Article: Twins Waiting, Watching (And Wanting)

[John Bonnes]

“Don’t wait for it to happen. Don’t even want it to happen. Just watch what does happen.”

 

 

- Sean Connery as Jim Malone in The Untouchables

 

The Twins schedule has necessitated keeping the clubhouse pretty crowded so far in spring training. But even if the schedule cooperates there are enough questions still unanswered that a padded roster would make sense.About the only question that seems to be answered is who the starting shortstop will be. Manager Paul Molitor says he still wants the competition between Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar to play out, but all indications are that it will be Santana. Escobar has continued to hit well, but so has Santana and the Twins want his athleticism in the lineup. Furthermore, Molitor says he hasn’t considered moving Santana back to center field.

 

This brings up the other positional battle that was supposed to sort itself out this spring. It hasn’t. “I don’t think anybody has really separated from the pack. We’ve got time to sort it out. I think it’s safe to say it’s wide open,” Terry Ryan summarized before today’s game. Molitor was even more blunt when asked if he had a better feel about what he was going to do about center field. “No,” he simply replied.

 

The Twins keep giving the four candidates opportunities. Each has found himself starting in center field at least once over the last four days. Eddie Rosario started there on Thursday, but was relegated to corner spots Saturday and Sunday while Shane Robinson and Jordan Schafer got the starts in center. Hicks also received two starts, one on Friday and one on Saturday.

 

Entering today, the one with the highest batting average was Robinson at .269 – but his career average in the majors is just .231 and he’s 30 years old. The fact that he’s still even in camp tells you all you need to know about the rest of the candidates.

 

Of course, there are a lot of guys in camp, and that has something to do with the schedule. The Twins had a split-squad on Saturday and have three-hour bus drives on Sunday and Monday. Generally, those long trips have a minimal veteran presence, so it’s not too surprising that the Twins are keeping some warm bodies around.

 

An extra body or two might be necessary for the final roster, too. One option the Twins have at least considered for center field is a platoon, but it doesn’t sound like they’re too excited about it. “That’s not ideal,” says Ryan. He added, “But if you have to, you have to.”

 

If the Twins have to, they could try a platoon a couple of different ways. Half of the platoon could be Jordan Schafer, who bats left-handed and has a career on-base percentage of .328 against right-handers. I supposed it could also be Eddie Rosario, who also bats left-handed, but I presume the Twins would rather he play every day in the minors.

 

The other side is more problematic. Robinson hits right-handed, though his performance against any pitcher with hands has been pretty anemic in the majors. But he would be the short side of the platoon and could also serve as a defensive late-inning specialist in either of the corners.

 

Or the Twins could try Hicks, who is a switch-hitter but has really only hit southpaws. (And he has hit them well; he has a 758 OPS over 127 at-bats in his career.) But again, unless the Twins want him to acclimate himself to the majors or want Torii Hunter to mentor him, he would probably be better off playing every day in Rochester.

 

The Twins also still have a question as to who will be their fifth starter, courtesy of Trevor Mays’ excellent outing yesterday. “I was impressed,” Ryan reflected today. “As was everybody that saw that.” But Ryan wasn’t sure what was in store for Mays, or even if he would have another start scheduled for this spring.

 

If the Twins want to see more of him, they’re going to need to make a decision fairly soon since both May’s and Tommy Milone’s next turn in the rotation will be Thursday, and there is no split squad this time to help them out. Only one can get that start at JetBlue Park and whoever it is will need to be further stretched to close to 80 pitches. But of course, Mike Pelfrey is also in the discussion. Wait. Watch.

 

Finally, a new question was raised, courtesy of Adam Jones' bat. Jones hit catcher Josmil Pinto in the head three times in one at-bat on his backswing and the backstop then came out of yesterday’s game. Molitor characterized Pinto as “dizzy” and Ryan used the term “groggy”, and today Pinto didn’t feel quite right. Ryan labeled the injury as “concussion-like symptoms” but said the CT scan was negative and they would need to wait a few days before they officially diagnosed it as a concussion.

 

Either way, Pinto will be held out of baseball-related activities for a few days, which could open up the backup catcher roster spot for Chris Herrmann or Eric Fryer. More waiting and watching.

 

The Twins would like to spend the last week playing their regulars, which really only gives them another week to make some final decisions. Molitor, Ryan and staff met for a 40-minute meeting yesterday to talk about how the roster might take shape. “We’re going to keep gathering information in the near term before we finalize what we want to do,” said Molitor.

 

So there is still a little time left to wait. And to want. And to see what does happen. Both for their Twins and their fans.

 

 

Twins 5, Marlins 3

The Twins beat the Marlins in Jupiter on Sunday, fueled by a potent top of the lineup.

• Phil Hughes started, went 4.2 innings, gave up three runs, walked two, struck out four, and then gave such an insightful and entertaining postgame interview that I may need to write it up word for word later this week.
• Tim Stauffer relieved Hughes in the fifth and ended the inning with one pitch. He gave up a couple of hits but no runs the next inning.
• Caleb Thielbar threw a couple of innings, got two strikeouts but walked one. Molitor was impressed with the depth of his curveball.
• Casey Fien closed it out.

On the offensive side:

• Danny Santana led off, went 4-5 and darn near beat out the ground ball on which he was thrown out.
• Jordan Schafer hit second and had three hits with two RBI. Yes, mostly it was against right-handed pitchers, but he got a hit against southpaw swingman Brad Hand in the 8^th.
• Eddie Rosario went 1-5, but hit the ball well.
• Trevor Plouffe also got a couple of hits and a walk, raising his batting average this spring to .200. He also was moved from third to first base late in the game. Molitor said he made that move to give Plouffe some experience over there.

 

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[Boom Boom]

Plouffe working at first base makes me think that Vargas will not come north.

[jlknapp]

 A platoon plan for CF may not be ideal, but we are waiting for Buxton - Hicks, Schaefer, et al are not the answer long term but there is no reason a CF platoon can't work in 2015.  Or in RF or LF for that matter - get Rosario up here and let him play! Casey Stengel (Yankees) and Gil Hodges won World Series' by platooning players.  If Hicks can figure it out from both sides of the plate, great.  If not, platoon!  Don't know why this is a dirty word.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Plouffe working at first base makes me think that Vargas will not come north.

Who would DH?

[Platoon]

A platoon plan for CF may not be ideal, but we are waiting for Buxton - Hicks, Schaefer, et al are not the answer long term but there is no reason a CF platoon can't work in 2015.  Or in RF or LF for that matter - get Rosario up here and let him play! Casey Stengel (Yankees) and Gil Hodges won World Series' by platooning players.  If Hicks can figure it out from both sides of the plate, great.  If not, platoon!  Don't know why this is a dirty word.

Since you are new here, I will assume you dont know that it is not nice to refer to another member as "a dirty word" !

:)

[stringer bell]

If Schafer gets the nod, they almost have to platoon. Even in his good performance last year, he had dramatic platoon splits. I realize he could regress, but last year's version was superior to anything we've seen from Aaron Hicks.

[USAFChief]

A platoon plan for CF may not be ideal, but we are waiting for Buxton - Hicks, Schaefer, et al are not the answer long term but there is no reason a CF platoon can't work in 2015.  Or in RF or LF for that matter - get Rosario up here and let him play! Casey Stengel (Yankees) and Gil Hodges won World Series' by platooning players.  If Hicks can figure it out from both sides of the plate, great.  If not, platoon!  Don't know why this is a dirty word.

Stengel and Hodges weren't carrying twelve or thirteen pitchers.

[stringer bell]

At least through the 60s, teams carried nine pitchers. Now, all teams carry 12. Platooning is much more difficult than in Stengel's day or even during the time Gene Mauch managed the Twins.

 

I still believe using Hicks as a RH platoon partner is folly and ends his development as a platoon/4th outfielder.

Edited March 22, 2015 by stringer bell

[jokin]

 

Who would DH?

 

By committee?    May as well raise the average age of a "rebuilding" team- 

 

with another space made available for a veteran, yet again. 

 

   

Edited March 22, 2015 by jokin

[jokin]

 

 

Since you are new here, I will assume you dont know that it is not nice to refer to another member as "a dirty word" !
:)

 

Well-played, sir.

[jokin]

 

 

If Schafer gets the nod, they almost have to platoon. Even in his good performance last year, he had dramatic platoon splits. I realize he could regress, but last year's version was superior to anything we've seen from Aaron Hicks.

 

Damning with faint praise... ?

[h2oface]

To demote Vargas after last season for his recent spring training at bats is maddening. This team appears to be in a lot of trouble.

 

To have Pinto get hit in the head 3 times in the same at bat is crazy. I didn't see the game..... did he move back? After the first time, why would anyone let him be close? Was the dugout asleep? Was Pinto nuts? How many times has Adam Jones hit someone in the head with that extended follow through? I can remember several, and I really don't follow him.

[Dman]

I don't think moving Ploufe from third to first means Vargas is gone but that they don't feel Vargas has good enough defense at first. Moving Ploufe also could give more opportunities to Escobar or Nunez as they can play third. sounds more like contingency planning to me as Mauer should be at first almost 100 percent of the time anyway.

[jokin]

 

To demote Vargas after last season for his recent spring training at bats is maddening. This team appears to be in a lot of trouble.

 

To have Pinto get hit in the head 3 times in the same at bat is crazy. I didn't see the game..... did he move back? After the first time, why would anyone let him be close? Was the dugout asleep? Was Pinto nuts? How many times has Adam Jones hit someone in the head with that extended follow through? I can remember several, and I really don't follow him.

 

I don't know about Pinto, but that's something that the coaching staff should have addressed with him both before and during the game.  Each incident looked about the same, Pinto was prone and appeared to have no clue what was coming-  as a viewer, all one could say is "Ouch!"

[jokin]

 

 

I don't think moving Ploufe from third to first means Vargas is gone but that they don't feel Vargas has good enough defense at first. Moving Ploufe also could give more opportunities to Escobar or Nunez as they can play third. sounds more like contingency planning to me as Mauer should be at first almost 100 percent of the time anyway.

 

This is a plausible possibility, except that it's just as easy to surmise a roster where Mauer, Hunter and Arcia get the bulk of the DH starts.

[DJSim22]

 

This is a plausible possibility, except that it's just as easy to surmise a roster where Mauer, Hunter and Arcia get the bulk of the DH starts.

 

I think all it really means is they like versatility and are trying to give themselves options.  I don't read anything more into it.

[Thrylos]

 

I don't know about Pinto, but that's something that the coaching staff should have addressed with him both before and during the game. 

 

This is usually something that a pitcher could address with (let's say) a fastball in the mouth; quite effective (and in case of Milone's 83 miler, not that bad)

 

re: Centerfield and 5th SP battles.  I think that the Twins are in a position to bundle someone like Milone and someone like Hughes and another prospects and see whether they can get a major league centerfielder for a season or three, until Buxton gets ready...

(and if someone asks me who that would be and made me have to answer, I'd say someone like AJ Pollock)

Edited March 22, 2015 by Thrylos

[jokin]

 

I think all it really means is they like versatility and are trying to give themselves options.  I don't read anything more into it.

 

Plouffe has always been "Mr Inevitable" as a Super-Utility guy.   But getting Plouffe some 1stB time is interesting.  The Twins already have some "versatility" at the position with Mauer, Vargas and Hermann as depth possibilities.    Plouffe at 1st does make it plausible for Escobar to then get 35-45 starts at 3rd (and maybe Sano later on?).   And given Mauer's injury history, there's a good chance his DH starts will rise by necessity.    We all know that as Hunter turns 40, coupled with question marks about his defense, he might require at least 40 DH starts just to keep his legs fresh as well as try to earn back some of the $10.5M contract with some offensive production from him.

Edited March 22, 2015 by jokin

[Boom Boom]

For whatever amount of time off they're planning to give Mauer (which shouldn't be much), evidently they feel Vargas isn't adequate to be the #2 first baseman.

 

I think it's a much better idea to give Plouffe some reps in the outfield.

[jokin]

 

For whatever amount of time off they're planning to give Mauer (which shouldn't be much), evidently they feel Vargas isn't adequate to be the #2 first baseman.

I think it's a much better idea to give Plouffe some reps in the outfield.

 

Ditto on OF reps for Plouffe,with Esco in need of playing time,  plus the offensive drop-off if Arcia or Hunter are out of the lineup, it is indeed a head-scratcher why Plouffe wouldn't be getting some reps in both RF and LF.

 

Regarding Mauer, he has missed extended amounts of time in 3 of the last 4 years, the Twins have to plan accordingly on the assumption that that trend is likely to continue as he ages.  DHing at least once a week to keep him from breaking down physically seems like one strategy they might pursue.

 

Arcia is another guy they might forsee having to give extra DH PAs to, if his glove proves problematic.

Edited March 22, 2015 by jokin

[Platoon]

Per Jokin: This is usually something that a pitcher could address with (let's say) a fastball in the mouth; quite effective (and in case of Milone's 83 miler, not that bad)

That was my first thought when I heard about this. But the Twins have never seemed to be much for protecting their players. Someone else wrote that Perkins was the next pitcher. Whether that affected a retaliatory fastball is open to debate. While I have no doubt Jones is not doing this on purpose, he still needs to be reminded of proper bat etiquette. As to Plouffie playing 1B. While I am not a huge Plouffe fan, if him not playing third means Nunez is going to, I will suddenly become a huge Plouffe fan! .

[jokin]

 

Per Jokin: This is usually something that a pitcher could address with (let's say) a fastball in the mouth; quite effective (and in case of Milone's 83 miler, not that bad)
That was my first thought when I heard about this. But the Twins have never seemed to be much for protecting their players. Someone else wrote that Perkins was the next pitcher. Whether that affected a retaliatory fastball is open to debate. While I have no doubt Jones is not doing this on purpose, he still needs to be reminded of proper bat etiquette. As to Plouffie playing 1B. While I am not a huge Plouffe fan, if him not playing third means Nunez is going to, I will suddenly become a huge Plouffe fan! .

 

I guess I missed something.....  Do "Baseball's Unwritten Rules" for retaliatory violence extend to Spring Training, too?

[Shane Wahl]

The roster is going to be:

Suzuki, Pinto, Mauer, Vargas, Dozier, Santana, Plouffe, Escobar, Arcia, Hicks, Hunter, Schaffer, and Nunez OR Herrmann.

 

Hughes, Santana, Gibson, Nolasco, May or Milone, Milone or May, Pelfrey, Stauffer, Graham, Duensing, Fien, Perkins

 

Or one of those losing starters is replaced with Thielbar.

[Dantes929]

 

Stengel and Hodges weren't carrying twelve or thirteen pitchers.

But Kelly was when he had a platoon at 3rd base in 91 and an outfield platoon makes sense since they carry at least 4 outfielders (maybe loosely defineds sometimes)  anyway.    If just looking at the short term and not future player development I have not seen a good argument for not platooning Hicks and Schaeffer.   Schaeffers splits against righties is respectable and Hicks against lefties is quite good.  

[Shane Wahl]

 

This is usually something that a pitcher could address with (let's say) a fastball in the mouth; quite effective (and in case of Milone's 83 miler, not that bad)

 

re: Centerfield and 5th SP battles.  I think that the Twins are in a position to bundle someone like Milone and someone like Hughes and another prospects and see whether they can get a major league centerfielder for a season or three, until Buxton gets ready...

(and if someone asks me who that would be and made me have to answer, I'd say someone like AJ Pollock)

 

Wait, what? 

What is the fascination with CF? There should be none. The 2016 and on answer is solved. Aaron Hicks clearly works until then. Everything else is just stupid. It's just stupid.

[Platoon]

I guess I missed something.....  Do "Baseball's Unwritten Rules" for retaliatory violence extend to Spring Training, too?

I am not sure. But I guess I am old school and never saw anything wrong with those rules. In this case something inside the batters box, and below the waist would seem appropriate. At the least make him move his feet, quickly, so he is more responsible with his bat.

[Shane Wahl]

Personally, I pick Herrmann over Nunez. Then Rosario is the first replacement for anyone in the OF, Vargas, or Mauer injuries (various shifting) unless it very, very early and I promote Danny Ortiz instead. 

 

Infield injuries? Polanco is the easiest answer. It would be nice if they moved Beresford to the 40 man though.

[ashbury]

 

The roster is going to be:

Suzuki, Pinto, ..

Not hoping so, of course, but what's your prognostication in case Pinto needs to be DLed?

[Otto von Ballpark]

But Kelly was when he had a platoon at 3rd base in 91 and an outfield platoon makes sense since they carry at least 4 outfielders (maybe loosely defineds sometimes) anyway. If just looking at the short term and not future player development I have not seen a good argument for not platooning Hicks and Schaeffer. Schaeffers splits against righties is respectable and Hicks against lefties is quite good.

Nope. TK carried only 10 pitchers in 1991. Still only had 11 when he retired in 2001. Never had 12, at least not for any extended period.

[Shane Wahl]

And, uh oh, Shane getting wound up . . . 

 

I read in the game thread for yesterday's game that Hicks clearly misplayed a ball in the second inning allowing an extra base. I dare anyone to watch that again and say the same dumb thing. That ball was clearly by him. Good god.

 

There is a weird attitude up in here if Shane Robinson is considered a major leaguer and a prospect like Hicks doesn't get the now appropriate chance. 

 

Hicks should be in CF and May should be the 5th starter. 

Hopefully the bullpen can have some gas tossers. Without Oliveros and Tonkin, though, yikes.