Rosterman

Well, the Twins MAY be strong from the left side with Rogers, a newly signed Thielbar, Thorpe and Moran out of the pen. Coulombe could come back on a minor league contract, getting chances over the past two seasons with the Twins. Will wait and see. Same with Minaya. Rather than give the guys a contract and have to cut them because of a free agent signing, better to do it this way. You can negotiate minor league free agent contracts during the shutdown, if it happens. Whch means the Twins ARE looking to add three folks to the roster! That has to be a good feeling!

I guess it was pay Cave or watch him walk. $800,000 is a significant backup to have him start at St. Paul and be there if you need him. Of course, a few weeks ago was still unsure about the Buxton situation longterm, so they did that "just in case." Not sure who the Twins will remove if they sign a free agent. Did Garlick also stay with the Twins? Haven't heaerd any mumblings. Plus they say Smelzer went unclaimed. Is he staying the the Twins or going free agent. Plus, over in Twins staffing land, they list Rody Hernandez as now being a minor league corrdinator along with Kevin Morgan with Edgar Vareda still as a hitting coach?

The Twins should look into getting Trevor Megill from the Cubs. Doubt he will be kept on the 40-man. Has a power arm!

Trevor Megill joins the Twins from the Cubs. Why? Maybe so the Twins could send Jake Cave outright to St. Paul, as no team claimed the $800,000 contract. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/megiltr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-

No one has latched onto Pineda, which says a lot about his agent. Or, maybe, no one cares? Kershaw and Grienke! Hey, let's get some veteran presence for a couple of seasons while the youngsters shuffle thru the roster and build up their innings!

Well, that was one quick let down.

Mauer. You can't complain about his contract. He gave the Twins more than they deserved for the first 7 years. As the face of the franchise, it was a fine choice to make. It as a decent move to first base, as it was doubtfuyl that he would play that many games behind-the-plate, no matter how well he kept himself in condition. You have to look at the Twins overall spending during the time of the conract. Did it keep them from spending elsewhere (no). I always feel that every team should have a "franchise player" once a season where that salary doesn't count against any payroll cap. If you look at Joe as a marketing coup, he was cheap. Sure, he wasn't always the best in the public scene, too quiet and unassuming. But better than the opposite. Did he offer enough leadership, can argue there, too. But you can never doubt his work ethic.

Well, there seems to be no shortage opf monies in baseball...unless you are the Red, A's...and maybe the Twins!

The pain of trading for a valuable piece good for two years is the reality that the Twins aren't that close to being competitive. Their chance for success still lies in prospects who MIGHT come together for the future. We also can't expect to trade castaways for prime pieces. A Strotman or a Rooker in a deal are a roster problem for the other team who would then have to jettison further plkayers on the roster for these guys. With every trade, and every free agent acquisition, the cost coimes from removing someone (maybe of worth) from a 40-man roster.

Looks like Buxton could make $80 once he raches age 34 if he plays msot every game for the next few years!

Having that fourth year is still a plus. Neither will break-the-bank in Year One of arbitration. But both remain tradable.

Eduardo Escobar signs for two years and $20 million with the Mets. Often felt he was the realiable guy that did get away, and at time wondered how the Twins would've fared with him at third instead of Sano, and even Donaldson now, for a fraction of the price. One of those "maybe too expensive" selloffs, and he felt he was appreciated a tad more in Arizona than Minnesota and resigned right away. I hope he likes New York.

The Twins have signed right-handed bullpen arm Argenis Angulo who was drafted by Cleveland in 2014. He received an invite to the Indians in spring training of 2020. He became a free agent and signed with Oakland, getting an invite to spring training last season. His stats aren't overall impressive, except he can strikeout batters. But still fills the bases with too many runners. https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/entertainment/people/2016/11/12/how-amy-adams-got-her-start/93737204/

Closers have it tougher than designated hitters. Partly because they often split their careers as just being a bullpen arm, failed starter, or don't have the length of duty. As well as what defines a real save comapred to, say, a cheap save. That said, Joe was the runner-up to being the best of his decade. What would've happened had he played for a constantly competitive team? Again, a short of many a pitcher (Bert Blyleven ahd that issue). Your stats suffer if you are the only dominant player on the team. You can't win, you can't save, if the team doesn't put you in a position to do so.

The Twins cut ties with Tomas Telis during this off-season. He is one of those unique guys who will be remembered as being on the 26-man roster, but never getting a playdate (he was a COVID replacement). Former Twin Juan Graterol has landed with the Diamondbacks, after providing veteran catcher depth for the Blue Jays this season. It's always good to have a veteran presence at AAA who can step up to the big leagues if need be. Right now the Twins do seem pretty set with catching at their upper levels, though. One of Rortvedt or Jeffers will start regularly for the Saints, depending on Garver's status. David Banuelos and Caleb Hamilton are currently listed on the Saints roster. Both have paid their dues in the minors and could have a breakout season. But both could also start at the lower level Wind Surge. Roy Morales (came from Miami) and Steve Berman (came from Dodgers) are actually older than Hamilton and Banuelos. Morales showed some style, to say the least, at Wichita. He is far from a regular behind the plate, but could be the vet bat who can also DH and play some 1B, so a chance to start at St. Paul may be a given. Wherever Berman starts it would be good if he had shared duties to egt the most games behind the plate. Jair Camago is a darkhorse. Played regularly at Cedar Rapids. Still very young at 22 and will be starting his sixth season of fulltime pro-ball, so he will be a free agent come the end of 2022. He can also DH and play 1B, and has a pretty good percentage for shutting down base stealers. Be inetresting to see who the Twins do pickup to add catching depth. You can never have too many real catchers on a team, and all minor league teams can comfortably use a catcher who can also play the field or offer a DH bat.

Willians Astudillo officially released to find work elsewhere. La Tortuga will pitch elsewhere!

Beau Burrows signs minor league pact with the Dodgers. He ain't coming back!

For us autograph card collectors Jack was one elusive guy. He moved to Alaska for most of his life, and then ended up retired in Mexico where at least one card collector tracked him down...a family member said he could usually be found daily in the town squae feeding birds. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/peninsulaclarion/name/john-kralick-obituary?id=25103073

As long as he remains healthy and plays well, they can move the contract!

Yes, if it looks like Enlow is NOT available until the earliest of June, you egt to put him on the IL list, and can probably rehab for, what, six weeks at a lower level before needing to return him to the roster as a 26th man on the roster, thus getting service time split then thru two seasons, as he could start the next season also on the roster before being delegated to the minors. If his talent is that good, at least the Twins have the ability to not stash him at Ft. Myerstraining camp forever but get him into the swing of things at Cedar Rapids and maybe Wichita before the 2022 season ends, and if the Twins tank, maybe even some major league relief innings to jumpstart his 2023 season...plus play him in the Arizona Fall League. The difference between now and the previous season is that the Twins really have no sgortage of players they could designate off the roster. The problem comes with filling the roster to many minor league players, when you are telling fans you will be competitive and not rebuild. Right now, by the process of elimination, the Twins will start Celestino, Miranda, Lewis and Rortvedy/Jefefrs in the minors from the position side of things. They have 13 starting pitchers. Two will open up roster spots (Madea and Enlow). Two could switch to the bullpen (Jax, Thorpe). Balazovic, Duran, Strotman, WInder, Sands, Vallimont will start in the minors. That leaves Ober, Ryan and Dobnak as the only three of 13 probably getting a major league call, and Dobnak is on the bubble. The bullpen has 10 arms for 8 spaces. Alcala, Duffey, Rogers, Thielbar are pretty much locks. Cotton, Coulombe, Garza, Minaya, Stashak are all replaceable. Unless he shines in spring training, Moran could start again at the Saints bullpen. I like the future. I just am not happy with the present.

What, ultimately, is a 40-man roster spot worth to a team and the complications you have in cutting or sending down a player. That is what matters in the end. Money is immaterial. Some players will only sign if on the 40-man, although that doesn't mean they will stay there.

Out of the lefty trio of Smeltzer, Thorpe and Barnes, I half expected Barnes to be the one still standing. Hopefully Thorpe is healded, otherwise I question why. Although not sure I see Thorpe as a rotation arm anymore. Still could see Smeltzer as a starter possibility, but maybe it was a good time to give up on him. And Barnes...who knows. Be interesting to see final locales for all of them come spring training.

Anything is possible. The Twins could be burned three times in that international market, but...why not! Give him the money you would give, say, a J.A. Happ, Matt Shoemaker and Alex Colombe combined.

The Tigers didn't feel he was worth a couple of million. No otehr team approached the Tigers to grab him. So he is out there, dangling, and can probably be ahd for less. I'm sure he is looking for a multi-year deal first, advertised as a utility gem...but if the Twins could guarantee him a good hard look at being a starting shortstop. How does he fit into a potential Twins lineup with his power and speed. Yet we don't need him coming up and striking out too much in game situations. Soon we will find out if the Twins are serving us a dish of "contention" or if the team is just going to play ball, try and get better internally, and Niko could be a fine stopgap/

In the end, we can agree that he might not have been worth the high-end arbitration salary, so the Twins got him for slightly more than a major league salary. He offers protection in centerfield at the moment, as we might want Celestino to share time with Kerrigan and Contreras at St. paul with Wallner in the wings, there. Unless we feel Martin will start in St. Paul, along with Lewis, and those guys fighting for centerfield time with Celestino. Of course, if the Twins lose anyone of significance in the Rule 5 (Ryan Mason), do we complain that it is all about Cave, or can we also complain about Garza, Minaya, Coulombe, Jax, Thorpe, Stashak, Rooker, Gordon, Cotton or whomever else is on the very fringe.