yarnivek1972

That's fine except that the Twins also have a .240 and .122 SLG they have to hide. Is it any wonder Dozier is struggling lately? Hitting ahead of Mauer, behind Rosario and Buxton.

I think they'll give Hildenberger until the end of May. This is his first season above AA. He's got less than overpowering stuff, but a quirky delivery. So far, it has played in AAA. It might at the MLB level. Pat Neshek still has a job, after all.

I guess you could say it became unpleasant rapidly.

One positive from today is that JT Chargois made his season debut in Rochester. 1 2/3 IP, 1 BB, 2 K. 26 pitches, 17 strikes. Inherited 2 runners, stranded both. If he continues to pitch well, he's probably up before the end of the month.

Everybody keeps calling for Tonkin to be cut. Ryan Pressly has given up 5 extra base hits in his 3 most recent outings covering less than 3 IP. That has to be concerning. Both Pressly and Tonkin were overworked, especially in the first half, last year. I think we are seeing the repercussions.

This game is already well over 3 hours old and there is still an inning to go. In a game in which 6 runs have scored. But MLB doesn't have a pace problem.

I think it is a foregone conclusion that when Mauer is done, Miguel Sano will slide over to first base. There really is no one in the pipeline to play third at this time, but that's an issue for another day. Nick Gordon, maybe. But if that were a plan, he'd be playing there now. Not sure he's going to hit enough to be at third. Polanco, but he too profiles better as a SS or 2b.

Rosario is trending the wrong way in terms of production. You can show me all the metrics in the world. If it doesn't eventually result in some hits and actual productivity at the plate, what good are they? I certainly don't consider Paulsen (or Palka or anyone else playing OF in AAA) a long term solution. I consider Rosario a long term problem. And it isn't just because of the first 2 1/2 weeks of this year. It's about the 6 months of nothingness last year too. It is worth noting that he has two hits in his last two games. If he keeps that up, great. That's why I'm willing to wait 3-4 more weeks. To get that larger sample size.

Ben Paulsen is probably a more complete player than Palka, and he has MLB experience. Palka also has 3 errors already. As an OFer. The entire Twins team I think only has 4. Paulsen isn't hitting LHP this year, but that is likely sample size. He hit them fine last year. But I consider Paulsen a replacement for Rosario, not the bat to add when a pitcher is removed. I give Rosario about 3-4 more weeks. If he hasn't shown improvement by then (by which time he will also be close to the magic 1000 PA plateau as well), he can be cut IMO. I would wait with Garver. Primarily because he does still have some developing to do as a catcher. He's certainly going to be the guy called up if someone gets hurt. Plus, I like having Gimenez on the roster, especially with a short bench. He's already filled in at third a couple times and can play first. I think the guy to call up when the Twins go to 12 pitchers is Vargas. Of anyone in AAA, he still has by far the highest ceiling. For me, the 40 man roster is a non-issue. When Adrianza is healthy, they will either activate him or DFA him. If he's activated, they will DFA Danny Santana. They could let them both go and bring up Shuck to be a back up OFer or wait until Zach Granite is healthy - but he is still young enough to be a fringe prospect so the Twins probably want him to play everyday. That opens 1 spot, or possibly 2. The Twins still have Engelb Vielma on the 40 man who is considered an excellent defensive infielder. I was surprised he started the season in AA. There is no reason to keep JR Murphy on the 40 man. He isn't going to get called up. He did finally get a base hit a couple days ago. There is zero risk in removing him. Odds are no one claims him. If someone does, it's not like career AAA catchers are hard to find. That's another potential spot. A lot of signs indicate that the pitcher who will be out will be either Justin Haley or Michael Tonkin since they are in a redundant role. Either way, that's another removal from the 40 man. And if the Twins do indeed cut bait with Rosario, that would be another.

The difference is he isn't hitting against September call ups. You know, the same AAA pitching we already know he can hit. I think you have to keep running him out there, but he needs to show progress or he's going to be the next Jarvis Brown.

Levine talked about this on the pregame yesterday. I think holding 13 until the next off day gets a little closer is what he indicated. It's still 8 days away. It won't be Rogers or Breslow. They won't go to only one lefty. Belisle has a guaranteed contract, indeed, the only guaranteed contract he and Falvey gave to a FA pitcher. That tells me they aren't going to cut bait yet. Duffey is flourishing in his role to the point that he is likely to get chances in higher leverage situations soon. That leaves Tonkin, Pressly and Haley. At some point, I could see all 3 being replaced this year. JT Chargois and Jake Reed will hopefully be healthy and able to pitch at the MLB level this season. Trevor Hildenberger is another guy I think could help with his quirky delivery. Assuming no one gets hurt between now and next week, I'm going to say that Tonkin is probably the odd man out. As the second long man, he's the redundant piece. Of course, that will add presure to Haley. Might be another reason the Twins hang onto Gibson in AAA. As for the hitter, Vargas is the most likely candidate, especially with Park on the DL. It sounds like he's two weeks away and the change to 12 pitchers should be before that.

What makes Gibson a quality reliever? He isn't executing the pitches he needs to make. He simply is unable to do it anymore. His G/F ratio is heading the wrong way. From 1.3 in 2014, to .99 last year to .82 so far this year. YIKES!! That has nothing to do with being a starter or reliever. That's "can't get the ball where he wants it to go". If you can't do that, you get results like 8 extra base hits in 14 IP.

What's wrong with replacing him with Berrios? Sure, it leaves you a little thin. Nick Tepesch has been doing okay. He's got some MLB experience. He certainly isn't a prospect, but he gives you options in case of injury. Twins could send Gibson to AAA for insurance, if they wanted to. I fail to see the need, but at this point he wouldn't be standing in anyone's way. A team can probably acquire any number of # 5 starters for peanuts at any time.

He's lucky that he even was tendered a contract for 2017. He is simply unable to execute the pitches he needs to execute. He knows he has to keep the ball down to have any chance. He said as much in an interview after his second start. But he can't do it consistently enough. He has faced 67 batters this season. 23 have hit ground balls. 32 have hit fly balls, 13 of which were line drives. 8 extra base hits, including 4 HR in 14 IP. Gibson is not throwing GROUND balls. He's throwing MEAT balls. It isn't just this year. His G/F ratio has been trending the wrong way 3 years running. He simply isn't good enough at what he is supposed to do. That's life. It isn't personal. He just doesn't have any way to help the team.

Not sure what "steps forward" Rosario is taking in your view. The 3 walks? That's still low compared to the rest of the roster. Back up catcher Chris Gimenez has 4. Regarding the rest of the topic, why are so many down on Tonkin to the point that they think Gibson should replace him in the pen? He has yet to allow a run. What about Gibson's past or make up makes anyone think Gibson can be at least as good as Tonkin as a reliever? Duffey in higher leverage situations? Not against it. Obviously, he's flourishing in his current role. It would be worth a try. His K rate is still a little on the low side compared with most late inning relievers. So, you really can't trust that he will succeed coming into situations with runners on base. That's an important part of a late inning reliever's job. Indeed, perhaps the MOST important. Change I would make now: Gibson out. Berrios in. AAA or release? Don't care as long as he isn't taking the spot of a guy with actual upside. 2 or 3 weeks from now: Rosario out, Santana out. Granite and Vargas in. I think the next domino to drop on the pitching side might end up being Pressly or possibly Belisle to go down to 12. Who to bring up is an interesting question. There's a few candidates. Matt Hague, Ben Paulsen, Daniel Palka most notably could fill a part time role. Hague and Paulsen have MLB experience. Ehire Adrianza is heading to a rehab assignment. So, either he'll be added to the 25 man roster or he will have to be taken off the 40 man. So that opens up another spot for someone.

In his career, Gibson has an opponents OPS of .714 the first time through the order. It jumps to .819 the second time. So, while that assessment is true, it doesn't change my opinion. .714 the first time isn't very good either. It's barely serviceable. The flip side of your optimistic view of Gibson adding a couple ticks and striking out more as a reliever is the fact that he has NEVER been a reliever. He's started 184 games as a pro. He's relieved in 2. Both in rookie ball in 2012 on a rehab assignment I believe. There is no reason to believe he will succeed doing something he has never done before at his age. And there is no reason to try. The Twins aren't lacking right handed middle relievers.

Today would be Berrios' "day" on normal rest for Rochester. However, since yesterday was an off day, the Red Wings could start David Hurlbut, who last pitched on the 12th. An alternative COULD be letting Berrios start and limit him to say 60 pitches or so. Then he could be in line to pitch Saturday in place of Gibson. Be interesting to see what happens down there.

What is the goal or upside of putting Gibson in the bullpen? He doesn't strike hitters out. So, if he comes into a game with runners on as a late inning or set up reliever, he's probably going to fail a lot more than a guy that CAN strike hitters out. Closer? Really? First of all, see above. Second, the Twins already have a pitch to contact closer in Kintzler. While he's okay on THIS team at THIS time, he doesn't fit the mold of a closer because he can't get strikeouts when he needs them either. That's fine as long as you limit baserunners. But where Kintzler will run into trouble is when he gets two guys on in an inning because he will have a hard time pitching out of it consistently without a run scoring. Middle or long relief? Okay. Is this an area of need? Duffey seems to be flourishing in the role. Haley has been better than expected, although he does throw a lot of pitches due to not having "put away" stuff. Even Tonkin has done well in longer outings. How many long relievers does one team need? The basic question is "can Gibson help the team in the bullpen?". I think the answer to that question is "no". Let him go. The financial commitment is negligible. He was lucky to have tendered a contract last fall.

You know, a nice follow up to this would be to project a roster on say, June 1st. Who might get hurt? Who might get demoted? Who might get promoted? Could someone be flat out released? That would surely spark conversation.

Personally, I'd rather it be Grossman that gets sent packing. He plays one position, left field. And he plays it poorly. He's going to get most of his at bats vs LHP. At the expense of whom? Rosario or Kepler? They aren't going to improve against LHP if they don't face them. And Rosario's numbers against LHP aren't that bad. Not bad enough to be an automatic sit for sure. At the expense of Mauer? Okay, fine. But that doesn't make him a reserve OFer does it? Maybe Santana doesn't do any one thing exceptionally well. But he has considerable position flexibility. He has speed, something lacking on this roster. He also hits lefties and righties about the same. Santana does a lot of things good enough to get by. Grossman does 1. With just 4 bench players, you really can't have that kind of specialization. You need a guy that can do several things.

You really think it would be wise to let Boshers go because of a couple beat downs in spring training? He was arguably the best overall reliever the Twins had in 2016. Rogers got lefties out, but got torched vs righties. Boshers did well against both. Obviously, he needs to prove it wasn't a fluke, but IMO he deserves that chance and more importantly the Twins owe it to themselves to find out. If the Twins remove Boshere from the 40 man, he gets claimed in a heartbeat. Why not remove the flotsam and jetsom that is JR Murphy? The presence of Castro precludes him from starting. He's obviously not as good as Gimenez. Is he even as good as MItch Garver right now? If the answer is "no", as I believe it to be, why keep him? He's far less likely to be claimed and even if he is, is it really a significant loss?