Rosterman

I love Granite and glad to see him getting playing time. But not sure that he should be dumped in the #2 spot out-of-the-chute and you best hitter regulated to the bottom of the order. You let a guy get some bumps (and only 4 at-bats) at the end of the order to start. If Granite CAN bat second, than Buxton should be batting second upon his return.

The Twins are running into 40-man roster issues. Who to get rid of and who to add. If you add a prospect, you always have injury potential. Especially as many of the prospects will start to reach innings potentials (whihc is WHY it does help to bring up the Felix Jorge and, hopefully, Fernando for that spot start before September). You almsot think that any of the young arms may be tired and not necessary to add during the season September call-up (similar to alst year) because of innings pitched. Which means at this point you are running with the retreads who you can happily jettison during the off-season, or continue to extend the ones you have on the current roster. Yes, Melotakis COULD do more innings. But he is not on the 40-man. Alex WImmers and Michael Tonkin and Drew Rucinski are all potential callups if you decide to part ways with, say, Belisle and Breslow. But right now you do have too many names for spots (who goes when Breslow and Haley come back? How do you work Dillon Gee into the mix. Can Glen Perkins come back, still). On the other side, you are paying Park a lot of money to play AAA ball, especially when you seem in need of a true DH. And what to do about shortstop. Add Gordon early to the 40-man? Escobar will start to be expensive if he is a true backup (remember the day when the Twins didn't want to pay Hocking his third year arbitration to be a backup...especially when he was almost a fulltimer). Is there value in moving Grossman or Giminez? What is Dozier worth? Would someone give you more for Santana than less? Can you trade your closer and one of the best in the league BECAUSE you won't be re-signing him next year? What to do about...Joe? Such a tight division, and the last wild card still in play. But how far can the current team go in the playoffs? Can they upgrade better than Cleveland, or even Kansas City, and stay in the hunt? Would they really mortgage the future as prospects don't always pan out?

Liriano as a bullpen arm is something to consider. But at what salary price. But at this point I would rather trust that the four prospects in the trade will be major contributors to the Twins in 2019/2020. Of course would trade Niko Goodrum in a second for Neshek. Niko is one of those fringe guys that won't be protected. But his worth to the Phillies would only be if they could play him, otherwise he walks himself after the season. Pat, I think, might feel he has one more solid multi-year contract in him. But being with the wrong team for the rest of the summer could hurt him rather than help him, not that he has a choice of trading partners. Can the Twins live without Santana? Sure. They free up money. But the logjam the Yankees trade would present the Twins...well, it wouldn't be a logjam if they just leave some of the logs to rot on the bank. You wouldn't need Vargas or Park anymore, not that anyone is knocking down the door to get them. It solves the Mauer problem in a year, maybe, but what ARE the Twins going to do with Joe? Would we really be mad if the Twins traded him (and ate some of his salary). Not that we have anyone in the wings that we are dying to see at first base (bring back Morneau! All I can say regarding Kintzler is to listen and listen and take the best that you can get. Don't see the Twins giving him longterm money. Not sure if he would even close for any of a number of teams that would trade for him. And if you traded him, you could always come back at him on the free agent market if you saw fit (and considering that you really don't have a closer anyways). But you aren't going to give him a qualifying offer. And you aren't going to pay him closer money. Let him go elsewhere and revisit in the off-season. You can play musical chairs the rest of the season (Pressly, Hildenberger, hey Jake Reed). And you know that Perkins wants to give you at least one GREAT appearance before 2017 ends. I'm not really sure if the Twins can ADD to their roster with the prospects that they might have available, and if it truly is worth it Ihis there an offense player who will put butts in the seats. Is there a pitcher not named Colon of Gee that will excite us every four days? I worry that Santana won't continue. That pitches (especially the bullpen) will start to wear and the Twins won't be playing musical 40-man chairs correctly. Pretty much all the young promising arms will have met their innings goal come the years end, so we will see the mops ups looking for a contract in the coming year. I just wish ANY of these free agents/minor league free agents were notable enough to trade for a possible non-protected prospect to give the Twins some depth. But don't even see that. Santana and Kintzler are wanted. Escobar could be had. Maybe someone wants Giminez. I don't see a market for any return better than anyone might've given you in the off-season for Dozier, so you better start thinking "long-term contract."

Because he was added to the 25-man roster briefly, did Gee get his salary upped to a million bucks? Which in Twins land is a reason not to DF-him for assignment, especially if he is pitching well. The Twins are only on the hook for $300,000+ for Colon at the moment. Haley is pitching at Rochester and will need a roster spot soon. He can only pitch so long in rehab...and he is the Twins Rule 5 hot pickup. Breslow is also due back. So between Boshers/Hildenberger/Pressly, who goes, if not all three (unless Vargas gets his ticket punched yet again).

Jake Mauer and Doug Mientkiewicz. Two stars that the Twins need to find a place for with the big league team. Dillon Gee has to be frustrated. Of course, did his million dollar contract kick in because he was added to the 25-man roster briefly? He'll be one of those oddities that was on the Twins roster but didn't play (Alejandro Machado was one, on the DL most of a season. Chuck Schilling was another...was up for a month and didn't play and then quit back in the 60s). The question will be how long is the leash on Bartolo Colon. Better yet, how long is the leash on Kyle Gibson. His next stop will be his to show if he can stay or not. Gee is on the 40-man, for now, so there is a slight advantage for a return there. There are a lot of pitchers on that Red Wings roster, and besides Colon, the Twins have to find space for Haley and Breslow and the corresponding moves with see the Red Wings either release (or disable more) guys, or a shuffle as people are pushed backwards when they should be pushing forwards. Sigh. Sometimes too much pitching can be a problem. Especially when the too much pitching is not all PLUS candidates.

Garver's time will come. Hopefully he is getting more behind-the-plate moments than just being a bat. Interesting that the Reds are hanging on tight to Stu Turner, who is getting minimal play in Cincinnati. Castro is here for the long haul. I doubt that with his contract/salary he would be a pick-up sought by other teams. Gimenez is on a one-year contract, so we are stuck with him, unless someone really wants a backup catcher and the Twins deal him. Look at it this way...would we rather have had Murphy up all year and not able to pitch in those emergency situations? Speaking of Murphy, would be interesting to see what would happen if someone got injured on the offense. Would he be called up first over Garver? The Twins have been pretty lucky this season with so few injuries to the non-pitchers. Or maybe unlucky...they haven't had to cycle anyone else thru the team except the up-and-down of Vargas. But Garver's time will come. Just don't get injured, Mitch. And, gang, would you take Stu Turner back? Or maybe his time has passed and he can't be returned?

Wow. The names not there. No Kohl Stewart. No Reed, Burdi, Chargois, Cederoth. Tyler Jay, Keeton Steele, Ryan Eades, Zach Jones, Madison Boer, Hudson Boyd, Corey Williams. Shows how the landscape can change. How it is NOT always the top draft picks that will pan out in the end. Or combined with injuries to many, some mistakes were made in the draft. Especially when Nik Turley is your big leader!

The Twins have to take a hard look at who would need to be added to the 40-man not only this Fall, but also next year...and do they have the spots for them. Looking further out, you suddenly do have players with potential that MAY NOT find a home with the Twins organization and may be ripe to include in a package of prospects. Yes, if you do a trade, you do have to dangle a couple of guys in your top 20, as well as a few more in the next 20. But in the grand scheme of things, do you add 8-10 players a season to your full roster? And two years from now some of the names drafted today will be on the cusp of consideration. But it also has to start with recognizing the current needs of the team, mulled by the time you still need to hive to a Kepler or Buxton and continued looksee at Polanco and Rosario, amongst others, and it will start all over again with whomever you bring up currently on the 40-man (Palka, Garver, Vielma). You have to seriously decide who will be here in 2018 and beyond, and who you do think will be a wise investment. Can you grab someone from another team, and still keep control? Do you lay out BIG money in the off-season? And then you have the Joe Mauer factor. How much do you pay this guy and where do you play him, and is he worth it in the long-run. Could MAUER be a difference maker for any team right now (of course, he is injured) and going forward, do you really need to worry about any p.r. fallout not having him a Twin would bring?

But then anopther team can claim him for a 40-man spot, and almost immediately ask waivers, sending him to their own minor league system.

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!