbaseman of the future? Be interesting to see where Blankenhorn ends up. Y'know, could he be here to start 2019? Will he still be a third base, or is Trey Cabbage the future for that position. Joe Maloney would do good to find somewhere to work up his catching skills. Would make him a valuable possibility. The total lack of prospects at Rochester shows that the Twins are relying too much on minor league free agents these days, or the few names that were elevated at the end of the season from Chattanooga are just getting a taste. Would hopefully see the entire Chattanooga roster at Rochester and less emphasis placed on minor league free agents, who then come up and take rosters spaces and tread water in the major leagues. Don't get me wrong, great for guys who are looking for that spot paycheck. Boy, the Twins did raid the indy leagues. Was surprised they did't bring Caleb Thielbar and Mark Hamburger back into the fold!

Well, since they only do it once every couple of weeks, let them have a good time.

Was it unique for a player to pitch in the Arizona Fall League for two straight seasons? What winter league would be suitable for Reed this round? Or do you shut him down.

You didn't read the article about how they moved the wall in at Target Field for September?

Strong class of pitchers at Cedar Rapids. Always interesting to see what happens as they make the next two or three steps. Who falters, who makes it, who is a minor league arm forever type of guy. I wish we actually had some starter arms showing up in spring training on the level of Berrios last season. But I don't see it. Even if we still had Meyer, I fell he would need a good portion of the year in the minors to get some innings under his belt. I almost feel the same way about the bullpen. With the guys thrown out there in major league land tonight *September 4th), I wish there were 2-3 guys getting a September callup that might not be ready but would be dazzled by being in the major leagues. I look at the entire Twins bullpen and can almost say I could live without any of them in the next season (except for another longer look at Chargolis). Which is sad. But this is about the rotation. We might able to work in an arm (besides Berrios) next season. Another in 2018. And hopefully have to ready for 2019. Which means come that season we will have a total home grown rotation and won't need no stinkin' free agents!