Rosterman

CHARLIE BARNES released by Twins to sign with Korea. If anything, it opens up a regular rotation spot for a prospect in St. Paul. Surprised they didn't get any money. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/12/kbos-lotte-giants-sign-charlie-barnes.html

I see no way the Twins are competitive for 2022. They might be better than 2-3 other teams in their division, but that is only if every one steps it up a notch. The Twins need roster space to send players up and down, piggyback back-end rotation arms, iof need be. They can do what they do best, a low end starter or two who might have some trade value. The Twins were lucky with Happ, getting rid of the salary, but they basically placed him with a non-keeper and a possible prospect. But no one bit on Pineda, which will say alot about his market this off-season. The Twins can steal deal from strength. Donaldson is a contract to jettison. Maybe you trade him and cash for Elvis Andrus. But then you need to put trust in Miranda for fulltime at third. Or keep Luis Arraez. Arraex is probably his most valuable right now, especially if he becomes a utility guy in 2022. Of course, you could but him at second and move Polanco to short, and trust Miranda at third. Sano could be had, if any other team believes in the guy. Doomed to be the Twins DH, a position that could also be filled by, say, Garver on the cheap. But then you are banking on Kirilloff being a fulltime first baseman. No Sano, Kirilloff goes down...who's on first. If truly retooling, don't need a real closer, but with a bunch of four inning starters you need a couple of bullpen arms that can get thru a lineup. Or you can run the shuttle bigtime between St. Paul and also jettison some of the expensive worth like Rogers or Duffey. But in any trade, what are you getting back. A Berrios clone you can sign for 5-7 years. Someone who can go at least 3 years for your team with possible trade value if the youngsters come thru? You don't want to trade prospects, but you also can't keep them all. There are at least a dozen rotation arms the Twins need to shuffle thru the majors in the next two seasons. That is too many. Some have to have worth and can be labeled "top prospect."

JOHN BARNES. 20 games in 2000-2001. Did pretty good in his dozen years in the minors, but no callup even after playing in the Red Sox, Braves, Dodgers, Pirates and Rockies organizations. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=barnes001joh

Interesting. We basically added two general managers, so to speak, by breaking the business-minded St. Peter into that end of the front office. The current team inherited the current team and some of the prospects still in the system It took a full season to jettison the current field staff. And also, a couple of seasons to start putting the "new look" minor league system in base, which was looking pretty good going into 2020 until that season was cancelled. We have to give the current front office (and the team and baseball as a whole) a pass with that lost season of development (and you'd think they would be looking more closely as how any more lost time for future players will affect their future teams). They seemed on the verge of success, albeit with many players leftover from the old regime. They managed to resign Polanco, Kepler and Sano to decent longterm contracts that would make any tradable in the future. They failed to resign Berrios and almost Buxton. I think they would have been happy to move on from ALL of the aforementioned five players, if necessary....but, again, being on the cusp makes you take a hard turn on your plans for the future. Sadly, they are treading water...but still showing the "good face forward" of any front office rather than sharing hard realities to the fan base. Better to say we are young and enthusiastic going forward and hope to hit the top with our fantastic farm system than say "being competitive" and "going for it all" when, on paper, you look like fools. Undersell rather than oversell. In these pandemic times, just selling outdoor baseball as entertainment that can be enjoyed can work to put fans in the seats...and you should be able to survive while the new guys make ... adjustments. I' m glad the Twins went outside the organization. Maybe they didn't go far enough as there are still many from the former regime in place in the front office, keeping that loving family look alive and well.

I noticed that Cotton was released by the Twins at the end of Novembe. A prior waiver claim by the team which placed him on the 40-man. He then resigned as a free agent this month. So, is he really still on the 40-man roster, and if so, why did it play out this way? Or is he just another minor league arm with a spring training invite?

If you look at the minors last season, of course they were coming off an absent 2020, a lot of potential starters only pitched 3-4 innings in a game. One, to get them innings, but also season endurance. Did the minors double up on rotation arms for those extra bullpen innings? Even in the majors, how many wins did Ober NOT HAVE because he couldn't get out of the fifth. Would an opener have helped him? Is the opener really a thing? The Twins have many failed starters who became good bullpen arms. Notably Nathan (with the Giants), Hawkins, Guardado, Perkins. Hendriks also is one. Zack Litell was a tremendous minor elague starter who has found a home in the pen. Nowadays it is all about if a guy can get thru a batting order once, twice, or maybe even three times. The flip-side is how many teams have bullpen arms that pitch multiple innings on consecutive days, or even multiple inning appearances of 3+ with a short outing also in a week. I thiank back to the sixties with four starters pitching complete games, sometimes coming out of the pen. The whole pitching staff was 10 pitchers max (and sometimes only 12-14 guys used in a season) and a bullpen arm would also pitch 100 innings or more in their 50 apperances.

DANNY MORRIS, six games in two seasons. https://www.google.com/search?q=danny+morris+twins&sxsrf=AOaemvJAPpQpMlKRNKmYrd3o5w5jCTbHfA:1640015693419&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj13dPG3vL0AhWWkIkEHSKvB6YQ_AUoAnoECAIQBA&biw=1536&bih=723&dpr=1.25#imgrc=J7X3byDrkrNjgM

It's all in the 40-man roster. The Twins have two current open spots. Come spring training, they will probably have two more with Madea and Enlow going on the longer-term disabledroster, although Enlow would come off eventually. The Twins currently have eight bullpen arms: Rogers, Cotton, Duffey, Garza, Moran, Alcala, Stashak, Thielbar. If any go on the short-term IL, they have no one else...unless you factor in Thorpe or Jax. Thorpe has to start the season or the Twins say bye-bue. Does he replace a bullpen arm mentioned above, or open in the rotation. Dobnak, I have little faith in the guy at the moment. He needs to work out of AAA-again, no matter how promising his spring. And he needs to be considered strictly a rotation arm. Otherwise, let him off the 40-man. The Twins need innings, and people who can get past the 5th inning, otherwise the bullpen will be an utter mess. Of course, if you are in a "rebuild" and just getting pitchers experience, and you don't need a bonifide closer, the Twins could be set. Bundy has pitched above 150 innings a couple of times, but only reached that number of innings total combined the last two seasons. Ober could easily be pushed to 150. 30 five inning starts. Not what I want to see, but. Ryan will get every opportunity to pitch. He has basically done 100 innings 3 of the past four sesons, so could be pushed. But, still, would like someone to pitch 30 games and more than 5 innings a start. Otherwise, just trade for Jake Odorizzi Griffin Jax has been a workhorse. But, like Bundy, you only want him pitching lots and lots of innings IF he doesn't allow lots and lots of run. You can maybe have one guy giving you bad numbers. But two? And, again, if rebuilding maybe okay. If a guy is pitching this badly, though, what is his future in the orga nization. The youngsters. Duran has basically missed two easons. How many innings can he pitch? You can pull the minor league trick that the Twins used alot last season and had very few starters go more than 3-4 innings at times to build up their game endurance as well as push innings. But even if Duran started the saeson in the majors, how many games could he potentially start. Balazovic needs to get some AAA games under his belt. I was surprised the Twins didn't bring him up at the end of last season. Give him some of those John Gant games and expose him to what he needs to work on in winter ball/training. It is one thing that upsets one about the Twins. You a had nothing to lose by elevating Balazovix and Strotman to the majors in the final weeks of the season. You had no need to give innings to Gant and Barnes and Jax if you plan NOT to be in rebuild mode. See what you have. Both Balazovic and Strotman could be on the major league roster and give innings to the team, but will they be clobbered getting experienced and up-and-down to the minors, with still high hopes for 2023 pulling it all together? Sands, Winder and Vallimont will also need exposure to higher caliber players. Now these guys, as well as the aforementioned, are starters. Potential future starting arms for the organizations. Not yet to be considered relief arms. They will hopefully get opportunities at AAA ball, although how much room there will be on that roster if you have Jax and Strotman and Barnes and Shepherd and Sammons fighting for innings? You suddenly have no room in the inn, or who plays and in what situations. Again, these three can all pitch short games, where you double up rotation arms, if the roster permits. But if any of these three made it to the majors, would you get 10-15-20 starts out of them. But you need to see pretty much ALL of the names mentioned above in the majors league at some point, deciding who stays and who goes as you end 2022. Are Jax/Thorpe longterm, or a switch to the pen. Why did you trade for Strotman if you didn't feel he was ready...just let Tampa release him and sign him because they didn't see him as part of their future. Balazovic, Sands, Duran could all be in the rotation, joining Maeda and Ober and Ryan for 2023. With Winder still in ther wings (remember how these names change fast every season). You still have Woods-Richardson, Canterino and Varland, all hoping to get a regular turn at AA Wichita and maybe some time in St. Paul. So, in overall 40-man positioning, the Twins do look fairly good...if they leave one roster spot open for the bullpen expressess where you bring him up, release him while repalcing with another new name, releasing him, etc. You have to have flexibility where you don't add names too soon that you would rather have on the farm. The Twins already have that issue with Balazovic, Duran, Strotman, Winder, Vallimont, Jax. All names that IF you are a truly competing team, you would only see them for short-term IL-list replacements. Are the Twins blowing smoke about being competitive? They have Sano and Donaldson playing...where. No shortstop or left-fielder of note. Arraex and Miranda and Gordon doing what? Catchers that will be catching too many arms trying to impress, and ultimately learning. Who are the five arms you expect to pitch starting in April for the 2022 Twins. Actually, make that 7 or 8 as you have to double up on arms because of lack of innings pitched. If properly managed in 2022, who are the five opening in 2023. Remember that Maeda will be back, but do you still expect 200 innings out of him? Who do you see as longer term keeps out of the dozen of: Balazovic, Duran, Strotman, Winder, Vallimont, Thorpe, Woods-Richardson, Ober, Ryan, Varland, Canterino, Enlow. Who do you see debuting in 2023 and becoming a mainstay in 2024 from even deeper in the minors?

When you are looking at names on the 40-man roster, I picture Dobnak being groomed solely as a rotation arm. He could start easily at St. Paul to get back to speed. He could also be removed from the 40-man, depending on his spring training, as his contract might be too much to gamble for anotehr team's 40-man roster. There is also talk of transitioning Jax and Thorpe into long-relief roles, which would be wonderful if you have a bunch of starters who can barely get thru the fifth inning, or have inning caps for the season. Thorpe needs to prove himself in the spring or is gone. Jax could also be the guy on the fringe. Last year the Twins shuffled many names on the bullpen express out of St. Paul, guys NOT on the 40-man when the season started. When you do that, you do risk them leaving (Waddell, Anderson). Just remember all those that came, and went: Luke Farrell, Derek Law, Danny Coulombe, Juan Minaya, Ian Gibault, Nick Vincent, Edgar Garcia, Kyle Barraclough, Beau Burrows, Andrew Albers. As well as those minor league free agents signed that didn't make the call: Brecklyn Williams, Jason Garcia, Brandon Koch, Adam Lau, Erik Manoah, Vinny Nittoli, Sean Gilmartin, amongst others. The Twins also have Yennier Cano getting older, Iam Hamilton back at St. Paul, and Ryan Mason as a prospect that could still disappear in the Rule 5. But the question remains: Twins have a surefire closer? Necessary if competitive, not necessary if just playing ball games.

RANDY BASS, drafted b y the Twins in the 1972 draft. Gonna be one of those power guys. And he was, only during a six season stint in Japan where he hit 202 home runs. For the Twins, he had a cup of coffee in 1977 going 2 for 19 in nine games, with five strikeouts. Sold to the Royals during spring training 1978.

Back in 2005 the Twins signed a guy named YOHAN PINO. He was traded to the Indians for Carl Pavano in 2009. Then the Blue Jay gots him, released him, resigned him. Pino became a free agent. Signed with the Reds. They released him. Signed him again. No major league action at all and then he signed with the Twins in the winter of 2013 and made the team briefly in 2014, pitching 60 innings in 11 starts as a 30-year-old, going 2-5 with a 5.07. Then, surprise, he became a free agent, signed with the Royals, and got in 7 more games in 2015. Went to Korea for a year and, surprise surprise - resigned with the Twins in 2017 pitching mostly in relief at AA/AAA ball before ending his career in Caribbean ball.

When you think of CASEY BLAKE you remember him as being a regular with the Indians and the Dodgers over nine seasons. But the Twins claimed him from the Blue Jays after 1999. In 2000/2001 he appeared in a total of 20 games with the Twins. The Twins waived him and Baltimore grabbed him for 6 games and 15 at bats. In the off-season he was claimed, again, by the Twins. In 2002 he was a regular at Edmonton again, batting the same .309 he did at Edmonton in 2002. But only did nine games before being released in the off-season and beginning a new career at age 29 and earning $32 million dollars.

Steve Carlton. Remember this guy! Pitched 741 games (709 as a starter) over a quarter-century of baseball. But his last 13, split over two seasons, were with the Minnesota Twins to cap his Hall of Fame career. 1-6, 8.43 ERA in 50+ innings. Left off the post-season roster in 1987 after being obtained from the...Indians. Declared a free agent but resigned by the Twins, pitching four games before jettisoned in April and ending his career on the mound. Gave up 250 runs (215 earned) in his final 348 innings over three seasons with the Phillies, White Sox, Indians, Giants and Twins - winning 15 games and losing 29. Did put a minor dent in his career ending stats!

I grew up in the Killebrew-era. Listening on the radio. Then saw Dean Chance pitch in person. Al Worthington came to a church Father/Son gathering. I was lucky to go to the Welcome Home banquests every year from 1964-1969 and, as one of the few kids there, go down the table and get my single Topps card from the previous year, or a 3x5, signed by a Twin happily. (The banquets were mostly big business men in those days). I loved Cesar Tovar playing all 9 positions. Of course, WCCO the good-neighbor was the key to bringing baseball into my life!

Twins signed leftfielder Derek Fisher who was with the Brewers orgzanization, and before that the Jays and Astros. He has been assigned to the Saints. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fishede01.shtml Looks like a tad better fielding Brent Rooker clone. So if Rooker goes down, we have a replacement. They also resigned Zaquiel Puentes who pitched for Ft. Myers, Leobaldo Cabalera who they waivered claimed last year from the Yankees and who played at three levels, finally at Wichita, and pitcher Samuel Perez, who was in the Angels system before joining the Twins last year at their instructional complex.

ALEJANDRO MACHADO, listed in the Twins Media Guide as a player for the 2007 season. He was picked up in the Rule 5 draft, got injured and staued on the in jured list all season. He started 2008 in the minors and the Twins must have offered him back, because he managed to stay a Twin (in the minors) for 2008/2009. Never made it to the majors again.

Shades of Drew Maggi, and Tomas Tellis. Chuck Schilling was the first of five players before this season that made the roster but never played a game for the Twins. By the start of the 1966 campaign, Chuck Schilling had become a utility player for the Boston Red Sox. During spring training, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins with catcher Russ Nixon for left-handed pitcher Dick Stigman. Schilling began the season on the Twins' 28-man roster, but never played a game for manager Sam Mele and retired just before the rosters were cut to 25 on May 15 rather than accept a minor league assignment.

Kevin Maas 22 games in 1995

Two questions the Twins need to ask: Who of their prospects can play shortstop. If they can't play shortstop (ala Polanco and Gordon), then what position do you see them mplaying and do they fulfill the needs of that position. Are Martin & Lewis corner outfielders now that Buxton is contracted out in center. If so, are they better choices than, say, Wallner and other outfielders in the system. Where do they play if Polanco is still the 2B, and you still have Arraez needing to play somewhere. Are eitehr third basemen, and where does that put Miranda in the prospect game of things. Do you still try and market any as a shortstop and play off trade value to fulfill any of your needs. Second: WHo plays where in 2022. If Palacios is still a promising shortstop, does he start in the position in St. Paul. How do you work Martin & Lewis into the position at AAA ball. Does Palacios go back to Wichita, does Lewis start at Wichita. Do you advance Javier to Wicihta for one last glorious look to see if this youngster can pan out as a prospect to add to the 40-man at the end of the 2022 season? So, do the Twins have an abundance of players who can play shortstop, but do you really want them to play shortstop. If Martin & Lewis are out of the picture, you sign someone for 2-4 years and hope the next wave of prospects will be what you need.

We need guys to start 30 games, and go deep (i.e. at least into the sixth inning more often than not). Hopefully push waaaaay above 150 innings pitched. None of the Twins prospects will push beyond 150 innings: Winder, Balazovic, Duran whatever. Even Ryan. Ober might. Jax could possibly. But there will be a lot of Triple-A tag-teaming or, if back to rebuilding mode, just pitching 4-5 innings at best. You can stand that for one or two guys at best, but 3 or 4...no...because the 1-2 is 3-4 and the 3-4 is 5-6 pitchers you have to carry on the 40-man and shuffle.

Rooker gets the call in left. But our depth on the roster is Celestino and Larnach. Will the Twins be able to rotate guys like Garlick, Cave and whomever again (Kerrigan, Contreras). You need play space. Of course, if the Twins get a shortstop, you suddenly have Arraex and Gordon without a position. Miranda is still in play and won't bump Donaldson off of third totally barring a trade. They can let Miranda waddle at St. Paul for most of another season. Celestino should be the everyday guy in the minors, unless someone gets injured. Larnach, too. Yes, I fear Rooker being a regular, but if he works hard in the off season, could be a big bat. The question is does he play better as a DH (then where do we play Sano) than the field. And if Sano is back on first, is Kirilloff in left? The Twins have too many unanswered questions to be true contenders, no matter how many arms they add to the rotation or pen, sadly.

The ultimate is to have a long relief guy, a lefty that can pitch to more than three guys, someone who more than likely will generate a ground ball, a fly ball pitcher, and a strikeout king. The pain today is that because you don't carry multiple long-relief guys, you are using 2-3-4 pitchers in a game. That should be totally unnecessary. I feel Rogers is best suited as a setup guy. I always felt the Twins lost it when they allowed Crain to go, Pressly to be traded, and May to walk. All had closer possibilities for the organization. The worth of a closer? Beginning the 2021 season with Colome and losing essentially 8 games that should've been closed out in style. Add seven wins and take away seven losses and where would the Twins have finished. The thing is, there are very few career closers. You get a guy for maybe five seasons at best. How he gets there needs to be determined. Look at Liam Hendriks, who falls into the category of so many like Hawkins, Guardado, Nathan and Perkins. A failed rotation arm who struggled in relief and then shines for a span as a closer. I want to see Joe Ryan pitch and succeed as a rotation arm, but if he does faulter, he has "closer" written all over him, and he could be a superstar in that position. A closer has to have attitude. They, more often than not, have to successfully challemnge a hitter, being sneaky only for a moment in a game. They need to pitch back-to-back. They also need to adjust to failure. But they need utter confidence in their pitching. The next in line...the Rogers and Duffeys...can do it as needed and give your buillpen strength to win close series. If your team is not competitivem you don't need a closer. You can try a guy out in the few situations needed, or do a reclamation project that you may be able to continue signing for the team.

I truly believe in them and want to see them for a longer haul. They are remaking the organization into their own vision. From the minors to the majors. I wish there was more honesty about budget. Just tell us you can't spend BIG today, or even tomorrow. The Donaldson signing was an explosion, but don't do things sometimes for the sake of doing them. I did think the team was going to perform much better than it did last season, but you can predict injuries, plus the total meltdown of the rotation and the closer killing us in the first few weeks spelled death. I'm not expecting a lot in 2022. I would if we had Medea fulltime and Pineda coming back, but we don't. We aren't one BIG free agent away, and no amount of temporary signings will help the team in the longterm. They either have to trade for longer term assests, or trust the farm system. And in trading, they have to make hard decisions on names like Sano and Kepler and Duffey and Rogers in the future plans for the Twins. Some team has to lose a game. You need to sell advertising. You need to put butts in the stands. The Twins did pretty well putting fans in the stands once the restrictions stopped last season. Be interesting to see how they sell to the season ticket base, how the caravan works outs, and what kind of marketing they do for their own players (especially Buxton) in 2022. The current keys have always been Buxton and Sano. I am sad they lost Berrios. Proof will probably stand that signing him might've been easier than convincing someone else to take a similar contract with the team/ There is no way we should've been behind anyone BUT Chicago in 2021. But we were in the cellar! So sad!

Someone like Oakland would take him in a heartbeat. But there is still that great unknown, and what the Twins actually get in return (remember, his worth IS based on signing bonus, training invested, and future potential). Is he the true shortstop of the future? Otherwise, wheere do you play him. Same can be said for Martin, who could play a corner in the outfield. Palacios is a dark horse in the mix. Who starts at shortstop in St. Paul. Does Lewis start at Wichita. Where does Javier fit into the minor league picture. Is Keoni Cavaco the real deal? Can the Twins tead water until 25/26 and Noah Miller?

A team wanting Josh would need to be in dire need of an aging expensive third base guy who they see as helping them to compete and go all-the-way in the next two seasons. Otherwise, no need to absord that contract. The Twins, if not paying money out, would be lucky to get a couple of mid-level prospects or, at best, someone passed over in the Rule 5 that would still need to be protected come next season, along with a low level prospect. There is the chance that some backend rotation or bullpen arm with a hefty contract could be part of a deal, but I would think few of those would be on the roster at the moment. The Twins best chance is to see who is still looking after Bryant signs, or go into spring training with the hopes that someone needs an immediate replacement on the Donaldson levelk when camp breaks, and that Miranda is hot enough in his spring at bats that you feel you can live with him at the hot corner. Of course, we could always play Arraex there, return Sano to that bag, or whatever. Donaldson does bring quality, at a price. And someone should take him off he Twins hands if they feel they have an extensive weakness at that bag. Of course, there are other temas that could also have third basemen available at a lower cost, which would then demand that the Twins eat some of the contract. Can't wait to see what the Twins still think or feel they need to spend in free agency to excite the local market and keep us from bemoaning that they are cheapskates again and again and again. Except they did spring for Donaldson!