Rosterman

You don't trade for aging relief pitchers period. Or guys that have run out of options. And be very careful about those 41st players that a team has that YOU have to add to your roster. Chances are, they can be claimed on the waiver wire, if you really really wait. Hardy was a combination of "how much would he cost" as the Twins didn't seem ready to offer him a multi-year contract and they lived in fear of paying a high arbitration salary (shades of what will happen with Plouffe, you'd think?). There is a system failure when a team is too cautious with bringing players up, or really have no idea how they wish to construct their playing field and/or lineup in the coming season/seasons. Which is where we stand with Dozier. Is he still a bargain? Can he be a longterm answer at second, giving us more power than Polanco, for example? Who will be the second baseman of the future if Dozier stays here another 3-4 years? Is Polanco then exposed? Or do we go with someone who might bunt, hit-run, show speed and plate discipline, and play a better second than short? But who do we put at short...the nimble Nunez or the powerhouse Escobar? How long do we wait for Gordon? Are there other bodies between today and Gordon and what do they bring to the plate? Would our middle infield (and centerfield) be fast but power light? Is that reason enough to keep Dozier? Is that reason enough to retain Plouffe (although he will have a say in it come 2018)? A major league club is a big puzzle. You have coaching staff evaluating players, management evaluating players, lots of guys working with players. You push and develop them in certain ways (Gomez didn't want to be a speedy bunter, for example). Cost is always the factor. Players eat up their costs. Aaron Hicks...you get something for him today, or you pay a salary arbitration penalty to keep trying to improve him next season and thereafter and see his value go down...or up. It's sad that you have to start putting so much emphasis on new talent. You have no idea how most old talent will work, and it can be an expense you can't control and have no control over once you sign a player to a lucrative contract. At that point, a player becomes a product of major league abseball and not a particular team.

It is a struggle as a prospect. It is wonderful if you can have some of that back-and-forth between the majors and minors, especially during the first couple of years that a player is on the 40-man roster. But in developing that player, if you do it too soon, you will be faced with the issues the Twins had with Arcia, and will soon have with Polanco and Kepler. Have you givvn them enough of an opportunity to learn at the major league level before their options expire, and/or are you willing to carry them on the 25-man roster for 1-2 years fulltime as a back-up player on a learning curve as they slowly trend towards arbitration. But if you wait too long, you have have missed a glimmer of early glory, or you see the player pushed out of the organization by an upcoming talent that is showing greater strides at a younger age. When you draft a player, you hope you can have a good idea of the direction they are going in their first 3-4 years, if they last that long in the system. But you are dealing with high school signees, and signees with 3+ years of higher education, often starting at the same level for a moment. Mix in the fading veterans still looking for a comebacker, all over the place at AAA and many still at AA, and it can be a problem. No matter how bad Arcia failed at AAA last season, the Twins still needed to see more of him at the major league level, or make the commitment to find and keep a solid bench spot for him at the major league level this year. But that changed with the signing of Park, the emergence of the younger Sano last season, other roster possibilities. So the Twins will move on from Arcia. But, in the topic of this discussion, that needed more thought last summer to see if he could become a viable tradechip, or a hard-lined decision in the offseason to cut him loose if you really had no room in the inn for his bat. In truth, there was no reason to bring up Berrios already this season. But good for him that he got a taste of major league life. If he struggles at AAA, maybe it IS because he is working on things to make himself a better major league pitcher down-the-road, in a league where you SHOULD be able to work on pitching placement (thus walking more batters who are in the minors being told to be more patient). Somehow, Buxton needs another trip down to continue to adapt to whatever he is missing in major league ball. And then you get people like Milone who totally dominate AAA...and hopefully keeps his act together, for a few starts at least. I'm not sure how many charts and film and other things players worry about daily in the minors, compared to the majors where everything is analyzed, because you pay the people to do it and expect the players to sit and listen, work hard on it, and become better against people getting better each and every game themselves. And some of it is just maturing. Remember what you were like at 18, at age 21. How you viewed life at 23 or even 25. When did you start worrying about career. When did you feel comfortable in maintaining your state of mind and body. At what point does play become work, and you do the work each and every day as demanded and strive to become the best you can with what you have. There's 150 prospects in every team's system. As many drop out each year as are drafted, all at different levels. Names change from organization to organization...you can only have so many guys who play shortstop, or so many lefthanders, or so many starting pitchings, or so many outfielders. And few are superstars, celebrities, that will have long-lasting careers, television commercials, instant name recognition not only in the hometown but also across the country.

Right now, you can argue about the need of Kepler to go back to Rochester. If Sano returns to the outfield, then Kepler goes down. But first, the Twins need to send Sano on rehab to Rochester and have him play 7-10 games IN THE LEAST at third base. Is Kepler the real deal this year, before celebrating a sophomore slump in 2017? But that is alright. Have him work and fail this year. Isn't he out of options next year? Grossman has come back down to earth. Will be interesting to see what the season brings. Buxton DOES need to go back down. We have Santana in centerfield, and possibly a resurgence of Rosario. Park is an interesting case. Send him to Rochester, and see if there is anything left to consider in Vargas? If we don't move Plouffe, put him at first abse and Mauer at DH? Polanco is also needed to be up here and rotating thru positions at some point, perhaps replacing a traded Nunez. And no matter how dazzling Dozier becomes, if an offer is made in your direction for him, give it strong consideration. I don't know what to say about the rotation or relief corps, except fast track any of those AA arms and get them some facetime in the majors THIS SEASON so they can see if they can handle it, or go back and work constructively on their stuff to make it happen. But wait, two in a row with our waiver wire greatness and a refurbished Suzuki (will anyone call for him?). We won with a 14 run game. Too bad it was 11-10 at one point and we could've lost if Jepsen had come in to save the game!

It is such the Twins Way of doing things. Of course, we react differently in the blogosphere than most people do who come to Twins games and see the Twins spending money on free agent pitchers, playing the international market, making choices in trades for pitching at the expense of a luxury of outfielders, working to put a competitive team on the field that will stay in the game and all. Plus, Target Field is a great game day experience, we have new bars, different foods and, did I say, a great place to watch a ballgame. Yes, the put in bids to be a part of the action, so to speak. They make a trade addressing weaknesses, but what do we really know about the whys and true needs of the team. They spend money on guys that look halfway decent, but only if you are a halfway decent team. But dollar dogs are great, we have all these scoreboard games, kids sing he national anthem, the flag is raised with fireworks, and we have a radio station that shuts down soon after the game and the airwaves, as a while, are void o discussion of the Twins above and beyond their marketing strategy which is to run THEIR OWN AADS during games?!? They may look like a major league team, smell like a major league team, but are they truly a major league team? Let's try a year of Mike Veeck at the helm which an indy league general manager wannabe given the golden opportunity. AT least it would be fun! And cheap!

Let go of Dean and/or Duffey and let's look at Wheeler, or maybe even given Logan Darnell another ride. Mastro could also come off the 40-man. But, yes, instead of just cycling thru pitchers, let's take a strong look at the next run of prospects. Go ahead and advance someone from AA who you expect to add to the 40-man. Or, better yet, let's have May in the swing of things. Bring him back as a starter! Sadly, most disappointing effort by Duffey. Glad he sold his soul to those investors!

Arcia, in this sense, fell into the same category as Ortiz. Except Ortiz was also about money. The Twins somehow saw the same production for the DH spot happening with LeCroy, who could also catch. They saw Mientkiewicz as being the guy at first. They didn't see a lot of at bats happening for Ortiz, or just sticking him on the bench, and paying him a million bucks or so. Little did we know. But we are questioning if the Twins do have a plan, a long-range roster construction. And, yes, it is amazing that next season Kepler will be out of options and has to stick (because the Twins added him too soon thinking someone would claim our bonus baby). It is a strange game baseball plays. Glad Kepler is getting a chance to work thru things and he does look like a keeper and the more at bats he gets this year, the better he will be next year (one hopes) or at least he looks like he will listen and learn. Of course, NO ONE may claim Arcia, which means we get to kep him and make another decision on him next year, which would be a ncie luxury. Or he tears up AAA ball and is a positive trading chip as an add-on to rid of us, say, a large pitching contract/

Dozier can only increase his trade value if he goes on a hot streak. But if you look at him, unless you are really killing to get a second baseman, he will be an expensive option come 2018. But if you trade for him in 2016...you can still carry him into next season and hope he is worthwhile in the long run, or maybe even flip him again. That's baseball. You jsut need to find someone willing to take on the salary against salary of other similar options.

Well, other teams could've grabbed him and didn't for this year. Unless he totally blows people away for the remainder, teams will wait to see if the Twins make a move to put him on the 40-man, although they still don't have to...unless he is Rochester bound. You still have to keep him on a major league roster all year. At some point, the Twins can add him to the 40-man and still have a few years to up and down him if they wish. A nice return. Now it is up to Mr. Jones to pull himself ahead of the Bards, Reeds, Burds and others.

Well, in defense of Arcia, he and Vargas should've been the DH candidates this year (and maybe a tad of Sano). But, nooooooo. The Twins, actually, seemed to be surprised that they won the bidding for Park, coming in at the minimum and everyone else passed, so they were stuck, especially when Park did sign a favorable contract to play major league ball. not that this is bad, but WHAT WAS THE PLAN. And so looking forward to the next guys coming of the DL. Soon to be, an outfield of Grossman, Santana and Sano with Mastro as the backup and BOTH Kepler and Buxton down at AAA. Maybe the time spent there will make them even better. And admidst all this, we do lose Arcia. We will lose Vargas. We get nothing back in exchange? Okay, maybe a waiver wire claim wash, eh?

And the call went to Rochester and looks like Milone is on his way back with Pat Dean moving somewhere (is he being waived off the 40-man?).

Milone back on the 40-man. Is Arcia officially off, or do the Twins have to waive Dean? There might be a system failure still happening!

Next up...watch the Twins put Pat Dean on waivers and add Tommy Milone....because Arcia's spot isn't up yet. We will see if the demand for Pat Dean is also high...high enough that he needed to be protected this past fall (who did we lose to the Rule 5 again?).

Interesting piece. Duensing has made around $8 million in his career. He worked briefly as a starter. He is left-handed. Does he have a bonifide agent who is marketing him to other teams. Being left-handed alone should make him attractive, He also should be pulling in a decent minor league salary (minus the expense of having to have two homes). It was a smart move to sign with the Royals and having the ability to pitch at a high level yet stay at home. Remember, what are the chances of making veteran minor league money walking into most any otehr job in your mid-30s. Shows the evils of being a ballplayer. You had a modest career, made good money (I'm 62 and am a far cry short of $8 million in my lifetime of work). What is the next thing that you do? Hey, he might end up being a coach with the Royals at Omaha. Could you ask for a better job? It all started with last season. Your fate was in your pitching arm. If you had a brilliant season, people would be calling you on your cell and offering you a multi-year contract. You had a bad year, so bad that the Twins cut you loose and didn't even show interest in resigning you to be a part of the worst staff in 2016 baseball. Teams move forward. You suddenly becomes a minimum-wage baseball arm, and that may be too much when a team can actually find someone comparable cheaper, or they have prospects. Brian did a solid job with the Twins. They could never figure out a spot for him - long-man, short-man, spot starter, getting one guy out. He was all over that place. And as his games/innings work diminished, it only took a bad outing or two to make his whole line look bad. But on the whole, he should have a major league job. He is so consistent. Not overpowering. Solid middle relief. But you can say that about quite a few people, including some toiling in Indy ball.,

What do the Twins have now. Nothing to show from Arcia. No one will give them squat for Nolasco, Gibson, Hughes, Dozier, Plouffe, probably even Rosario or Santana. Escobar could be worth a tad. Nunez and Abad would bring in something. Yet the Twins have to refresh their low level minors and anyone that offers them a rough A prospect for any of the above should be listened to, because it frees up salary and roster space. The Twins have solid prospects. Berrios, May, Meyer, Gonsalves, Stewart, Jay, Wheeler, Jorge, LeBlanc, Romero, Thorpe, Baxendale, Eades. They will always have a Duffy or Dean or Darnell or Albers in the system to solidify that 5th spot (eghad...wouldn't it be great to never have one-year wonders). You don't trade for anyone this season. It will do no good. If the young blood makes us competitive, you might consider some prospects in 2017, as our jar will be over flowing with names that CAN'T ALL be protected on the 40-man. And in 2018, you make a big splash with money for the best free agent pitcher out there. The front office. They should be looking hard at what every organization MIGHT have to offer us for any of our worthless vets. Every organization has guys blocked by others. We can take that third infielder or catching prospect, that wild arm at Class A. We have the staff to develop them. Just don't trade for anyone that needs to be protected in 2017 pr even 2018. The front office has to look at ALL Twins prospects and see who THEY CAN'T protect in 2017 and 2018 and start thinking of ways to package those guys, especially if they show some promise, with those worthless commodities we would like to see gone from today's roster. At the least, we can't lose tradable assets to Rule 5 or minor free agents. Yes, you can continue to monitor the waiver wire. But DON'T invest HIGHLY in mid-level free agents. Or better yet, let's have that front office turnabout. We need baseball blood that is keeping up with the modern game, where players aren't members of the Minnesota Twins or playing the Twins Way. All ballplayers now are part of Major League Baseball and each team has to figure out ways to get them to play as prospects or play as free agents for their little empire instead of some other team. There is no loyalty in baseball except for playing time which translates into service time which translates into money, period. And we need a field staff dedicated to helping our crop of youthful prospects dealing with the emotions of suddenly being rich players. Keeping them earthbound and team bound as long as you can. It will be sad to see the number of players from the 40+ names playing this season that will bring nothing of value back to the team.Yes, many have given us stellar moments on the field and a few memories during the past five seasons, but those that remain, today, play at the lowest point in Twins history and it seems they aren't even making their own stock rise in the world of major league baseball. Which is pretty sad. Given the opportunity to play major league baseball, in an environment where your best will show more than the team's best, I have never seen such a team of....sad losers. It's horible to say that about anyone doing a job. It is really, really sad.

Another player being discarded for nothing. Sadly, you had players to option out. Duffy or Dean (but I guess we do need that AAAA 5th starter) or Rogers or Pressly. Then get the bench back into shape. Would rather have the Arcia bat option. Or, better yet, send Park out for a couple of weeks at AAA. Yes, Santana is nothing but a utility player and hopefully he will sit on the bench as we continue to watch Buxton and Kepler struggle and learn, which can be a longrange positive. If they don't play, then send them both down to the minors and bring up Rosario, and we should still have Arcia on the bench. All this move does in reinforce that the Twins weren't watching their roster management enough last season to bring a struggling Arcia back up, for at least a September callup, and if they really felt he wasn't major league ready, they could've packaged him or cut him much much earlier. At best, we now have an open 40-man roster spot. When Mastro comes back (and is not kept...no way) we will have two. When Jepsen is cut, we will have three. Be interesting to see what the Twins do with these spots. Oh, wait. Time for the return of Albers!

Well, this only works if you commit to play Kepler and Buxton every single day, which means Santana is the fourth outfielder and bench fodder with Centeno and Escobar (what a bench, eh). They should've sent down a pitcher with options (lots to choose from who are proving themselves marginal). Maybe they are hoping to get a trade bite. But if you intend to play Santana, then Kepler or Buxton should be down at AAA playing everyday, and it would probably be Kepler, who seems to make the most of his work, although if you put Santana in center, then Buxton. The Twins lose another player (probably) and not get anything in return. One that is young and still has some potential, not like 4-5 members of the pitching staff (not counting starters) plus a couple of promising outfielders who need to play and if they don't play up here, then you really lost someone. Better to have Santana playing at Rochester and re-developing his shortstop skills on a regular basis (in case you do part ways with Nunez).

Okay.....Twins have Park and possibly Kepler in the long-run at first. Or maybe it will be the future home of Sano in 3-4 years. Polanco is more of a second baseman. Decision time on Dozier is soon. The Twins have half-a-dozen guys for shortstop, but none will start in 2017. 2018 MIGHT see Vielma, or maybe Regilatto or Walker, with Gordon in 2018. 3B future could be Cabbage or Blankenhorn, but both are 3+ years away. Right now, an outfield of Grossman, Santana and Rosario with Arcia as the fourth. That is assuming that Sano can play somewhere other than the outfield when he returns. Build up the value of Rosario and Santana and maybe Arcia. Kepler and Buxton are the future and should be there fulltime by August end. Walker in the wings, as well as Palka at this point. Santana can always nudge out as a ultility guy. It is such a tough call with the team. Do you play guys NOT in plans to get their worth a tad higher, or just write them off. Like, flip Park to the minors for a month and give Vargas some at bat? Bring back Milone and let Dean start at AAA. How much do you invest in chips that you really aren't investing in except to spend for something, which may be less than...nothing.

The Washington Nationals appear to need a closer with Papelbon heading towards the disabled list. I'm Terry Ryan. I'm on the phone. "Kevin Jepsen is not all that bad, just having a tough time with some things here in Minnesota where the team is performing below normal standards. But put him on a winner, and all your issues are solved. Plus, you get an option of keeping him or not next season." Pause. "We will throw in a hot prospect. Alex Wimmers. When we drafted him, he was like your Alex Meyer." Pause. "All we want is Wilson Ramos." Phone hangs up. Nest day we read "Nationals sign Matt Capps to major league contract." Well, it was a try. It was a stretch. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/06/jonathan-papelbon-disabled-list-nationals.html

Yes, the ability to develop pitching has to be an eyesore. In order to address these needs, the front office traded away viable players in Revere and Span for up-and-coming prospects May and Meyer. Somehow, the latched onto Worley, or lasted as long as the much-vaulted prospect Humber did, that the Mets gave us in the Santana deal. And even going back to that deal, we got who in the pitching category: Guerra and Mulvey (as well as Go Go Gomez) and, by extension, Rauch, Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. But those get laid at the feet of the Bill Smith era. And then we drafted. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/draft/research.asp?Y1=2008&Y2=2015&R=&RS==&Ov=&Ovs==&T=17&Player=&School=&Pos=P&HL=&Region=&P=June-Reg&CT=&Bonus=0&Signed=&Active=&Source=&Bats=&Throws=&Sort= The list of guys from the past five years. Yes, there is hope...but where are they fort his year and how many will be there next year. Even when drafting collegiate relief pitchers, who can learns their ways from the back-of-the-bullpen, or even the home of a future starter as the 13th pitcher in the bullpen getting an occasional start, we have been pretty darn dismal. Have employed an awful lot of pitchers for a season or two...but journeymen who continue to hold onto roster spots in the Indy leagues of AAA ball with the hopes of another glimpse at major league life. And regarding Free Agency = Target Field, which was going to allow the Twins to hold onto their own Free Agents (i.e. overpay) instead of overpaying for those who may/may not pan out in any ways. Free Agency is a crapshoot except in a very limited case, depending on the length of contracts and is totally governed by the needs and wants of players and their agents. Plus a marketplace that will heavily reward certain players due to team standings, as well as an organization of owners that usually throw good business practices out the window. Maybe that is it. The Twins try to run their business of baseball as a good, honest business. Carefully planned and budgeted. They try to keep appealing to their limited marketplace and draw as many dollars as they can, without taking risks, going for flash, and always keeping a hard-line on the bottom-line, so even if they do fail, it is just an "of year" or "the other teams were better, but watch out." Good for the Sporting News for calling out the Twins.

You get rid of the pitcher who can only pitch to one or two batters (hummmmm....seems the way the bullpen works overall). I say a bit more seasoning for Kepler. But we still have a logjam. Assuming Santana is a versatile guy who can also play the infield, you still have Arcia needing at bats and Rosario and Kepler in the minors. Maybe Park needs to take a trip to Rochester.

Okay. Catcher. Murphy is a stay. Centeno is a dime-a-dozen replacement. You can bring back Fryer, grab Drew Butera, plug in someone with only a one year committment and still get what we currently have from the position until Garver or Turner, who might offer better defense, but still no hitting. Garver and Turner will probably be added to 40-man with Murphy. If the Twins need anotehr catcher, it will happen during spring training. If Sano is third, then Plouffe is gone. If Polanco is second, there is no need for Dozier. The Twins need a placesetter at short, so Escobar is still cheaper than Nunez. Beresford will get an add somewhere and shine and show he belongs as a bench guy or not. Otehrwise, we might see Tovar here. Remember, Santana could be a shortstop. Outfield is crowded. Grossman will be given another look. Buxton is in center. Rosario and Arcia can hang on and battle it out in right, unless Kepler takes it away. Then who do we keep? Walker is in the wings and will get a look in September. Vargas is not necessary...if you keep Sano. We have too much invested in Park and the Twins will play him a second season, but if they receive offers, he may be expendable. Remember, Kepler could also play first. Maybe if we keep Plouffe (don't say that - 411 million unnecessary expense for a non longterm solution for this club). There are jobs open. Palka, Harrison. Reginaldo. Who knows what other waiver wire dandy Ryan & Co. may find. f And any pitcher that wants to pitch for the Twins - show your stuf and you got a job. But there are others in the wings. The only thing holding some guys here is salary investment, which shouldn't matter once THIS season ends. Eat the salary and move on Front Office. But no need for ANY offense free agents. And not seeing much coming back in trade that would help the Twins next season.

He is ALMOST Ortiz all over again. There is the fear that if you let him totally walk, he will light up and have a long career slugging home runs. But, like Ortiz, if you have no current (or future) roster spot for the guy...then move on. If you want something in value, than partner him with another prospect or veteran, but a team still needs to want THAT player and Arcia. Yes, most teams are salivating that the Twins will send him thru waivers and they can grab him and maybe play him and keep him or flip him or just let him move on. And, yes, if you want to see what you MIGHT still have in Arcia, you play him. Fold your hands and go to Park and say you want to send him to Rochester to play first base everyday and face AAAA pitchers and work on a couple of things...and elt Arcia be the DH. You can continue to have Park be Park at the major league level, but what IS the system doing. There has to be a plan brewing. Yes, have to get thru 2016 with reasonable results (on the field and in the attendance). But all thoughts need to look at 2017. Who do we want to try and push to succeed. Who IS NOT in the plans and what can be done with those folks. Even if you as a team part ways with Dozier, Plouffe, Arcia, Nolasco, Santana, Perkins, Gibson...everyone making more than a million bucks...at the level most of those are playing right now you should be able to replace them or even trade prospects for a player that will give you better results than those guys are giving you this year, maybe last year, and looking forwards. The problem is how much are you willing to lose (in attendance and salary write-off) compared to gain (creating a plan with a workable system to get the futrue here as soon as possible and excited about the game). You have a team full of players that NO ONE is dying to add to their own roster. You can replace almost everyone of them with a waiver claim that will get you thru this year (sadly) and maybe even next year (big frown here). But that CAN'T be the ultimate plan,c an it? Will your current guys improve, shine, be big names again (doubtful, really doubtful...and Arcia would be my bet for being a bigtime homer in five years compared to any of the other mentioned).

Sadly, all of the above are tradable, but you won't be seeing much of a return except for ono-protective Class A rookies, or possibly someone another team has some depth. The Twins don't need anyone that will demand a 40-man spot, or someone verging on out-of-options. In order to move Santana (and Nolasco), not to mention Dozier and Plouffe, the Twins may have to sweeten the pot with one of their higher level prospects (High A or Double-A) who demands 40-man roster protection this fall, but there won't be room in the inn for them at the moment, That is not something beyond the norm. Make it the other teams need to 40-man the guy. If they don't, you can always do a claim...or not. Santana might be the msot valuable as he is a proven starter and has two solid years at decent money, if he can produce and you don't expect more than what his true stats will show you. Dozier and Plouffe are too overpriced at the moment (and in the near future) but if a team is heading into August and suddenly loses a key player at either position, they might be grabbed. At this point, a team would be focused on saving money and getting an equally productive guy like, say, Nunez for a fraction of the current worth to be paid out, as well as another year to make a decision on keeping them beyond -- at a decent price. The question is WHAT DO THE TWINS NEED. They don't need anyone that doesn't fit into plans for 2018 and beyond. They don't need cast-offs. You can get those on the waiver wires. They don't need to absorb a bad salary from another team. They don't need anyone out-of-options. They really don't need anyone ready for a spot on a 40-man unless they are truly major league ready, and at this point, unless the guy IS a hard 26th player or 41st player, there is nothing the Twins have to trade for such a guy.

Well, guess Sean Burnett was not a viable candidate to call up and add to the 40-man. Look for him to walk.....

It starts with the front office. An overhaul there. The manager can also go and maybe the hitting coach. You trea d carefully on promoting a future in-organization manager right away, unless you are willing to commit to THEIR way of thinking. But if there is a general manager change, you need to make that first so THEY CAN HIRE who they wish to work with. Add hands-on-president and give him a say in the organization. Have a solid general manager. Two major position changes. Or sell the team (which may take too long).