Article: What To Do With Chris Parmelee?

[Nick Nelson]

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php/2942-What-To-Do-With-Chris-Parmelee

[SydneyTwinsFan]

It's utterly inexcusable that Herrmann has started 4 of the past 6 games while Parmelee rakes in AAA, particularly as he can actually catch the ball in RF unlike Herrmann and Colabello. Accept the crushing loss of Eric Fryer or Kenny Wilson from the 40 man and get him up. The Twins can worry about what to do with him when/if Willingham proves he is fit.

 

They should also bring back Arcia for one of the 13 pitchers at the same time (either DFA Burton or option one of Tonkin or Darnell, as harsh as it would be on those guys). He has put up a .333/.379/.444 line through 8 rehab games now - that's enough.

[jorgenswest]

He should stay in AAA into June. If he can maintain his success for another 25-30 games, bring him up and play him a regular platoon role. Dump or trade any of the veterans not under team control next year.

[TKGuy]

He can play first and OF better than Colabello or Hermann, let him play up here. Not counting on Hammer for a while

[AlwaysinModeration]

Parmelee, Plouffe, and Dozier. All guys who have had stretches of excellence at AAA. Plouffe and Dozier are showing signs of turning into useful assets for the majors team. I think Parmelee could join them.

 

The three would form a nice core to have the young guys (Sano, Buxton, Rosario) join in the years ahead.

 

In my opinion.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

It's utterly inexcusable that Herrmann has started 4 of the past 6 games while Parmelee rakes in AAA, particularly as he can actually catch the ball in RF unlike Herrmann and Colabello. Accept the crushing loss of Eric Fryer or Kenny Wilson from the 40 man and get him up. The Twins can worry about what to do with him when/if Willingham proves he is fit.

 

They should also bring back Arcia for one of the 13 pitchers at the same time (either DFA Burton or option one of Tonkin or Darnell, as harsh as it would be on those guys). He has put up a .333/.379/.444 line through 8 rehab games now - that's enough.

Willingham will be out a while, who knows with Hicks, who knows with Mauer... Hermann has looked lost...

 

Parmelee has proven his ability to hit in AAA, and is a good fielding right fielder and first basemen. Either DFA Burton or put Mauer on the DL and bring up Parms. The outfield needs him desperately right now, and Colabello looks like he needs an off day or extra fielding drills, or something... When Arcia comes back, leave Kubel and Parmelee in the corners and DH Arcia. Hermann has no business being active, except the bench is so darn thin right now.

[TheLeviathan]

I'd really like to see the kid get another shot.

[sorney]

Bring em up, or release/trade him. He does no one any good ripping the ball in AAA. The Twins aren't competing for a playoff spot, so see what the guy can do with extended time again.

[scottz]

Bring em up, or release/trade him. He does no one any good ripping the ball in AAA. The Twins aren't competing for a playoff spot, so see what the guy can do with extended time again.

 

Not to be Pollyanna here, but technically, they are only a game or so out of the first wildcard spot, so although it is still early, they ARE competing for a playoff spot. That said, I agree that it does nothing to let him sit there if we can use him...and I think we can. I like Hermann, and I like that he gives Gardy a catching security blanket that allows Pinto to DH sometimes, but he should go down, Parmelee up, Fryer off the 40. I haven't checked the splits, but if a Cola/Parm platoon works based on matchup, let's do that.

[Brock Beauchamp]

And this is part of the reason why I thought Parmelee should have received 500+ PA in the Majors last season. Would he have cemented himself on the roster had that happened? Maybe not, maybe even probably not... But he has a potential future with this team and it was worth doing all you can to answer that question last season.

 

But now? I think he'll be back on the 40 man at some point but given the current roster crunch of no-glove players, I don't see how the Twins will do it.

 

At this point, it'd be best for the Twins if Willingham doesn't recover from his wrist injury, as sad as that is to say.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

And this is part of the reason why I thought Parmelee should have received 500+ PA in the Majors last season. Would he have cemented himself on the roster had that happened? Maybe not, maybe even probably not... But he has a potential future with this team and it was worth doing all you can to answer that question last season.

 

But now? I think he'll be back on the 40 man at some point but given the current roster crunch of no-glove players, I don't see how the Twins will do it.

 

At this point, it'd be best for the Twins if Willingham doesn't recover from his wrist injury, as sad as that is to say.

Bernardino opined the Twins may 60 day Willingham to make room for Guerrier. As if the a Twins needed more relief pitching, and didn't need a bench. The Twins wouldn't actually do it, would they? If they felt the need to hold on to him, they'd DFA Burton, right? Please...

[tobi0040]

You guys are downplaying the likelihood of our catcher getting hurt and the horrors of not having a DH for a few innings in that scenario.

 

I know it is not going to happen, but could you imagine if it did?

[Mike Sixel]

And this is part of the reason why I thought Parmelee should have received 500+ PA in the Majors last season. Would he have cemented himself on the roster had that happened? Maybe not, maybe even probably not... But he has a potential future with this team and it was worth doing all you can to answer that question last season.

 

But now? I think he'll be back on the 40 man at some point but given the current roster crunch of no-glove players, I don't see how the Twins will do it.

 

At this point, it'd be best for the Twins if Willingham doesn't recover from his wrist injury, as sad as that is to say.

 

 

that's what a team COMMITTED to a rebuild would have done last year. But man, this team cannot figure out it's strategy is at all......

 

1. DFA Hermann, call up Parmalee, put him in RF until Arcia is up.

2. Put Parmalee at DH when Arcia is up, move Pinto to catching 2-3 times a week

3. DFA Florimann and start eithe Esco or Santana (though I'd have Santana in AAA)

4. Please do not make room for a 35 year old RP, when you are flush in RP in the minors. If your strategy is to build from within, actually try building from within for a change

5. One more month of May/Meyer in the minors, and if they are good, call them up and figure out what to do with Deduno/Pelfrey/KC, but don't keep them down for more than half the year because you are afraid of I don't know what with those three.

6. Move Dozier to SS in August, and see if he can play it.

 

that is all....

[Steve Lein]

"and that's pretty terrible production for a guy who offers almost no defensive value."

 

I don't agree with this all that much. While he's never going to post a good UZR or any other defensive metric statistic because of his limited speed, he would be the 2nd best outfielder on our team right now. I've loved him out there. Was excellent at playing the RF wall in Target Field, and never looked lost like Willingham, Arcia, and Colabello have. I would call him better overall than Kubel as well, due to the fact Kubes can still make a play look harder than it is, while I've never gotten that impression from Parms. I have no issues with Parmelee playing a corner OF spot, while I have issues with everyone else on the roster who is playing those spots from a defensive standpoint.

 

It says a lot to me when you're a guy who doesn't make mistakes. All those other guys have, Parms never seemed to.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Glad to see I am on the same page as you Nick.

[sorney]

Not to be Pollyanna here, but technically, they are only a game or so out of the first wildcard spot, so although it is still early, they ARE competing for a playoff spot. That said, I agree that it does nothing to let him sit there if we can use him...and I think we can. I like Hermann, and I like that he gives Gardy a catching security blanket that allows Pinto to DH sometimes, but he should go down, Parmelee up, Fryer off the 40. I haven't checked the splits, but if a Cola/Parm platoon works based on matchup, let's do that.

 

Technically, you are correct about the playoff spot...I was trying to be a little more realistic, I guess

[cmathewson]

Wait and see. If you bring him up now, you have to DFA him to send him back down. I doubt he'd make it through after his scalding start.

[jmlease1]

The frustrating thing is with the current roster construction and Gardy's peccadilloes as a manager, there's absolutely no place for Parmelee on the Twins roster. We're carrying a gazillion pitchers, which seems to make little sense, now that the starters have started putting up quality starts. Herrmann doesn't really deserve a roster spot over Parmelee, excepting for the fact that he plays catcher, but if you take him off the roster, is Pinto going to get buried and lose most of his DH PT? Good lucking having Suzuki and Pinto playing on the same day if Gardy doesn't get a catcher on his bench.

 

With Arcia coming back soon, I don't see a space for Parmelee coming up soon. He's going to have to stay where he is, and see if a different injury opens up an opportunity. They shouldn't give up on him; while he might be a AAAA player, it's still too early to make that judgement for certain.

 

Here's hoping that the starting pitching continues to pitch deeper into games and reduces the need for an absurdly bloated pitching staff. With a relatively consistent rotation, you'd like to see the team get down to 11 pitchers and 14 position guys and give them more room to mix and match the lineup. Of course, this would be less of an issue if Herrmann was required as a security blanket for a nervous manager...

[stringer bell]

Bernardino opined the Twins may 60 day Willingham to make room for Guerrier. As if the a Twins needed more relief pitching, and didn't need a bench. The Twins wouldn't actually do it, would they? If they felt the need to hold on to him, they'd DFA Burton, right? Please...

Isn't Guerrier Burton +2 or 3 years? He had a good run with minimal stuff, but that was years ago.

[Rosterman]

Parmelee passed thru waivers at the end of spring training. No other team saw fit to add him to their 40-man roster, elt alone their 25-man roster. So if he comes up and stinks, then he is as much of a loss as, say, a Hendriks. The nice thing was that he did pass thru waivers so there is a potential backup if Mauer goes down, rather than Brad Nelson or Kenny Vargas. And all the complaints about Herrmann...let's throw out bringing up Eric Fryer as the abckup and having Pinto go down and catch regularly (rather than DH up here), as well as sending down Herrmannnnnnn. At this point, I think Pinto deserves to catch more than he is in the majors. DHing isn't scoring him any points. Have him catch the guys that he will be catching in the near and far future (May, Meyer, etc. etc.). As for Guerrier, is he a better choice than Swarzak (who is still cheap and has shown long-relief strength) or the overpriced Burton (yes, perhaps). But the Twins still have one pitcher too many in the bullpen, and if Pelfrey needs to come back and be the donkey in the bullpen, well, we still have one body to many and not sure if we want to lose Swarzak and Burton and send down Tonkin so we can see Guerrier. Of course, Darnell is only a temp in the bullpen, but what will the end-0f-the-month bring.

[stringer bell]

There's room for Parmelee if Mauer hits the DL and that could be a real possibility if he doesn't play in the next couple days. Hicks and Arcia look to be ready to go by the end of the road trip if not sooner. Hicks for Santana, Arcia for Herrmann, Nunez for Florimon. If the Twins want to go down to 12 pitchers, Parmelee for Darnell and of course, Parmelee for Mauer if he is DLed.

[WLFINN]

that's what a team COMMITTED to a rebuild would have done last year. But man, this team cannot figure out it's strategy is at all......

 

1. DFA Hermann, call up Parmalee, put him in RF until Arcia is up.

2. Put Parmalee at DH when Arcia is up, move Pinto to catching 2-3 times a week

3. DFA Florimann and start eithe Esco or Santana (though I'd have Santana in AAA)

4. Please do not make room for a 35 year old RP, when you are flush in RP in the minors. If your strategy is to build from within, actually try building from within for a change

5. One more month of May/Meyer in the minors, and if they are good, call them up and figure out what to do with Deduno/Pelfrey/KC, but don't keep them down for more than half the year because you are afraid of I don't know what with those three.

6. Move Dozier to SS in August, and see if he can play it.

 

that is all....

 

While I agree with some of this, is not Parmalee a better Outfielder than Arcia? Why not leave him out there and DH Arcia

[blindeke]

"Bernardino opined the Twins may 60 day Willingham to make room for Guerrier. As if the a Twins needed more relief pitching, and didn't need a bench. The Twins wouldn't actually do it, would they? If they felt the need to hold on to him, they'd DFA Burton, right? Please..."

 

Yeah if they add Guerrier, I'm gonna be sad again.

[Otto von Ballpark]

And this is part of the reason why I thought Parmelee should have received 500+ PA in the Majors last season. Would he have cemented himself on the roster had that happened? Maybe not, maybe even probably not... But he has a potential future with this team and it was worth doing all you can to answer that question last season.

 

Parmelee was on a 488 PA pace when he was sent down last July, over halfway through the season. He had been playing every day for the previous 3 weeks, and was mired in a terrible 1-for-22 funk (with 1 BB and 12 K). His slump more or less continued at AAA (.688 OPS).

 

Letting him continue to compile MLB PAs at that point would have been like letting Vance Worley continue to pitch in MLB -- I don't think that more playing time, under those circumstances, is going to give you any additional positive information about the player.

[jimbo92107]

It's utterly inexcusable that Herrmann has started 4 of the past 6 games while Parmelee rakes in AAA, particularly as he can actually catch the ball in RF unlike Herrmann and Colabello. Accept the crushing loss of Eric Fryer or Kenny Wilson from the 40 man and get him up. The Twins can worry about what to do with him when/if Willingham proves he is fit.

 

They should also bring back Arcia for one of the 13 pitchers at the same time (either DFA Burton or option one of Tonkin or Darnell, as harsh as it would be on those guys). He has put up a .333/.379/.444 line through 8 rehab games now - that's enough.

 

Agreed. Perfect time for Parmelee to have another shot at 1st and RF, while Herrmann goes down to regroup. With Arcia I'd rather have Darnell go back down with a nice cuppa coffee, as Tonkin is looking pretty good.

[jokin]

"Bernardino opined the Twins may 60 day Willingham to make room for Guerrier. As if the a Twins needed more relief pitching, and didn't need a bench. The Twins wouldn't actually do it, would they? If they felt the need to hold on to him, they'd DFA Burton, right? Please..."

 

Yeah if they add Guerrier, I'm gonna be sad again.

 

It has to happen by tomorrow's opt-out date, so this move is something that must have been anticipated since MG was signed. It only makes sense if they are planning on doing something with Burton. They really wouldn't swap him into a spot for either Darnell or Tonkin, would they.....?

[Otto von Ballpark]

Parmelee, Plouffe, and Dozier. All guys who have had stretches of excellence at AAA. Plouffe and Dozier are showing signs of turning into useful assets for the majors team. I think Parmelee could join them.

 

I assume you mean Colabello instead of Dozier? Dozier actually didn't play much at AAA, and did not play particularly well there either (.623 OPS in 200 PA). Although Cola might be fading fast at the MLB level.

 

And Plouffe was already a useful asset (although not necessarily a middle of the order bat). Even without any major step forward this year, he's roughly a league average bat and glove at 3B. Hence his $2.35 mil salary.

[Mike Sixel]

While I agree with some of this, is not Parmalee a better Outfielder than Arcia? Why not leave him out there and DH Arcia

 

Arcia is a long term option at OF, Parm is probably not. I would want Arcia playing his LT position up here.

[jimbo92107]

A lot of this depends on Joe Mauer's sore back. At C you've got Suzuki, Pinto and Escobar in an emergency. That does leave room to rotate Parms at 1st/RF while Arcia does LF/RF, Colabello at RF/1st, Kubes at RF/LF, and they all take turns at DH.

[Siehbiscuit]

Parmelee was on a 488 PA pace when he was sent down last July, over halfway through the season. He had been playing every day for the previous 3 weeks, and was mired in a terrible 1-for-22 funk (with 1 BB and 12 K). His slump more or less continued at AAA (.688 OPS).

 

Letting him continue to compile MLB PAs at that point would have been like letting Vance Worley continue to pitch in MLB -- I don't think that more playing time, under those circumstances, is going to give you any additional positive information about the player.

 

This is essentially the same "slump" that Pinto is in right now!?