Rosterman

It seems like the Twins don't want Vrgas (and to a lesser extent Park) as the fulltime DH. And Grossman is not the answer. Or even Mauer (which brings up a whole new set of issues today and down-the-line). But I wouldn't trade anyone for a rental, unless it was trading Park or Vargas...or Grossman.

You pretty much covered the guys whop could step into regular roles with the Twins NEXT year. They all COULD have long careers in baseball and with the Twins, rather than just short-term call-ups. But is there enough quality to build a team around? They still need a free agent or two...the Twins alck a DH right now, they MAY lack a closer if Kintzler walks. If all those starters filter in next year, they will still come up short and none are true #1s. Even jumping waaaaay ahead to 2020 and having Jorge, Romero, Gonsalves, Garver, Granite, Vielma, Gordon, Reed, Hildenberger, etc. as the core of the roster...how does it stack up as a competitive team supplemented with then vets Rosario, Kepler, Polanco, Sano, Berrios, et al. Better yet, out of all the names you mention, how many would be "wanted" by other teams. You mention Dereck Rodriguez needing to be added to the 40-man. The Rule 5 could happen if he is resigned. But can he break into the bullpen or rotation in 2018? Suddenly, the rebuilding with prospects isn't as exciting as it may sound. So you either throw money at free-agents, or trade prospects for a next year team.

It's going to be a telling week coming uo. That should set the pace for the remainder of the season. The Twins have so many names on their 40-man that they need to jettison. And that means just flat out get rid of. They have to look closely at who, within the organization, COULD be on the roster come 2018 and 2019 and go from there. Look at the holes. The guys on the cusp. Ones that may be promising but could be moved and their positions held by placesetters while talent further down the run develop. Do you get rid of Gordon? Depends on what you do with Dozier. If you keep Dozier longterm, maybe...because Escobar and Polanco could fill the shortstop role until the names beyond Gordon come up. Do you trade for a top flight starter? Please, do. But Ervin is tradable by your own team and the chances of him being the same if not better next year COULD be slim or none. Beyond him you have Berrios and Mejia. You have to make hard decisions about Gibson, Hughes...and quit draging out AAAA guys to start (thank heaven they didn't call up Pino). Who is going to play first...someday. We all like Mauer, but he is a man who is not doing what first basemen should do, still has a year on contract, and the Twins will likely have to continue with him past that time. I'm sorry, I can stomach his numbers if was still behind-the-plate, but we need more at 1B and DH than we are getting now. Or soemthing more consistent with league average. What to do with the outfield. Do we have a bunch of good fielders who all contribute outfield average play? Do we go after a power bat or be content wit Rosario and maybe Kepler? Can Buxton grow? Will Granite put pressure on all of them by showing speed and on-base skills (shades of Ben Revere). One starting pitcher is not necessarily going to get us to the playoffs. There are still problems with the bullpen (possibly more so with expensive vets that should be jettisoned, but the replacements may not be any better today...but should be tomorrow). The line-up is inconsistent, if Molitor can ever figure out who to bat when and where. If Cleveland grabs a ring and makes themselves better, if Kansas City sees the light and does the same...no number of games started and won by Bartolo Colon will help the Twins out of the middle of the division. The Twins do have tradable prospects and putting together the 40-man roster in the off-season is going to be a challenge and many names may be ripe for the pickings San Diego-style. Those names are ones that should be dangled in trades, as well as hard decisions on your top prospects Romero, Gonsalves and Gordon at the moment. Will they crack the Twins and be building blocks, or do you see them being by-passed...sooner rather than later...and can they bring back top-dollar in a controlled asset to the team?

I wish Santiago or Gibson ahd value. Dozier could be trade bait. Then you move Polanco to second. Of course, he has fallen into a utility role (except he IS a prospect). Escobar is a valuable infielder...but like Nunez last year, could you expect a Mejia in return? Santana could be had if the price is right. I don't see a strong NEED to keep him for 2018. I would like to think he won't get better than he is right now. Kintzler will be a free agent and might be the most valuable Twin. I worry that he will wear down (again, like last year). I don't see a longterm contract being lavished on him. Can the Twins afford to dangle a Kepler or a Rosario? What could they get in return for Kepler (the Twins do have a good investment in him, and he is promising). The Twins could also move Gimenez (or minor league catcher Murphy). If someone wants to grab Boshers from them, I would listen.

Well, you never know.........

I love the concept of baseball payrolls. You have $103 million for the 40-man roster. Some $17 million for 40-or-so drafted players, and maybe spend $2.-3 million on 140 guys to play in the minor leagues.

Santana gets to rest now until the all-star game, and then comes back third in-line once the season resumes, I suppose. Tough one to lose. I wonder if Mauer's bat would've made any difference?

Romero and Jorge have the advantage of being on the 40-man roster and probably have a few more innings in them than Gonsalves, although Gonsalves should get a call to AAA sooner rather than later. It all comes down to 40-man roster management. Do the Twins take a looksee at Gee first, then add abck Heston. What do they have in the wings for long relief, something they have been lacking since the season began (Haley?). Will any of the current arms start to implode (Duffey, Pressly, Rogers...Kintzler?). Santiago is a wash. The Twins couldn't not offered him arbitration and been where they would be if they cut bait with him right now...just wasted some salary on a year in which they didn't spend the money they had to spend. Kintzler will also be a free agent. Is there a closer in any of the prospects, or any of the other bullpen arms you really need to keep? What to do with Hughes, who would be an expensive RELIEVER. What to do with Perkins. Will he come back? What to do with Trevor May? Those are pretty valuable roster spots.

At this point, I would rather be dragging out Jorge in the rotation than.....name someone. The bullpen is still a mess. Any true longman? Haley coming back soon (not that I;m jumping for joy) and what will the Twins do with Gee. Not to mention Breslow. Get thru the next eight days, take the All-Star break and reconfigure the rotation and the bullpen. Be interesting to see the Twins W-L record by the break.

There was a discussion and athletes from other sports just playing some sports for fun in their later days. That Tebow could be taking someone's job. But the factor that he brings revenue to the different towns is BIG in the equation for letting someone have the chance, the dream, to MAYBE make it in a second sport. On another note, with all the guys in the GCL and Eliz, I find it hard-to-believe that the Twins actually have to sign guys from the Indy league to fill roster positions in A-ball.

The Twins don't want to pay players to play for other teams...maybe.

The issue. You have to keep Vargas (or eventually Park) because you do need a first baseman, not a fill-in...unless you give Kepler regular reps and thus eliminate that need. Second, bringing Granite in means you now have five outfielders. Is he a better backup than Grossman (I would say yes). Is Grossman a better DH than, say, Park or Vargas? Not sure. You have to eliminate a pitcher. Who do you send down. Busenitz? Boshers? Hildenberger? Plus we will have Haley coming back soon, too. But then that issue is WhY do we have Belisle, Breslow, Haley taking up bullpen space. Is Hughes going to be a plus or a minus (we will soon know). The rotation still has Santiago and Gibson. We have a lot of pitchers keeping other pitchers from pitching. And even if we jettisoned a whole slew of current pitching staffers, we know we have guys like Tonkin and Pressly that are no worse...or better...not to mention Hurley! Can the Twins just go after the best 25 that they can put on the field and forget about salary commitment, long-term contracts, veteran presence, being nice to guys who WON'T BE HERE IN 2018 OR BEYOND! If the pieces aren't pulling their weight THIS YEAR and not expected to be here NEXT YEAR...then why just be a feeding ground for the player to maybe better themselves at the expense of the club.

The Slama story is so interesting. He dominated in the minors, but I don't think he got the chance to fail AND THEN succeed with the Twins. Maybe there's something I don't know or see. And, yes, he eventually ended up in Dodger minors-land and then disappeared. Of course, after surgery, we saw the Twins basically give up (or try and sneak Neshek) off the 40-man, where he went into Oriole limbo for a season and then returned strongly, now with his 4th organization since and looking for another multi-year contract as he pushes towards 40.

A good trade dangle for a Neshek would've been someone like Melotakis along with another minor league prospect. Again, a Top 20 prospect who had advance in the minors being waived rather than considered trade bait has me shaking my head. That's the type of guy you are dangling in a trade...people you MAY remove from the 40-man between now and November...plus somewhere else you have depth (like shortstop....Palacios, Vielma, etc.).

Sadly, the Twins will have to make a couple of moves when Santiago and Hughes return.

Well, we have to stop putting numerical starter values on guys. They can still lose a 1-0 game if the offense isn't there. At best, you want a pitcher that will get you into the game (these days 6 innings, but more often the better ones go 7 - and Berrios AND Santana are), or if they give up uns, those are the only (few) runs they give up while still keeping hold of their pitch count and getting you past the halfway point. If you throw out someone like Gibson, who gives up 5-6 runs but you team still wins, THAT is not a quality starter. Can Berrios sustain? You have to work each and every start. S o much film, so much analysis these days, it has to be horrible to be a starter. Look at Ervin. Can he change his routine if something isn't working...right? I would be curious to know who actually worked the most with Berrios in the off-season and was it Rochester this year that did it for him bigtime! He seems a totally different, although we expected this, pitcher!

The article also mentioned that Gardy was saying Justin Morneau is ready to sign. Hummm. Anyway, wasn't Gee mentioned in the Santana trade waaaay back? The Twins wanted Pelfrey, but the Mets offered Humber or Gee? Getting a lot of names backing up the rosters at Chattanooga AND Rochester. Be interesting to see who goes where or out in the next couple of weeks!

Rosario dis not the problem with the team, and seeing the options in the minors, we shouldn't be ready to deep-six him quite yet. Once Grossman is worked out, the Twins will need four outfielders and they do have that, right now. You can survive with the current trio and Granite (and perhaps Palka) for the next two seasons). But if another team does show interest, you don't NOT talk. Depends on what you can get in trade. Maybe a pitching prospect like Alex Meyer? Maybe even two...Vance Worley and Trevor May! You never know! Or maybe a catcher from another organization...someone on par with prospect John Ryan Murphy! Wait, we have a new administration!

And then you have Boshers come in and screw everything up by being one of your better pitchers. Of course, we said that about Breslow earlier. What kills is the spots held by guys who won't get a call-up, probably even in September, that are tying up roster spots. Granted, you might've risked losing Jorge or Romero or even Rosario if you didn't protect them. Who else will get a call to the majors? Paul Clemens will advance. Yohan Pino get a swan song? The question is, who in the minors is better than Santiago (who will be a free agent), Hughes or Gibson...and if there is someone, why aren't they here...or at least pitching on par and getting experience BECAUSE they will probably be here in 2018 and beyond! But you still have Palka, and John Ryan Murphy, in 40-man limbo. Should they stay or go, that is the question. Danged Aaron Hicks making that trade look really bad for the Twins!

The bigger question is who departs. Does the Yohan Pino's disappear from Rochester to make room. Who isn't playing well and can be given walking papers, at all levels, now that a fresh crop of players will start movement from Cedar Rapids and above! Who do the Twins carry that will be minor league free agents come the end of the season, those that have no chance of being added to the 40-man and who might best be served by switching organizations sooner rather than later. And anyone else the Twins think they should grab from Indy ball? The return of Mark Hamburger or Caleb Thielbar!

Again, it is the evil of protecting less than AAA players on the 40-man. Yet, we forget, Cleveland basically jogged out a couple of guys for the double-header -- Merritt and Clevenger -- whli both could be shipped back out (Clevenger was, I believe), but the difference is that both are PROSPECTS. If the cards had been right and people monitoring things (like having our best pitchers, perhaps, available to face Cleveland in two series), the Twins could've given a cup-of-coffee to Jorge OR Romero, and then return both to the minors to know that big league ball is different from the minors and here's what you really have to work on. The 40-man roster only has so any shuffle holes. You start dropping guys, and they go thru waivers and can be claimed by other teams. Which is better than the Rule 5, because a team doesn't have to keep the guy on their own 40-man (yes, same process again, but...). The Twins lost Wheeler that way (he is now available again) and no one claimed Wilk or Tepesch or Rucinski. So you keep shuffling in guys THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER if they are here for the long haul. Or do you gamble on Hildengerger (hopefully not the next Slama) or otehr guys that you think you can sneak back and forth, and wait for the day you have to add Burdi and Reed and Bard and Hildenberger and the ilk to the roster (which means we don't see them in September, either). Unless the Twins start jettisoning names like Breslow, Belisle, Santiago, even Kintsler who will be a free agent. If he has options, you send out Hughes once he is healthy, and try and pull a Park...expensive guy putting in time off the 40-man in the minors. You run the risk of promoting guys too soon and having them fail miserably, at first. But you run the same risk with cast-offs from othr organizations, too. Does one fare better if you wish to "lool" like you are fielding a competitive team? As long as the Twins are above .500 -- and the media kinda kept mentioning in passing that the Twins -- with no marketable stars in the community right now -- were in first place, and he crowds (combined with some promotions) were bigger than ever. The illusion works to put some more butts in the seats as the new front office juggles the current with the future. You'd like to think they know what they are doing, and no matter any word that speckles out about wanting to win and be competitive right away, I'm sure there is a 3-5 year plan in the works and it doesn't involve spending money hap-hazardly.

We still have another month before The Twins can elect to be a seller of Ervin. That's about it. Anyone else has played themselves out of a contract with anyone (except, perhaps, Grossman or Escobar - who shant bring THAT much in return). The Twins have to ask is Ervin worth keeping. Can you get an equally as effective (average, not this year) guy who is younger as a free agent for the same money, or better to have the vet chops of Santana. The Twins have to figure out what to do with Polanco. Second baseman (keep Escobar for now) or shortstop, which means Dozier stays. If they can live without Dozier, does he have mid-season value is the biggest question. The pitching is a shambles. Many of the arms won't get contracts elsewhere next season. The Twins have to ask if they have any desire to keep Santiago or Gibson about. At some point, you might want to walk away from Hughes. But who do you replace him with. All the names we thought would join the bullpen this year might only make it in September, and that is IF there are 40-man spaces for them. The future is still Chargois, Melotakis, Bard, Burdi, Jay, Rosario, Reed with other names like Jones, Hildenberger, Baxendale still in the running (and should be up getting lumps instead of these...cast offs). Then there is the next wave with names like Curtis, Clay, McIver, Ramirez, Muren and Hackimer. The Twins have so much bullpen promise if the guys can stay off the DL. But major sellers? Possibly not. Nothing to really sell. Can they start getting rid of people and bringing up players before their time? Perhaps, but it is nice to have the luxury of doing that and sending them back to the minors for more...seasoning. That doesn't happen if the roster is full of prospects, sadly. The next 30 days will be telling. Start selling those tickets. Lucky the Cleveland series didn't totally kill of the "can't win at home" Twins, but it came close.

This is a risk the Twins take when they have a 40-man roster with players NOT YET ready for the big leagues (you could count Randy Rosario in that mix, along with Jorge and Romero) not to mention Palka and Vielma. You can't jsut rotate guys out of the 40-man spot. You MIGHT end up losing them. No loss, one might say. Or no one will claim them (i.e. Wilk and Tepesch, as recent examples). Yet you do take a chance on those back-of-the-pen prospects like Hildenberger and Busenitz, for examples, who might come up, throw a bad inning or two, and go back down. Then you still have to replace them, with who? And chances are someone would give either a 40-man spot if the Twins had to run them thru the process. Yet are they better or no worse than 3/4s of the current bullpen, many of whom would probably be jobless if cut loose. But right now EVERY guy in the Twins minor league system has to know that jobs are available. That is a lot of pressure to produce not only in the minors, but to shine if you get a cup-of-coffee before September in the majors. And you age, and there is always someone pushing from below. Both the guys you mentioned would be vuable choices NOW for the Twins pen. But if you looked at the beginning of the year, we all thought Chargois, Burdi, Reed, maybe Bard, possibly Zach Jones, amongst others would be in the mix, with Jay rotating back into bullpen status and some guy named Cederoth not getting released. Be interesting to see what happens when Santiago and Haley and even Perkins come back into the fold!

The Twins have to be thinking "after Mauer" on who will play first base come 2019 or beyond (if Mauer gets a minor extension). Rooker could be the guy, in battle for a spot with Lewin Diaz as the younger prospect right now in the system. Hopefully Leach will get enough of a bonus to NOT go to college. We'll see. With the set bonus system, teams and players HAVE TO KNOW who will sign and who might not these days. It does still boggle my mind the dollars paid out to draftees, many who will never make it to the majors at all. Is the system broken? That $14 million spent this year better spent on something else (especially when you look at the past Twins drafts and who made it/didn't make it). But it is part of the game. 30 kids in high school or college are set for life if they play the game of baseball well!

Interesting, always...in wondering what a couple of years of college ball will do to a player compared to going into a system right out of high school. Will be a fun prospect to watch. The Twins seem to like him and his attitude as they kept following him and coming back for another try at signing.