Rosterman

Just go with the best 25 and move on from those questionable. Because? There is still more coming up behind these guys.

The Twins had a lot of fun last season, having control of more game tickets to sell than what showed up on StubHub due to the decrease in season ticket sales combined with a winning club. They managed to continue the season ticket package game throughout the season, but they really didn't have to cut price on any tickets. They have added sections with a tad higher ticket prices. They play the "game" game ticket jack-up very well, too, with more premium games than ever. I am really interested in seeing the advertising campaign (sans Torii) this season. They seem happy to have the majority of season ticket returns hold and maybe a few more added. I imagine they are counting on a strong start to cause some more mini packages to sell, and if the team can play as last year (remember, the division might be tight, but if the Twins can hold at .500 they will draw fans) they will have decent walk-up sales. Looking at the Big Minnesota picture, unlike the first couple of seasons in Target where the tickets mostly available were unused season tickets, an outstate fan can now take a chance and just come on game day and get a seat, albeit at the price the Twins wish to sell. Depending on what you feel a baseball game is worth, you can get into Target Field at a decent price and walk about. You can check out the family section if you can avoid drinking beer. You can still find $5 parking within walking distance. You can eat for less than $20 a head. Look at the price of concerts, live theater, and even recliner seats and a couple of drinks in a movie theater and the Twins outdoors is a fun and adequate cost experience at $32.00 a head plus extras.

I was surprised the Astros didn't make a play. Anywhere where he could play first base and also be a designated hitter would work well for him, I would imagine. It almost seems too late. Of course, if he lived in Minnesota, the Saints would sign him.

It's a tough call. You are faced with free agency walkouts. You advance players (Liam Hendricks) before their time. You shuffle players around, fight injuries, make bad longterm and short-term signings. You have to always look at the competitive balance first within your division, and go from there. You have to spend money at the right times. You have to eventually put butts in the seats. The Twins did win TWO World Series. They had 1965, a nice string at the end/beginning of that decade, a great run in the new century. Other teams may wish that they did so well, jsut like the Twins may wish they had the budgets of other teams NOT doing so well. It's that magical moment when the players coming up jell with the players you sign. They ALL don't leave at the same time for bigger paychecks. And maybe you do some shrewd Billy Beane moves. Every team has turnover. Every team has failed prospects. Every team has bad signings. Every team gets injuries. From my arm chair, it is really a tough tough job.

We also have to admit that the 2015 season, we wanted the Twins to improve. Few expected them to be in the hunt to the final weekend. They did improve, just a tad better than the best we hoped for...most people were hoping they would approach, say, 75 wins. The call is still out on Santana. We can't do anything but cut Nolasco, so we need to give him one more look. Hughes, most feel, shouldn't have been extended. Now that he has, Ryan should be willing to trade him if he shows drastic improvement over 2015. The reason for trading Plouffe, future cost. He is still worth his salary this season (we hope). But is he a $10 million player? Could he have been packaged with another Twin of some value (Kyle Gibson, perhaps) with a bigger return from another club. I don't like reading that Sano MIGHT NOT get time at third base, as Plouffe is still a tradeable asset during mid-season, and would hope that Sano gets some time there (which is why I would have rather seen the reverse, start Plouffe in the outfield if need be and Sano at third and go from there, if we are keeping him). If something happens to Plouffe I don't want to see Nunez or any of the infielders signed for AAA playing there fulltime, of even a switch of Escobar so we can see more of Polanco. Yes, you do buy a top-flight free agent if you are in a position to win the pennant and move onto the World Series? Are the Twins there yet? No. They are still thinking about their rebuilding blocks, staying competitive to keep the fans coming, and playing for 2017 and beyond. Maybe next off-season they will make a major splash as well as potentially rid themselves of some excess payroll. But even then, the guys coming up this year will have to prove themselves again in 2017 that -- good or bad -- what they did this season was not a fluke.

Can we or should we upgrade Escobar? He currently fits well in the infield, and produces, possibly, as well as Ploanco or any of the future prospects (Javier and Gordon) might. He has shown some punch, which puts him above a 1-4 slick-fleldling middle man. He fills in nicely his bottom of the order spot. Going into spring training, you could say the Twins weakest position is up the middle, per say: catcher, shortstop and centerfield. Murphy has a chance to upgrade catching and we are all excited about Buxton. Escobar has shown consistency, moreso than Santana, who will be given a chance to step in if Escobar faulters. We have to hope that Rosario doesn't not become Santana 2.0. What do we want at shortstop? Less errors? More speed? Bigger bat? Escobar played pretty solid ball in each of the past two seasons. He's still young. At worse, he will spend the next decade being a super sub. At best, he might hold down the starting job into the 2018 season.

There is a log jam happening in the outfield. Of course, Kepler could be groomed as a first baseman. Walker will need someplace to play. Who knows the longterm needs of Rosario. If Arcia shines, then we have a lot of trouble. Of course, anyone can be flipped (as the Twins have shown with their centerfield candidates of late.) I'm thinking the Twins will still play wait and see on Sano at third. If there WAS no desire to have Sano play third, then this might've been the time to sign up Plouffe for 3 years with an option. Right now, if I was Plouffe, I would be more than happy with whatever arbitration will bring next season if the Twins are forced to keep him. If Sano is NOT the third baseman of the future, then barring a trade for a third bagger, the Twins will be forced to keep Plouffe, unless.... There is someone on the 2016 off-season scrap heap. But doubtful. Man, the twins 1B/DH/corner outfield situation is getting worse worse worse.

The two areas to spend money this off-season were: Catcher and Bullpen. We got a catcher in trade and, frankly, I wouldn't pay any of the asking free agent salaries, and didn't see the need to trade for LuCroy. Because he didn't move Plouffe, there wasn't that much money in the coffers. Surely enough for a front-line bullpen guy if you wanted to go $5-6 or more million plus an extended contract. The way things look, Ryan is taking a BIG gamble on Abad, and there are hopes that ny number of the five extra guys on the 40-man and the half-dozen guys on the fringe in the minors will fill the 1-2 remaining spots at the beginning of the season, mid-season for changes, or get a shot in the late season and the Twins will be set for 2017. We have too many starters. Unless some salary can be shed, we have what we have. Yes, I, too, would rather see one high-priced surething (is there a surething) than three guys eating up money and giving us a 15-12 4.00 season. I can live with one of the three doing that. But I want a stopper, a 20-game winner. Yes, I have hopes that the Twins might have a rotation that will put up close to 200 innings across the board, which would be a relief to the bullpen. That could happen once the main four are in place. We really have three main ones. But hoping Nolasco will surprise us, or Duffey will pitch fullout for 35 starts, and I don't know where Milone will fit in, but between him and Berrios and May and someone else, we have depth. I think what happened was that ALL the Twins transactions happened too early in the Hot Stove season, the 40-man roster filled up pretty fast (although we can argue on a few names, but, hey, we need a couple of names to walk if something does happen in spring training). The core is there. It keeps us "in the hunt" in the Central Division where the Twins MAY BE the weakest team, but not by much. Have to see how the lineup playsout against the East and the West.

If you can say anything positive, then don't say anything good.

Sometimes it is so amazing how much turnover there is in rosters when you look three, five years out. And how many guys do remain in the minor league system for any length of time.

Your typical team has space for one (maybe two) franchise players. Mauer has one of the spots. The Twins are willing to spend 55% of revenue on payroll,which is a joke. What do you do with the other 45%...and how much of ANY profit the Twins made the apst few years went to buy down their investment in the stadium (which more than doubled their worth) and whose pocket did it go into (do owners make as much, say, as commissioners in their paychecks?). You can invest in free agents. The Twins did the last couple of seasons. Wisely? Who knows. But I doubt that any of the top-flight names were busting down the door to get a Twins offer, which has long been a problem. Even with the worthwhile signing of Josh WIllingham, in the past, Michael Cuddyer managed to still get a much higher paycheck in what had become a diminishing market for outfield talent. Go figure. You have to take chances on Payroll. You have to invest wisely. That is hard when a player gets suspended or injured (look at the rotation). In the past, how could you compete against a team like, say, The Yankees, who are willing to have $30-40 million sitting on the disabled list or in lost contracts each year. The Twins seem to go into major turmoil when they lose one guy, be it Mauer, Nathan, Santana or what. It is tough running a major league team. You don't know how the prospects will pan out. You can be Oakland and flip your roster 40-50% each season, running a revolving door between vets and promise. You can argue the actually need to do a longterm expensive contract (Mauer) and cringe when you hear what a Trout or others may be offered in the future (was St. Louis wise to let Pujols walk). At what point to you overpay a Sano and hope he stays reasonable, or you let him become someone else's worry. We just don't really know how to follow the money in this sport. What really goes where (draft picks, international signings, minor league operations) and what ownership takes for their pockets or reinvestment in stadium bricks. Players make the most of it and demand whatever they can get for their services, and everytime someone gets a big contract, it makes it harder to sign certain levels of players, and leaves many others out in the cold as "not worth it." The Twins always seemed happy to put a competitive team on the field, to hopefully draw the fans and aim towards the playoffs. Is a competitive team one that plays slightly above .500 (like last year's team) or comes in close to a spot in the post season (also last year's team). The assumption is that EVERY team does WANT to be competitive. (We might see it in the Central in 2016 where f-8 games MIGHT separate the first team from the last). Fantasy baseball began when us common folks wanted to see what kind of team we could put together given x-amount of dollars. We all know how that game works...especially when each year you get to spend for the now, not the hereafter.

The arms are there for a bullpen. Is it the best bullpen possible? Possibly not. But there are enough arms that the Twins will be able to run a regular shuttle service between Minnesota and New York.

I am still a member of the Alex Wimmers fan club!

At this point, he is being passed on the prospect starting scale by Gonsalves, Jay and ever Stewart. He might be able to hang onto a longman position. The good news is that if the Twins can develop him as a reliever he will be a fairly cheap addition to the bullpen for the next 3-5 years. Does he have closer potential, that is a question.

The anatomy of a trade. Whew! Always wondered about Brian Buchanan (who. I believe, is coaching in the Royals system). He had his chances, but... I truly thought Oliveros would make the team in 2015. But even after missing out in spring training, he went down and out. Neagle and Erickson, well maybe not Erickson, were interesting losses...one due to contract, the other due to the need for a vet presence. All from a guy named Chuck!

Yeah, this is a tough one. We aren't getting many dingers from the catching spot, which made Mauer so valuable as a catcher...he could hit 10-12 dingers, plus the high average. That's weakness number one, now transfered to 1B, which becomes weakness #2, except that he is the Twins leader in getting and it doesn't matter how you egt a guy home sometimes, as long as he comes home. Dozier hits for good power at second base, yet do we need to drop him down in the order and would he regress coming up with two outs, say, rather than leading off. Escobar was a surprise with his power last season. is power more important than putting the ball in play is always the question. Sano at third would supply more punch and even a betetr average than Plouffe, but would Arcia in right do better than the current play places of Sano and Plouffe, that is the question. If you want home runs, give us a FULL season of Arcia and let's see what happens. Buxton will just have to hit and it may seem like the braintrust is playing him like Go-Go Gomez and making him use his bat and speed to get and move around bases. He will become a power-hitting centerfielder at some point. Rosario is really an enigma. He hits doubles and triples to go with his homers. He hits for a decent, not spectacular average. Unless he does show a gain in average and punch this season, he will be on the bubble. On the bench, Nunez has some power, as does Murphy. Santana, playing parttime and as a reserve? Well, let's say that if he starts the year in centerfield, he will hit more home runs than Buxton would in 2016. The Twins have the chance to get 30-35+ from Sano and Park, although both are still unproven for the long haul. They have a slugger in Arcia who needs playing time. They have no power at first or catcher...when you think that Escobar could hit more diners, or an equal amount of dingers for the pair combined. Sigh. What matters more is actually getting the runners home at some point, and putting yourself in a position to also score a run./

He did good. He could hold his own as a utility guy, but never let him block a budding prospect, please. Like Hocking, I hope he stays in baseball at some point as a coach.

They also signed Lester Oliveros, who I would hope might finally get a Big Shot at the major leagues, but perhaps this wasn't the organization to do so in now.

The bullpen will be made up of a lot of 40-man decisions. Will Tonkin be optioned out. Does someone start the season on the 60-day disabled list. Who are the names in limbo of losing their 40-man spot if a minor league free agent ahs to be added. Looks like Kennys Vargas will stay in the organization, until the Twins get a read on Park and Mauer with sunglasses, at least. Sadly, there's a lot of AAAA guys on the Rochester roster whose chances are slim=to=none of ever making the Twins roster, or so one might hope. Better Kepler, Polanco and guys in your system get a chance. But won't put it past the Twins to get another looksee at Mastro or Benson if Buxton flops in spring training and someone in the outfield ends up on the dl. If Santana is the starting centerfielder guy.who WILL win the open bench job?

I see quite a few names that the Twins have tire kicked in the past, or who are actually former Twins. Beimel, Parmelee, Lohse, Delmon Young besides the obvious). Any other time but now, it would've been nice to return Justin Morneau, but the DH is overcrowded and we have another player with concussion issues already at first. Sign. It will be interesting to see the contract of most of these 60, as at least 50 of them aren't set to hang up their spikes, yet. But are there two rosters spots remaining on all major league rosters, elt alone AAA rosters?

It also explains why the Twins didn't encourage Kennys Vargas to take the foreign job. The Twins do need some depth at first base for the coming year just in case. They now have Park. They could always shift Plouffe. Longterm, they could think of Sano. Or Kepler could be the first base guy of the future (will be interesting to see who plays where at Rochester this season).

I seem to remember reading that in the old days Calvin Griffith was pretty liberal in calling up someone on the roster to give them that additional service time to get a pension in the end (as well as other major league teams). Big Question: Maybe minor league ballplayers need to be unionized. But then, would we just see the programs cut and colleges become the feeding zone exclusively for players who aren't high school phenoms?

Yes, but you are getting paid to PLAY BASEBALL, to see if you and the sport can agree with each other. Yes IT IS PEANUTS. Imagine what the pay is in the Indy Leagues. I'm an old theatre person, I put my time in at summer stock where basically got room/board, or at short-term theater jobs (the killer is maintaining an apartment at home or subletting for 2-3 months). It's part of the process. Everyone, think back to where you were as an 18-year-old or a 21-year-old and what you would choose to do if you had an opportunity to do something for love (and a future you like) or just to take a job and go forth and locked into whatever for life.

There is no reason to track controlled minor league players. They make squat for the first few years, which is where some sort of bonus money comes in handy. The downside is that they get paid for when they play. They have to find a way to live and support themselves in the off-season. During the season, they can keep their expenses down (group roomate, in the low levels live in homes. They egt some sort of food at the clubhouse and some meal money on the road. Considering all that you have to do in that time is show up, play ball, work out and such...if you are doing that, you don't have a lot of time for otehr things. If married, have family, and have to keep a household going, that is a different story. Again, you do get a signing bonus. How it is spent will see you thru the first couple of years. The average life of the majority of guys signed in the minor league draft is probably 2-3 years. By that time, you have hopefully risen to a higere level of play (thus a hughly monthly salary). But, yes, it can be as little as $1,200-1,500 a month in the way low minors and instructional league (for months played) and as high as $3-5,000 a month in the upper levels. When you are added to the 40-man, you get a good pay boost. When you become a minor league free agent and have put in the time, you get a pay boost. Making $50,000 a season is not unlikely. BUT the teams still have to work within a payroll. Of course, the dream is to make the big leagues where you can get that big money, like $10,000 grand -- every week. Yes, you have dues and taxes and clubhouse fees and such. But pretty much everything is supplied including food, and you can probably afford to rent a hotel room every day you are at a homestand (Dustan Mohr did this). I'm not saying it is right, but a lot of other professions (the arts, for example) have low-paying frontend jobs weeding out the wannabees and such. You do have to have the drive to sit it out. Yes, it can be pretty hardline (like being a camp counselor, for example) and you don't want to be a career minor league guy...or maybe you do because if you can find a job you can get paid. It's what you do in the offseason that is a tell. Remember, it was not so long ago (well, in my lifetime) that baseball players HAD to work, the majorty, in some non-athletic job during the offseason. And though they did get paid better than, say, my dad, they had short careers, or even if they had a decent bench career, still weren't totally rich and what was the skill set for finding a job out of baseball if you started right out of high school. If you got an education, you could coach. Otherwise, factory, open your own small business. Every year the Twins employ some 175 players in their entire system. They add 50 a year, subtract 50 a year at some level. Some barely make it out of the instructional league. How many stay in for 6-7 years? How many make the majors (and then, BIG MONEY). How many of the Big Money is just a Cup of Coffee?

In 1966 the Twins signed the first player to come over this way and play professional baseball from South Africa, Dave Lowery. He pitched decently as a starter for A ball, but returned to South Africa where he was active in their baseball program for decades. http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=lowery001dav