Rosterman

Will centerfield have an AAA platoon while the prospect goes to AAA? I guess we play fill-in-the-blanks in the bullpen until the real arms mature: Burdi, Reed, etc. Milone is a lefty. Does that give him cred over Pelfrey? Hopefully the Twins can move alot of this deadweight somehow somewhere as the season progresses. Any life they can get from the "veterans" should be seen as a sign of tradability, not future hold on a roster spot. If the new guys aren't going to start in the big leagues (because the team MIGHT have a chance to contend in a division that is pretty even across the board, at least on paper), then we should hope that as the one-run victories makes some winners and many losers, we do see at least 4-5-6 members of the 2016/2017 Twins show up...BEFORE AUGUST!

Okay. You have a closer. You have an 8th inning guy both right and left. Doesn't mean they can't also pitch the 7th. But you usually limit to one inning because you might want to pitch them multiple days consecutively. If you can, you like a one-out lefty. Then you have a long man, both from the right and left side. Someone who can pitch a minimum of two innings and up to 4 or 5 if called upon. Then you have that guy you stash in the back that is the mop up guy in blowouts, or can itch if it is a totally non-save situation, who will develop into one of your prime pitchers in the future.

It all depends on how he plays the spring, and how others play. The Twins don't need to open with Hicks...or Rosario. As much as it pains me, Schafer and Robinson could come north and be the centerfielders, spare outfielders (although if that was the case, I would rather see Santana back inc enter and Escobar at short. What the Twins have going for them this year is that if players want to play in the majors, they have spring training to show what they can do and if they succeed, then every opportunity will arise to go orth with the team. The kicker is that you also have to perform in major league play, otherwise you can be sent packing or to the minors real fast. Or so I hope. The job is everyone's to win (centerfield, bullpen, fourth and fifth starter, bench) and yours to lose. Robinson signed with the Twins because there was a potential opportunity. There is. You can even argue if Arcia needs more seasoning. Would he be content to sit at Rochester waiting for a player to hit the DL and getting a shot, or Schafer tanking? We'll see. But the reality is that he is a dime-a-dozen AAAA outfielder who might shine if given the opportunity, but not much above replacement value.

I still wish we had a better backup for catcher if Pinto needs to start at AAA. I would almost go with Beresford over Nunez, depending on the outfield. If Santana goes to the outfield, then Escobar is not the backup. Don't keep any pitcher because of salary. If even Nolasco sucks, let him walk. Sorry. Or if Gibson has a tough spring - AAA. Put together the best roster possible, including bench/backups and overall bullpen needs. Keep i mind that there ARE bodies in the minors than can contribute sooner rather than later...not quite ready to break camp but ready to ride the bench or start if someone goes down. We don't need to keep giving jobs to journeymen who won't be around at all in 2016 or beyond.

I questioned the need when they signed him, except that they wanted him to take Swarzak's spot, basically, at an increased expense but better overall results. Yet isn't there bodies to look at in their own minor league system. Also, do they have the ability to cut him at some point and not be on the hook for his entire salary? Like when looking at Milone, Boyer, Pelfrey, Nunez and any also rans...take the best 25 north. If the others find a spot in the organization, okay. If not, live with it.

In AA ball you are playing against a majority of the elite in a teams minor league organization. When you get to AAA ball, you are playing against a mix of elite and AAAA veterans. You may have better facilities in AAA ball and bigger crowds, and you have to perform as much as just work on your talent.

After being rejected by a couple of other folks in the drafting process, the Twins played it safe. I never fully unerstand when a player DOESN'T want to be drafted or go into the organization of any team. That team's fortunes could turn around quickly. You can also be a part of that turn around, possibly more quickly. And, who knows, you might be traded in a following year anyways to someone you don't want to play with. So.......

Quite frankly, no rookie who wants to make the Twins will get the job just because they are a "Top Prospect." They have to earn the job. And in some ways, those words are right. If they don't step up and power thru to the best, someone else IS in the wings to take their place, if not this year, next year. And if a Rookie thinks they can work into a full-time job, think again. If Ryan and Co. have to pick between someone almost ready, and someone else who wants the job and is ready and pitching their heart out to earn and keep a job (i.e. Pelfrey, Stauffer, Milone), then that person will be getting the job. It may be a fault of the Twins, maybe it isn't (see Hicks) that they spend too much time in development, or they don't take a chance unless it appears to be a sure thing, or they have no where else to turn (i.e. see Hicks). You want a job in baseball...you show you want it, you listen to keep it, you hope you make it to year four and arbitration, still play by the rules and collect a big salary, and if you can keep it up for 7 years, you are a free agent and set!

Man, in the real world, Santana in center. But the other reality, let Hicks take his lumps yet again with the hopes that he moves to right in 2016 and Buxton comes into play, although where Rosario ends up is the next question. It's so ahrd to think that at onetime the Twins felt they had an abundance of centerfielders, so they traded Span and Revere (after jettisoning Gomez). Whatever happened to that Benson guy, and is Mastro still in anyone's plans?

Right center field, under the overhand. You have television, by the mini-donuts, close to the plaza, and it is a short section and shaded. Sit up front and see the scoreboard, sit back and you don't block anyone. For an afternoon game, there will probably be empty seats available.

Considering where Perk was just a few years ago, frustrated, removed from the 40-man, wishing to move on but nobody wanted him as a starter and the Twins kept him on the minor league roster and he came back and is more than happy to praise the team. Considering he is a local collegiate guy and all, he is the type of guy you want to keep involved in the organization: shades of Hrbek, Steinbach, Stigman, Oliva and the ilk!

Oliveros and Thompson and Pryor are on the bubble. Now, if ever, is a chance for ANY pitcher to pitch to stick with the Twins. I hope they start the season, anyways, with the BEST of the batch. DOn't make a spot for Pelfrey just because of salary. If May or Meyer aren't ready, let them start in the minors. Thielbar is not written in stone and has options. Stauffer is the new kid, but that doesn't mean you have to keep him around anymore than say, Boyer. Or Milone. More than enough bodies to choose from. Achter and Tonkin, too. Some guys are out-of-options. People like Achter and Tonkin will be pushed aside by Burdi and Reed, so if they have some life, they are tradable if you want to gamble more on Graham. And Gilmartin may return, too, who knows. Plus you still have Logan Darnell looking in, and -- well, are the Twins pitching rich? Of course, no need to get cocky, as the Twins were once centerfielder rich, too, and look where we ended up in that scenario. Oliveros and Thompson, journeymen who you can live without? Pryor, can you cut, keep, and is there a reason to do so. Pelfrey? If he can't start out of the shoot and give you innings and keep you in the game, let him go and eat the salary, or bury him at Rochester like they did Blackburn and let him stay injured or work towards getting back to the majors. May and Meyer want to pitch. I think May realizes that being in the bullpen in the majors is just as good as being in the rotation. Meyer NEEDS to get innings in (but not too many) at AAA, if nothing else. Again, it is a person's job to lose, not win, on the Twins in 2015. And the whole process starts over again in 2016. If you don't cut it in 2015, you will be looking for work elsewhere.

Some tough decisions on the lineup. I vote for Santana to lead-off. You don't need lead-off homeruns in baseball. Better if the knock the batter in ahead of them. But the rest, well, I just say leave Mauer in the number 3 spot. Talk emerged about Hunter batting second. Not a bad choice if he keeps his average up. But is there much difference between him batting second or Dozier, or even Suzucki. But who bats cleanup. Not Vargas yet. Or Arcia. Plouffe could be the poster boy, but that depends on Hunter and Dozier, neither of whom should probably bat clean-up, but how far down the order do you bury them. Ultimately, we can pencil in Hicks or Escobar in the 9th spot.. Be interesting to see the final results. Hey, maybe we SHOULD batter Mauer like 7th or 8th!

Wonderful guy to fans seeking his autograph!

You still have to find a place for each top prospect, as well as a time. What is more amazing is when you look,perhaps, at the names of OTHER prospects that do make the big leagues for the team in that same span and stay on as role players, back of the rotation pitchers, or who do bring them warm bodies. As we sit here in Minnesota, wondering who the top prospect catcher will be in a year or two. Will Nick Gordon take the place of Danny Santana. Will Sano become the big third baseman and push Plouffe in a trade for what? Where does Polanco fit in. Is there hope for a Levi Michael? Will Burton hold down centerfield in two years. Will Eddie Rosario make it even before then. Is Adam Walker the real thing. Do we keep Arcia? What about Hicks. As someone said, we have Meyer, Stewart and Berrios knockin' on the door. But we also have May in the mix. There are a couple of back-of-the-rotation guys in the mix, too. Is there a closer to replace Perkins? How fast will Jake Reed jump. Is Burdi a sure thing. We all remember Slama, right? Every name above could be here in two years, as well as Thorpe and Jorge and Gonsalves, Romeo, Walker, Melotakis, Zach Jones. Remember Max Kepler? Will he get lost in the rush? Somehow the Twins will still find major league at bats for Wilkin Ramirez or Reynoldo Rodriguez, and Eric Fryer, and Doug Bernier. There's 21 or so guys that you would almost call sure bets to find roster spots in the next two years. A whole team of young 'uns. And we want to win, and can we with that much rookie power coming into the pipeline, or will there not be enough lockers in the Inn and what do we do and when do we do it with the ones that we can do something with. Remember, it really only takes (shades of B.J. Hermsen) one bad year in AA or AAA ball for a player to become an also-ran, or not tendered a contract if eligible for minor free agency. If nothing else, Twins prospect land is a fun place to view, as ALL these guys have the ability and the timing to make it into the big leagues. They have to watch who is behind them, and worry if a spot will open up in front of them. And the dream of big league money is a driving force.

Those three alone makes you salivate at what the Twins will have as a rotation come 2017-18-19. Was just noticing that not counting the guys from the 40-man who have to find roster spots, the Twins have 86 pitchers in their minor league system out of 164 total players (again, not counting 40-man cuts). Know that many, many can go to extended spring training, but there's an even 100 on the temporary rosters of the top four classifications.

The troubles of signing a superstar to a contract, or a franchise player to a contract. You must ask: how better could this money be used AND wouldn't it be nice if it was someone else's problem and not ours. It is a juggling act. Do you settle NOW for the qualifying offer and a draft pick, or do you move the guy for a package of players that may/may not pan out. How does that player change the value of the guys behind him in the minors. If the thought ha crossed that Mauer was to become a first baseman, would the Twins have traded ramos? For example.Mauer playing a few years in Minnesota, does he make guys like Vargas or Kepler expendable. Would we be better trading Joe and hoping one of the minor league "top" prospects will fill his place sooner rather than down-the-line. Does the guy put butts in the seats, which means increased concessions and merchandise sales. You can argue that Pujols was an okay signing for the Angels, like A-Rod for the Yankees and such. Players that someone will pay to see, at least for awhile. Was Hamilton a good signing for the Angels, though. And the Cardinals found out Pujols was not a franchise need for their team. But maybe Hamilton was for the Rangers. We all argue the need to spend rather than hoard money and to grab the Best Player possible or keep your best players. What if Hunter never left. What if we had ponied up the funds for Santana instead of forcing what has become a bad trade. Were we served by Cuddyer and Morneau and Nathan walking. It shows what is hard about baseball. Spending money, making deals, thinking (as St. Peter says) about the "brand". Would Minnesota be happier if Joe had become a Red Sox years ago and we had his salary to play with. The pain with baseball is that teams make a killing on players if they perform in their early years. They have to make some tough decisions where many players are vastly overpaid in arbitration. They have to think long-term for one of the stars and hope they get partial return and wins and championships from the big buck seasons with the hope of weathering or making it another team's troubles when that contract winds down. The Phillies are facing that with Ryan Howard. The Giants faced it for many years with Barry Zito and managed to wring something out of him in the end. Not much, but something. It is the gamble of the business. the money is there to spend. There are only so many roster spots, so many organization spots. You HAVE to spend of face the wrath. You have to stay competitive. You feel good when other teams blow their cash wad and you don't.

The reason we dropped our 20-game season ticket package is because the games are all over the place and my wife works an irregular schedule and we weren't able to take in the weekend games. We were also lucky to move our Yankee and Brewer tickets early, but took a hit on other games (notably the Red Sox and Royals) that we weren't able to attend. You sell off some tickets and then buy ones for other games at a discount. Buying them all for one night would be a true benefit. Of course, the more season ticket packages that are sold, the better it is for the casual or unorganized fan as more tickets will be available via stub hub and such, although going electronic, wonder how that will work. We had a good time last year booking rally cheap seats in a variety of sections and getting different views of the field, making notes for when we might return as season ticket holders.

Appropriately called "The Last Baseball Dinosaur." Always liked his talk of driving around town and people giving him the finger when they passed him by, he thinking they were telling him "I was #1."

Whew. You got four main spots locked up, but anything can happen. One of them can tank in spring training and make you wonder, but the one closest to being on the bubble would be Gibson, who might just still have an option year. Otherwise, you won't cut Santana, Hughes or Nolasco because of salary. Any of them could start the season, though, on the dl. Somewhere in the land of "we need a third catcher" is that voice that says "we need a left-handed starter." Well, the main choices are Milone or Darnell. Neither makes you want to buy a ticket to see them pitch. Of course, if you don't mind going with five righties, you give the ball to Pelfrey, the $5.5 million arm. Remember, folks, this is a guy coming off Tommy John surgery who fast-tracked himself in 2013. He had some good outings, some abd outings. That the Twins HAD to pay what they did, and for two years instead of one and an option...well, Pelfrey is better at sleight-of-hand than Cuddyer. Also remember, this is the guy the Twins WANTED instead of Humber when they shipped Santana to the Mets. I'm not saying who IS the better, but I really don't want to see Pelfrey in the rotation OR the bullpen if he doesn't dazzle in spring training. Take the loss and let him walk.

This is the year that the above five either stay a Top Prospect or become a minor league free agent AAAA guys. Rogers has the chance to be a spot starter in reserve, except the Twins have plenty of those right now in Milone and Darnell and Pelfrey and anyone else they can pick-up on the waiver wire. Gonsalves and Thorpe have to stay healthy and hope a bullpen spot opens up. But if they can shine, and play a somewhat closer role in the minors, they become viable tradebait as an add on. Kepler controls his own destiny. This will be his second year on the 40-man, and don't see him even getting a September call-up. Next year he will be at Triple-A, or should be, and then deserving of a call-up to get a taste of the majors. Will he stick, or do the Twins take an $800,000 writeoff. Of course, he can tank, but his clock has already started to tick-tick-tick. Walker is that slugger that also needs to show he can field, so he can be a bench bat at least. I'm curious to see how he adapts this year.

Man, I like this lineup. This could very well be the Twins of the near future. Shows we now have some possible trade chips because there isn't any room above for Dozier, Santana, Arcia, Vargas and Plouffe. Mauer would probably ride the DH role. I sudddenly have visions of a dynasty! Plus where does Nick Gordon eventually fit in!

I heard that the Twins were talking to Billy Beane on John Donaldson. And then the Dodgers on Matt Kemp. And then they wanted. And then Dee Gordon. Then Drew Butera, but the Twins couldn't think of anyone for future considerations. And the Rock Porcello. And finally they got stomped for Justin Upton.

You have to admit pretty bad. For nearly 200 innings to carry a 1.7 WHIP, and to walk more batters than you strikeout in six attempts in the big leagues. Even looking at his minor league numbers. One solid good season. The rest...nothing that make me Rule 5 him, or even want him in a trade. Boy, the Yankees took the Twins on that deal!

Still only a minor league contract with a spring training invite. Same he could've kept with the Twins. A backup on the farm if something happens to Pearce or Davis.