Rosterman

Looking like rotation will be Ryan, Bundy, Ober, Archer, Gray.

The Twins needed to rid themselves of Donaldson. They will get to give Miranda a decent tryout this year, starting Gio. I don't totally mind Bundy and Archer. Now the Twins better be prepared to advance Balazovic, Sands, Strotman, Winder and anyone else who could pitch fulltime in 2023 if the opportunity arises. April will set the tone for the Twins season. Every team will be weak coming out of spring training. We will get to see mangerial skills at work. If the Twins start out bad, scrap contention (no matter the number of teams that can go to the playoffs) and start thinking rebuild...giving play to the future and not the short-term present. Especially whe July rolls around. Still haven't figured out the Twins and money. They got a potential steal in Buxton, but couldn't get it done for Berrios. They splurged (badly in some ways) on Doanldson to prove they can spend money, and rectified it with the vast overpay for Correa for at least a year, at least in Twins dollars. I stil shake my head that another team didn't do the Correa thing. Being the best player on a bad team doesn't necessarily increase your free agent worth. Good news. Baseball season begins next week!

Two players will be added. The pain of minor league free agents, they can't usually be optioned out, not that with everyone else playing the game means you lose them. The Twins have a legit need for a fourth outfielder. Celestino needs to play everyday. But there are too many right now on the St. Paul roster, especially if Larnach and Celestino are everyday guys. The St. Paul bonus is that there will be a number of pitchers ready to get the call, even if it is a starter coming up to throw out of the pen, just for the experience (Strotman, Balazovic, Sands, Winder). The Twins have a little slack, depending on what they want to do with Stashak. Thielbar and Jax can be on the bubble, but will start the season in the majors. Rooker, if injured, is not really a benefit unless you can 60-day him. Otherwise he holds that 40-man spot until uninjured and gets play...or walking papers. I still wish, to be competitive, the Twins ahd a real lights-out closer.

There's over 40-pitchers on the AAA/AA rosters. How will the Twins be able to keep them all. This item was already put into this thread on the site:

Palacios will hopefully be depth. But, remember, he is NOT on the 40-man. Neither is Beckham. If the Twins need a shortstop it is Gordon, Palanco or Usi. If Lewis starts off hot, he could advance if Correa goes down with a notable injury for the two weeks or more. Otherwise, the Twins system is a good 3-4 years from another hopeful arm, unless Wander Javier takes off!

The pain is the Twins will need some long-relief arms. It was hoped Thorpe would be one, but looks like it will be Jax and Wilder to egt one thru a batting order if need be. There's also a couple of opportunities to piggy-back Bundy and Archer in April. How soon can a starter like Ryan and Ober get to six innings at least? Or, the bigegr question, can Ober and Ryan do 30+ starts in 2022?

15 pitchers and 13 hitters. I don't see Beckham staying with the Twins unless they are overpaying him as a minor league free agent. Would you play him at shortstop fulltime in St. Paul, of Martin or Lewis or Palacios. Last season we could almost blame Cave for the loss of Lamonte Wade and Akil Baddoo. Now, if he stays, we lose Rooker. It dosn't sound quite the same, but still......... Pitching could offer some surprises. Yes, I would let Moran get time in St. paul as we see how Thielbar continues his run. Stashak has to be on the bubble. He could be dynamite if he returns to his former self. There's like 40 pitchers on the combined rosters of St. Paul and Wichita, not counting a few that should move up from Cedar Rapids. Yes, a few injured. Maybe a couple (like two of the newly signed) will stay behind in Florida for a week or extended two. I sometimes feel sad when the Twins cut people like Kerrigan, Snyder, de la Trinidad and keep any number of free agent minor league roster fillers, most of whom won't get the call the the majors anyways. Challenge your own players in development, especially when you are dealing with a solid strong minor league system oevrflowing with talent and one less outlet of play.

Twins sign Tyler Bashlor to a minor league contract. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=bashlo000tyl They released outfielder Jimmy Kerrigan, who has been in the organization since 2017. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=kerrig000jim

Twins sign JC RAMIREZ to minor league contract. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/03/twins-sign-jc-ramirez-to-minor-league-deal.html

Looks like they have to eventually send out three players. Rooker seems to be the only one on the bubble if they wish to add someone, but these sendouts pretty much guarantee that the Twins aren't expecting to add a minor league free agent to the 40-man. I'm sure they want to set minor league roster sooner rather than later (remember, minor leagues always broke camp after major league players left in the past). I think WInder will be here for the first month.

It is all up to Lewis. He has a couple of years (maybe) to claim the starting shortstop job. He is not blocked, as one would think Correa would walk away after a year. If Correa stays a second year (or third) Lewis can still get experience by being on the bench. More than likel;y Lewis starts at AA, depending on what the Twins do with Palacios, Martin and Beckham, all who are pegged to be in St. Paul. Lewis will be able to work on shortstop skills in Wichita. If he doesn't pan out, a position change. Remember, Kepler could also be expendable. Yes, the Twins will be looking closely at Larnach and Miranda as future parts of the Twins.

I picure the Twins will send Larnach out and keep Rooker. Also, Smeltzer and Minya are both pushing hard for a roster spot. But there are few candidates to outright designate. What will be interesting to see (soon) is the minor league roster shuffle. Remember, two people, come May 1, will return to the minors. Was glad to see Enlow not go on the major league long-term disabled list.

Landon Leach also has been released. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=leach-000lan

I would go with a third catcher if Sanchez will be a primary DH. That is assuming Kirilloff is in leftfield and Sano mostly at first. Sadly, it would look mroe like Cave or Garlick as nthe 4th outfielder, especially if Arraez is traded. Of course, Miranda could also be in the mix, too. I think the Twins will do just fine at DH if their bench is Sanchez, Miranda, Gordon, Garlick (or Cave), and Godoy.

I would trade Donaldson for Correa anyday. Sure, costs us $10 million more. And Garver and Rortvedt for Sanchez and Gio and a pitching prospect? Third string catchers are a dime a dozen, and the Twins could've still searched out Drew Butera if they wanted experience. What strikes me as savvy is the Twins getting the cheaper shortstop the Yankees wanted, then apckaging him into a salary dump with the rich Yankees so they could lessen the market for Correa getting a big longterm payday.

Wow! How the trade market can supplement the free agent market. The Twins essentially traded Donaldson (and his salary relief) + Garver and Rortvedt for Correa, Sanchez, Urshela and a pitching prospect. Somehow they managed to grab a shortstop that interested the Yankees and flip him to the Yankees, to get them to eat the Donaldson contract, and also in the process eliminated the Yankees from the #1 free agent hunt. Good work, front office. It is soemthing a mid-level team like the Twins have to do. WHen you overpay, overpay short-term, or even just for a one off like this. Hopefully a trade of our over abundance of rotation arm prospects is still in the works with Oakland.

Wow! How the trade market can supplement the free agent market. The Twins essentially traded Donaldson (and his salary relief) + Garver and Rortvedt for Correa, Sanchez, Urshela and a pitching prospect. Somehow they managed to grab a shortstop that interested the Yankees and flip him to the Yankees, to get them to eat the Donaldson contract, and also in the process eliminated the Yankees from the #1 free agent hunt. Good work, front office. It is soemthing a mid-level team like the Twins have to do. WHen you overpay, overpay short-term, or even just for a one off like this. Hopefully a trade of our over abundance of rotation arm prospects is still in the works with Oakland.

I always wondered why Pineda didn't draw any trade offers for the Twins lst season. Still need a shotstop, left fielder, at least one rotation arm, and - of contending - be nice to have a real closer, although at this state in walking the aisles of the market, stuff looks like it may be expiring soon. I',am starting to look at the Twins roster, now, as guys who need to play here or at the top level available to them, and the Twins should be pushing that. And cut bait with any of the AAAA hanger-oners. The Twins have $50 million to spend. Not a lot that I would want to blow away with now with my money. I guess betetr to go into full rebuild mode. Maybe some pieces will be tradeable come the deadline to further stock the farm system. Maybe not. I was actually excited when they got the shortstop from the Rangers. Ready to buy a short=game season ticket when they signed Gray. Not sure how much I care to see Beckham, Gonzalez, Godoy - not to mention the short-term pickups of Sanchez and Gio. I would almost rather keep prospects, then I look that the Twins are overflowing with potential starters, msot of them from their own system, for both AAA and AA. Maybe just let the guys take some bumps in 2022, go back and forth to work things out, and pray we have studs going forwards...minus Chase Petty.

What to expect? A 40-man roster spot. Of course, Rortvedt was also expected to stay on the 40-man and start the season at AAA St. Paul.

What I found interesting was that the Yankees had Isiah on their radar. Somehow the Twins traded Garver for him. I'm sure the Rangers would've taken Sanchez, as I don't expect Garver to play nearly as many games in seasons to come behind the plate as...Sanchez could. Did the Yankees just drop this bigtime? Because it allowed the Twins to grab a Yankee want, and to combine it with...Donaldson and his BIG contract. Suddenly the trade sounds alot better, a shortstop and an aging third baseman going to the Yankees, rather than the Twins basically swapping catchers with the Yankees. But that is basically what they did...swapped Garver for Sanchez, for some reason the Yankees wanted Rortvedt (shades of John Ryan Murphy via Drew Butera for backup strength). For dumping a salary like Donaldson's, you probably should be lucky to get a prospect or two back, but the Twins got a third baseman to replace Donaldson for the moment. Are they thinking of Gio as a shortstop? Where does that put Miranda in the scheme of things - left field or back in AAA for another season? (I still think Beckham will be the Twins starting shortstop, promised a million+ if he makes he team...only reason he signed a minor deal was because that was what was available during the lockout). Sanchez can catch. Not the best, but he can catch. We still have the logjam of rally killing in the lineup of Sano, so I would hate to see Sanchez and Sano play on the same day. But both him and Gio, if they have decent years, could be tradebait if the Twins don't survive the spring. But, yeah...all future points pointed towards Jeffers and Rortvedt sharing the catching duties for the next 4-6 years, with hopeful improvements from both, until the Twins draft or develop someone in the minors. You almost wish Tomas Tellis was still around, he who made thed 26-man because of COVID bu t didn't play. Instead we have David Banuelos (24), Steve Berman (26) and Caleb Hamilton (26) as the big three at the top levels, with Roy Morales (26) thrown in the mis as a good bat but bad plate guy. In the system the Twins have Jair Camargo, who has been around for a while and has some promise, but still two years away, Also Jefferson Morales and the versatile Alex Isola. Charlie Mack and Pat Winkel are promising signees. Oh, and I almost forgot Kyle Schmidt! Who seems to be the roving catcher in the system whenever someone goes down for a short stretch! Now they are up Schitt's creek if something happens to one, elt alone both, or the guys. Makes you almost wish for Willians Astudillo as that 26th man on the roster.

Dondaldson was a salary dump. Congratulate the Twins on that. Otherwise, could the Yankees have traded Sanchez to the Rangers for Isiah? Not sure what went wrong there. But the Twins got the guy the Yankees wanted and a trade proceeded from there. Sanchez may not likable, but he catches more games than Garver. Not that the Twins need that if Jeffers works out. What I hate is that he is basically a clone of Sano, who I don't really want to see in the field either. These two batting in the same lineup - meh! Gio is like a more fleshed-out Escobar. Workable. Maybe Miranda will start the season in leftfield. Maybe not (Garlick, Cave or Rooker?). I picture, as of today, Beckham being the starting shortstop.

It ws a salary dump of Donaldson to someone willing to take the full contract. Gio can be a stopgap at third and also a mid-season tradechip if the Twins go bad. Expect Miranda to start at AAA, unless he pounds the ball this spring and wins the leftfield job over guys like Garlick and Cave (or Rooker). I don't understand Sanchez. He is a clone, basically, or Sano. Bat him back-to-back with Miguel and we can have a real rally killer. Yes, he could float into the DH spot, and maybe produce. I liked Rortvedt. Was always curious to see what a "muscle" guy might be able toa ccomplish in baseball. Man, his arms! And he would've been a great tandem with Jeffers. Right now, who is our catcher is someone goes down? I picture Sanchez being the third catcher/DH. Maybe the Twins can flip Sano? Would you be willing to take the salary of Myers or Hosmer for Sano? Can the Padres throw in a pitcher or two? I hope the dang yearbook hasn't gone to the printer yet!

This all had to work from the angle of: "Hey, someone will take Josh Donaldson off of our hands, and his ENTIRE salary. WHat do we have to do to make this work."

$50 million gone just like that! I'm not sure what to make of one-year of Sanchez. Rortvedt at least had some promise, especially defensively. Is Gio a third baseman, or do they try him at shortstop?

Big salary dump, hopefully, of Donaldson. Clears path for Miranda if Gio can play shortstop. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, we knew you...well, not well.