Minnesota Twins Talk

Twins' prospects Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks are playing in the Venezuela Winter League, which started play last week. Hicks is batting .357/.400/.429 with a double and two RBI in three games. Arcia is hitting .182/.250/.273 with a double in four games. Pitcher David Bromberg is also playing in Venezuela. He has started one game and has a 3.38 ERA and 2.25 WHIP, with 4 BB and 3 SO. Chris Colabello, who played with New Britain this season, is playing in the Mexican League. He's hitting .429/.556/.857 with three doubles and three RBI in two games.

Sorry to steal your idea, Spirit, but I was having too much fun reading the Liriano posts, and thought I would throw another log on the fire (even though it isn't Hot Stove time). So, what are people's thoughts on signing Carl Pavano to a $2-3 million contract with incentives for innings pitched? I think if he can prove his shoulder is healthy, I think he could be a better innings-eater than Marquis was this year.

The Cards have done it again. Two different managers! Are the Cards exceptional at hiring managers or do the players get the job done and take the managers for a ride or is it the baseball gods. Need a middle infield to win? Exactly Who are Descalso and Kozma?

STARTING PITCHING #1 Free Agent Signed. (20 Million a year if you have to) Terry Ryan needs to get aggressive with whoever he deems from the higher end of Free Agents. Overpay if he has to. Get in the Bidding and Bid. #2 Trade for a young prospect with talent. I have no idea what other teams would take for this prospect. We all know who the top guys are and I'm sure our scouts do. I don't know if it's possible. However, put a package together... Span plus another OF prospect if necessary but identify a top end prospect and overpay if you have to get him. Teams like the Braves are overloaded in Pitching prospects. Pick a team and make a deal. Easier said than do…

Obviously the Twins will target starting pitching this offseason. This may have been discussed already, but what do we think of Edwin Jackson as a potential free agent signing? I think he could be a solid No.2/3 starter (maybe closer to a #3), but the fact he is a Scott Boras client is a big factor in where he lands and how inflated his salary is/will be. The Nationals paid $11 milion this year for a slightly below .500 record (10-11) and an ERA a shade over 4.00 (4.03), but he did make over 30 starts again and pitched close to 190 innings. If my recollection is correct he set a career-high in K/9 at 8.0, and he still won't turn 30 until next September. I think Jackso…

Skip Schumaker seems to be a good fit as a platoon 2B for the Twins next season. Daniel Descalso has taken over the 2B spot for the Cardinals and looks to be the future at the position. Schumaker is a duplicate player as he's a LH 2B like Descalso. I won't go in depth into his career stats, because I'm sure if you're interested you'd look it up to approve or disapprove this thread , but he hits RH pitching well.. Career .305/.359/.403 slash line. The plan would be to platoon him along side Jamey Carroll at 2B with Carroll also being the utility guy at SS and 3B when needed. This would also help keep Carroll's AB under 400. Schumaker is under contract for 1yr - 1.5M in …

What do you think?

Not quite there, but close enough. I'd be curious in everyone's answers to these: 1. The ________________will win the AL Central with a record of ______. 2. The Minnesota Twins will finish in __ place in the division with a record of _____. * 3. Current Twins who will be wearing new uniforms after the trade deadline include: 4. The _______________ will defeat the _________ to win the 2012 World Series. *If you already answered this in question 1, I don’t know what to tell you. Good luck in rehab, I guess.

Has been mentioned that the Marlins will most likely trade him this off-season and the Twins would be interested. He is owed 13.75 million this year and is a free agent after the season (would be a Type A most likely) I think he is worth trying to get assuming we don't have to give up one of Hicks, Sano, Arcia, Gibson or Rosario. Wonder if they would be interested in Ben Revere+prospects Johnson in the rotation instantly gives the team an ace, and if they could sign another decent FA or even Scott Baker you could be looking at a rotation of: Johnson, Baker, Diamond, Gibson, Hendriks. Not to shabby.

Serving as the designated hitter, Twins' prospect Chris Herrmann ripped a double, walked and scored a run for the Peoria Javelinas in a 13-3 loss to Phoenix on Friday, in Arizona Fall League action. Herrmann was the only Twins' player who saw action in the game. He's now hitting .571.

Totally worth a minor league contract IMO. He is the perfect fit for this team heading into 2013 and provides some much needed INF stability and right handed bat.

Heavy majority of people have said to spend every available asset on pitching in the offseason.....you can see where that comes from BUT the hitting was nothing to be impressed with. 2012 rankings BAve 11th @ .260 OBP 10th @ .325 Slgg 21st @ .390 Runs 16th w/701 Im not advocating goin after Josh Hamilton but there are a couple 2nd/3rd tier guys Id love to pursue that could immediately improve the team/bench Eric Chavez-in his glory years he couldnt hit LHP but he has recovered enough to be a dominant hitter again vs RHP. This season in 245ABs vs RHP .298/365/.543 w/ 16hr. He had 50 starts @ 3B & is still solid defensively and can DH/PH & play 1B in an emergen…

I know that pitching is the #1 priority for the Twins this offseason, but a hitter that is very intriguing is Cody Ross. He reminds me a lot of Willingham. It is pretty obvious that TF plays to right hand power hitters' advantage. If Span or Revere is dealt, Ross could be a great RH power addition to the lineup. It would depend on his asking price obviously, but I think there is value to be had with Ross.

When the name Mike Redmond is mentioned as coaching candidate, it seems to infuriate a handful of TD participants. It is quite apparent who the Twins MLB coaching staff will be at the start of next season, unless their is major curve ball thrown our way (Gardenhire, Anderson, Ullger, Vavra, Brunansky, Glynn, Cueller). There is no spot for Redmond and I could not even begin to speculate where Redmond will manage or coach next season. Maybe the Red Sox will acquire John Farrell from the Bluejays and offer a coaching position to Redmond, maybe Redmond will retire from baseball and open a bowling alley in the Seattle area - who freekin' knows? Let's say next season is Garde…

Gonna assume that the team will go back to 12 pitchers next yr, so I gotta say there already is no competition in spring training as Gardy/Andy will write the following 7 relievers in ink this offseason (barring trades of course) RHP Jaret Burton Alex Burnett Casey Fien Anthony Swarzak LHP Glen Perkins Brian Duensing Tyler Robertson All 7 have had some sort of decent success when they have pitched in pen. Any disagreements

Catcher Chris Herrmann, who was a September call-up for the Twins, collected three hits and scored a run for Peoria in an 8-4 loss to Surprise on Wednesday, in Arizona Fall League action. Outfielder Evan Bigley went hitless in four at-bats.

Here is the Twins from Twins mlb.com beat writer, Rhett Bollinger:

Twins prospect Evan Bigley doubled and scored a run to help the Peoria Javelinas beat Surprise 5-2 in their Arizona Fall League opener on Tuesday. Bigley, who played left field, was the only Twin in the lineup.

It is still developing but it seems that 2 of the 5 coaching openings the Twins are having (BP, 1B, 3B, Hitting, Bench) will be filed by Scottie and Vavry. So only 3 new coaches, so just chairs were rearranged on the Titanic and 2 of the 3 who were fired (Stelly and Jerry) were the least responsible for this mess and the third (Liddly) was on his way to retirement. Smoke and mirrors. Smoke and mirrors Way to go Mr non-interim. Talking about accountability... Meanwhile, Mr non-interim called Paul Molitor "non-compatible" and admitted that he will not be in the running for a coach position, even though the Hall of Famer said he was interested.

In no surprise, Twins Interim GM Terry Ryan announced that he has removed the "Interim" tag from his job title.

One thing we write for the TwinsCentric Minnesota Twins Offseason GM Handbook are possible trade candidates, which usually includes names that have been rumored to be available or somehow make sense for the Twins to attempt to acquire. The toughest part is coming up with realistic names. Any ideas out there? Or guys you woudl like to see profiled in that section? One idea I had while talking with Jason Collette of DRaysBay last weekend was Rays pitchers. According to Jason, the Rays are going to need to go hard after some offense after a dismal offensive season from their lineup. Span would make a lot of sense for them, as might Willingham (or Parmelee?). So some Rays p…

It is obvious fact R.A.Dicky is Inning Eater, whereas Joe Mauer is Money Eater. I know he's brilliant season, but his ability was overrated.

Even if they bring up the whole Rochester crew, there will still be openings somewhere in the organization that need to be filled. I'd love to see them at least interview Mike Redmond, Sandy Alomar, Ivan Rodriguez, and Mickey Hatcher. Any other names that you'd like to see in the mix?

I was checking the MLB.com transactions page this morning and this was posted under 10/8/2012: [TABLE] [TR=class: odd] [TD=class: date]10/08/12[/TD] [TD=class: note]Minnesota Twins placed CF Lew Ford on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 14, 2003.[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: even] [TD=class: date][/TD] [TD=class: note]Minnesota Twins placed LF Lew Ford on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 14, 2006.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] What the heck? Here's the link: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/transactions/?tcid=mm_mlb_players#month=10&year=2012

I found myself cheering for Baltimore vs. the Rangers because somewhere inside me I thought it may help the Twins. Does the Rangers coming up short make them more desperate to overpay for Greinke thus make them decide to not resign Hamilton and then look for a more cost effective OF solution in trying to trade for Span? What about the Cardinals? Does their success make them more confident in their team so they are more willing to deal from their pitching prospects?

In what is going to be a critical offseason, Teryry Ryan will have to decide what to do about the potential OF/1b/DH logjam. With Mauer playing more time at DH and 1B and Gardy trying to get Doumit everyday playing time, the twins will have a playing time crunch if they do nothing. They also have outfield prospect that may be ready by midseason. So, if you were TR what would you do? (You can select multiple options in the poll)

Although the Twins' miserable season is over, there is still some baseball to follow, as seven Twins' prospects compete in the Arizona Fall League. Pitchers Logan Darnell, Kyle Gibson, Caleb Thielbar and Michael Tonkin; along with catcher Chris Herrmann and outfielders Nate Roberts and Evan Bigley are playing for the Peoria Javelinas. The Javelinas open their season against Surprise on Wednesday, Oct. 10. For complete coverage on the Arizona Fall League, go to http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/afl/index.jsp.

I think it's safe to say the Twins will not pick up Scott Baker's $9.25 million option for next year, but I do think they could bring him back at a much lower salary if he looks healthy coming back from TJ surgery. I really think other teams will have tepid interest in him at best, so it may come down to him taking the Twins' offer or simply not signing a major league contract that has any type of guarantees with any team for 2013. What do you all think? Here's my analysis of the situation, featured at Rant Sports.com Link: http://www.rantsports.com/mlb/2012/10/02/mlb-rumors-should-the-minnesota-twins-bring-back-scott-baker/

Twins have clinched the AL's worst record with a game to go & will pick 4th in next summer draft!!!!! Will this spot be high enough to get a MLB ready Mark Appel??

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_21699041/minnesota-twins-shake-up-coaching-staff I disagree with both the Stelmaszek and White moves, but anything that gets Ullger and Vavra further away from the on field team is ok by me. It does make one wonder if Gardy is on thin ice...