Rosterman

Out of the three: Duensing, Milone and Swarzak, Anthony was probably the arbitration cheapest. Here's a guy coming off a great 2013 out of the pen, still holding some mid-season worth, and the Twins braintrust has to be thinking about his future with the team, He was still having a halfway decent summer, could've been flipped for a prospect and his bullpen spot given to Tonkin, anyone. Then we have September. Let's look at Logan Darnell as a starter. Hell, yes, let's look at anyone else...but we drag out Swarzak (to drive up his own personal value perhaps) and he is horrible. He takes one for the team, but also for himself. Doesn't add any "possible starter" worth to his resume, which is something he has always wanted, but quickly learned that you pitch where they place you if you want to play in the majors. Maybe no one cared, he ahd not worth as a bulklpen arm before trade or playoff roster deadlines. But I am mad, mad that the Twins let him eat up innings in which we could see Oliveros, Achter, even Deolis Guerra, anyone...if you had even the slightest doubt that he would be a part of the team going into next season. And then to let him start, like we allowed Jared Burton to close. What gives, Twins front office. You have players to see, to expose to major league life, and you are losing (and Swarzak sure wasn't a starter stopper). And No! people. Colabello is a great stash on a minor league roster where he has the ability to tear up AAA pitching, but if the Twins cut him, doubt that a team would give a 40-man spot to him, and he still ahs options, so the Twins would be able to keep him. Of course, can be wrong. But he's 31-years-old! You can probably rtade peanuts for Garrett Jones, or talk to the A's, or even discuss Chris Parmelee with the Twins and come out more ahead. Colabello is/was a great story. I don't mind him being a abckup in the minors for another season (who else does the Twins have).

I see $$$$$-signs in Trevor Plouffe's eyes. "Let me outta Minnesota, fast!"

I think the Twins will go to arbitration with Duensing, Swarzak and Nunez and hope they can drive up their value for trade possibilities. They don't need the roster spots. They have Fryer and Colabello floating out there, and can surely find one pitcher between Darnell, Thompson and even Pelfrey if they need a spot. Putting Swarzak or Duensing with, say, Parmelee is a possibility. All three non-tender candidates could find a roster spot next season, really. And although it would cost $5 million to keep them, it's chump change if the Twins aren't spending the money elsewhere. Heck, Plouffe is going to cost them $5 million. My only fear is that they do non-tender the guys, then I get mad that they didn't do something, anything with them before the trade deadline. People are always looking for lefty relievers. And Swarzak was still coming of of last season of greatness before he stumbled bigtime as an end of the season starter. (And while I am at it...WHY did the Twins feel the need to give free agent Jared Burton innings as a closer in September, when he was going to walk. I shake my head at the front office. Left to right.)

I think Eddie is on board as the bullpen coach. Which is fine. I like the idea of basically two pitching coaches rather than the bullpen coach being an old catcher. The Twins have TWO good guys who will work well with the youngsters coming up, and if you look at the Twins pitching as a whole, now, besides Nolasco they are basically VERY VERY young...once the bullpen changes out names.

Hey, Albers could come back and be another starter in waiting?! Again, who do the Twins DH Beyond Vargas? Bernier? Rodriguez? Beresford? They could add Hunter with the potential to DH (remember, Vargas may not be the same Vargas we saw last year, shades of Pinto and Parmelee). But out of the gate, unless he has an absolute horrid spring, Vargas needs that 40-game window. Parmelee, Colabello, Pena?

The Dodgers are in a position of having a minor need to cut salary from the outfield, be it Kemp or Crawford. Kemp has some longterm baggage, especially if he is injury prone, and for that reason alone he IS a big gamble and the Dodgers WILL have to pay something to another team. If the Twins need to include a prospect, it does have to be someone who has a major league upside, a definite possibility, although the Twins MIGHT be able ti put a Max Kepler into the equation. But that is a huge gamble on the part of the Dodgers. I would be totally unwilling to give up ANY of the top flight starting prospects, be it Berrios or Stewart or May or Meyer. Not sure if you can throw the names of Thorpe or Eades out there, still too young. And I doubt that Logan Darnell would cause ripples in the world of L.A. A given major league guy could add to the mess. Escobar, for example. Maybe Nolasco (doubtful, but would be a dream). You could dangle Hicks, who does have promise. That would be an equal gamble on the part of the Dodgers. I have always liked Kemp, but he is expensive. I would want to make sure he is totally healthy. I would trade Hicks, Thorpe, maybe a catcher like Koch or Turner, and I would expect L.A. to eat at least half of the remaining salary.

Headlines we want to see: "Terry Ryan makes four-year offer to Pablo Sandoval, contemplating fifth year" "Twins ask Lester 'Why' He Doesn't Want To Pitch In Minnesota after Rejecting Huge Offer" Torii Hunter asked to be Bench Coach and part-time player if need be ocne season begins" "Twins Have Money To Spend, Agents Have Ryan on Speed-Dial - I can only SIgn So Many Players" "Twins say 'Thanks to Target Field and Great Fans, Twins now have money to keep their own free agents and to competitively chase others'" "Twins Opening Up New Baseball Worlds: Australia, Germany, Denmark, Russia and now Korea - Minnesota Twins, a World Class Operation"

I'm curious to the number of pitches he throws in a game, the size of the Korean ballparks, and it will be an interesting spring as he faces a different type of player over here. There is always an upside. And a challenge ahead for the Twins pitching coach and newly named bullpen coach.

I, too, was perplexed at the passing the Twins took on JD Martinez, who they had once drafted and should've grabbed for a looksee, but wait, they had Kubel. If you can get Wily Mo for a minor league deal, do so. He could be a productive bench bat or someone you'd want if Vargas flames out and needs more seasoning. The trick is, can you start either at AAA, not have both on the roster. After his alst disaster in the bigs, I'm sure people are knocking down others to get to him (sic). The Twins keep signing more of their free agents. First Hermsen and Beresford and Hanson. Then Bernier. Now Daniel Turpen returns for another go around. But the younger Deolis moved on. I guess our exciting Twins off-season news continues to be the weekly announcement of who is coaching. I'm buying my Twins tickets now! Wait, they won a bid on that Korean lefty!!!!!

One of the big questions is the number of innings you could get out of him next season. Plus, do we now need a translator?

Ben Lindbergh is one of those guys who had some spare time on his hands, so he examined EVERY team's 40-man roster to see what the longest thread backwards was for every team. In Minnesota Twins Land he came upon two names: Brian Duensing and Lester Oliveros, both who can be traced back to the drafting of Chuck Knoblauch back in 1989, a amazingly, this is only THE 7TH FURTHEST BACK TREE out of all the teams. Makes for a fun and fascinating read if you got the time. http://grantland.com/features/mlb-transaction-trees/

Kansas City has to be in the mix as they look for a designated hitter for possibly under $10. Vargas is still a question mark as he enters year 2. He can hold the job, or flame out. If anything, Hunter would be insurance if we truly need a designated hitter who can also play the outfield. And, yes, he is better than Willingham, Parmelee or Arcia out there, which doesn't speak well for us at the moment. The guy in center better be able to cover a lot of ground and not be named Santana. If Hunter can get two years, he will go to that team. If he gets one, it will be a price factor. And Texas and Houston should still be in the mix, too. I doubt he'd love playing in Toronto. In the scheme of things, he does have bills to pay!

We are backed up with starting pitcher prospects thru 2019. Just like we had an abundance of centerfield candidates in the system. You can never have too many starting pitchers. You don't know if Hughes will repeat. If he does, will we be able to afford him or trade him with one year left. What is the fate of Nolasco. Pelfrey IS in reserve, maybe. Kyle Gibson may be a commodity to trade. A young solid pitcher, but still #4 or #5 in the scheme of things if others pan out and he at least stays at his current plateau. Yes, you sign someone hurting for one year with an option. You hope two minor league materialze this year. You hope another comes up late next season. You hope one more is in the 2017 pipeline. You are looking good if you can now find outfielders.

I would give Parmelee a second run rather than Colabello, just for the age factor and Parmelee CAN play the outfield. I would sign another catcher and have Pinto start at Rochester - and I mean start behind-the-plate. He's either going to be a catcher or needs to build some sort of trade value as possibly being one. Yes, the Twins CAN sign a left fielder AND a pitcher. I would vote for May in the bullpen. I would vote for Pelfrey to start the season on the dl, unless he is light's out. Milone will show if he can pitch in spring training, otherwise send him down to Rochester and put anyone, even Wheeler, in there. If nothing else, shows a lot of bodies just hanging around the roster taking up space, from Darnell to Thompson to Duensing and Swarzak, not to mention Colabello. The Twins have to decide what to do with Kepler, as he CAN BE a prospect trade chip and will have already used two of his option years by the end of the season with no call-up in sight. And Hicks HAS to play, somewhere, somehow. He is in his third year and we don't need to have to play the arbitration game. He needs to produce. I wish there was a good alternative to centerfield (okay, we move Santana there, have Escobar at short, and instead of Nunez let Bernier, Beresford, Hanson or someone, anyone, be the backup guy for chump change). Again, your roster shows that the Twins are going into the New Year with a lot of deadwood on the current roster, and looking to add only two names not on the 40-man.

It's such a tough call. Do you go after Masterson or McCarthy for less, but also hold your breath. D you make a Ervin Santana signing. Do you rad water. DO you wait to see who is left in the dregs (a la Garza last year). It all depends on how fast Toronto wants to unload e guy and who is willing to at the most of his salary. If you have the money, and can eat the salary, you are trading a prospect light for he guy, some one who i blocked by not only one but two other guys for a certain position. He offers you a fifth day inning eater who keeps you in the game. He can be an influence on others. Nolasco should rebound. Gibson could be tradebait if he doesn't show signs of real greatness. Meyer will be on an inning count no matter where he starts. May could start in the bullpen a la Swarzak and be in line if you need a spot start. Milone can still be stashed in the minors, as you can Pelfrey (coming off an injury). Plus, if Mark B. shines, you can trade him to a contender for your prospect back in the least. Money doesn't roll over to nxt season. If the Twins are still sitting on a number of millions after filling the minors with AAAA and grabbing only a mid-level free agent or two for somewhere, I cold think of worse things to spend the money on...like not spending it on payroll.

Yeah, 1st base and bench coach seem to be in the mix still.

Yes, a player has to stick. You might lose a Gilmartin to a team that doesn't have a lot of choice prospects and would pitch him out of the bullpen. But if he has a bad spring, you wonder if it is a good $25,000 looksee investment. But if the Twins lose anyone, it would probably be him. But look at names the Twins have taken and besides Shane Mack, Johan Santana and Scott Diamond a year later, and maybe Ryan Pressly...not much. Here's a great look at the history of Rule 5, including who the Twins lost (names like Tim Lahey, Kevin Cameron, Reggie Smith, Levale Speigner). http://twinstrivia.com/2012/11/29/twins-rule-5-draft-history/

The teams play their cards close. Wait until the last minute to throw bodies out there, hoping to sneak some back onto minor league rosters (Colabello, for example) and you can't drop a newcomer from the 40-man, I believe, until after spring training. You have to ask, always, will a player be grabbed and held on a team's 40-man roster, will that player accept a minor league assignment, or will the resign with you as a team with a promise for a spring training invite. You need to have players to move during the free agent period, and heaven forbid that you roster is so solid that you end spring training with Matt Guerrier, Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett all needing roster spots and you don't have bodies to send down, release or whatever. You hate to see non-tenders (Duensing and Swarzak, maybe) as you wish the Twins were smart enough to get some value for them rather than jsut cut them loose, but the value of those players is also the fact that teams think the Twins may non-tender them. You tremble when spring training ends and the Twins lose guys like Pat Neshek, Alex Pressly, Mike Restovich because they needed a 40-man roster spot for someone (especially in hindsight) who didn't produce in the end. Not that the losses, down-the-road, are anything more than heartfelt. The Rule 5 got blown out of proportion, I think. If you don't have enough players of your own to protect, why are you going after another organization's 41st, or 61st or 71st player (with promise). There are so many players out there...look at the free agents, look at the minor league free agents, looks at teams that are drafting better and better players who last more than a short season for a look (what IS the average life of a prospect these days 3-4 years instead of 1-2 due to disabled list games and extended spring trainings) not to mention the amount of good, solid players in the numerous struggling for attendance independent leagues. Theilbar or Thompson or Darnell. One young, one could be a sleeper, one ahs been dependable and is still cheap. Fryer or Herrmann, neither necessary but are they better than nothing? Remember, Rene Rivera was once a Twin and look what he did last year. You grabbed a Henry Blanco who shined when Mauer went down. You find a Corky Miller and he stays in baseball for 80 years. But once you add a man to the 40-man, he stays. He has to go through waivers, which is almost worse than Rule 5, and can be snatched by a team, waived out by them and not claimed, and kept free-of-charge by that organization. So you have to believe a 40-man add will come to the majors. And believe me, when looking back at the Twins, so many have not! Go look at the roster at www.twinscards.com, the minor league section, and see who was on the 40-man each season and didn't play in the majors that season. Start in 1961 and go forwards.

Is he without a job? Any reason for that? Yes, he is a successful coach. Would love to get Don Cooper, who has managed to stay with the White Sox thru various managers somehow. How is Willis with young power pitchers? And how does he see a bullpen?

The Twins were a mess. They had lost Hunter. They would be losing Johan. They got rid of Garza for Delmon Young. They also wanted a centerfielder. My two favorite rumors were the dealings with the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Twins wanted Ellsbury so bad. His name was always in the forefront of the rumors, with Lowrie, Masterson and another player (Bowden) as a throw-in. And a promising starter to replace Johan. SU\upposedly the Red Sox dangled Lester and Crisp in the front of one trade, which would've been an interesting outcome. Crisp has since been traded at least twice, putting up solid overall numbers. Lester, who was not yet the ace of the staff, was a solid promising starter coming off of some personal health issues that may/may not decide his longterm future. We see that it hasn't, so far. And some other young starter was also said to be in the mix...Clay Bucholtz, perhaps. The Twins wanted Phil Hughes from the Yankees, but that seemed to be a non-buding point from the already overpriced team that somehow wanted to hang onto at least one system prospect for a few years. The Yankees supposedly dangled Melky Cabrera, and the Twins wanted Ian Kennedy and a couple of other possible prospects. But in the end it seemed to be just some posturing between two rivals to keep the price high, and the Twins suddenly started to see suitors disappear, not even the Dodgers or Rangers remained in play as the price the Twins were asking was high and the price Johan was asking was equally high, and it seemed that Santana basically wanted out of Minnesota for some reason and wanted to go to a major market for, what, endorsement money, more fame, whatever? We can argue that if he had stayed in Minnesota, he would still be the Big Fish in a small pond, possibly would still be healthy (shades of Koskie, if he had stayed, might still be out DH). He ahd a couple of decent seasons with the Mets and then stalled on what should've been a sure -fire Hall of Fame career due to his Cy Young wins and almost wins, and has now become someone that might still pitch, but who knows, and why did the Orioles pay $5 million (reportedly) for last year's look. The Twins got Carlos Gomez. I think they rushed him. One solid season at AAA might've done wonders, let him bulk out a little, instead of being pushed into the limelight and asked to bunt and run and all that good stuff. He was traded for J.J. Hardy, who should still be a comfortable salary mainstay at Minnesota, but the Twins were as worried about cost as the Brewers were and we shipped him to Baltimore for a bit of James Hoey and dirt. The Twins got a tiny bit from lefty Kelvin Mulvey who they traded for a season-and-a-half of Jon Rauch, who was closer for a moment and 21 saves with one of the best bumper (scary) videos ever for a pitcher coming to the mound. The Twins got Phil Humber (they supposedly did want Mike Pelfrey) who was in his final option year and needed to stay and was simply horrible, as he has pretty much been except for one season with the White Sox and no one can explain "why" that was, can they? And Deolis Guerra who simply struggled. The Twins got him at 19. He leaves at 25. I truly am surprised they didn't find a spot for him in September to just see how hungry he would be and if the years of patience were truly worth it. And the Twins even wanted a more highly touted outfield prospect than Gomez from the Mets, who was deemed untouchable (shades of Hicks and Buxton) and has since been traded and is...where? You could ALMOST say the Twins ended up with the better part of the deal than the Mets, due to Santana's injuries, but non of the players REALLY contributed to making the team greater in any way. Rauch ALMOST was a closer. Gomez was EXCITING on the basepaths and chasing down balls. Hardy HIT some homers. If...IF...the Twins still had Hardy at shortstop and Gomez in centerfield...wait, we can't do that, they were traded for each other...and "ifs" can be so boring, right. The unanswered question is...what did that $100 million salary savings over 5-7 years do to benefit the Twins. How was that money more wisely spent. And would've most of a season with Johan pitching have been worth it (and the draft pick) and maybe, JUST MAYBE, motivated the guy to stay. Re-read the above. It is the neverending issues that the Twins deal with. Free agents that become pricy, they own tight purse strings or the unreality of what it does cost to stay in this business, their evaluation of player talent, the Twins Way vs. molding a player around what they can do and maybe succeed even more at, the fear of spending too much money, the need to grab solid and dependable players who play the game but not much beyond that, playing poker but not being very good at bluffing because they always have the chance to stay in the game and win with a hand down the road when something happens to those that remain better than them.

Let's see a few more!

Gilmartin would the closest, although he was mainly an AA pitcher last season. Michael is to unseasoned. Adams needs a year in the minors to adjust to being a starter. I am more worried about anyone the Twins MIGHT lose in the minor league portion. Will be interesting to see who they advance to the AA and AAA rosters. I'm happy to see Beresford give the Twins another chance. That he did means that he didn't find overwhelming requests for his services elsewhere at this time, a good omen. In some ways the Rule 5 is diminishing each and every year, as more players become minor league free agents, or can be grabbed if they are dropped from a 40-man roster (would a team grab, at this point, Darnell or Kepler, for example). Finding that back-of-the-bullpen or end-of-the-bench spot is only necessary for rebuilding teams, or teams that have arrpetty darn solid starting nine and rotation.

Man, I keep having thoughts of that Red Sox package of Lester, Masterson, Crisp, Lowrie with Bowden as a throw-in for Santana. But we wanted Ellsbury. Or so the rumors flew waaaaay back when. I'm thinking the Twins may play it slow in the free agent marketplace, as their needs do run more towards a one-year contract, unless the starter of their dreams at a workable 2-3 year price leaps in front of their headlights. Most players will be pushing for those multi-year deals, especially those over 34 or so for sure. But there are only so many roster spots and so much money, so we might find someone still kicking tires after everyone's card is full the closer the Twins get to spring training...but hopefully sooner. They need a bat who can play the outfield, and/or backup somewhere else. We need a starter who will start games. We might be looking for some cheaper bullpen arms if we don't spend money on Duensing and Swarzak again. And a backup catcher would be great if we want Pinto to start fulltime in Rochester. We have the centerfield mess of Hicks, Rosario, Scheafer, Buxton if he fires up spring training, or can always move Santana back out there if Eddie and Aaron go to Rochester, and we hope there is no second season slump (as well as one for Vargas).

Great and enjoyable piece. Baseball has come such a long way from "throw it over the plate and make him swing" days of yore. There is still some pitch-to-contact mentality, as you can place your fielders and they need to do something out there. And so many pitchers HAVE to have up to four solid pitches, not that throw 1-2 of them more than a couple of times in a game. And as long as no one is on base, a closer or setup guy can just throw, depending, of course, on the batters he is facing. You always shudder when you hear system-wide edicts about what players should do ("take the first pitch"). A coaches job is to work on a player's strengths, and to make comments on how to work around trouble areas, and to reinforce both thru word and practice. Especially when you now have infield coaches, outfield coaches, hitting coach, assistant coach, bench coach, bullpen coach, pitching coach. One coach for every three players almost. Not to mention the folks you can sneak into practice (Smalley, Laudner, Bert, T.K., Marni et al).

The evils of the 40-man. You can't have ALL the excess holes filled with prospects THAT CAN'T step into a major league at-bat or inning on a moment's notice. You need a few musical chair players (usually pitchers). And then you carefully have to handle anyone that you may add during the season, because if you waive them off the 40-man, you might jsut lose them outright, too. In that way, it would be nice if major league baseball did have a system where a player claimed on 40-man roster waivers DOES have to stay on that team's roster for x-amount of days. It would allow you to feel more comfortable about cutting that Neshek guy off the roster in spring training (or Pelfrey, for example), and also a Parmelee. But then you bring a Parmelee back and you start the whole system over again, you keep him, or you might lose him, as the reason you more than likely advanced him (beyond the need) was because of his play at AAA, which most any otehr team might make a grab. Right now the Twins have some guys on the cusp, Colabello, Fryer for two. Nunez is being bandied around because of cost, as is Duensing and Swarzak. You also have fringe pitchers like Thielbar / Thompson / Darnell that no other team may 40-man (or Oliveros). But you do need some dead weight in case you sign a free agent or two. And also when the time comes and you add one of those 5-year minor guys of whatnot. But back to this post. Paul Molitor has to have an excellent idea of the class of players coming up in the system. He probably has a first hand relationship with more of the players than any minor league manager or coach, of even any front office people. A few players are probably saying "man, I wish I had listened to this guy, or at least showed that I was listening" and others are happy that they have. He is probably more into player set than if you had brought in any of the minor league managers, even though he has been a year removed from roving about. Combine that with Hernandez and Glynn, so far, and you have a pretty good evaluation of Rochester and the teams below and who is who, especially with Hernandez, who has been roving everywhere himself.