Rosterman

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.

It's strange to wonder. What with the talk of where Carlos Gomez willl end up (Texas) and Papelbon may play. Kansas City fixed their need. It is jsut that arbitration next season, which damages his worth to other teams. Like Hector Santiago, it will be a big decision if the Twins keep him or elt him walk. And even if they keep either of the guys they will sadly overpay and unless they are truly brilliant, not worth it...even as mid-season tradebait since they will both be free agents in 2018. So, Minnesota. Make you decision now, today, this month. Let them walk, or sign to longterm deals.

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

You would have to add him back on the 25-man roster. Hummm...Carlos Gomez or Oswaldo Arcia. What a tough decision. Especially when the Tigers add someone named Alex Presley to their roster!

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!

Arcia is still young enough. But part of it is that he has to turn himself around. Thought him coming early to spring training was a good sign. Has to be willing to work on his outfield defense. But he might thrive if he can find another team willing to work hard with him and his skill set, which is there. So, what do the Twins get in return?

You mean all teams aren't like the Twins...they play scissors/paper/rock to see how they lineup for that days call-to-the-pen. And when they see the manager walk out, they send someone in.

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.

The logjam is Park, Vargas, Sano with Walker and Palka in the wings. That is assuming you can keep Plouffe and his homers at third. Polanco is a good guy, but right now repalcing Dozier or Plouffe with him undermines some offense bigbat production, while keeping him at short improves production, but maybe weakens (just a little) defense...which Sano at third also will do. But Plouffe costs too much and still compounds the problem over time. Park, well, he can be thunder, but he is a 30-year-old rookie that MAY produce no more thunder than a Vargas, Palka or Walker, let alone IF you did have Sano at DH. That HAD to be one of the worst signings of the 2016 off-season. But the team had given up on Vargas (trying to sell him to Asia) and didn't trust Arcia, and thought Sano could play right and didn't want to trade Plouffe for a bag of balls. So, DH was a weakness and...viola! No one outbid the Twins, and when they undercut his salary demands, Park still said "yes" and now the Twins have Jerseys (and even commercials) with the guy. (NOTE: Was at Target Field when they fimed a couple of Park Home-Run commercials, similar to the Sano one now running. Chances are they might not use them_. But face it. In the scheme of things, as a general manager for the Twins...ask yourself: (1) Who can I buy that will make this team better (and how much do I have to pay them to come and play in Minnesota -- the bigger question)? (2) Who on my roster actually has worth to another team, albeit in trade, or even if released, they will sign elsewhere AND play in the major leagues. (3) Who on my long list of prospects is slowly being overtaken and possibly passed, or who is down in the depth chart and is showing promise and I can actually package 3-4 of these guys and get someone top flight (albeit expensive) who would have no choice but to come to Minnesota because they got traded here.

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).

He should pitch in Arizona this Fall instead and get an invite to spring training.

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.

Well, it is time for the Twins to make a two-year contract offer (say $4.5 million a year) to keep him in Minnesota, not that he is going anywhere else. Kinda a slap in your face heading into your free agency year, I think. Not worth $1.5 million as a backup or bat off the bench...too rich for most team's blood.

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.

Get rid of Suzuki early? We haven't ben able to do that thru two trade deadlines already, and will any team just take him off our hands for salary relief this August? With that kind of demand lining up for your services, you wonder how good he will do as a free agent in the off-season. Him signing with the Twins was like winning a golden ticket from Willy Wonka and not falling in any of the candy vats! Yes, we remove his bat from the line-up. But we do have to see Murphy catch. If the Twins wish to push Garver, they can do that, too. Remember, experience isn't always the key to catching, it is being a mature handler of pitchers (Wynegar, Mauer). It would be nice to get something, but at best it would a PTBNL. Really, truly, think about it. And another team is basically getting him to be a bench backup for the cost of his contract, which isn't really that great of a bargain.

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.

I'm not sure the results would be any better with Nolasco. At best, Hector might do something (probably enough to win in arbitration). At most, he's gone and we save $8 million and worry that Meyer will be a stud, although I'm not sure he would've made the team next season (we needed to jettison to relieve us from the Nats trade guilt).

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.

Kintzler has that ground ball availability, which is valuable. The Twins have a solid core, but no one really standing out - Rogers, Pressly, Tonkin are fine, but not the base. But it won't happen totally in 2017. But if things go right, the Twins bullpen of the future, at least by 2018, will contain Hildenberger, Burdi, Jones, Reed, Bard, Chargolis, Melotakis. Not sure who the closer candidate will be. In reserve the Twins will still have WImmers (if they keep him 40-manned), O'Rourke, Baxendale, and I would see Duffy moving to the bullene over May, at least for the shortterm. You have to like the next generation of Peterson, Landa and Curtiss at Ft. Myers.

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.