Rosterman

I hope they stretch May out as a starter in spring training just in case. Having him pitch 3-4 innings as spring rounds down. Otherwise, they get to use that "not stretched out" excuse again. I hate to see May become the Swarzak replacement in the pen, and if he stays in relief he will become too expensive for the Twins UNLESS he can become a bonifide closer.

Actually, the Twins starters did do pretty well last year and there is nothing that says most can't get us into the 7th. Duensing and Cotts are still available. The Twins could also take a flyer on Delmon Young as that 4th outfielder. Joe Nathan?

At this point in time, both Arcia and Santana are pretty much locks to make the team and Santana WILL start in centerfield if Buxton doesn't make the initial cut out of spring training. Arcia's bat is just too powerful to let him walk without giving him a chance to show some more stuff. At worst, he sits on the bench. At best, he gets a starting job if Sano, Rosario, Mauer or Park go down. Arcia would be grabbed by someone if he became available. Santana would have to boot the ball and hit the Mendoza line in spring training to be sent out. His battle, ultimately, could be with Nunez period if Buxton has a hot spring. Tonkin is in that position that this is his last chance with the Twins. He has to produce. The Twins, at the very least, will need a 40-man roster spot for a lefty and unless they DH someone, the two major candidates are Tonkin and Hicks. (Which also brings up the cause for Santana staying...they would need a 40-man spot to add Quentin, Benson, Mastro or Sweeney). Of course, Dean, O'Rourke, Rogers and Strong could also be 40-man casualities. Tonkin, if removed, would pretty much be done as a Twin, probably. Unless he blows people away in spring training (then why wouldn't the Twins keep him), he will be passed by many others in the organizational chart. Even now, he has to beat out Pressly and Graham and the spring training invitees beyond Abad. The Twins still could move Plouffe, putting Sano back at third, Acia in right etc. etc. etc. And at some point, we will hopefully get a good long look at Kepler in the mix. And we all will be watching Park. Will he be the DH out of the chute. Does he need seasoning, and will that happen, then, by sitting on the bench and subbing for Mauer at first and rotating, perhaps, with Arcia as a DH. The Twins roster is pretty darn set. There is still dead weight in the 40-man (Nolasco NEEDS to rebound). More, if you look at the at least six names I mentioned above that could join the three out-of-options.

I can't believe that he is still out there as a free agent.

Baseball, sadly, is not football.

We want to see Sano in the field. But if he can be the Twins Big Papi, things will happen. Regarding starters, the guys need to stay healthy and throw close to 200 innings and keep us in the game (4 runs or less) and then the bullpen needs to be five solid arms who pitch near perfect, holding leads. They need to have strikeout and ground-ball specialists. Plus, it will be interesting to see if Gordon and Kepler become positive pieces. Of course, the big piece in the next 3 seasons is still Joe Mauer. The team does revolve around him and where he bats and how he plays.

I really have no problem with Santana, Hughes and Gibson. I also have no problem if Nolasco rebounds and if we stick Milone into the mess. Knowing that we have May and Duffey as backup and Berrios in the wings is a godsend. But we have no real stopper. Each of those starters will require the Twins to score a minimum of three runs a game to win the game, if not 4. I would expect that each of the starters who make the rotation will be able to get the Twins comfortably into the 7th inning if not thru that inning. That will mean less reliance on a bullpen that still remains up in the air if you need someone for more than two innings consistently. I am comfortable with Perkins as closer and Jepsen as an alternative. I like the idea of Jepsen and Abad as 8th inning guys. I can see Fien fitting in nicely to give us three eight inning guys. I liked Pressly. But I truly can't wait for Burdi, Reed and hope that Milwauke passes on Zack Jones.

Being on the 40-man is a plus. If he would start the season in the bigs, he would be new blood and it would take a little while for teams to figure him out. But picture him being on a fast-track callup if Abad or Rogers or O'Rourke falters. Being on the 40-man is a BIG plus. No movement necessary and you are enough of a prospect to keep your space.

Polanco will pretty much have to make the roster full-time as a utility guy in 2017, unless he can be a placesetter at short (depending on Escobar's season). He could push Dozier to a trade, if the Twins can compensate for Brian's bat in other ways and depending on who the shortstop of the future is with the Twins (is Gordon still two seasons away). The nice thing is that if Dozier, Escobar go down at all in 2016, Polanco will get more fulltime play, above and beyond his couple of at-bats from previous seasons, or I hope he does. The Twins need to put "the future" into the lineup when injuries happen, rather than the wisened old utility guy who may/may not contribute in the future.

There's so many factors that teams take into play when they position a player in the majors. Yes, Plouffe was too big to be a shortstop, yet Mauer was, at one time, too big to be a catcher. At second and short you worry about the pivot and accuracy of the throw. Your strength in the outfield is coverage and arm, be it straight thru or on target to a cut-off guy. And then you have to mesh well with the other guys on the field. The gems are those utility guys who CAN play second, short AND third.

The Twins are in that fine-line position of going with prospects now or trying to win now. They have a lot of prospects, but you don't know what they bring to the table unless they can actually play in the major leagues. Yes, the Twins were competitive last season, although the 2nd place finish doesn't totally match with the slightly above .500 season. It is a hard job putting together a baseball team. You want some predictability (i.e. Stauffer) and you fear taking chances with guys. Some succeed like Boyer, but he's not flashy enough and heaven only knows what would happen if you threw him out there again as a mainstay for a second season. Again, a general manager is a TOUGH job. You are working within the 40-man roster guidelines. You are stocking depth. You can't plan for injuries. Players have different learning curves (who would've thunk Rosario would out-perform Buxton, for then). The division appears stronger overall in 2016 and ALL the teams pretty close with probably 5-7 games separating the top from the bottom, depending on play against other divisions. Looking forward to spring training this year and the season opener!

We do have the arms to start the season and enough retreads and prospects to play some musical chairs up-and-down. The only problem is 40-man roster management, adding guys that aren't on by replacing who on the roster. The 40-man is, in reality, pretty tight unless the Twins make some calls on folks like Nunez and Noalsco, or Vargas and Arcia. What I find telling is the non-siging, so far, of Cotts and Duensing. Not to mention Boyer without a home. Plus the whereabouts of old names like Swarzak and Thielbar and Deduno. I see Kansas City grabbed Oliveros and his fastball. I could agree that the names out there to add were just too expensive, especially if looking beyond one year. They might be more predictable than arms in the minors. But either way, there is no guarantee that one will be competitive this year or not!

Only $750,000 payday if he makes the roster. Or maybe he injures himself in spring training before being designated for minor league camp (or released). Of course, we could open the season with Sano, Rosario, Mauer and Park on the DL, and now we know we are protected. I would assume Delmon Young is weighing other offers, which is why we grabbed Quentin. Now, if only they did this last week, I would've gone to TwinsFest for sure and paid cash for my season ticket package!

Right now, what is Ricky look for in baseball. He can sit back and collecta good salary for two years. He can pitch extremely well for the Twins in 2016, but that just means they might trade him somewhere not of his choosing. He could pitch extremely well the next two seasons if he wishes to stay in the game and make big money. If he doesn't produce, his baseball career,sadly, will be over. It's tough. Yes, he was injured in 2015, so we hope he goes forward (that he came back at season's end is a feather, so to speak, in his cap of wanting to be productive. The Twins decision will be where best to use his talents. Send im out every fifth day and see if they can get team value for him as a starter. Bury him and eat his contract in the back of the bullpen. Let him go and see if someone else gives him a chance. This is am important spring training for Rocky and also for the Twins. Do they go with their best (and future) 25 or do they continue to play the veteran, options and major-league roster time games.

Well, the Twins once traded a guy named Dougie Mientkieiwcz because someone named Justin Morneau needed a place to play. Besides the need to save on the cost of sewing names on uniforms, they also traded someone named A.J. Pierzynski (who is still catching) because Joe Mauer needed a place to play (and then Joe got hurt and our depth at that position ws exposed). Is Plouffe worth $7+ million in 2016. Will be be worth $11 million in 2017. Is he worth a multi-year contract (preferably for him 3 years) in the $30 million range. Those are the questions that will need answering if a team wants him from the Twins, and consideration given to what the return will be. Plouffe is now in one of those positions that he may be too expensive or not good enough...at least until he passes these arbitration years and becomes a $6-8 million journeyman or really pounds the ball and fools someone into a bigger and longer term contract. But for now, the Twins have no depth at third base. Better to keep Plouffe and if Plouffe goes down, you have Sano at third. And maybe you give Sano some time at third in the season to see if you do trust him at the corner. And, yes, a healthy Sano and Arcia playing their correct positions would be a godsend to the Twins. But that, and Santana in center field, is what spring training is all about.

Then WHO is on third base if Sano is anywhere but, Plouffe is gone, and I don't know is in the system? I would like to think Sano could hold the position for a season or three, until Travis Blankenhorn, perhaps, develops into the third baseman of the future.

Plouffe's contract this season is not the problem. It will be his contract next season. And any team trading for him has to take that into consideration. Will he be worth his 2017 dollars. If he is, then whomever owns him this season should be looking at wrapping him up in a 3-year deal with an option for a third. Yes, the marekt for a third baseman this of-season is slim. Plouffe will be a watchable commodity come spring training and thru the trade deadline. But, the Twins, they get some good deals (Willingham and Suzuki) but fail to move when the pot is hot, so to speak. Same can be said of Delmon Young. It's not that they don't move players that may still have peak seasons ahead (Revere, Span and now Hicks). But better looks need to be taken of bargains that can provide more for the future. Experienced players usually come abck to their aveage at some point. 48% of revenue. No one has ever fully explained this to me. When the Twins were a $100 million team, they spent $50+ million on payroll. Now that they take in upwards of $250 million, they spend around $120 million. That means they had $50 million for operations and such before. Now they have $120 million. Sure, they spend a bit more on draft picks (including international), but I don't see front office and stadium payroll increasing as much as, say, baseball players. One knows the business world is constantly in the battle that unionized employees always demand a certain percentage of an organizations expenditures, usually taking into costs of production. But I actually see a decrease in the number of ticket sellers since the Twins moved into Target Field, for example.

Yes, it starts to come down to 40-man roster moves. You MAY have someone go on the disabled list. You MAY trade someone out of spring training. You have to make choices on Arcia, Santana and others. I picture the Twins will add Abad. They may make a last minute play for Choate, but then they have to designate Hocks, or Strong or O'Rourke. Not many names to cut from the 40-man. Then it will be a simple matter of the arms that come north in the bullpen keeping their job or shuttling down to Rochester (and off the 40-man). Telling time for Pressly, Graham, Fien, Rogers, Tonkin. Of course, Pat Dean is a probable casualty. Who else can the Twins send away? Vargas? Nunez? So right now, it is a pretty full plate for the Twins, making a decision on the rotation and seeing if anyone can go from there, having too many names in the pen, 3 catchers but none overwhelming, decisions to be made on Vargas and Arcia short-term or long-term. I wouldn't sign any of the above with the current roster situation. I wish there were people knocking down the Minnesota door to trade for a piece of our not-so-good pie, but I don't see the Twins flipping anyone for anything but a mid-level prospect at best.

But where do we play Arcia?

I would say that Strong may go thru waivers again and the Twins will be able to outright him to AAA (or AA). Not sure what the future holds for Darnell. But this is a Fringe move, fer sure. But if BOTH are at Twinsfest, I'm buying my ticket tomorrow!

I doubt Milwaukee would trade Smith for Arcia even up, although those two are probably the key pieces in the trade. Yes, Milwaukee could use a catcher if they traded Lucroy, and Suzuki would be a short-term acquisition, although he would create problems, still, behind the plate. Nolasco is so unwantable right now. Milwaukee would rather have someone like Gibson, I'm sure. Cheap and cheap in the future and will play for another season or so. You would think Garza would've worked out his usefulness (shades of Noalsco) but at the moment, he may still have a better upside. But do the Twins still have to make an off-season trade? I think not. They have to go into spring training and see what they have and keep fingers crossed that someone, anyone on their team will increase in value because of (a) spring training play and/or ( an injury on anotehr team that forces them to make a decision to deal with the Twins.

A very good analysis and you can't ask for a more even division. A difference of five games won/lost can make a huge difference in this division. If someone gets off to a massive star out of spring training, they might be hard to catch. Any of the above teams that do want to win ahs to take care of the teams in their own division, first!

Again, another name you can argue about keeping on the 40-man and allowing pitcher Jones to be claimed. Yes, as a veteran he is still cheap. But would you rather give the limited role to Danny Santana, at least for now? Unlike Escobar, would playing Nunez at any of the infield positions be a possibility if you were forced to because of injury? If you don't see such a thing as happening, then you are best served with a Beresford or even a Bernier, and that isn't saying much, sadly. But the Twins did choose to offer arbitration to this guy instead of putting him in no-man's land of Duensing and Cotts and...Bernier...all of whom remain unclaimed for a job of any sorts yet in 2016.

Pretty safe list. Amazingly, ALL these guys should make the major leagues!

This is the year Kepler HAS to get some major Major League playing time. Next year will be his 4th on the 40-man (the Twins added him earlier than necessary because of the potential of someone grabbing him from the system). They need to evaluate him to see if he will stay in the system, possibly become tradebait, or what. It will be interesting to see how he works out. When you talk of him going into the outfield (with Buxton and Rosario), then that means Sano will go back to third, and at this point, please put Sano at third then and trade off Plouffe. There is also the possibility of first base, but Mauer creates a roadblock there. And if Park shows life, we are really blocked up in the DH/1B world. The hopes are that Arcia and Rosario show enough in 2016 to viable trade pieces. That would free up roster space. Remember, we also have Walker in the wings or could also patrol one of the corner spots. Spring Training will be fun to follow in 2016!