Rosterman

At one point in the spring I was hoping Hicks would come north and be the bench catcher and Murphy would catch everyday to start at AAA, especially after his horrendous spring. But now...

Plouffe as the super bench guy would be perfect, except for Plouffe. He has proven that he can be an everyday third baseman, and if he can't be it here for a few more years, he needs to be elsewhere. His arbitration salary numbers will demand it. If they had made him a utility guy last season, he would be a cheaper possibility. At some point, the Twins have to figure out what to do with Arcia, Rosario and that other young slugger named Walker. That is assuming that Park is a keeper and Mauer still stays at first base (remember, Kepler COULD be the first baseman of the future if the Twins ever part ways with Mauer). And, yes, the Twins need to be prepared to take any offer possible for any member of their rotation. Always thought that Kyle Gibson WAS a really good trade bait candidate. He's not necessarily someone you want to pay a lot as he hits further arbitration, I picture him being replaceable by other guys coming up, and HE DID have value going into this season. But any thoughts the front office has as the OTHERS put up stellar numbers should be quickly forgotten and turned into another viable candidate for a spot (catcher or well, catcher) and GOOD prospects to keep the system further restocked. I think the bullpen could shape out very nicely. You have to promote two of the young studs this year, address future closer concerns, and hopefully add a couple more bodies from the system next year in the bullpen (hoping we do get Zach Jones back from Milwaukee just for the heck of it). We still have guys like Luke Bard that may make an impression. I do think Buxton should spend a month at AAA just to work some things out. I would almost say the same of Sano (if we decide to elevate Murphy),

Bad use of the bullpen. Jepsen in a tie game. Using guys to face a couple of outs ONLY. Is there no long-man pick-me-up guy. Who is the closer if you overuse your closer. Do we need two short left-handed guys. Bring back Rogers, or move Milone to the bullpen...for now. Will be interesting to see how soon Chargolis will slip into the mix. Will he need time at AAA (Van Mil switchout?). But then you have Strong that needs to do something at AA, too.

Is it too early to cut Fien is the question. Of course, it shouldn't matter. Yes, let Buxton play regularly at Rochester. But we have to see if Santana is any better/worse, and also judge Rosario, who seems to be getting some spots there. Duffey will get the call before Milone. Unless the Twins lose two starters and Berrios is near perfect at Rochester, he is behind (sadly) Duffey AND Meyer. You have to tread carefully adding someone like Mastro. Once you send him down, you may loose him. But then, again, is it a loss. 40 games in is when you start thinking changes internally. 75 games in is when you start looking for new pieces outside or seeing if there is any interest in some of the pieces that you may not need come future seasons. It's a looooooong season.

I was looking at the stats and new stratospheric highs have been reached by Loek Van Mil and Michael Strong!

The secret is to break even or win series. The Twins starters have been quite good. They have been striking out opponents. Not quite as many as their own. But still, more than enough. The other team is not batting much better against the Twins, they just leave a runner or two less in scoring position. The veterans in the bullpen have been surprisingly bad overall. The new guys exceptionally GREAT. It's a loooooong season. You have to try and win series. And start playing a bit more small ball with some of the guys. Forget about longball and big innings (big innings we haven't seen at all yet).

Gardy was still considered a consultant special assistant in some ways last year (he was getting paid his full salary...and though he didn't have to do anything, I think he did). It keeps him active, in the picture. If nothing else, he gets to work with other coaches for the Twins Way. Remember, a manager is not just managing what's on the field, he;s managing how the players play as a group and how to get everyone working in the same direction. It's NICE that the Twins do have a wealth of guys that still help out the club, so to speak, from Oliva and Carew to Hrbek and at times Smalley, Laudner and more. It was good to see Hawkins and Hunter at spring training. There's a whole bunch of former Twins working for other systems in the minors: Gary Ward (White Sox), Jose Parra (Tigers), Steve Luebber/Andre David/Brian Buchanan/Nelson Liriano (Royals), Howie Clark (Orioles), Paul Abbott/Dick Such (Red Sox), Bobby Mitchell/Greg Colbrunn (Yankees), Vince Horsman/Juan Rincon (Blue Jays), Erik Bennett (Angels), John Moses (Braves), Luis Quioines (Miami), Frank Viola/Wally Backman (Mets), Aaron Fultz/Les Straker/Pat Borders (Phillies), Matt LeCroy (Nationals), Tack Wilson/Phil Nevin (Diamondbacks), Bobby Cuellar (Dodgers), Brian Harper (Cubs), Corky Miller (Reds), Butch Wynegar/Michael Ryan (Pirates), Randy Niemann (Cardinals). But Gardy is a part of Twins history. Like Kelly, he does have something to offer the team.

It's all a matter of 40-man roster construction. Right now, being one of those AAAA minor league free agents with the Twins isn't all that great of a position to be. And if you could be added to the 40-man, the minute you are removed you go thru waivers and can be claimed by anotehr team, which is good or bad. SERIOUSLY, the Twins have NO ROOM on the 40-man. Barring the collapse of Fien or Nunez, or the incompetence of Dean or Rogers or O'Rourke, those are the likely names we can banter around. Of course, you always get a spot moving someone to the 60-man (Perkins). But eventually they come off, too. Would Hicks have been a better callup than, say, Polanco? Kepler is a placesetter, until Santana comes back. The Twins have Murphy (5 k's and 2 hits in 15 at bats with a May 1 opt out) at Rochester, but who do the Twins jettison for this guy. And do you bring him up if he isn't go to play. Yes, the way things look right now, the Twins could happily send Buxton or Rosario or even Sano down to the minors...replacing them with, say, Murphy, Santana and keeping Polanco around if you think Santana will be the new centerfielder. But even Santana, as a regular, could be on the bubble. As I said earlier, unlike past years, being a possible addition from the AAA minor league free agent pool isn't looking too good right now in Twins land. Being on the 40-man is a sure ticket for a major league call, and we will see people like Chargolis and Melotakis and maybe even Landa, not to mention Duffey, long before we see Burdi or Reed or even Berrios. Someone has to go elsewhere. And that's a dilemma, too. Are any of the extra relief guys on the 40-man a deserving callup who will contribute THIS SEASON...or someone we had to gamble to protect to keep off of some developing team;s 40-man. Polanco will get a bit more experience. Sadly, Nunez will be at third (a perfect two weeks to see how Sano plays third, plus keeping an extra bigger bat in the lineup...do we play Mauer or Park at first. Should Arcia keep playing in the field in National League land. We've already used 4 of our 15 40-man spots. I was surprised Rodgers went down...it might be nice to have a two-inning guy in the pen. But O'Rourke is on a lease, too.

Your choices are Escobar or Nunez. The only guy you can call up from the minors is Polanco. And you have too many outfielders and need to add Murphy, so put Sano at third. Jeez. No brainer! Can't add Beresford. No 40-man spot. Bad enough that they might have to make a move for Murphy...and looks like the only possibility is Dean at this point, now that O'Rourke got his one out with one pitch.

You can afford to have one weak hitter in the lineup, except when playing in National League ballparks.

I couldn't quite figure this out, either. Right now, you can trust the entire bullpen. But with Fien not getting a whole inning (it seems) and Tonkin wasn't trustworthy (until today). Thought May was a long man. Jepsen is somewhat understandable now that he is the closer. I would assume that he would get one of the next two days off. Maybe the Twins do need that extra pitcher rather than a bench guy.

Well, some of his baggage is that he was supposed to replace Jeter, which is impossible. Yes, he is not a bad bench guy for the right price, and probably given regular turns at shortstop, he would play as well as, say, Escobar. But is he better, worse, does it matter? Is he too expensive as a bench piece? A lot of talk is more around his value compared to, say, a cheaper or more assured better piece of the puzzle. He's NOT better than Dozier. I don't want him at third instead of Plouffe or Sano. He shouldn't be in the outfield. Right now, Escobar has earned the starting job. Then you ask the next BIG question of bench/utility guys. Is this the guy you would give a starting job to short-term if any of your players in his positions go down for a short span...or is he pure bench and you promote someone young and promising to do most of the work. Nunez is having an unbelievable stretch. It should increase his value to the Twins and his own personal standing, if he can keep it up, for a contract next year. But I truly wonder if during the off-season where he would've landed and for what price if the Twins didn't take him to arbitration.

So, let's go with an outfield now of Arcia/Kepler/Murphy/ When Santana returns and if Kepler is really struggling, put Santana in centerfield. Send to Rochester Sano and Buxton. Maybe even Rosario. Whew! Look at that Rochester team. Wonder who trickles down to the Lookouts?! (Actually, it would probably be good for Park, too...anyone know how Vargas is doing? Or will Vargas be the odd man out in the Murphy 40-man decision). This wouldn't be all that bad. NONE of these guys have to stay where they are for the season. None of them. Hey, let's bring Polanco up and let him get some time at second why we are at, especially since we need someone at the top of the order instead of Dozier. Let Murphy start at catcher. Let's talk major shake up, folks. But still keeping the future in the organization.

He is going to be our centerfielder for 15 years. Extend his contract NOW!

Good post. But, yes, what is the Twins Way. Why is Dozier leading off. Especially today. Wouldn't you throw Escobar up there just because... But where does Dozier fit. #3. Cleanup? Deeper down. And Mauer, no longer the best #3 hitter, but why bat second if no one is on base anyways. Might as well bat him leadoff. Park is/was a bargain. But he will have a learning curve. This is American League abseball. He ahs to learn the stadiums, the pitchers. It is a different game. And, yes, I would've put Sano at third and regulated Plouffe to the outfield, until we saw if Sano was a butcher at third or not. Sano would be the Twins third baseman in 2017 or 2018. So why not in 2016. Ploufee will not be a Twin in 2017 or 2018 as his salary will be better spent elsewhere. Like Dougie and A.J. in the past, even though both had good solid years remaining, he is being pushed aside for the future, If Buxton is indeed overmatched, send him down to AAA. Or course, it works better if Danny Santana is a placesetter in centerfield. You have no roster spot for adding Mastro. But if you want Buxton to learn, let him bat leadoff for awhile., You did itwith Hicks. Equal play for equal prospect. I'm not sure what the Twins sorted out in spring training, except that the rotation, so far, has been above par. Us arm chair general managers and field managers can second guess everything. The Twins DO have hopes of being in contention and winning it all (every team markets that). But they are still rebuilding and they have a horrible time cutting loose salary. If anything, below average play will make them more likely to move Suzuki, Plouffe, rearrange the bullpen, and field offers for rotation guys who are pitching their heart out whlie the offense falters for some reason unheard of in the annals of Twins history.

Well he's a corner outfielder or DH. We have Arcia and Park at DH. We have Sano and Arcia in RF. We have Rosario in LF. He could bump Sano down to the minors, or force the Twins to waive Arcia (and, yes, someone will claim Arcia...at the worst that team can send him to the minors). Buxton could go down and Rosario and later Santana could play center. Kepler can go down, but then we have a lot of outfielders needing playing time. But the big question is 40-man. I doubt Santana is a 60-day DL. Maybe Perkins could be shutdown for 60-days. Otherwise, you have Melotakis, Chargolis,m Rosario and Landa. Any one of those could be cut, but I'm sure some team would find a place for them on their 40-man, for now. You have O'Rourke and Meyer. Meyer is still a valuable chip. O'Rourke could probably pass thru waievrs and remain with the Twins. You have Pat Dean. He pitched well, is a lefty (potential abckend starter) and I would think someone might grab him. Remember, any guy grabbed could be waived by the grabbing team and possibly not claimed again. Of course there is Kennys Vargas, a first baseman for a team that doesn't really need that depth today (Plouffe AND Kepler could play first, not to mention Park, and maybe Sano). Vargas could easily not be claimed, unless some team thinks he is better than the bench bat they have already backing up first. O'Rourke could be sneaked thru. Vargas and Dean might not be claimed. That's it. Three guys that the Twins have to work around on the 40-man, period. Those three (along with Nunez) may not play into the immediate plans for the Twins come 2017 (as I;m sure Murphy will not). Plus is Hicks on the 40-man. I thought not. And if he isn't, then we need a player to rotate out if we ever need that second backstop.

So who do we replace and how. Gamble #1 was Park. He is a swinger. He hits for power once he figures everything out. Remember, ALL the ballparks (including Target Field) are totally new to this guy. But our alternatives were three: Vargas, Arcia and Sano. Out of the three, Vargas has experience. Arcia does too, but he's a free swinger. Sano need to work extra hard to keep the league from adjusting to him and his faults. The infield. Mauer is back. But do you replace Dozier with Polanco, who might be able to be groomed to put the ball in play and show some speed. dozier does have speed. he does have power. He does strikeout. Escobar hs been a revelation. Why is he hitting 7th. Of course, would we rather have one guy stranded in an ainning than have him and Mauer bat together and have two stranded. Yes, we could replace Plouffe at third with Sano. Pretty much a swap out on strikeouts. Sano ahs potential, but still learning. We know what Plouffe does, and he does it well, when he does it. But then that would've left us with Arcia and Vargas at DH. So we aren't improving anything. Rosario is not know as the walk king. Buxton is still oevrmatched. Kepler needs more time in AAA. So we replace two of these guys with Quentin or Wheeler and Mastro. Suddenly we maybe have two guys who still strikeout, but maybe not as much. Mastro could maybe humpstart some things with his slap happy put the ball in play and ability to move from base-to-base. But the two discarded spring training choices were coming off of seasons largely sitting. So, would we be betetr of replacing Dozier with Polanco, Buxton with Mastro, Plouffe with Sano, Sano with Quentin, and Park with Vargas/Arcia? Or is it more a simple matter of lineup construction. And working harder with the guys to take more pitches, and maybe try a few different things rather than just swing and miss at the ball. We could field a line-up of pitchers to do that. I am even more interested in what opposing teams are telling themselves as they look at the Twins. "Just throw strikes right away...these guys can't afford to watch the ball go by and if they do, then we get ahead." Something is not right on the field. You have the cage. You have batting practice. You have Brunansky, Hernandez, Vavra. You have Molitor. You can call in Carew and Kelly and Hunter and Hrbek and Oliva. You can drag Gladden down from the booth. There is no shortage of advice of people who can work with these guys. Heck, you even have Smalley and Laudner lounging around. Park happened. He can add something to the mix that maybe is missing. The other pieces are still works in progress. We have a couple that may be replaceable overtime (Plouffe and maybe Dozier), but I do want Buxton, Arcia, Rosario, Sano, and then Polanco, Kepler, Gordon (and wait until we see Walker swinging away up here) rather than Mastro, other guys looking for a job, the return of Lew Ford, whatever. It is a rare rookie that steps up to the plate and does do everything right. And then Twins have a crop of them. It is frustrating. It is a learning experience. It is almost jokingly funny to be 0-8 with a ton of strikeouts and we can still say "the pitching has been great except for some bullpen blips." As a fan, I want to be in the clubhouse and hearing the plan, but that is totally unnecessary. What goes on behind-the-scenes is between the management, staff and players. They are trying their darndest to figure it out. In every game, someone ahs to lose (look at the LOOKOUTS, not having the best start either). When they do figure it out, and if they have the time, I hope Molitor and Company do share their insights...if they have the time. Just know, folks, it really can't get much worse.

Berrios might sneak in if the Twins DL someone for 60-days. But the 40-man roster is pretty full. Yes, I expect that the Twins will see Pat Dean, before they ever see Logan Darnell again. Berrios MIGHT get a September callup, or the Twins hold off and worry about adding him next season, depending on how the season goes. There's l;ots of names that need a 40-man space...Burdi, Reed to name a couple. So, new people getting a cup of coffee...Rogers, Dean, Walker, Chargolis, Melotakis, Hicks and maybe one of the guys like Tovar will get thrown a bone. If the Twins do tank, and no one wants some bodies (i.e. Fien) do the Twins just jettison the guys? If the Twins do tank, what kind of return do you want for people like Suzuki, Nolasco, Nunez? As the team stands right now, there are probably only TWO names that could be deep-sixed comfortably from the 40-man. And we need one of those spots in case a catcher goes down and we need to add a body for a backstop. At season's end, maybe 4-5 names are cuttable...and will have to be as the Twins will have that many NEW prospects that need protection. The Twins are getting younger, folks. And we do need to see these guys, too, to see if they are worth protecting/keeping...or we have a bunch of young bodies running around the field proving themselves in 2017...and maybe those guys won't strikeout so much.

They are still putting a competitive team on the field. But still rebuilding (othersise, we'd have seen Quinton and Wheeler up here, and a vet bullpen guy signed). By 2018 our rotation will be really young. When we move on from our catcher and a couple of bullpen arms, we are really young. The only old guys will be Perk and Mauer. Unlikely to still see Nunez and Plouffe here in 2017. Decisions will be made this season. If we continue to develop players and have some placesetters, which could make next season a true rebuilding year. Remember, all these young arms won't necessarily get called up this year or start the 2017 seasons. They all will (probably) start the 2018 season. Even if the Twins do compete this year (in what is supposed to be a tight division) does anyone see them trading real prospects for vets or rentals? Yes, there are a few prospects that won't be able to be 40-manned come next offseason, and the Twins have to trade from areas of dept (bullpen arms and shortstop for example) if they want an aging veteran...but still don't see it. We still have 155 games to go.

As Tony LaRussa would say, the closer is the only guy called on the carpet because he "blows a save". Other batters miss pitches. Fielders make errors. But most every game a closer enters is on-the-line and he either gets the outs or doesn't, and he gets a BIG CHECK MARK when he doesn't. Hey, anyone. If given $10 or so million, what car would YOU go out and buy!

Few of us expected the Twins to have the record they had last season. Considering how some of the prospects fared in the minors, 2016 would also be a rebuilding year although management will say differently (hey, they DO want to put butts in the stands.). How the bullpen was addressed? Where, It was still done on the hope that continuing players will produce and bandaids could be supplied, as they wait for the next crop of talent to emerge and push for roster spots this season and definitely next. Maybe it will happen. If the prospects do push and pan out, we will have the speed and the Ks. The starters have pitched their hearts out the first time thru. It is the batters that aren't doping their job. If the Twins score 4 runs or more, they would probably win, minus a fielding mistake or a tate pitch (or that dreaded extra-inning lead-off walk by May followed by...whaaaaaat). Yes, the Twins could've purchased a $30 million dollar additional bullpen. Would they have still rid themselves of Jepson, or Fien, or demoted Perkins to setup? Highly unlikely on any of those fronts (although I voted for Casey being non-tendered and resigned on the cheaper, if resigned). Still 155 more games. You can't possibly lose them all.

The secret is to score runs. The starters have, overall, kept the team in the game. You do have to move baserunners, not strand them by swinging. If anything, is it time to work on line-up construction. Get Escobar that potentially fifth at bat rather than batting down in the order for now. Shake up the 3-4-5 spots some. Are the Twins just swinging at too many ball fours. or is the other team actually throwing strikes?

There is always magic happening when a team opens at home. We forget what they did on the road...or at least for a moment. Menus in hand, we search out the newest of foods advertised. Or maybe we just go with the old standard. It is nigh impossible not to see someone you know and you stand around and share thoughts on ALL players and the new season. Opening Day! The Grass is Green, even if there is snow in the air! The Photos are Brand New on the Super Scoreboard! You stand and clap and cheer as each player is introduced. And as you sit and watch the game, you have memories of all those other opening days you experienced. Here's a fond memory for our very own Seth! His famous scoreboard appearance! Target Field!

Hey, A.J. Achter got the call from the Blue Jays!

And, hey, we haven't seen Tonkin and Perkins yet! On the plus side, except for all the base-on-balls, the rotation (or at least two-thirds) is what we expected.