Rosterman

You con't trade closers during the off-season...you sign a closer. Perkins also has the two upsides of being a lefty and cheap. He can fill a non-closing role if need be at a decent price, too. But if you are looking for patchwork for the season, you do what the Tigers did, or perhaps the Rays did with Crain (if healthy). Someone to keep you respectible until the off-season and you go buying. By the way, what did happen to Matt Capps!

There is no need for a quick trip top Seattle to, what, DH. It gives the Twins a chance to look at some other guys (and see where Drew Butera belongs). She had Twins, gang. They were premature. They are small. We know litle of what is going on besides the birth. Is it an extended need stay? Are there any problems (hope not). He's giving up two days pay. Kill off this thread, please!

He's around until he hits arbitration. Chance are, batters will catch up with him, or he will be too unrpedictable. Don't think he could transition to a reliever at that point. He is a 30-year-old rookie, guys. If he is here in 2015...... Deduno is a perfect example of someone you should consider trading this winter, or if he comes out of the gate super in 2014.....do it before July to a contender.

The bigger question is what will the player cost in the near future, and where do they fit in erms of the organization...now. Justin Morneau...will cost money to retain, can be repalced by cheaper parts...but if you have the money, why not spend. Jamey Carroll, Josh Roeincke, Mike Pelfry...if you can get an unproven yet promising low-level prospect in a position of need, do it. Josh Willingham.....think if you just wish to shed salary. of course, who is playing the outfield...Herrmann, Parmelee...or do you advance Buxton. Correia.....if you can shed his salary, do it. Really, you can repalce him with henriks for all I care. Seems your best bet might be getting a worthwhile advanced prospect for Duening. Bring up Aaron Thompson in his place. What is sad is that you look at the Twins 40-man roster AND Rochester roster, and you don't really see much worth in players that if you put them on a chart, won't be a Twin in 2014 or even 2015 (Parmelee, Plouffe)

It was a strange signing by the Twins, not including an option/buyout. So basically, they allowed him to use the team as a tryout for next year. Most Tommy John pitchers do start slow (they use almost a year to come back). Pelfry is showing some life. He may not be much more than a #4-5 starter, but could still easily command $6-7 million a season, or perhaps more. He will probably be looking for a 2-3 year contract. Of course, the Twins could trade him for something, or let him walk in August for something, or just let him walk. If he continues to pitch well, he becomes too expensve for Minnesota. If he falters a bit, he becomes less appetizing for anyone, including Minnesota, unless he goes for a bargain rate. This was a signing that did little for the Twins as a whole. It was a paid tryout for Pelfry.

It was a great trade....but...... Nathan wasn't considered a closer. If he was, the Giants would've kept him and made him a closer. He was in pitching staff limbo. He was given the opportunity with Minnesota and shined. It seemed the trade got marks because the Giants were in need of a closer shortly after. Boof was actually considered a possible workhorse, mid-rotation guy. Liriano....ptbnl...a youngster. A.J. left the Giants because he didn't produce and was in arbitration and the Giants weren't willing to overpay, considering the season he showed them. One of the issues of baseball, you can't sign a player for as cheap as you might like (shade of David Ortiz) so some otehr team can sign him for what you are willing to pay him. I always liked A.J. He calls a decent game. Puts the ball in play. Is hot and cold at throwing out runners. If Mauer wasn't in the wings...but with what happened to Mauer and we were forced to play Henry Blanco for most of a season.... But, yes, Nathan turned out to be one fo the best closers of the decade and is still going strong......

Bring back Thome! And, get ready for the return of Nick Blackburn. By the way, aren't we paying Butera something like $700,000 this year!

They can bring up Hendriks. Diamond should've been shuffled off before the All-Star break and given three starts to see if he can still start. Otherwise, groom him as a lefty set-up guy. The Twins could also promote Hernandez. Don't picture any immediate 40-man movement. You want to keep any trading chips (inclouding throwins) in stick right now. Was surprised that Houston basically cut loose Pena and some other guy. Guess even at .208 with some power, Pena wasn't even a C-prospect tradechip. Oh, well. I just feel bad that Nick Blackburn will be coming back at some point and a 40-man spot and some starts (to increase his own personal value) will be made.

Seth, do a list and look at the guys the Twins have to consider adding to the 40-man roster. Who should get a September add, compared to a November, which restricts removal for free agents and such (you always like a few guys like Clete Thomas and Drew Butera that you can resign as MLFA on the roster).

If it's the difference between a prospect and a body, I say go for it. Yes, you want to save money, but as we all know, it doesn't carry over to next season. The big thing is to get players on the field that will be here, by chance, next year.

Ifg it's the difference between a prospect and a body, I say go for it. Yes, you want to save money, but as we all know, it doesn't carry over to next season. The big thing is to get players on the field that will be here, by chance, next year.

The problem is "how much." The second problem is "why is money so important." The third problem is "do fans know how badly a player really wants to play here...or is it just a job." Why did Hunter and Johan want to leave. Money? Big markets? That elusive ring? If Santana had stayed here (for $30 million less) he would be a star. He slipped a bit by going to New York. Too bad the Twins got reamed on his haul. Torii went with the money, and did it again to the Tigers (and hopes for a ring). Joe Nathan went with the money...the offer that overwhelmed him that he didn't need to come back to Minnesota and say "will you match." Too often, the Twins seem to lowball players on initial offers. I have yet to understand why Colorado paid Cuddyer $30 million. But goes to show that sometimes overpaying a player might pay off, instead of underpaying a player (Willingham at $21 million). You have to judge your free agent possibilities carefully. Nowadays, you might as well trade them away so you can better negotiate for them in the off-season if you really want them. The Twins had a chance to bring back Liriano but undervalued him. They could send Morneau to a contender and bring him back. The system seems better set up for that rather than make a qualifying offer and do it all over again next season. Get something, anything. I would rather have Hernandez and Escobar than nothing, really. It is also forcing you to look at players long-term and trading them amidst contracts, i.e. Span. The Twins, if Willingham was healthy, should do the same. Maybe Doumit. Definitely Correia. But then you get stuff like Willingham (again). And Pavano and Capps last year, who could've brought some system depth but ended up costing you millions in unplayed time. It is not an easy job dealing with management or players. We all remember Harmon Killebrew being rebuffed by the Twins and ending his career in Kansas City (Kansas City -- why?) You have players demanding a trade and thus lessening their value. Do we keep Morneau? (Like we should've kept Koskie). I say yes because who else can you spend (and will) $30 million on over, say, three seasons. You can still always trade him. He can play 1st. He can DH eventually. He may find his power. You can afford to keep him. But the Twins won't because they want to lowball him. Because they want to rebuild (with whom). Because theya re...the Twins. I have not figured out the new (old) regime. They hold players down on the farm, yet trot out Hicks everyday. They sign an abundance of minor league free agents nd do get a gem or two, but if we are building for the future we don't do it with an aging journeyman first baseman out of the indy leagues and a 30-year-old pitcher that has spotty control at times. You don't fill a roster with the likes of Mastro, Thomas and Ramirez as well as a trio of infielders who are clones. If you have starting pitching that you have homegrown and like, you find a way to keep them (Santana, Baker, Liriano)...yet those that you do keep (Blackburn, Mays, Silva) well, that is a crapshoot, isn't it. It's all about putting butts in the sets. Good attendance first game back on a cool summer night. But there is little reson for ME to go see the Twins live, and I'm a Twins fan for my entire life. I do it now if it is cheap...hey, I could work for the Twins!

I would bring in Andy as President and General Manager. Let him hire a couple of assistants and a new manager, maybe even another director of minor league operations. Gardy would find another job. We need new blood everywhere in this organization.

Again, if Terry Ryan wows us like he did during the winter trading period, see him standing pat. But decisions do have to be made. Is it better just to send players thru waivers in August and clear salary (yes, if they are no longer in the team's picture...maybe get a minor minor prospect). I can see the Twins putting Morneau, Roeincke, Carroll, Pelfry even names like Thomas and Ramierez, plus the time to send thru Wood and DeVries and remove them from the 40-man roster. I could also see Willingham being offered out there to see how far he goes. And Correia, too. I would immediately have sent Diamond back to AAA to pitch two starts during the break to see if he can handle AAA hitters and then make the decision if he is a long-0relief guy and occasional starter, tradebait, or something. Again, you can salary dump, hold the player back (and stifle game playing for the futre, or maybe do get a prospect in return...at the same level that you could probably get today. Perkins is a great question mark. He would be 33 in his walk year, when the Twins may just be competing. But who knows how good he will be at that point. Him and Burton could both be traded out for the future. The Twins don't need no closer this year, or even next. Fein could probably suffice. Duensing and Swarzak are also guys that should draw some interest and the Twins don't need them, salary wise, in their long-range plans. Let another team decide if they need them for more than a year or two. Butera...gone! With his wasted minor league seaosn, I see no reason for the Twins to even give Blackburn a look, unless they think they can lowball him for next season and truly want him back?

He's pitching for money. Him and his agent saw the lackluster response he got s a free agent (and why Pittsburgh ante up what they did -- originally for him -- is beyond belief). The tell will be next season, when he is again playing for money. If he keeps his head straight, he can dominate. Hopefully he's not staining his arm!

Ah, yes...another pitcher whose name was bandied about as a trade possibility goes down, and his name isn't Blackburn. We WILL see Nick up here before too long. AMidst all the talk about the Twins not trading anyone before the deadline, there is always the waiver wire and the Twins can still move Morneau, Correia, Doumit, Pelfry for a grade-B prospect or just dump salary if they see fit. See that happening if anybody lays claim to one of many warm bodies (Jamey Carroll included...or Josh Roeincke).

Very nice piece. Would love to see this in the Twins mag......not sure if people realize the talent they have coaching in the minors (plus, these guys move around sometimes from season to season). Jim Shellenback is another guy who has been in the system until he retired. The big thing is the number of guys that pass by these coaches each year, and in the dozen years alone Gary has been with the Twins farm department...and it is new faces every year.

At this point, I would like to see Diamond become the next Duensing (and what gives with Duening, he is supposed to be lefthadned long relief). If the Twins can move Pelfry and Correia, and if not now, they will be put on waivers and become at least salary dumps in August, I see the Twins September rotation being Gibson, Blackburn, Worley, Deduno and Hendriks. The AAA team will have Hernandez, Albers, Darnell, Walters and May. Meyer is in the wings. Hermsen is a question. That's what it is suddenly looking at. I see DeVries and Hernandez both being better in long relief, if push comes to shove, and we see what eventually happens with Diamond. The Twins bullpen could move Duensing, Swarzak (both because of arbitration) and Roeincke. I would be happy with Tonkin coming back up and Diamond moving to the bullpen. The only other relief that looks exciting is the aging Aaron Thompson, and the possible return next season of Lester Oliveros. But, internally, we aren't as pitching rich for 2014 as we think (Blackburn...come on -- the Twins so want to play this guy rather than eat his salary, which they still are basically doing).

I think we have to look at this "Twins Way" thing, rather than if Gardenhire (and before him, Kelly) was doing their jobs right or not. The Twins have always relied on the farm system and homegrown talent. They might take a stab and bring in some free agent (Morris, Chili Davis) but often they brought in on-the-fringe type free agents (you can say Molitor, Steinbach, Monroe). They have a tendency to make good trades when they do (Knoblauch, Viola, should've ben Santana) which bring in multiple pieces that soemtimes turn into multiple pieces. THAT is the direction they go, pulling the plug on players earlier (Cudddyer, Nathan, Kubel...now Perkins) rather than let them walk. The Twins have always, when possible, been willing to field a team that they think will compete in the division. After all, these re the teams you have to face and beat more often than not, and the central ahs been notoriously weak.You would think that they would take the plunge and go all out and spend bigtime and get superstar pieces and totally destroy the division (no, it isn't as easy as all of that). Like the Oakland 's, the Twins like to field a team based around certain fundamentals (the Twins way). Both rely on a farm system. Oakland turns 1/3 of their roster over every year, it seems, and still manages to compete in the West more often than not. You are not going to compete every year unless you can throw money away at, say, a disabled list -- how much are the Yankees paying players not to play this season, anyone know? The Twins now have a unique opportunity to continue to build their farm system, by raiding the system of others (getting those 26th and 41st players) and scoring good drafts picks for the third straight year. With the return of Ryan, the Twins could've done a little better purchasing free agents, perhaps, that they could flip. Again, that is a crap shoot. Look at Willingham this year and Pavano and Capps last year. Yet the Twins have to do more of what they did with Span and revere...trade them for others after they have posted respectable numbers. Why they didn't do that this winter/spring with Willingham, or a couple of years back with Young, is beyond me. We have to also rememebr that if a team comes calling on some, like they may on Worley or Pelfry, they are seeing something in those players. Don't sit back and say...hey, I'm going to keep these guys because so-and-so wants them. Move on. Do it to someone else. Bringing us back to Gardy. Like Kelly, he wants the team to play fundamental ball. To take a led and hold it. Move runners around. Don't walk batters. Don't give those extra outs. Hit some homers. Steal some bases. Put a good show on the field. He can only do that if he has the players. Unlike maybe a handful of teams, I don't really see Gardenhire having a lot of say on who comes up and goes down or how the roster will be designed until he gets his Twins media guide in the spring. All those decisions seem to be made by the front office. Like Kelly, he's given a whole bunch of players and has to make some eliminations...win some, lose some. It be more of a time to make a major change in the Twins organization -- going outside of the home office for a GM, Manager, Scouting Director, Farm Director. Bring in someone who is a real baseball man as president or player personal director. Looking at the Twins front office, there are a lot of people there that look good in suits. They hang around the coffee room together, get their contract renewed every season, know that when so-and-so leaves I will be considered (and probably get) the job, happy and content to be a part of the Twins...because that is the Twins way...keep happy employees in certain positions and jobs. I like Terry Ryan. I think he is an excellent evaluator of talent, coupled with opnions from another. As a manager, Ron Gardenhire surrounds himself with people that he trusts to keep the fundamentals of the game in place, playing good-cop bad-cop when necessary. He seems to run a decent clubhouse when egos aren't involved, and places a lot of trust in his various lieutenants. Who would the Twins get to run the ship. Is there another Bill Rigney out there? Do we want a Gene Mauch? Again, these guys would only be as good as the talent that the team puts on the field. That comes from drafts, system development, trades, and purchase. With a close eye on those 26th and 41st players in other systems -- but no matter how good those players may be, they are still more often placeholders than superstars. The Twins need change for the sake of change. But they need it above and beyond the clubhouse. It has to go all the way into the front office. I won't say that the people in the Twins organization are horrible, no. But they are like the team on the field. They do enough to give an impression of a finely tuned and happy and "Twins Way" organization. We need someone to make statements...not just money!

Then we should have no problem overpaying, persay, to keep Justin Morneau. Maybe we immediately extend Pelfry and Blackburn. Possibly Ryan was expecting the Twins to hover right at .500 and he could make a big splash by being a buyer rather than a seller? Unless if the Twins had made an outrageous offer to one or two of the high-end starting pitchers, in hindsight Ryan almost looks like a genius that he didn't overpay for any of the other 5 or so that we yelled about him signing. The Twins turned a profiut last seson and carried a decent payroll. Looks like even if the stands are empty in August and September, the pre-sale will turn a profit this year with a vastly underpaid payroll. There will be additional monies coming into 2014 that go where, not to mention 2015 when our last big budget players are totally gone (Doumit and Willingham). By then, Mauer's payroll alone will be what the Twins are spending on the entire 24-man roster below him. This last homestand and roadtrip were a disaster, from getting people enthusiastic about going to the ballpark. A limited amount of homegames in July won't help. Not sure if the Twins can patch anything together to win against anyone but, say, White Sox, Houston...that's it. If we can't even beat Kansas City...or Cleveland...or breakeven, then the ship is sinking. Call it a rebuild and see what you have, and don't play games hoping to buy service time. The Twins, you can't afford to do that right now. You have to make the farm system scream and yell and show soemthing, anything, and you can still continue to restock it (by trading vets for chips, by signing those 26th and 41st players...you got the 40-man space coming up).

Who would they get? We hear Molitor. I wonder if Steinbach should be elevated to the post...probably something like that would happen for the remainder of the year. The mistake was that the house wasn't totally cleaned last season. You could've shifted Vavra to be minor league hitting instructor. But you needed to say goodbye to Ullger and Anderson, sadly. The bigger question is who can you bring in as GM. The Twins organization is very stale. Everyone throughout the administration would be considered a lifer in any other business, and a total oddity in the world of baseball. They constantly promote from within. We can assume that future on-field management will include such names as Jake Mauer, Tommy Watkins, maybe Jeff Smith, or perhaps Gene Glynn will get a chance actually manage. Locally, the Twins still have Tim laudner and Roy Smalley who would be great on-field guys if they wanted to commit. Why Ron Coomer isn't a major league hitting coach, instead of an announcer, is beyond me. Or Danny Gladden working on the field. Bert is beyond pitching coach status now, but you never know. But can this team go outside, and continue to go outside when major vacancies occur. Still someone else's Scouting Director, or minor league development manager. Grad up-coming assistant gms from other teams. Get a baseball guy in as president (shades of MacPhail).

The problem with this is unrealistic signings, like Hughes. You can pretty much only deal with who will be gone from the 40-man roster and added from the organization. Look for Morneau, Pelfry and Carroll gone for sure. Correia and Willingham are still trade chips, depending on how they end the season. But both are players that would be better moved now, in July, than the off-season when other teams can sign real free agents or trade for other similar parts. I don't see Doumit leaving. He is the man until we see if Pinto becomes the backup (with Herrmann as a bench guy). Which brings to question Drew Butera (and in some ways Nick Blackburn). For some odd reason, I see the Twins looking at Blackie before the season ends. For some odd reason. Drew, there is no reason whatsoever to sign him for above the major league minimum, and that is debateable. The next big question is all the outfielders. Mastro, Ramirez and Thomas are not needed on the 40-man. You can resign them if you choose, to minor league contracts. The Twins have to address Escobar, Florimon and Dozier. Considering that is all they have..... The Twins have to look hard and long at arbitration with Swarzak and Duensing. Can they be repalced by Hernandez/Diamond. Could DeVries be in the mix (I think not). I doubt that Roeincke will be back. Tim Wood will get a minor league contract and a look in 2014. Worley will be back sometime. Hendriks might be trade bait. It will be interesting to see if any from Darnell, Albers, Hermsen, Meyer, May jump into the rotation at the beginning of the season. We will find out shortly if Morneau will be a longterm Twin. I see no reason for the Twins to let him walk after the season ends with no return. Do it now and risk the chance that you could resign him. I see no free agent wanting to come to Minnesota unless they overpay, and we know that will not happen. Rather than Hughes, we stand a better chance seeing the return of Ramon Ortiz or Jason Marquis, or maybe signing Bartalo Colan.

I would vote send Diamond down and let him get a couple of starts between now and the next need of the Twins for a starter (they could always bring up Hernandez for another day start after the All-Star break.). Unless Diamond can figure things out, he may be the next Duensing,,,,,,,,,

Who should we be watching that need to be added to the 40-man roster spots this off-season (or get added as a September callup). I see lots of vancancies...probably as high as 15, when the season finally ends. DeVries, Pelfry, Roenicke, Duensing (arbitration), Swarzak (arbitration), Wood, Hermsen, Butera, Colabello, Mastro, Thomas, Ramierz, and possible trades of FA's Willingham, Carroll, Morneau, Correia, and the dark horse Perkins. Spring cleaning in the fall.

Jermaine Mitchell signed out of the Phillies organization for CF at Rochester. Where do the Twins keep finding these guys?