Minnesota Twins Talk

In a busy afternoon of Twins news, the latest is that Samuel Deduno has been outrighted to AAA Rochester. He is now off of the 40 man roster. After not being claimed by another team, he will at least stay in the Twins organization, which I am happy about. As much as he may not have much control and walks too many, I maintain that the word "Intriguing" still applies to him.

You'll want to read Part 1 and Part 2 as well, but in Part 3, PHIL makes a few reasonable moves and shows what that could mean for the Twins. A couple of smart moves and some improvements by key young players and it feels realistic. http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/How_to_fix_the_Twins_Part_3_Could_Braves_Rays_be_good_trade_fits103112

I have put together and posted a chart about the Twins and their trading history over at www.twinstrivia.com . I hope that you enjoy it. Thanks, John

According to Darren "Doogie" Wolfson (sports guy for 5 Eyewitness News) in his "The Scoops" article today on 1500ESPN.com, the Twins were in on Ervin Santana up until the last minute. From the article: Additional notes from the article: • It sounds like the Twins will non-tender Casilla if they have to offer him arbitration. • The Twins have inquired about pitcher Randy Messenger who is pitching in Japan, supposedly through next year. With Hanshin last year, he went 10-11 in 196.2 IP in 2012 with 166 strikeouts, 65 walks and a 2.52 ERA. The link to the full article is here: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/The_Scoops_Desperate_for_pitching_Twins_made_a_run_at_…

I didn't see this being discussed in any threads. More of the same... http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Twins_announce_more_moves_to_minor_league_and_training_staff110112

According to FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi, the Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox have varying degrees of interest in the still unsigned Scott Baker.

I was googling Carl Pavano, and I ran across this gossip site that mentioned that he bought a mansion in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It said that he applied for a homestead exemption which saves owners on property taxes as long as they live there. The line that caught my eye was "Sports talkers in the Twin Cities have been speculating that Pavano is planning to hang up his glove this winter ...." I had not heard this rumor before. I must not listen to the right "sports talkers" I guess. Has anyone else heard that Pavano might be calling it quits? Have I missed something? Anyway, I'm not sure I buy it. His family will live in the home while he's off being a baseb…

The Star Tribune's Joe Christensen speculates on the potential fits for the Twins on the open market: Of note, as part of his contract, the Mariners have until Saturday to negotiate with Iwakuma before he can become a free agent. While I don't mind any of those names, I am a little less enthused by Saunders, Guthrie and Blanton.

This is beating a dead-horse, I know. The Gold Glove Awards were announced last night in an oddly concocted award show format on ESPN2. In the AL, Baltimore Orioles' shortstop JJ Hardy was the recipient of the hardware for that position. So now, the Twins have traded away a 30-home run, Gold Glove winning shortstop. Since trading him, the Twins have had a -5.2 UZR/150 at the position (third-worst in the AL) along with a .280 weighted on-base average (third lowest). Meanwhile, the Orioles have hit the most home runs at the position (52 compared to the Twins' 18) and the O's have had the third-highest UZR/150 (9.6) in baseball. How do you feel about the team's futur…

Lindstrom's option was declined by the Dbacks. Should the Twins consider him? If the Twins do add a bullpen guy I would love to have him.

according to mlbtraderumors Redmond is the new manager of the Miami Marlins. Congratulations to him.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Royals have acquired RHP Ervin Santana from the LA Angels. Rumors were that the Angels were looking to deal Santana and Dan Haren, and that if they couldn't, they would likely decline their options for 2013. Well, the Royals apparently are willing to bet $13 Million that he'll turn things around in 2013. Who the Royals traded to the Angels at this point is unknown. I thought that Santana was a great choice for a bounce-back season in 2013. If you look at his numbers, he has been very good and pretty durable most of the past five years. So, can Santana be a bounce-back pitcher for the Royals OR will he be this year's Jonathan Sanchez? …

Color me extremely interested. Link

MLBTradeRumors.com has identified what they believe are the Top 50 Free Agents this offseason and have predicted their landing spots. For the Twins, they've predicted Terry Ryan would lock up Joe Blanton and Scott Baker. Rotation? Fixed.

Twins have allowed 69 runs in the first 4 innings this year. 4 teams have allowed fewer than that in ALL of their innings.

Anyone want him back? I'm betting we see him in Houston

TR says he is looking for a competition at 3B with Plouffe. Thoughts on how Youk would fit with the team? My opinion: If he could be had for less than $5 mil, I would love to have him. Decent defense at 3B/1B, professional hitter (though in decline), great clubhouse guy, injury prone but still have Plouffe... forget the competition, go get him.

The Twins also announced this afternoon that RHP Nick Blackburn had arthroscopic elbow surgery to remove bone chips last Thursday.

The Minnesota Twins have played 8,293 games since the Washington Senators moved here after the 1960 season and eight of these games have ended in a tie. Read about these games in a piece I did over at www.twinstrivia.com .

Is Houston officially AL now? Do they get first crack at American League waivers or National League?

Here is an article on MLBTradrumors.com http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/10/angels-could-trade-haren-santana.html Discussing the idea of swapping either Santana or Haren before they need to take action on their options. If the angels were to throw in 3-5 million in a trade what whould we be willing to give up for 1 year of either of these guys?

For those who have purchased the Offseason Handbook, I want to ask about the part of the Terry Ryan interview that shocked me the most: that the 2nd biggest priority is to improve the bullpen. When I asked why, the reply was that the team can never have enough arms, but also seemed to be that they still believe in Dozier and Florimon. I gotta say, I was pretty surprised by this. That one thing I thought about later was that maybe he meant it in relation to picking up waiver claims and 6-year minor league free agents, more than shopping on the market for an established reliever. Did that shock anyone else?

The Twins announced this afternoon that they have agreed to terms with RHP PJ Walters on a minor league deal. This is good news for depth.

If we look at the number of home runs hit at home by both teams and compare it to the number of home runs hit by both teams in road games, Target Field was above average in home runs this year. (click the charts to see them better). Twins hitters hit 69 homers at TF and 62 on the road. Twins pitchers gave up 98 at home and 100 away. So 81 home games had 167 home runs and 81 road games had 162. That gives TF a +3% in 2012 and makes it 14th of the 30 major league fields in that comparison. In Target Field's inaugural season, 2010, that value was -36% (116 home, 181 road). 2011 saw an increase in home runs at TF and the deficit "improved" to only -9%. That makes a thr…

I know this was posted before but I could not find it. Anyways, which Twins minor leaguers must be added to the 40 man roster so they can't get claimed in the Rule 5 draft. I am just a little curious on how many spots will be open to add some much needed SP.

Kyle Gibson's string of quality outings in the Arizona Fall League came to an end this afternoon. In just two innings, Gibson allowed eight hits and six earned runs for Peoria in its game with Scottsdale. Gibson had 1 BB and 1 SO. His ERA now stands at 4.20.

Local baseball author Peter Schilling Jr. wrote up a story about the 87 Twins for MinnPost, commemorating the 25th anniversary of their World Series win. It's interesting because he readily admits he didn't live here then, so it's viewed as an outsider, and more clear just how insane this town went. http://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-history/2012/10/87-twins-turned-towns-upside-down

Per Joe Christensen, the Twins have turned down Baker's $9.25M option. It's not a surprise that they turned it down, of course, but it does raise the question of whether it is a signal that the talks have reached an impasse. It appears there was not financial incentive to not reach this deal, as there was no buyout associated with the contract.

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Mackey_Twins_search_for_SPs_might_mean_another_stab_at_Mark_Buehrle102812 1500espn's Phil Mackey writes that the Twins may take another stab at LHP Mark Buehrle this offseason. He has a couple of years left on the free agent contract he signed with the Miami Marlins last offseason, and I would think that the Twins would insist that the Marlins pick up some of the contract. And then it would be a matter of which prospect(s) the Twins would have to give up as well. Left-handed. He's been a given for 200 innings for years. What do you think?

Seemingly... a majority of folks on Twinsdaily... (Wonderful people for the most part)... Plus a majority of people you will run into on the streets.... Will gloss over the makeup of the Giants... I also believe the majority will gloss over the seasons turned in by the Tigers, Rangers, Yankees, Red Sox and every other team while continuing to play the game on paper. The Game on paper according to their own mind's eye. Me included!!! The Giants sent forth a lineup with a couple of Superstars in Sandoval and Posey and a bunch of question marks. Scutaro and Pence were acquired at the trade deadline while the Dodgers added a bus load of bigger names. Brandon Belt was …