Rosterman

He is already a GM. Yes, the Twins job can lead to bigger and better. He may get a job like the President one he passed on with Philly. Falvey could look at a job with the Sox or Yankees or Dodgers, soemthing bigger. And then Levine could move into that position with the Twins. But right now, his general manager job is pretty good in Minnesota as a team builder thingie. Moving to a different general manager job isn't likely. But it is all about mon ey in the end. And any interest shown him can increase his salary here, if need be.

I like that Rocco has finally been dealing a consistent lineup. Now players have to stop striking out. But the return of Kepler, Garlick and Sano doesn't raise expectations. Simmons is fine, but he is still a contact guy. Cathcing is so deep in the hole, both on offense and defense. Is there anyone out there and is it worth to take a gamble on...Lucroy? I almost feel like I would go with Willians everyday until he can't do it no more. Clippard is disabled. Littell is in the minors. Poppen is with the Pirates. May is May and would fit right in with the current bullpen. Wissler and Romo are both horrible, so glad they aren't in the pen. The strikeout is fine, if it doesn't come with walks and hit batters...as well as the long ball. Hard throwers are fine, yes. But sometimes you do want a Brandon Kintzler coming out of the pen. Between starters that, as a whole, can barely pitch five innings, and no roles for the bullpen (go ahead, let's pitch two innings, you are closing today, you come in and stand three runners everyday, just throw buddy you are on your own). What looked like a reasonable strength for the Twins ahs turned into a disaster, especially when a team can't push across more than two runs in a game. The key for the Twins has always been what to do with Sano and can Buxton play today. At some point, you just gotta cut Sano rather than work around him all the time. And going forward, look at the 40-man. Who is NOT going to be on the roster in 2022 (prospects currently there) and those that are currently holding a space and you have no desire bringing them back, make the hard decision of eating salary or give a short string for them to increase their value and trade them off to make room for a prospect and create a temporary roster spot for someone, eprhaps, who is hungry to be a major league player again.

Bring in Lucroy. Catching is a demanding position, which is WHY the catcher should never leadoff. You can survive a light-hitting catcher in the number 8 or 9 spot if they call a good game because, afterall, someone has to make up to 27 outs in a game. But not sure he is even calling a good game these days. And Jeffers is overmatched in both areas and needs seasoning at AAA. I both LOVE and HATE the thought of Willians behind the plate. But I know he would give it his all and play the best he possibly can!

The Twins at full strength this weekend? Well, first off....... Catcher. We need one. Not only someone who can hit, but also call a game. Maybe Astudillo needs to be our go to guy. Anyone on the market> Jeffers needs time at AAA. I would rather see Kirilloff at first everyday than Sano. What to do with Sano. I can live with Arraex Simmons and Donaldson everyday in the infield. Polanco is the reserve. No need to go out of the way to find him playing time. Can Buxton play in three straight games? What to do with Kepler, but he is better than most anyone else. Are we really excited about the return of Klye Garlick and has Jake Cave kept himself on the roster? Rooker is going back to AAA. Drobnak needs to start at AAA. Bring back Smeltzer if you need a long man, and decide if you want to make Thorpe a bullpen arm or stretch him out as a starter. Berrios is it. Pineda is here for the year. So is Shoemaker and Happ. If any of the three pitch well, they can be traded. Maeda needs to lower his pitches...fast. The bullpen. Who can strike out batters. Stashak, Alcala. Who should be striking out batters. Duffy. Who strikes out batter but allows inherited runners to score: Thielbar and everyone. Can anyone get a ground-ball out (Kintzler, but he's elsewhere). The Twins need one or two guys to pitch as openers. Who do they jettison to make room on the 40-man and potentially on the 25-man. Colombe? Garlick? Cave? You can't bring guys up unless you have roster spots for them, or people getting COVID. What to do with Sano? Garver? I end by asking: who on the current 40-man roster do you want to see in a Twins uniform in 2022. We should start with that thought in mind and do moves accordingly!

Well, he is already a general manager for a team rebuilding or on-the-rise or with a multi-year plan. The next stop would be president, which he passed on with Philadelphia. Falvey would leave the Twins if a job opened up with a bigger team (New York or Los Angeles, for example). And money is also a factor.

Get players for set positions. They got Josh Donaldson for third base, but who knows where he will be in 1-2-3 years. Nelson Cruz is the DH. Is Kirilloff the left-fielder or first baseman of the future? Where do you honestly think Sano fits into the greater scheme. Good luck trading Rooker, or even Kepler. Like Sano, they have to show worth if a team wants to add them. The Twins need a top flight arm in the rotation. Maeda is good, but not a #1. Berrios, too, falls short. Stop getting a bunch of end of the rotation guys. You gotta get the right arms for the pen. Who IS the closer? Who can pitch long relief. Who can get a ground ball, a strikeout, a flyball out. Plan for that dreaded extra-inning situation that throws you out of whack with a guy starting at second. Of course, 2021 we would like to think the Twins have momentum and not rebuilding. You can carry a catcher of the future learning the game with 30-40 starts. You can't carry two catchers who give you nothing on offense. You need to play your best players every game. Subs are subs for a reason. And, even then, you need to trust every player on the major league roster. If they can't contribute in anyway consistently, I'm sure there are others that can. Non-competitive teams have no fifth starter, a constant swing in one to arms in the pen, a bench that is only good for pinch-running the slowest of players or giving a fielder the occasional rest in a game you are set to win. The killer of 2021 will be ... can players play a full 162-game season. It is a big step-up for many, especially anyone in the minors who basically lost a season of refining skills.

You want you better hitters to get upwards of five at bats a game. You want your lowly hitters to only bat three times in a game. Or, if slumping, to be able to execute putting a ball in play.

Jeffers is still young and in a normal year you might say keep him at AAA for another season. But as a second to Garver, he will be able to catch at least 50+ games this season, if not more, and he will learn on the job, Catching is a tough position, and many catchers don't have to show complete skill sets if they can handle the duties behind the plate. I have faith that Jeffers will be a solid catcher for seasons to come.

You have your weakest hitters getting the least at bats. I'm sorry, but Arraez thrives a bit more at the top of the order than the bottom. With Donaldson back, I would make Polanco the reserve, for now. Something has to be done with Sano. We can't always wait for him to start tearing the ball. Exept we don't have a ready replacement yet, do we?

Yes, pull Shoe. You had Stashak ready. Whole new game. Columbe...if you can't trust him, might as well give the ball to the rookie. Alcala could be the future!

Both.

Having a runner start at second has to be a different strategy for a bullpen arm. You like it if you have a chance to match or tie in your bottom half. You hate it if you can't get that runner home. Stashak was all over the place, but still struck out the side. Go figure. Twins batters are still swinging too freely (or not at all). I keep thinking e would be better served with Arraez at second and Polanco as the all-around guy. Willians is a force. You gotta run with the guy until the other other teams catch up on watching film of his at bats. Sano...can be bat ninth?

Well, he bullpen is rested, although I would've kept Dobnak to pair with Happ. You could push him today for the third inning because of the lead, but could've also used Thielbar in this no-pressure situation to get him into a game. So Rocco likes players that can play a variety of positions, I sense.

Yeah, with a three-run lead you take the easy out as a double play would be hard to turn. That the Kepler could've been an out...well.... I would've walked Shaw to load the basis and have a forceout at any base. Considering the weak groundout...... The killer was the Twins striking out 17 times. And two of our best contact hitters couldn't put the ball in play with a runner starting the tenth on second base.

I would move Sano to third and have Rooker play first base.

Garlick has a hot bat, so see if he can give the Twins additional power. Feel bad for Rooker. But for now, we hove to hope that the lineup hits much better than Sano, Buxton, Kepler, Simmons, Cave this spring. Willians means Garver can also play in the !B or DH mix. I'm curious to see Happ's first outing.

THEY JUST SIGNED HIM TO A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT! Here's hoping he's not another Joe Mays! Or Nick Blackburn!

I still think Happ is on the bubble for opening on the DL because of the late spring training from COVID. Thielbar COULD be on the bubble. He would go thru waievrs and could resign with the Twins. Stashak could be optioned out. Colina will be on the 60-day, opening a roster spot. The Twins could easily add both Law and Waddell. If either falters, there is Stashak and others in the minors. But both could be pleasant roster surprises. In the field, Cave wins out because he can play center and also bats left. Garlick is the reserve if something happens to Cruz or Sano. I'm hoping Duffey has just been playing around with the ball on the mound this spring!

I'm thinking Happ might open the season on the DL, using his late start from COVID as an excuse, buying the Twins a couple of starts for Dobnak. Waiting to see. Rumor also ahs Colina going on the 60-day (which is whyy he hasn't been optioned to the minors yet.

Rooker would've been the odd man out. And the guy showed last year and this spring that he deserves at least a chance. Rooker could also fit into the Twins longterm plays, as a potential fulltime DH, or an option for first base protection who can also play the outfield. If Rooker didn't make the team this year, he would be gone from the Twins organization in short order. So spring stats can count. Plus the role a player might play for the club (why Cave gets chosen over Garlick for the moment). Now about WiIllians.....

The joy is we may have a rotation that can push the six inning, if not the 7 inning call. Yes, Odorizzi and his five inning stints was shorted last year. All those fine arms at AAAA-level at Rochester, but the Twins 40-man is so tight. There is little wiggle room - an outfielder, an infielder, and perhaps two pitching arms that would get snatched by another team if run thru waivers. You don't hope that any planned arms blowup and get released, but aside from 60-daying someone, there isn't a lot of roster moves on the horizon for Twinsland beyond those already on the 40-man. Can Anderson, Colina and Chalmers be the first three to depend on for bullpen relief? Otherwise the 40-man is full of rotation arms-to-be in Smeltzer, Dobnak, Thorpe, Duran, Balazovic, Ober - any who would not refuse a call to the majors to pitch and inning or two. As can see, not a lot of waiverable names in this list to replace with Hamilton or others. Usually it is nice to have one spot that you play the up-and-down waiver-wire game with. (Trying to remember, do players have to stay down NOW for a certain number of days, or remain on the 40-man)?

I actually think Cave/Rooker is an upgrade over Rosario at this point. It is Rooker's job to now play himself out of the Twin organization. Rooker can get the at bats and the Twins will have to make a hard decision on Cruz as the season plays out, and look closely at the future potential that might still exist for Sano. If Rooker produces, he is a fine luxury to have. Considering names like Larnach and Kirilloff are in the wings and pretty sure bets to play as well as anyone else the Twins have patrolling the outfield. If Alex had shined in spring training, Rooker might've become the next Paul Sorrento or Michael Restovich of the Twins, leaving and never getting a really strong chance to shine. Of course, he may still be - but I am happy to see him get a chance to become a Twins mainstay. I would almost go with Garlick over Cave. Almost. Kyle can go to the minors, so that is probably what will happen. Cave can play center instead of Kepler. I do always go with the argument to better have guys playing everday who can come up and play in the majors, rather than have reserves sitting on the bench and them moving into the starting role. They are usually reserves for a reason.

You shudder looking at those spring training numbers. Sano, Kepler and Buxton all playing dismal. Yet you gotta keep them. The reason to keep Cave is that he is the backup for centerfield? Kepler can play center in a pinch. Otherwise, you jettison Cave and keep Garlick. Rooker, too...who can backup first base and DH (with Garver). You go with hot bats sometimes, especially with players on the margin. If you lose Cave, if Garlick doesn't work out, you have Broxton. Willians has played himself into a roster spot. All-around utility guy. Will allow the Twins to get Garver at bats at 1B or DH if need be All I can say is Kepler needs some work, again. And don't bat him lead-off until he figures out what is happening to his swing! This has to be the year that Sano, Buxton and Kepler show their worth to the organization. Kirilloff needs to play everyday, as does Larnach...and both should shine at AAA. What to do with Nick Gordon!

I'm hoping that Rooker does make the lineup as the starting leftfielder. If he can produce, he is the designated hitter for the future Twins, who can also play the field at first or the outfield. Sano, of course, is also in the running, and it is nice to have a DH who can play in the field, in this case Sano at 1B or 3B. Throw a revitalized Garver into the mix, as a guy who could be a DH who could also be that backup at 1B or C, and all we really need to hope is that Cruz hits the gates running and doesn't slowdown for the first half of the season. If he does start to tire, it is nice to know that Twins could have a good looksee to their options beyond 2021.

You don't get quality and a player still under control by giving a team players you really don't want. You have to give them guys you think you might want to keep, but are getting something stronger in place. The Reds can keep their pitcher and buy a shortstop comparable to Polanco. You would have to trade one of the young gun arms, and probably one of the outfield arms in the deal, period, end of discussion. The Twins shant do that. Both their top arms are controllable for up to six seasons. Krill and Lar will push Sano off the roster.