Rosterman

Well, it seemed that Duff was the go-to guy and that, in all liklihood, Rocco was hoping he would close out the game with two innings of work. Otherwise, if you were going to close with Duran, he would be up prepping for the ninth. Joe Smith only threw three pitches the day before, too. But you should be able to see that Duff was struggling. The game was close. And then, the 8th. Even when Sanchez reached first base I would've put Gordon in to run. You need one run to keep the game going. (Although, refresh my mind, how does the DH rule work these days? The current DH can move to a position, but then you MUST use a new bat each time that position comes up in the order for the rest of the game?)

Alex Colome 1-0 3.79 in Coors Field, with a couple of saves.

Maybe bat Buxton 9th for now? One less at bat?

So many of the minor league free agents on the Saints staff have imploded. Ian Hamilton is still the only non-roster guy that should be under considerataion. Derek Rodriguez is pitching well as a starter. His one Twins appearance was marred by Rocco keeping him in one inning too long when it wasn't necessary. Balazovic and Henriquez should both be switched out with starters prospering at AA Wichita, for the moment. Or we jsut let them take their lumps? Cole Sands is also overmatched. WIll he be this season's Charlie Barnes? Strotman has been a disaster in relief and probably will be the next arm to go from the 40-man roster. Will the Twins make a roster move (Godoy and COntreras are both 40-man expendables at this point) and bring up Chi Chi Gonzalez to start in the double header? They did sign Hunter Wood, who is working out at FCL camp. Not sure why he didn't sign anywhere in the off-season. His stats show some promise. He is coming off of an IL-stint last season for "elbow discomfort." https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/woodhu01.shtml Coulombe is coming back this weekend, I imagine. Maybe WInder will be back next week.

No team will take him unless he produces bigtime in the minors. He will be free for the asking come 2023.

The LOCKOUT didn't help. Coming off a losing season, which was coming off a no-fan 2020, doesn't help. As a lifelong Twin Citian, I don't feel safe taking the lightrail right now, leaving my car pacrked in a light rail lot or on a Minneapolis city street. I also don't want to walk from what was once my favorite inexpensive parking lots off Washington, or by the Orpheum. I did park in the ramp when went to the Dodger series. The weather has not been delightful. There are bargains to be had, but when you add up tickets, parking, food...it ain't cheap. But you can get a cheap ticket season ticket plan and then sit pretty much anyplace where there are empty seats. How have the Twins been marketing baseball, above and beyond the Bally coverage? COVID is, sadly, keeping them from getting players out into the community. There doesn't seem to be the coverage we expected in the past on WCCO. Where is the ads? Still trying to sell Target Field rather than the team (who is the face of the team sans Buxton, and he still needs to build into that position). People are still trying to figure out how to spend their spare change. And with summer upon us, everyone will be asking for it...and gas will keep you local (which could be good for the Twins) or people just don't care about baseball as much as they did in 2019. 2020 hurt the game with the worthless short season. 2021 was a disaster for selling the Twins. The Lockout almsot killed baseball for many - greed is still in the minds of many who love the game or just view it in passing.

Not sure what to make of Balazovic. Maybe they needed to start him in AA ball after he started the season on the injured list. Henriquez is another guy who should probably be pitching at AA ball. Still young. Alex Schreff is putting up some decent numbers at AA Wichita. Along with Austin Schulfer, he should make the jump to AAA soon. I also hope the Twins take an AAA look at Bryan Sammons before losing him as a minors free agent. Twins signed Hunter Wood. Pitched well for Cleveland, Texas and Tampa Bay. Sad to see Vallimont grabbed by the Orioles. You win some, you lose some. And you can't keep everyone.

The Twins signed Hunter Wood to a minor league contract and will work him out of the FCL complex. He has pitched 71 games, mainly out of the bullpen, for the Rays, Guardians and Rangers. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/woodhu01.shtml

Two Questions: Can the Twins stretch nout ALL their rotation arms to get them thru the season and into the playoffs, if necessary. And, what to do with Sano if and when he comes back.

There seems to be a pecking order for prospect advancement in the Twins system. Part of the problem is that there are a lot of prospects, there are some in the majors (Kirilloff, Larnach, Miranda) getting their chance. You oughta get to the 40-man. And most teams in baseball won't add a player to the 40-man unless they really need to be protected (Enlow, Balazovic) or are on the cusp of playing. Because if they can't play in the majors, they take up space for a time (Vallimont as an example). Even advancing a player too soon to AAA ball, especially if they are entering the 1st year of Rule 5 eligibility, is a gamble...because if a player excels, a low-end team will grab. Twins were lucky Miranda went thru 2020 without being grabbed. But decisions also have to be made before a minor league player becomes eligible for free agency. I would be looking at Caleb Hamilton more as the call-up catcher at the moment than, say, Godoy. Of course, if the guy doesn't work out and needs to taken off the 40-man, you can lose them on the waiver wire...so you want to be pretty sure of their longer-term standing in the organization, which is why prospects are often oevrlooked as the team goes with minor league free agents as fill-in when duty calls in the majors due to injury. That being said, my under-the-radar ghuys are Travis Adams and Steven Hajjar at Ft. Myers. Kyler Fedko already advanced to Cedar Rapids. The pitching staff at Cedar Rapids reminds one of the Twins. What would the Twins record be if their staff wasn't doing what it is doing, considering the hitters (and baseball) is light on offense. SO many standout arms, but I like Bradley Hanner, Sean Mooney and Bobby Milacki as sleepers. And don't forget Jair Camargo, still a horribly young catcher who will have to be Rule 5 protected. Look for him to get some advancement this season. I still like Bryan Sammons as a fringe lefty. He should've been in St. Paul. This is his last chance to shine and maybe be a backend part of the bullpen. Or he may disappear, like Ryan Mason did earlier this month. Austin Schulfer is lights out. Is he the real thing? I hope is is the real thing and NOT J.D. Durbin! Keep monitoring Chris Williams and Alex Isola s they become comfortable with positions. Both can catch and play elsewhere. A valuable skill when you have that extra bench spot. And the Twins got Alex Schreff from the Red Sox and he continues to put up solid numbers in relief. ANotehr guy getting buried by the 25 minor league free agents the Twins signed this year.

Relief pitchers have the fun task of deveopping new pitches and using them effectively. Nothing really changes, except their speeds and locations. They often have the luxury of facing one batter or maybe 7-10 at most. For all the film batters can review on a pitcher, it can mroe often than not backfire on the bullpen arm, as you don't really know when or where you might face the guy. But many do follow routines. They can be tracked, especially as they throw against right-handed or left-handed batters. If they challenge the hitter, go inside or outsie early. But if a bullpen arm can have three pitches, maybe even four, and throw them at different speeds, there is a chance for success, mixed in with a bit of attitude and raw skill.

Polanco is our cleanup hitter and rbi leader. Who had that on their bingo card. The bullpen is a mess. The Twins have survived because of so many arms coming and going. It's nice most can pitch multiple innings, and I almost fell out of the couch when Rocco removed Joe Smith last nite after three straight hits insteda of having him work out of the inning. With the addition of hitting to contact and possible small ball, maybe we are going to see more stolen bases in the next quarter. Am most happy that the Twins have a decent bench to cycle thru the DH spot. We will still be wondering "where to play" Arraez if and when Kirilloff comes back. The joy after 40 games is that Ober and Ryan (and in many cases WInder and Smeltzer) have gas left in their arms going into the next part of the season. And we really haven't used Bundy, Archer and Gray to their full potential. Now the question is the status of Sands and Balazovic as immediate roster helpers if the time comes, are Henriquez and Strotman the next to be expendable if a 40-man roster spot is needed (bye-bye Vallimont). We know a few minor league free agents will soon get walking papers once the draft happens. A lot of fine potential arms that need to move up to AA and AAA come July. Curious to see where Jordan Gore and Ian Hamilton work into the Twins picture. Seems Juan Minaya is on the outside looking in. And Yennier Cano might be one of those hot throwers from AAA ball that will journey about in the majors and minors for years to come (Curtiss, Charhgois, Hildenberger, Slama, Oliveros amongst others).

Regarding Steer...I guess it means we will see more of Miranda as he works things out in TwinsLand, unless they send him down when Kirilloff is ready to be activated. Steer has been playing more third. Palacios, who has been the super-sub and current third baseman, jasn't been producing. Kevin Merrill is an interesting pikc-up, who also was being groomed for m ultiple positions. Perhaps just a numbers game here. Picture Miranda going back when Kirilloff gets the call again. Now, though, what to do about Larnach?

He was the surprise of the 2021 spring training, beating out Broxton and Rooker and, in many ways, Cave. I'm glad he is finding space in major league ball and making the msot of his opportunities. But he is, sadly, the 26th man on the Twins roster. Considering the Twins have no REAL designated hitter, he is better than, say, just Cruz who could only bat. You can put Garlick in the field after pinch hitting. Now if he could transition into some first baseman skills perhaps?

Yes, a true over-analysis. I would really like to see a corresponding look at how Royce has fared in AAA ball to have a better idea of how he is doing, and the differences between AAA ball and major league pitching.

Interesting piece on Major League Trade Rumors. Seems the Mets were wary on the health status of Paddack. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/05/mets-notes-paddack-hosmer-smith-bassitt.html

Ernie Yake was dropped to Wichita. Seems to be the Jimmy Kerrigan of this season. A low-level minor league guy with frequent flyer miles.

I'm sorry, getting send down after a second decent start? Maybe Smeltzer is a starter for the future. But right now, he could serve as a decent mid-iunning long guy. A lefty who can pitch thru a batting order. Winder, Ober, Ryan, Maeda, Gray can be locks for 2023. And who knows who else is coming up, what the Twins do with Bundy and Archer. Whatever. Winder and Smeltzer both need innings, but not full start innings, to build up for future jobs with the Twins. 3-4 innings a game (or even just two) can see them thru the season.

For some reason, I felt the Twins didn't feel Rogers was worth going to arbitration with. I was almost surprised that they did. But that doesn't explain them sending money to San Diego, which means we are basically paying more for Pagan and Paddack. The plus, of course, is we have another season of Pagan and that he CAN close. The lights out guy we want? Naw. Man, I worry about him almost as much as I do Duffey. Brent Rooker ended up being a nothing. The Twins would've been hard-pressed to keep him, and we see he is on the verge of not being kept by San Diego. I so wanted Brent to succeed, but... We still got a prospect out of the deal. I truly wanted the Twins to get Blake Snell (because he was a lefty). But that would've turned out probably worse. As well as get Eric Hosmer in the deal, and one of the rookie catchers. But in the end, I just felt the Front Office wasn't happy with Rogers. And that field staff felt he wasn't a closer and that the team could live with other options (one of which was Lewis Thorpe).

Twins biggest weakness? Designated Hitter. It should actually be the strength, with guys playing anywhere and everywhere. First, the Twins need to get back a full line-up, which may happen shortly. Larnach returns and plays left. So we can argue who should play the most: Kepler or Celestino? But the odd guy can DH. The Twins need a first baseman. Curtis Terry is available in St. Paul. Give the guy a call. You need a roster spot - Terry or Garlick, what is you flavor? Rotate him with Arraez. Then rotate Arraex with Gio. The loser comes offg the bech or DHs. When pitching rosters go down to 13 come June 1, the Twins will also be able to add another bat. We know it won't be Lewis. I say we should switch out Godoy's 40-man and bring up the next Willians Astudillo - Roy Morales. He can catch, play first base, DH and also hit. Catcher is a weakness. Teams are going to run on our pitchers and catchers. Not much we can do about it except keep certain guys off the bases, or just continue to dominate against most batters.

As much as I would rather see Winder as a starter, the Twins are forced into the Bundy and Archer situation (reminds me of Happ and Shoemaker) because of their investment. Sadly, the team ahs to go down to 13 pitchers come June 1. I poicture, sadly, Smeltzer and Jax and Stashak staying and working multiple innings. Winder will go to St. Paul to be a rotation arm every sixth day (seems they are doing more of that in the minors). He can still be called up for that spot start or maybe even be ready for some innings come season's end. We have to remember that Ryan, Ober, Bundy and Archer are all in "innings" mode. Will any or all of them just reach/crack 150 innings? They aren't set for 200, that's fer sure.

Almost thought Larnach was in Wichita so he could more easily gran a flight out with the Twins at the end of their Kansas City run. But Wichita ain't home. Will Larnach come to St. Paul for a few games?

Being lefthanded is his plus. And that he can face a line-up, potentially more than once. Like so many of the rotation arms, he will be questionable for 25-30 starts, so it might be best to use him in the pen as much as possible, or that arm that comes out for a double-header. Heck, I would make him an opener if we are only getting 3-4 innings out of Archer or Bundy right now. But I think he had the mentality to be able to work out of then pen. Something that we shouldn't be mlooking for in, say, Winder, who is a starter - and I fully expect him to be back in St. Paul (Winder) come June 1 and making regular six-day starts for most of the rest of the season. Any team could've grabbed Smeltzer, and surprised they didn't. Now the Twins can't afford to lose him.

QUIT TRYING TO MAKE PLAYERS VERSATILE. Lewis needs to prove himself as a starting shortstop and is doing a very good job doing just that. Don't mess with him at other positions. Yes, he needs to play everyday, get the at bats, do the fielding, and NOT get hurt. More likely to do that in St. Paul than on the bench at Target, assuming Correa is healthy and will be in the line-up at short every single day from hereon out.

It is too soon to speculate. He would have to get at least a multi-year offer bigger than the remaining two years of his Twins offer. Will he get a 7 year deal for that aveage amount (with, of course, opt outs). Will he be ignored? The joy of the Twins making this possible one-time over-pay run on a quality player is that Correa HAS to produce if he wants to make money. Which is good for the team that is currently playing him. Like players in their free agency walk year, they need to be better than best IN THE BIG MONEY HUNT. The kicker is that Corea could tank (or be injured) and the Twins would be on the bubble for at least another year.