Rosterman

Who is this Jermaine Mitchell.....

Right now, Plouffe is a keeper. He is a keeper as he goes thru arbitration. He can play a multitude of positions, DH....his bat, if consistent, is worthwhile to have. There is no immediate replacement that can do what he does (Janey carroll, Escobar...think not).

Aggie was also considered a starter when the trade was made and was the main body the Twins thought they were getting. Tapani was the bonus. The Twins did feel that Dave West was going to be the pitching sensation he never was, a lefty to make us totally forget Viola.

You don't need a closer if you aren't contending. The Twins AREN'T contending. They can survive with Burton in the role, or perhaps bring back...Capps...or give someone (Tonkin) an early opportunity. The closer is the most overvalued role on a team. Most have 3-5 years...years before (like Perkins) being a starter or middle relief guy. Years after, mopping up. Being a lefty, if he stays healthy, Perkins will always have a job. He may not eventually close, but he'll have a job. Closers are overvalued at trade deadlines or when a contending team loses their closer. It is the time to shoot for the moon and get a variety of payback players, hoping one will stick. Right now, the Twins have to be set to strike and move ANYONE when they start to show a little greatness on the field. Yes, if Clete Thomas hit, you trade him...he is not the future. If Willingham can run out to leftfield and back, you make sure that clip gets on Baseball Tonight. Right now, looking at two potential trade chips -- Willingham and Pelfry -- the last thing the Twins need is a Pavano/Capps where both are injured and get you nothing in return when you should be getting something, clearing payroll AND roster space. Pelfry signing a one-year contract without an option was his gamble, hoping to shine to make more bucks next year. So cutting ties with him is a no brainer. Justin Morneau would be a no brainer, too. The Twins WILL NOT make a qualifying offer, so cut the guy loose, but if you truly want him, be competitive when he becomes a free agent. If you reward Justin by getting him a temporary stop at a pennant winner and potential World Series player, it may make him momentarily happy. If he truly wants to stay a Twins...after this vacation...he will come back. Correia is a trade chip, too. I would rather not see DeVries, Hendriks or Hernandez replace him, but they CAN. The sad part about trading ANY players is the fact that the Twins MAY hover around .500 this season. Trading away a bunch of players may send us into a funk and end the season, at 72-90. But with more future potential on the horizon, is it better than finishing the season 78-84 and still losing Pelfry, Morneau and not strengthining the system by adding addiutional players by trading out Willingham, Correia and...Perkins?

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Since he is an unsignble free agent, the team will offer up something like Pedro Hernandez and an Escobar for him, perhaps. Maybe the Twins can highball any low bidders in free agent land, but doubtful, then.

Well, Ryan Doumit convinced the powers-that-be that he needs to play everyday to stay fresh, whatever that means. Justin Morneau is reminding me of the guy he replaced, Doug Mientkiewicz, someone who hit for average but no power. The sad thing is it wouldn't take much for Morneau to end the year like last...around .260-.270. Willingham needs to play the outfield if you want ALL teams to consider him as a trade chip. The Twins need to play Morneau and Willingham, now...they are tradable pieces. One or the other will be gone. I doubt the Twins would risk losing both right now. The biggest question is: Trade Morneau and then worry about considering to resign him. Or make him an offer now. Or let him declare free agency and make a qualifying offer for another year of his bat. Morneau is the clog, right now. But if you also trade, say, Willingham...you lose power, but have a spot for Parmelee AND Arcia in the outfield. Colabello, although a great story, will not surface as a regular at first and can be expected to provide backup for the next year, at most. And what do we do with Hicks...let him wallow in the minors for July and August or until Clete Thomas comes back to earth?

I like the thought that the Orioles are interested in Plefry. Someone needs to grab him...away from us. Maybe the Twins can trade Pelfry for a package of casilla, Valencia and...Lew Ford! Diamond just can't get past the fifth inning. Gibson is pitching past the 5th inning and eating up his season innings too fast. Are the Twins going to shut him down? The other starters on the staff: Hendriks, DeVries and Hernandez are all comparable to Diamond, at the moment. Clearly, the Twins do need to do something. I don't see the triple threat I just mentioned being the future of the Twins, but then again, didn't see Deduno and Walters teaming with Correia to be the Twins rotation this year, either. Do we still think the Twins will find a way to bring back Nick Blackburn to make, what might amount, to a single $5 million dollar start in the majors?

Doumit was getting all these starts because he went on a short tear and some comment was made that he plays better if he plays somewhere everyday, and not just come off the bench (i.e. fulltime DH).

The Twins have to pretty much move anyone on their current roster if they increase in value during the season. Pelfry and Correia especially. Morneau...trade him for something. Then you can renegotiate with him as a free agent. Trade him to a team that might get a ring this year. Willingham...grab the first taker that offers anything breathing. He's slowing down. He is replacable over time, or by just trolling the free agent market for a single year signee. The middle infield is a mess -- all three are average players. I don't want Carroll back at all. Plouffe is showing some signs of stability and is worth a keep. Herrmann can replace Doumit down the line, leaving the backup catcher position open for Lehman or Rohfling next year and Pinto thereafter. I don't know what to say about Diamond. Going into 2014 with Deduno and Walters heading your staff with Worley, Hendriks, Gibson, May, Meyer as backups means we are still rebuilding. Oh, Parmelee CAN replace Morneau for the moment. But unless the Twins go big in the free agent market, 2014 will continue to be a rebuilding year. Arcia is the real deal. I will give Hicks lots of rope (but I want him at AAA for the rest of the summer if Clete Thomas continues to breathe). The bullpen appears strong and we have arms in the system.

No hurry for Gibson. He has to be on an innings count. Picture the Twins flipping Pelfry if he comes around and bangs out a few more consistent starts. Come September, the Twins will be able to do a six-man rotation, and have enough of a bullpen to only have Gibson do 4-5 innings a start, and he can still get 4-6 starts with the team before season's end. The question is what to do with Diamond. Are Deduno and Walters the real thing? Correria is here for depth, but could also be flipped if the right offer happens.

Slama is the perfect example of a sell high prospect. We would repeatedly hear mumbles from the Twins about what he can't do. There was little opportunity given to even fail at the major league level. Yet if he wasnt going to fit into the plans, you move him when he is hot. Yes, sometimes you hope a player will reinvent himself (Benson) and play hot, after he has become the 4th centerfielder in the high end of the system. Will be interesting to see if Slama does land somewhere, although this year he ahs been terribly horrible.

You are going to keep Carroll until you read how Plouffe is doing. I'm amazed at the lack of use for Thielbar. At this point, I would want the freshest arms in the bullpen, which means Fein could be optioned out. You can always flip him back when Roeincke wears out. It was just one game, but if Thomas hits and if Hicks is even a day or three slow at coming back, and having to go to Rochester to rehab, it might be longer than Aaron expected. Plus, he would play everyday at Rochester, until Thomas wears down or Hicks tears the cover off the ball. I could see Parmelee going east when Ramirez comes back. And the Twins eventually making a decision between Thomas and Ramierz on the 4th outfielder. Someday, they will have to decide on Mastro. But none of the three will be around next season...so... Sad to see Slama leave the organization. Not sure who will grab him. Right now, teams are looking at promoting players (except the Twins, who also picked up Caleb Brewer for the Kernels). As a matter of fact, the Twins seem to be adding more and more AAAAers -- Petit for one. They did cut their minor league Rule 5 guy. Be interesting to see how many draftees they actually sign, who goes to Eliz, who goes to Cedar Rapids, and how everyone moves around. But, still, for the rotation -- Rochester is still overflowing, and New Britain is pretty solid. Oh, they can send Escobar down, too. And Chris Hermann, is he the bench bat you want/need. He probably goes when Plouffe returns. I'm hoping Arcia is now here to stay!

Right now, he has little worth, it seems. Should've been traded before this season, for a prospect. But considering no one claimed him when he went on waivers. Of as a minors free agent before. Sad.

Right now, after drifting around the free agent marketplace last year and getting an initial sweetheart deal with Pittsburgh, Francisco is having to work and work hard to prove that he is worth whatever he ends up getting this season and guaranteed a decent contract from the same Pirates next season. Yes, the motivation didn't work last year fro Francisco in both of his chances to get a good contract from the hometeam (Chicago and Minnesota). Not sure WHY Pittsburgh made their initial offer. Glad they refined it a bit.

Hardy would be giving us a bit more punch than Escobar, Carroll and Florimon. Not sure how he evens out with Plouffe on his right. For $35 million, we could've kept a pretty good outfield. Garrett Jones might've been a better investment than Parmelee. Amazed as the continued consistency of A.J. And if he stayed, would Ortiz have become Mr. Minnsota Twin (shades of Willie Stargell).

How much would Perkins next deal be. It was team friendly (he wasn't the closer in name, yet). He had a tremendous downside at one point. He has shown he is worth more. He is a left-hander. Who is the replacement. How bad does someone need him. He is a left-hander. I would like to do better than a Wilson Ramos. But, then again, will we see a Capps or a Rauch filling in during the final growing years of the team, or do we honestly have a closer (what happened to Slama) in waiting.

Time to say goodbye to Carroll. If anyone will take him and his salary.

Plus, Drew is on a $700,000 salary for this year! Another Twins mistake!

Was doing some research on another project. From the 2009 draft (Kyle Gibson), two draftees (Dozier and Herrmann) have made the majors. Only 7 of he 50 players the Twins drafted are still playing minor league ball.

DeVries MIGHT just get the long-relief chance. It's him or Swarzak, depending on how badly the Twins want to go with arbitration with Anthony and how he ends up[ pitching for the rest of the season. DeVries just has to hang in there. It's said, but he had his chance and his injury curtailed his biggest opportunity!

The Twins definitely will be breaking on 1-3 of these guys a year over the next few seasons. Too bad Slama isn't the talk of the town anymore.

I vote for Ron Coomer!

Ron Gardenhire...he'll be looking for a new job, soon. Or so people keep posting!

Bert is now a Hall of Famer. It does take him to special events. Above and beyond signing at some town's local card store. I enjoy Smalley. I really like Ron Coomer with Dick. I always enjoyed Jim Kaat and wish we never lost him.