Rosterman

It just goes to show you that no matter how many millions you have for a high draft pick, there is more to playing majorleague ball than impressing people inhigh school or college.

I seem to remember when the Twins first inquired about Dave Winfield, the Yankees wanted Derek Parks, Jeff Bumgarner and another pitcher. The Twins didn't make the trade.

The Twins are salivating with the new ticket market. Considering they had roughly 18,000 tickets available via them for EVERY game once the season started (they are still offering season ticket plans), the demand for tickets is thin on StubHub (which is season ticket resales). The Twins are selling lots and lots of tickets for close to full price by themselves. It goes to show that if you win, people will come. So...they have to keep winning!

The starting rotation is there. Solid. Not like Charlie Morton giving up nine runs and not finishing the first inning in the Pirates game. But the bullpen. Who do we keep. Who do we never see again. Who do we send down for MAYBE anotehr chance at a later date. Who do we bring up. DO we bring up ROgers and give him a chance as the lefty. Do we bring up Oliveros. Or do we stick with Thielbar and Achter because they are on the 40-man. No one will claim Duensing. No one will claim Thompson, and I doubt that he would refuse an assignment to the minors. But both would probably be in limbo for 10 days if waived off the 40-man (and, please, why is Bernier still there). Plus, BRING UP A BAT. Perkins Fien/Boyer Pressly/Graham No lefty setup above. Doesn't send chills, but workable keepers for now. Rogers/Oliveros (see if Lester can throw heat consistently past big league bats) And for the heck of it, bring up Sano. A week or two or three. Let him get The Taste at DH and maybe a game or two at third.

Pelfrey has to help in this decision by pitching lights out thru that last week in july. If the Twins are going to get anything worthwhile for him, it will be a trade before the close of the trade deadline. Of coure, some wise club may pounce on the Twins early and take Pelfrey off the market, but highly doubt it. The Twins have a major investment in the guy from this and the past two seasons. They would like to egt something for him in the end that MAY pay off during the longer hall, even if it is another...Escobar...by chance. Pelfrey SHOULD not get a qualifying offer. Unless, of course, if he is lights out thru July, but then you still have a mont-and-a-half to make a qualifying offer TOO MUCH of a gamble. The best pitching chips the Twins have to tradde are May and Gibson. Teams will be asking about them. You could AFFORD to part with one of the other, too, if the price is right. In this case, the Twins hold the cards. There is no need to move either of them. Milone you can run thru waivers in August and trade off for a low level minor league guy if push comes to shove and he shows major league staying power. Problem is, he either has to go back to AAA to start or go to the bullpen. The prospect watch is such that Taylor Rogers is the big name, and a lefty that could be anoter Milone, but probably best being a bullpen arm. We all thought Meyer would be up this year. Doesn't look like it will happen. Berrios will leapfrog him, and although Berrios will tell everyone that he will break camp in the rotation, it probably won't happen until 2017. We have lotsof questions on prospect starters. But right now, looking at the minors, don't really see any of them cracking the rotation this season...do we? I see Berrios getting a one game callup at the most, or maybe a September bench rest if the Twins wish to put him on the 40-man, which is questionable.

Hey, Hicks started slow. Joe Benson just released by the Braves. Lew Ford could be woowed from the Long Island Ducks. Anyone know where Jason Tyner is? Seriously, everyday is a learning day for Buxton. The big decision happens when Hicks is ready to return.

Hey, that multi-tool sure thing JOE BENSON just got released from the Braves! Let's give him another chance!

Maybe he should shave the beard and sees what happens.

Dead arm. Disabled list for sure. Minor league rehab. Nolasco is out for a longer period of time, too. I guess you can never have too much starting pitching. We might see Taylor Rogers as a starter for the Twins yet, with Logan Darnell close behind! And now we got room on the roster to add Mark Hamburger! The last couple of seasons of back-of-the-dump-truck starters SHALL return!

As said, still have two more years of arbitration. The question is: Is Plouffe worth $9 million in 2017? Or can we sign him now for a 3-4 year reasonable deal and worry about finding places for Arcia, Sano and Vargas in the lineup, not to mention Walker and Kepler. And who is then the third baseman of 2918 or 2019...Blakenhorn by chance? Plouffe has value to the Twins, but how much value vs. what will someone offer in trade. You hate to let him walk at some point as a free agent, but you also must be rpepared for that final year arbitration salary.

Opens up another 40-man roster spot. Now if they could 60-day Nolaso, by chance. Wonder what the reasoning is behind keeping Bernier on the 40-man, too.

Pelfrey COULD be tradebait if he continues to produce. We have 16 games to worry about this. And also, where does Nolasco go. I see May in the bullpen. I see Milone also going there when Nolasco returns. We have to get rid of one pitcher anyways, probably Duensing at some point. Thompson and Tonkin are on the bubble and Tonkin can be optioned out, as can Presley. Its not the perfect solution for either guy. But I would think they would both, at this point, stay in the majors than go to the minors. Unless the Twins want Rogers in the bullpen and Milone in the minors just to keep getting the innings. See Berrios getting promoted to Red Wings once Santana comes to Target Field.

The Twins need to jettison 40-man fodder (Duensing, Schafer, Robinson, Bernier, Nunez for starters). They need to bring guys up and give them a taste and send them back don't IF they don't produce ina reasonable amount of time to come back up again if someone else doesn't produce. It is a team in which everyone is playing for a job. Kepler, Sano, Harrison should all see at bats. Walker, some catcher not on the 40-man, should get a shot. The bigger roadblocks are in pitching where a starting rotation alone will push some guys to the bullpen (May and Milone) and the Twins have to make real decision on the 2016 and beyond of Fien, Thompson, Thielbar and Pressly. Especially when they can dip into such names as Darnell, Rogers, Oliveros BEFORE the next group of Burdi, Jones, Stewart, Cederoth and Reed come into the picture. And Meyer is out there. Remember, it is NO SIN to have a starter start in the bullpen in the majors. Either other teams have been surprisingly bad, but the Twins have been surprisingly good. I always felt, looking at the Central Division coming into this season, that the teams might be a lot closer than one thinks, playing competitive games that are decided by an error, a strong pitcher for the day, or just getting that well-placed hit. No one was going to run away with the division, and so fart hat has been true (it can change when teams do address their weaknesses...successfully). But, yeah, cut Duensing and send down Vargas. Give Polanco and Sano a chance up here. When Hicks returns, decide who the 4th outfielder is going to be (temporary or not). If you change out all three, bring up Arcia for another look. Maybe add Garver or Turner to the 40-man and have him sit up here and get some cycles instead of Herrmann (who you can cut) or the return of Fyer. Even at their worst, I don't see ANYONE being as bad as anyone else (Mauer included) on the current 20-man roster, offensively, of course. And there is depth. Kepler, Walker, Hicks. Harrison, Polanco, Beresford...even Gordon. Please don't feel the need to bring up the further depth of Hanson, Bernier, Rodriguez, Ramirez or Paulino. They are the third string, if you really, truly need someone because someone fresh and news sucks bigtime!

Yes, we need to swamp a pitcher for a position player. Sano or Polanco? If both, then yes, send out Vargas again.Really make him hungry! What to do when we have to activate Schafer and Hicks (we all know what to do, of course). The catcher needs to be improved in more ways than just one. But we really don't have anyone in the system, do we....jeez. What to do with Joe. He's hurting us. EVERYONE is just in a Big Funk except Nunez and Dozier. We have all these guys in the minors: Arcia, Pinto, Santana. Is there a place for Kepler in this mix? The pitching, overall, has been a-ok, even the bullpen. The games a close. No one is doing anything really bad except in terms of strikeouts. But, again, back to the funk of years past where you get a guy on third with one out (or less) and can't get him home.

I questioned the Twins 40-manning Darnell, unless they were keeping him as a starting alternative. But that seems to have disappeared and there's nothing special about him to groom him longterm in the bullpen. I don't know why they felt the need to protect Wheeler, either. And NOT protect Gilmartin, who could still be offered back to the Twins (if not picked up by someone else) at some point. Rogers is not a longterm option as a starter. He can't get the righties out consistently enough. He will be passed by a half-dozen other pitchers by the time he would get a half-dozen MAYBE starts in the majors. But he could be a darkhorse bullpen candidate.

Remember, power arm Oliveros is in the minors, Zach Jones is opening eyes. Alex Meyer could come up as a reliever, too. That's not out of the realm of possibilities. We still have the mentioned Thielbar and Achter in the wings. The Twins should actually go down one bullpen arm and bring up some kind of bat. Looking at MLB Trade Rumors, lots of teams are looking for relievers, so the good will be had, the bad will just wander. But, yes, what happens when Santana comes back and Nolasco is healthy? Do we add Milone and May to the bullpen mix...for now?

Line-up construction has always been a Twins problem, and it starts with Mauer. Should he bat second, should he bat third. Right now, I'd bat him fifth. See if Buxton can lead off. We'll know right away if he is a free swinger or actually will take pitches. But watch the first three games where pitchers will try to stay ahead of him in the count to see if he THE REAL DEAL. I like Hunter at second. I would bat Dozier third. Plouffe is fine at cleanup. Mauer fifth. Vargas 6th, although that prevents people from pitching to Mauer. Would you rather see Suzuki or Escobar behind Mauer. Or Rosario. The end of the lie-up is a catch-all with no one really showing skills at being the guy to move the runner, hit the sacrifice fly, or taking a walk and working the other rotation.

NEW BRITAIN. As can see by this one example, Topps Pro-Debut cards, just issued, also didn't get the memo that the Twins ada changed http://www.ebay.com/itm/2015-Topps-Pro-Debut-Byron-Buxton-New-Britain-Rock-Cats-Card-50-/351414578394?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51d1f0ecdaAA franchises. Same for Rosario and Sano and Berrios cards/

Remember, Ervin Santana will be heading to Rochester this week to start games. So Oliveros was just a temporary stopgap (unless you'd rather see Darnell or Hamburger start).

He's still young and adjusting. Give him a bit more time.

It will be interesting to see if the Twins do a looksee at folks like Wheeler and Darnell again. There was a reason to add them or keep them. Baxendale could probably get thru the Rule 5. Watch the Twins give Rogers a look at some point when a 40-man spot opens up. He's one of those borderline guys. But if he continues to excel, you should package him with someone for someone. The Twins still have to figure out what to do with Oliveros and to a lesser extent Pryor, or lose both as minor league free agents. What role will Harrison play for the Twins, that is the question. If the Twins can trade any of Pelfrey, Milone, Duensing, Boyer or even Fien, they probably should. And if Nolasco comes back and continues to win he just might be tradable. There are some chips there, but do you move them for more prospects (creating 40-man roster decisions down the line) or get that missing piece (a catcher, a bat). You always wonder WHAT was the reasoning behind putting Wheeler on the roster, yet letting Gilmartin be exposed to the draft, and then grabbing Graham and adding Stauffer and keeping Duensing. No one says the job of a General Manager is easy, right? But the Twins SHOULD be looking to get value for anyone they can who WON'T be around next season. Now if only the players would play along.

I can live with Hicks hitting .250 or so if he can give us some power, show his speed, be that multi-tool player he was predicted to be, but still live with the shortcomings. Even keeping him as a fourth outfielder means he's a defensive replacement at best. But I wouldn't call upon him to pinch-hit when, say, the bases are loaded and there are two outs...at least not now. Right now he is younger and HAS more potential than, say, Robinson or Schafer or -- from the past -- Pridie, Repko, Mohr, Tyner and the host of others the Twins have given more than enough playing time to. But not much in the scheme of things. That he can pl;y center may be his only plus, otherwise we shall be happy with equal production from Walker or Kepler in the near future, who may both be the second-coming of Chris Parmelee for all we know. The bigger question is Arcia. Can he be fixed, motivated, molded into a semi-solid hitting outfield moving into a David Ortiz role in the future, or do you cut him loose and let some other organization see if they can do it, and then we cry about it for years to come.

Right now the Twins have too many starters and too many potential starters. They also have names like Baxendale and Wimmers, amongst others, that would be nice if they played themselves in prospects, but..... If the Twins aren't going to play Pinto, and they have another season of Suzuki, then catcher is one weak position not only in the short-term, but probably the longterm. Too bad the one guy who was giving us decent catching numbers looks like Scott Stahoviak or a weak hitting Mientkiewicz at first base. We don't need a shortstop. If you must, put Polanco in there early. Gordon is right behind him. We don't need outfielders, we jsut need them to be hungry enough to produce in the majors. We have Arcia. We have Kepler. We have Walker. We even have names like Ortiz and even Reynaldo Rodriguez (who can't be any worse than Schafer or Robinson and also can play some first). The Twins have a host of bullpenners to run thru the team. Pull the plug sooner rather than later. We have already blown nearly $5 on two guys (Stauffer and Duensing). We don't need a salary heavy guy. We have Achter, Oliveros, Darnell, and names like Zack Jones, Burdi, Reed not far behind. Why buy some others team hot dog for some worthwhile prospects when we can always advance a Hamburger. Yes, it would be nice to have that outfielder who could play another position (Cuddyer) and also DH. But we have Hunter, who might be a better DH in the end, and some youngsters to boot. Okay, question: who in our top 40 prospects are highly expendable...not finding a place to start let alone play in the organization and still have the potential to possibly be a major league players for another team. Names anyone?

The pitching COULD remain solid. We have Ervin Santana coming in. And even Gibson, when shelled, can pitch deep into games. It's a horriblel ine-up to construct. Somedays it is working well. The Royals series showed every mistake possible. You can't predict who might hit a homer, go forextra bases, move runners. You just hope the other team makes more mistakes and you can outpitch them in the end.

Figure out a way that you don't lose a series to a last place team...ever. And figure out how you are going to be competitive in your division against the Royals and Tigers, for starters. It is a gamble to start too many rookies of sophomore players, especially when you are already being somewhat competitive on the field and it is working overall. But you have to look at the roles ALL players are playing and can anyone do it better. WHy do we need Duensing to get one out...any guy in the minors can do that. Stauffer is not making his pay for the team at all. Why are you afraad to use Nunez or Herrmann and if you truly are, can you find better guys to take their place, be it Fryer or Beresford or even Bernier (yes, that is stretching it). Figure out the outfield. Go back to Hicks and Rosario playing the Robinson and Schafer roles. A perfect example of why do you have guys around who won't be here next year. Arcia, for any of his faults, offers more than the two AAAA guys and Rosario and Hicks are playing equally as well. Yes, you have 40-man questions. You can't just bring up Buxton without removing someone (not that you can't remove someone). aI would've voted for the two0day callup to be Sano. Let him see the meal spread at the major league level and absorb what major league pitching is like for a couple of days and then send him abck down and see what makes him hungry! Polanco either comes up for an extended time or not. But that move alone is showing that Danny Santana has suddenly become a non-prospect. So another past hot commodity that will prove to be worthless.