Rosterman

I would say Dozier is no longer in play and will stay a Twin, so the big decision will be 12 or 13 pitchers and Danny Santana in the scheme of things. There might be a fight for the 5th starter and at least one bullpen arm. But that's it, The need for REAL bullpen arms? Think the Twins will be in a total wait-and-see mode as they try to figure if Burdi, Reed, Hildenberger, Chargois are the real deal future (throw in Baxendale) or not. Look at next year when the Twins MAY tear things apart. I think we may have been thinking too much that a new regime would come in and tear apart and reorganize EVERYTHING over the course of a couple of months. Probably word is that ALL jobs are on the line and if you want to keep any of your managing or coaching duties, you will be asked to change and see if you adapt or shown the door. And players will be given every opportunity to succeed and claim a role in the organization. With the absic concept being that if you don't push and succeed, you may never again be a major league player or have the opportunity to be a major league payer. The tough areas are two. (1) Getting the team to be a team and working together to produce results, rather than individuals glories and (2) How do you market this to the average fan and at what price. I look for a lot of empty seats, possibly many no shows (hurts the concession biz. Unless the Twins get at least one breakout superstar (besides Dozier) who excites the populous to watch them play...or better yet, pitch.

Well, looks like the Twins do have the same problem themselves that other teams might have on Dozier. Is he worth contracting out past 2018...and at what price. Are teams waiting to wait-and-see what Dozier does to start the season and prove that he is more than a half-season slugger? Can the Twins afford that gamble (yes). The worst that can happen, Dozier ends up being average and walks, i.e. Plouffe. The best, the Twins are totally out-of-again in mid-season and someone badly needs a second baseman who is named to the All-Star squad and not named Nunez. Looks like the Dodgers may have been in a holding pattern as they just announced signing 28-year-old Cuban Fernandez. See what he costs. And will be play second. At this point, don't see room for both on the team short-term.

Well, what might've been holding up the deal is that the Dodgers just signed Cuban Jose Fernandez. He's been out of baseball for awhile and might need some minor league time. But only 28. Do they really need Dozier now?

At this point, you hope Santana will be a valuable trading chip in the mid-season, when teams are looking for an experienced pitcher and may trade 2-3 prospects for such a talent, especially one controllable thru 2019 at a decent salary amidst his age. He also could be a viable candidate to be traded out of spring training, but then the Twins are basically looking at guys that teams will be shredding from their 40-man or system, possibly...and the Twins would be stuck with having to carry the guy on their own 40-man with no demotion in sight (think Humber, Pelfrey or Worley as examples of guys you don't need back in a trade package). Then, again, the Twins do have time on their side, so they could stand to gamble on a guy finding his arm, but still..... The tought part is gauging how the team will ultimately playout next year. Strikeouts need to be addressed. Line-up construction, too. Mauer still #3, or can Dozier or Kepler fit into that mold, but where does Joe go. Who's at the top. Polanco and Buxton? How mush teeth gnashing will we experience at the Twins fail to score enough runs to even make a quality start look good with a loss. Do they need Santana? Probably not. They also don't need Hughes, who might not start the season. They also have Perkins as an arm without a place in a bullpen that is full of holes. Go figure. It is a mess. Better to just jettison those old vets for something that is promising and far from major league ready, or see them sink as the team treads water in 2017. If we knew for a fact that salary saved would be spent down the line, the Twins would look great heading towards 2020. But just because you get rid of vets and save money now doesn't mean ownership will overspend when the time comes. I sure would like to know the Twins promotional Plan for 2017. "Buy a Ticket and sit in a Non-Obstructed Seat. Hang your legs over. Use the space behind you to put your food! Your chair at a great outdoors picnic is awaiting you now!"

2017 will be a tough year. The rotation needs to be figured out, as there are some old bodies there that MAY not play longterm (Hughes and Gibson, not to mention a reliable but unnecessary Santana). The bullpen is a mess, but there is too much potential on the farm to bankrupty the team with $6 million reliever contracts. The tell is where do the new guys go from here. We have Murphy that needs to prove he can be a staple for a few years, if even in a parttime role. We have to figure out the need for Vargas or Park, one but not both. Is Polanco the best for second, then who plays short until Gordon. Can Sano handle third. Is the outfield of Kepler/Buxton/Rosario the one for the future? Where does Granite and Palka and even Michaels fit into the plans. Who are the next BIG looksee rookies that couldchallenge the current crop. Polanco may strikeout less that Dozier. But the Twins will still need to replace the power of Plouffe AND Dozier if Dozier is moved. Overall, the batters have to strike out less and runners have to be advanced, especially to home. But all is kinda moot if you have a staff that is 4.50+ for the seson in the least. There is a rebuild, and the Twins have a good time to looksee at a lot of folks...especially if they can advance them faster to the upper minors rather than fill the bill with free agents.

You have to look at the lineup, hope Molitor can contruct it right, and that the strikeouts do disappear. We still have too many question in the offense. Castro doesn't bring much to the table, the DH is uncertain, and we can't predict what Polanco, Sano, Rosario, Buxton and Kepler will do. We know what we want them to do. But that is where the lineup construction comes in BIG. The rotation is still a mess. Berrios CAN do better. Santana IS older. Gibson is unpredictable. Will Hughes be back? Duffey is not my idea of a strong backup plan. At some point, we throw out the rookies, but then we have to expect runs to be given up and can the offense balance that! If we aren't in games or winning games the closer is moot. Will Perk return as closer or end his career as a setup guy earlier than anyone thought. How much seasoning do the arms need in the minors before we start letting the take mups in the majors. It will be another season of rebuilding. It is any players time to grab a job and keep it. There are opportunities for players to make the jump. There is little place for any of the players to go if they fail, so we should be seeing guys overplaying, which is good or bad. I like the team. But there are so many questions in the pitching overall still. And I like all the promise of the offense, but can they work in a line-up. Like, does Dozier still need to bat leadoff. Who is the number four hitter. And what to do with Mauer!

And the Rule 5 was increased to $100,000 - which is a healthy cost to a team looking to possibly stash a player - it comes with a major league minimum salary for a season, too. So you better hope that you keep them around longer than the Twins, say, kept J.R. Graham and ended up losing a Sean Gilmartin, perhaps, in the equation. I believe there were fewer Rule 5 picks (outside of San Diego) than in the past this season. The dress-up can be a thing of the past. Pies in the face, dumping the cooler. Okay. Maybe the champagne baths for post season clinches. Okay. But the dressing of rookies brings baseball down to the level of professional wrestling, so to speak, and few actually get to partake in the full effect unless photos are distributed. Better to leave it to the players to do short-sheeting and saran-wrap around toilet bowls in the wee hours of hotel stays, U guess. The All-Star game continues to have problems. The fan voting doesn't exactly work. The need to have a representative from each team isn't necessary. But if it is going to be a showcase, than maybe it should showcase the truly best...the leaders in all offensive and pitching categories from the season before, make sure Cy/MVP/RookieYears are there for sure. Let it be the farewell tour for those stunning vets, I guess, too. It just keeps getting further and further from an actual game. Maybe the minor league All-Stars should play the actual game with the big league guys just doing hat tipping, expensive signings and such. I kinda liked the idea that the game meant a little something, like homefield advantage, in the World Series.

Sometimes you shake your head at the guys the Twins failed to sign for one reason or another. And then you also shake your head that low-end draft picks DO make the major leagues over the top guys. Of course, there's always room for role players in baseball. But given the time and trouble a team gives to a high-level pick (as well as the money) you would often expect some results at a major league level...even if it is one of these role-playing roles.

The Twins have to pick another coaching staff member. They have to make announcements about the minor league staff, from the coordinators to who manages/hitting coach/pitching coach at each level. Some more reorganization should be happening in the front office. Look for 6-8 minor league free agents to be signed. Don't see much else happening. think the Twins will be content to stay with Dozier for now. Buy winter coats for everyone going on the pre-Twinsfest Caravans. Oh, yes...figure out "how to sell" the team, and not the field, in 2017.

So tragic. Sad.

We have Pat Light doing this already!

It will be interesting to see if Turner can stick. I think the Reds may be thinking more of swinging a trade with the Twins. But suddenly, name the catchers the Twins will start at AAA and AA this season?

Well, if the Reds carry a third catcher, Turner will stay. Otherwise, don't see him as just a bench bat. Interesting that the Twins didn't get raided in the minor league portion of the draft. So, we still have Wheeler and Baxendale. Not that either are top prospects in the system, but they do give us depth at Rochester and Baxendale is...interesting.

Be interesting to see what kind of market there is for Revere. I miss his smiling face in Minnesota, but the Twins do have to go with Buxton, and they do have Granite in the wings, as well as Palka, who pushed away Walker. Revere would probably be too expensive as a 4th outfielder at this point.

It all depends if they think Santiago is worth $8 or is there another pitcher out there for the same (or less) that MIGHT just give you more. Gibson you can stomach, because you need the depth. Kintzler and Press are both good set-up men and cheap for the short-term and you pretty much know what to expect. Yes, the Escobar situation can hinge on Dozier, but unless you truly need the roster spot, he is a possible flip player. Any otehr team would grab him for roughly that amount to be a backup. None of them have any trade value at the moment. Gibson NEEDS to pitch well...and then I would dangle him out there in mid-season. Santiago is a big question. Personally, I would go forward and NOT offer him arbitration. I doubt he would sign with the Twins then for less or even a multi-year, which he probably would get from anyone else. The evils of arbitration. A gamble on worth now. And he ahs done nothing FOR THE TWINS in the past to deserve a higher reward. Plouffe WOULD'VE DESERVED the higher reward but became a subject of no place to play in the grand scheme of things (I would rather have kept Plouffe over Mauer at this point BECAUSE Plouffe could play first/DH and third, as well as the outfield in a pinch...for $8 million he would've been an expensive utility player, though).

The logistics of baseball. Ploufee is not worth $8 million a year, or buying into free agency and giving him a multiple year contract. Why? Well, we have a logjam in the 3B/1B/DH and possibly outfield, so he is expendable. Yet we can pay $8 million for multi-years for a catcher. I'm not arguing against the catcher. Just the worth of the player. The team ahs to feel the guy is worth the money, otherwise why do it. He fulfills a need, so you can be competitive and maybe overspend to fgill a perceived weakness. But don't overpay if you don't have a place for a longtime employee.

With the Twins current situation, I'm not sure they really have to invest monies in expensive long-term bullpen arms. They have to develop and see what they have...get them up here. They have to make decisions (will Berrios stay a starter, as so Trevor May, or go to the bullpen). They need to look at Reed, Bard, Burdi, Jones, Hildenberger and others...and sooner rather than later. They need solid catching, not only at AAA (and AA) but the majors to work and develop these guys. Then you fill in the holes once you have a smidgen of a chance to be competitive (be it as early as 2018 or as late as 2019). Sadly, stockpiling funds the future is not something we have seen the Twins do, but at some point they have to go beyond revenue projections and play the marketplace again. But right now, they are on rebuild. Now the BIG job is to see if Dave St. Peter can earn his keep and sell this to the fans.

Avoiding the question of where do you play him if he can't catch, could the Twins have gotten WIlson Ramos for a similar price. And question #2. Is there anyone in the system that will step forward and be the Twins full-time catcher in 2018 or 2019, or even 2020. This buys us some time.

You always have to remember that there are 27 outs in a game and some players have to do those, often more than a couple a game. It's CAN THEY be productive on working counts, advancing a runner, or putting a ball in play when needed, besides making you strong in other areas (defense, framing, etc.).

With a bit of seasoning and catching ore of the future Twins, Garver could be a primary backstop. But he will still need to show some signs of hitting. He may buy a year with a mid-season callup as there aren't a lot of other choices, but at some point the Twins will have to make a longterm decision. He may become a top-flight backstop who gives you what you need as a catcher and a batter. But only time will tell. We do know the Yankees knew something when they allowed Murphy to go as they watched a couple of other backstops develop into someone they would rather have behind the plate...than Murphy or McCann. At this point, we can be glad Hicks didn't become an instant superstar.

He just became too expensive. Even though we do have someone else that is also too expensive and causing a logjam on the playing field. Sad.

Purchased.

Flipping is fun. They did it with Abad. Nunez they did good. But couldn't find anyone to take Ervin Santana (which was a surprise) and you can't always flip dregs. We still have Kintzler and Boshers. Basically, the Twins have to do a better job of moving assets that don't figure into longterm plans. They did good moving Meyer. But did they really get anything in return. They failed with moving Plouffe. They definitely put too much stock in Adam Walker and never utilized the possibility that he might have value. Sometimes YOU MUST do a major league showcase, even if it turns out badly.

I'm sure we are all going to be mad with the Twins Rule 5 (and it may be losses) when we had names like Boshers and Grossman, not to mention a couple more borderline pitchers, still on the 40-man. t this point, with the bullpen of 2017, I would rather put stock in someone like Baxendale. But, we wait and see!

We will all bemoan that the Twins got nothing for Plouffe, not that he seemed in demand. And we may have wanted a look at Adam Walker (shades of Mark Fundeburk) and had every chance to see him hit a home run in September, if the Twins had only called him up. I always question, in the case of Walker, the investment in a player and even adding him to major league possibilities, and then just cutting them loose. Especially when they don't seem to be absolutely horrible. But, players get passed on the depth chart all the time, and two NEW outfielders are added with more on tap for the future years. But, in the case of Plouffe, if they ahd cut him during the season, they could've resigned him (if needed)...but now, he won't have that chance. Which may be good for Plouffe.