Rosterman

You are so correct. Even as distant backups. No one in the outfield. No one in the infield (even Florimon). They should be having Sano, Rosario right about now. Buxton should've torn up New Brit and be in the outfield. Hicks should actually be down there. Colabello is the only distant candidate as a backup. And considering the fodder at New Brit (Wembley, Boyer, Thomas to name a couple). The Twins should be pushing their catching candidates up a level, just because they can. Vargas should be up at Rochester by now. And then you look at the pitching at both levels, an embarrassment of riches. Yes, too many 3-4-5 starters who won't pan out in the end (Valesquez, Pino, Diamond for example). But, hey, Oliveros is tearing up the bullpen. Achter is showing life. Who currently on the 40-man roster SHOULD NOT be here next season: I spot Burton, Correia, Guerrier, Kris Johnson, Pelfrey, Swarzak, Fryer, Florimon, Colabello, Fuld, Herrmann, Nunez, Willingham, Kubel, Suzucki, Parmelee. Too many names. Hopefully some good tradebait develops (Correia, Pelfrey, Burton, Willingham, Kubel, Swarzak) from the mix. The Twins should not be afraid to trade relief...even Thielbar and Duensing, if the situation arises.

In the scheme of things, Kubel MIGHT still have value, not only to the Twins but as a trading chip before August. MIGHT. Parmelee is out-of-options. He would have to pass thru waivers and doubt, really, that he would at this point. He isn't tearing up the league, but at least is on par with Colabello right now, who does have options and would be better off playing everyday at first base at Rochester where Brad Nelson is a dud at the moment. It does seem so strange to send your RBI guy down, but Pamelee can at least back up first AND the outfield. We need Danny Santana to stay around as the emergency backup in centerfield for the moment. He will disappear when Fuld comes back. It is such a fine line at this moment about playing for the future and promoting guys who WILL be around in 2015 and beyond, of going with the retreads and such, especially since the team is hanging around .500. The bigger questions is the rotation. Nolasco and Correia both stink. Pelfrey needs to throw faster and harder. Gibson is inconsistent. You have so much money and multiple years in a couple of the veterans. Gibson, if he can show consistency, would be the most valuable tradebait if you think he will only pan out, ultimately, as a back-of-the-rotation guy. You just can't cut and eat the salary (or maybe you can if you are replacing them with younger and cheaper arms like May, Meyer, Darnell, Dean, Stewart, Berrios et al) over the next few seasons. But then the Twins will NEVER EVER enter the free-agent pitching sweepstakes again. Call it poor scouting, National League pitchers have trouble in the American League, the inability of the Twins to retain their own people at some price, reaction to fan outcry or whatever. We can applaud that the Twins got Hughes. And, of course, running a major league baseball team is something most all of us are totally unqualified to do, so we have to go with the people who supposedly know what they are doing.

Who stays and who goes depends on playing time. Collabello could go if Parmalee stays because he could play every day at Rochester, which would be more vakuable to him (and he Twins) in the long run. Fuld would replace Santana, who also could play everyday. Better to have Nunez sitting on the bench. Herrmann also has options. In the pitching department, the only pitcher with true options, I believe is Fien, and he won't be sent out. Anyone else has to pass thru waivers and, except for Guerrier, would not clear...even Burton and his salary. Still surprised that Pinto remains as he could play every day and get added exposure by catching future Twins (as well as decrease service time), except Fryer is totally useless currently with the Red Wings. Better yet, why is Fryer still on the roster and why isn't someone, anyone promoted up to Rochester.

Neshek was coming off surgery. The Twins hoped to stash him AND free up a roster spot, but someone grabbed him. Like Diamond, Parmelee and others, the Twins hoped that they could send them out and keep them, but someone else saw soemthing.

Is Correria tradable. I think not. Best you can hope is that he develops an injury, sits for a couple of weeks, goes to the minors and gets 3-4 starts and take it from there. Same with Pelfrey. Before Mike returns to the Twins, he will throw in Rochester (20-25 innings). Right now both would pass thru waivers, becoming a free agent. (Does Pelfrey have Blackburn-like options, still). No one would claim either. But both would be signed quickly for paying the pro-rated major-league minimum by someone. As for replacements, the Twins would argue Logan Darnell because he is a lefty. May could (should) get a tryout because we need to see him pitch and if he somewhat fails, he can go back down and work it out at Rochester. Sadly, I would see the Twins adding Yohan Pino to the 40-man and advancing him for some reason I can't explain.

Arcia will get more time in the minors, and might stay there as long as others produce on the major league level. Willingham will have to spend at least two weeks in the minors whenever he comes back. I picture Fuld coming back and Tonkin going down for starters. Hicks will be on the bubble and would go down when Willingham returns. The Twins may see fit to give Hicks realtime at AAA (remember, he hasn't played that much at that level...moreso at the major league level). I also picture the the Twins may have to make a decision on Pinto...does he play everyday at Rochester (which means Fryer comes up for a spell) or does he get at bats at the expense of Kubel/Willingham/Parmelee/Nunez. Nunez is the wildcard. You don't really want him on the field at short if Escobar and Santana continue to play well. You keep him on the bench and play Santana with Fuld in centerfield. So, picture Tonkin goong down. Then Hicks (or Colabello, perhaos). When Pelfrey comes back, and rehabs for a couple of weeks in the minors, the Twins will either make a decision on Guerrier (or Burton) by then, or maybe Pelfrey would be designated and become the next Nick Blackburn, spending time at AAA with the hopes of coming back in September or next year. Right now, you go with your best 25. The line-up against Boston was pretty good looking at the moment, with Dozier the low average guy, but bringing so much more other stuff to the table. Hopefully Correia will right himself, Deduno will shine, and Hughes will do better than one bad start out of every three. Parmelee is hungry. Like Perkins from a few years ago, he was an unwanted man. The Twins have a few of these guys: Nunez, Kubel, Fuld can be cut loose at the drop of a hat and the Twins lose little. If they fail to produce, they won't find another major league job. Colabello is also hungry. Maybe the rest will keep him from pushing, maybe he shouldn't bat 4th, whatever.

You are prorated the season day rate. Also, you gave a substantive jump in your minor league pay by being on the 40-man roster. Some players *like Diamond) are paid their major league numbers in the minors. Some have a split contract which guarantees an even hugher rate if sent to the minors.

We should look at who will definitely be around come 2015 and why. Catcher: Josmil Pinto. Suzuji will play out hius contrat. The Twins have an option of going after a vet in 2015. Herrmann and Fyer and expendable. Rohlfind can play the same future role as Herrmann. Designated Hitter: Kenny Vargas will be the body on the horizon and should get a shot sometime this season. Colabello is a good story but it will boil down to him and Parmelee (both of whom could be deep-sixed come 2015) in the position because they can also backup first and play the outfield. Unless Kubel really shines, he is tradebait or cut loose. And if he shines, should definitely be trade bait since he is playing the outfield. Willingham has used up his lives. Mauer is at first. Dozier is at second. We are still anotehr season away from Rosario and Sano. Santana could be the shortstop. Escobar is a backup. Beresford is also a backup candidate. Nunez, Florimon are out of the pitcher. Could Plouffe become another Michael Cuddyer...play right field and abckup at first. Only if he can get that average up consistently. His alck of consistency dooms him. The Twins need to address the infield. Outfield. In shambles. Arcia will spend a good part of the year in the minors. Kepler ios a long way away. Hicks just can't cut it. Burton needs to play. If he had started the season healthy, he might've been plugged in for a week already! It's patchwork unless the Twins promote Burton and Arcia to go with Hicks next season. Backups are backups and a dime a dozen (bring back Erik Komatsu...no). Unless if Pelfrey finds the golen ticket, he is the next Nick Blackburn and Joe Mays. Correia needs a couple of good starts and then move him. The Twins have Darnell, Meyer, May, Dean...even Yohan Pino, in the wings. I'm not worried about the rotation, although if the Twins are going to ever spend lots of money on three middle-of-the-road players, I would rather see them go all out for a Grienke next time. Perkins i shte closer. The bullpen is strong. If Swarzak and Burton get halfway decent numbers, trade them. Same with Duensing. We forget about the minor league riches. Oliveros is down there. Thompson is on par with Guerrier. You have Achter, Guerra. Bullpen arms aren't a problem. The concern is the offense. You can patch in temporary guys who are playing for their next salary (Fuld, Kubel) and vets looking towards free agency (Willingham). But how do you truly explain Plouffe. DO you put stock in Parmelee. Are the 30-year-old rookies Colabello and Deduno really worth the effort. Is Diamond better than Pelfrey. Should the Twins bring back Scott Baker and find out where Matt Capps is hiding (in Cleveland's system). Will A.J. come back to Minnesota. I'll check back in 2018 when the Twins bring, as spring training invitees, Mike Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, Danny Valencia and R.A. Dickey as non-roster invitees..........

It will be a wait and see. See what Santana brings to the mix. If Rosario is an option. If someone else materializes. Is Dozier stuck at second. Can he be a DH at 31 that also can be a super utility guy. If he hits the 30/30 club or higher, than te Twins will be forced t do something.

Parmelee passed thru waivers at the end of spring training. No other team saw fit to add him to their 40-man roster, elt alone their 25-man roster. So if he comes up and stinks, then he is as much of a loss as, say, a Hendriks. The nice thing was that he did pass thru waivers so there is a potential backup if Mauer goes down, rather than Brad Nelson or Kenny Vargas. And all the complaints about Herrmann...let's throw out bringing up Eric Fryer as the abckup and having Pinto go down and catch regularly (rather than DH up here), as well as sending down Herrmannnnnnn. At this point, I think Pinto deserves to catch more than he is in the majors. DHing isn't scoring him any points. Have him catch the guys that he will be catching in the near and far future (May, Meyer, etc. etc.). As for Guerrier, is he a better choice than Swarzak (who is still cheap and has shown long-relief strength) or the overpriced Burton (yes, perhaps). But the Twins still have one pitcher too many in the bullpen, and if Pelfrey needs to come back and be the donkey in the bullpen, well, we still have one body to many and not sure if we want to lose Swarzak and Burton and send down Tonkin so we can see Guerrier. Of course, Darnell is only a temp in the bullpen, but what will the end-0f-the-month bring.

Thr problem with Florimon is that he is a bench/utility guy, who should get the showcase if someone goes down, and can flip around amongst teams for a decade or so as a glove man with some speed and maybe the ability to move a runner as long as he doesn't bat more than 2-3 times a game or 150 times a season. Being a starter actually hurts him. He can't showcase any hitting skills on a regular basis. Even if he does have a 2 or 3 hit game, it barely offsets the many o-fers that he makes during the week. Unlike names like Casilla and Rivas and Guzman, who actually could produce (but had head issues, some say), Pedro just can't hit major league pitching.

Man, the whole centerfield discussion...hard to think that we have quickly gone thru Hunter, Gomez, Span and Revere in such a short space of time. More surprising, centerfield was for the taking by Benson (quite a buildup at one time by Ryan) and Mastro, opportunities many players would pray for. Both failed. And it is Hick's for keeping, but unless he ahs a huge turnaround, his big payday won't be as a Twin or any other team. You can have talent, or be the msot talented kid on the block, but it doesn't guarantee major league success.

I actually would've added Swarzak to the list, too. Why they didn't try and get value for him before his season. Bullpen arms are replaceable, folks. Add in such non-entities as Herrmann and Escobar. Plus will Willingham, Suzucki, Kubel be back in 2015. The problem is that the Twins are playing .500 ball right now (or close to it) and they can't have anotehr losing season. They have to patch together with whatever they pay for and hope for the better, if not the best. Maybe Pelfrey can work out his kinks in the bullpen, but we don't need Burton and Swarzak also stinking things up. Hopefully Arcia will hit. But if he doesn't, the Twins can't afford to have Florimon and Hicks and Arcia stinkin' up the lineup. They need a bench. Nunez may pan out. Fuld may hold his own. Colabello and shine. Plouffe may meet expectations. Mauer may get abck on track. But if the starters continue to suck bigtime, the Twins will, too. You can't keep pitching guys 4-5 innings and expect to win games with walks and bats (plus all those Twin player strikeouts).

Willingham will be back. Picture Arcia getting an extended workout in the minors. There is no 40-man spot. The Twins have to decide on Hicks and Florimon. If they send down Florimon, he goes off the 40-man. Do the Twins do anything with Swarzak or Burton? They need to keep Tonkin. Guerrier is available, not to mention other bodies. Nothing CAN happen to the rotation. Too expensive to give away. No good demoting them to the bullpen. Just have to sink or swim.

The Twins clearly have some depth in the bullpen. But unless Burton changes course for the better, and until Swarzak gets more innings under his belt, neither is tradable in the least. And then only if another team has suffered an injury that would make risking even a low-level minor league for either of the above. Yes, the Twins do have Tonkin and Guerrier who show the ability to step into the mix. But would they ake the palce of anyone throwing well, or anyone who the Twins have half-an-investment in, is beyond me. Deduno will step into the rotation if a starter goes down. May would be the next callup. I don't see the Twins doing anything with Meyer until September at the earliest or next spring. He's not on the 40-man. The Twins could also call up Logan Darnell whatever, too. But it is still too early. Nolasco will find his rhythm. Correia will be himself and thus be tradebait in July. Pelfrey is a hope.

A fine example of someone tradable mid-season last year that the Twins didn't move.

It is more of a question on how many nopn-batters you can carry in a lineup. How long can you keep Dozier, who will give you the occasional homerun, although giving you a leadoff homer is not something to cheer about. Can you also afford to have a cenetrfielder who also hit the Mendoza line. And can you carry a catcher than hits the Mendoza line, even with power. You CAN have one batting hole, always, in a lineup (which in the National League is usually the pitcher). You can also have a light-hitter in the outfield of he has speed (also on the basis). When you go beyond that, the poor bat ahs to be replaced by a better bat, no matter the outcome in the field. You can have the best fielding team in the league and still lose a lot of games 1 or 2-0. Let.s look at the Twins. Dozier: Has some punch, adequate at 2B. Mauer, can be perfect, but helps more if the people batting before him egt on base more than 33/40% of the time. Willingham needs to heal. Kubel ahs been a surprise. Colabello is a glorified bench player. You use him when he is hot. Suzuki will put the ball in play, but unless he can outhit Pinto, and unless Pinto can outhit Suzuki, we have a weakness behind-the-plate. Hicks is a total work in progress. Can he just get on base. Floirmon suffer because of Hicks before him and Dozier after him. The guy will swing and push and thus not do anything because there is no need to pitch to him period. Plouffe just needs to show consistency. Bartlett isn't ultimately worth it, sadly. Herrmann is bench fodder, sad to say. Mastro has to make the most of his opportunity or we get Ramirez back. The Twins are suffering bigtime because of Hicks/Florimon/Dozier batting back to back, and this ultimately hurts Mauer.

I actually think Arcia may go down, not only for rehab, but to get his stroke back. I see no reason to keep Bartlett. I see Nunez coming up sooner rather than later. Will they switch out Herrmann for him, or one of Escobar/Florimon. Willingham means Tonking will go. The Twins will see what Thielbar and Fien can do before turning exclusively to Tonkin.

am I down for Pat Dean!

The average lifespan of a late round draft pick or minor league signee is what, two or three years at most, to show off their potential for advancement to the higher levels and even consideration for big league play. It is the equivalent of going to school, being an apprentice or an internship. You may get a scholarship (signing bonus) which allows you to live a little better over the time you are trying to make a career. You get a thousand a month for the time you are playing. You may make some more doing the winter ball thing. I believe players in spring training get something in regards to housing (don't the Twins have a dorm) and some foodstufs. And you may work 50 hours of more a week, but what else do you do. Yes, you can't play minor league ball and have a second job. The schedule doesn't permit. But you wake up (as major league players do) and can either stay home or go to the office and at the office you have the field to practice, workout facilities (some great, some only okay). Yes, they should get a bit more (and it slowly rises as they rise) and when you hang around the minors forever (six-year free agents) you do get a more substantial contract, if anyone wishes to hire you. But you do find out pretty darn early if you are going to make it in the system or not. Every year the team drafts 40-50 guys who are ready to take the jobs of the 150 that played the year before. One-third are cut adrift to battle all the other cut adrifts for a dozen or two openings that MAY happen in other minor league systems, or even keep the dream alive in the even lower paying indy leagues. Could the teams pay a bit more to help with incidental costs like housing and food, especially since you do have to relocate to not-knowing-until-assigned. And I dread the thought of being a player that starts at Cedar Rapids and gets promoted to Ft. Myers, and advanced to New Britain for a week, and returns to Ft. Myers and the released. Talk about living out of a trunk. But think about your own post high school years? I remember running off to PA in the 70's and working as a cartoonist assistant for $75 a week and food and room. I did 10 weeks in Colorado for $125 a week as an actor with room and board. Same in Ohio another summer season. I did a residency one summer in Florida for $500, staying with a family. (I will admit that all those money totals were decent for the era). But when I left any of those jobs, I had to scramble home and sack out at the parents, look for more work, and the find a palce to live for a shot period of time. Life was fun and unstable, yet it was part of the elarning process and achieving my later in life goals. When in college, you pay to go to work everyday, and have to pay to live in a dorm system or live cheaper (and take more food risks) on your own. I applaud the teams like Eliz and Cedar Rapids that have families to look after the boys of summer, that have halfway decent facilities to make work play. Would $500,000 plugged into payroll/room/board for the five minor league team be worth it. Hell yes. And making the EST/GCL an Academy with room/board as well as pay a joy of a place to play ball everyday, Who-Ya! But it is a choice to play ball at any level. It is a choice to try any number of professions when you are young, gaining experience, succeeding, but most often failing, in your dream before entering the real world, which sometimes isn't all that much more pleasant than the dream world you left behind.

Evan Bigley, when did he disappear?

The rosters have been released for the AAA and AA farm clubs. Looks like lots of minor league free agents at New Brit (I count 10 not from the Twins system) as some prospects get time at AAA (Meyer, May, Darnell, Romero, Santana) although there is lots of AAAA experience taking up spaces. Look to see some movement up to AAA and some AAA guys jettisoned as the season continues. ROCHESTER PRESS RELEASE http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140331&content_id=70500950&vkey=pr_t538&fext=.jsp&sid=t538 NEW BRIT PRESS RELEASE http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140330&content_id=70452062&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_t534&sid=t534

Pat Dean

Yes, you can argue about Deduno and Colabello, who both had great spring trainings. They outplayed Diamond and Parmelee, who are still with the organization as fodder. So, no real loss. Kubel and Bartlett do bring experience. But Willingham had a horrible spring, and I'm worried about Arcia (and the Twins total strikeouts, again, this season). The Twins have strength in the bullpen. Tonkin, Guerra (the last of the Santana puzzle can still produce), Hoffman, Oliveros, Thompson plus any and all prosspects. Do we know how many of these guys will be around next year (predict). If Pinto produces, then we have Herrmann and Rohlfing in the wings as able backups, and you can always find another vet to stash at Triple-A (on that note, Rene Rivera and Drew Butera both broke spring training this year). It will be a long season.

I've been having this issue with Chrome only (kill pages, lockup, slow loading) the last few days and understand it is a problem with Chrome in general (and that they are working on it...yes, no, maybe). I have no problem with other browsers on the same computer.