I think it's reasonable to assume the Twins will try to go back down to 12 pitchers after the All-Star break, although that may largely depend on how fast our injured guys get back in shape and how Deduno and De Vries do this weekend.

 

So assuming Capps, Walters, and Duensing are good to go and Pavano is not going to be back until at least August (a pretty safe bet), what changes would you make to the roster?

 

 

 

I'd like to see them bring Walters back into the rotation, and keep Deduno and De Vries there for now. Let's figure out if these three guys have what it takes to either be a part of the rotation in the future, or at least build up some trade value so they are worth throwing into some kind of package in the off season.

 

This lets them bring Duensing back to the pen where he has been most successful, and with Capps back they can send Fein and Roberts back to AAA to keep honing their skills.

 

I don't know who I'd bring up for that 4th bench spot though. I'd love to have Valencia come up and earn some trade value as a pinch hitter or starting against LHP (with Plouffe sliding over to 1b), but I have very little confidence that he'd actually be more valuable as a pinch hitter than Butera at this point. Parmelee is clearly the best hitter right now in AAA, but there simply isn't anything for him to do up here.

That still leaves you with 13 pitchers, though. You have 13 now, you are adding Walters & Capps back, so it's 15, and sending Fien and Robertson down gets you back to 13. Somebody else has to go down if you want a 4th bench spot.

 

You could send Waldrop down, or DFA Gray.

Edited July 7, 201214 yr by IdahoPilgrim

Walters pitched 5 scoreless innings (5 H, 2 K) for Rochester. He threw just 73 Ps (47 strikes) and was lifted. I suspect that he needs another rehab assignment or 2 to get up to 90-95 pitches before he comes back for the Twins.

I think it's reasonable to assume the Twins will try to go back down to 12 pitchers after the All-Star break, although that may largely depend on how fast our injured guys get back in shape and how Deduno and De Vries do this weekend.

 

So assuming Capps, Walters, and Duensing are good to go and Pavano is not going to be back until at least August (a pretty safe bet), what changes would you make to the roster?

 

 

 

I'd like to see them bring Walters back into the rotation, and keep Deduno and De Vries there for now. Let's figure out if these three guys have what it takes to either be a part of the rotation in the future, or at least build up some trade value so they are worth throwing into some kind of package in the off season.

 

This lets them bring Duensing back to the pen where he has been most successful, and with Capps back they can send Fein and Roberts back to AAA to keep honing their skills.

 

I don't know who I'd bring up for that 4th bench spot though. I'd love to have Valencia come up and earn some trade value as a pinch hitter or starting against LHP (with Plouffe sliding over to 1b), but I have very little confidence that he'd actually be more valuable as a pinch hitter than Butera at this point. Parmelee is clearly the best hitter right now in AAA, but there simply isn't anything for him to do up here.

First off, assuming Liriano is traded, I don't see any need for Butera on the 25-man (not that that won't stop Gardy from finding another reason to keep him). W/O creating another 40-man spot, there's always Tosoni and Arcia, but you'd run into the same problem with Arcia having to play every day. That leaves Valencia and Nishi. Non-roster options are Carson and Burroughs.

 

Second off, the pitching situation should be first off, as there are far more questions to be answered in the next 24 days here than just the 12th/(13th) positional bench spot(s).

That still leaves you with 13 pitchers, though. You have 13 now, you are adding Walters & Capps back, so it's 15, and sending Fien and Robertson down gets you back to 13. Somebody else has to go down if you want a 4th bench spot.

 

You could send Waldrop down, or DFA Gray.

Whoops, I totally forgot about Waldrop. I'd send him back down too. He's not really getting many innings right now, let him be a top reliever in AAA until one of our relievers gets hurt, traded, or melts down.

First off, assuming Liriano is traded, I don't see any need for Butera on the 25-man (not that that won't stop Gardy from finding another reason to keep him). W/O creating another 40-man spot, there's always Tosoni and Arcia, but you'd run into the same problem with Arcia having to play every day. That leaves Valencia and Nishi. Non-roster options are Carson and Burroughs.

 

Second off, the pitching situation should be first off, as there are far more questions to be answered in the next 24 days here than just the 12th/(13th) positional bench spot(s).

Unless/until one of our current OF's gets traded or hurt, there really is no point bringing up Tosoni, Arcia, or Carson. Mastroianni is doing exactly what I expect from a 4th OF, and Revere/Span/Willingham is doing better than any other combination we could throw out there for starters. Burroughs bats left handed, so he wouldn't really be an improvement in any way over Parmelee.

 

Ultimately, you are right though, that extra bench spot is relatively inconsequential until we get the pitching sorted out.