Article: Monday Camp Notes: Roster Battle Royale

[Nick Nelson]

Most of the Twins position players have essentially locked up their spots on the roster, but a couple of jobs on the bench remain in play. Four who are in that mix – Danny Santana, Oswaldo Arcia, Carlos Quentin, Ryan Sweeney – were all in the starting lineup in today’s 2-0 loss to the Pirates.* Quentin and Sweeney are facing an uphill battle given that they are non-roster invites going against homegrown players who are out of options, but both have been productive enough this spring to spark some intrigue.

 

Today, however, was not a banner day for either. The only hit between the two was a Sweeney single that was generously scored as such when Pittsburgh second baseman Cole Figueroa took a wrong first step on a flare and couldn’t recover.

 

Quentin, in particular, had a rough one. He batted cleanup and struck out in both of his first two at-bats, each time with a runner on third and fewer than two outs. He finished 0-for-3 but Paul Molitor viewed it as more of an isolated bad day than a general sign of weakness for the veteran hitter.

 

“He’s been pretty good at shortening his swing with two strikes in camp, today it didn’t work out particularly well.”

 

* Two-strike approach is an area where the manager drew a distinction between Quentin and Oswaldo Arcia, who might be in direct competition for the final bench job.

 

On a quiet day for Quentin, Arcia did little to distinguish himself at the plate, finishing 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and failing to cash in on a pair of early scoring opportunities.

 

“He gets a little long with his swing,” Molitor said. “People have a tendency to get him to climb the ladder, especially with two strikes.”

 

I’d say Arcia has a clear leg up, since the Twins recognize that losing him on waivers would be unfortunate, but I wouldn’t look at this one as a lock just yet. Having a veteran on the bench who can come in and take a quality at-bat is something that the Twins have valued in the past, and while Arcia has shown a somewhat improved approach at the plate this spring, it hasn’t led to much in the way of results. Today’s 0-fer dropped his average to .179.

 

* Danny Santana, meanwhile, had himself a nice ballgame. He collected a couple of hits, including a single that he flicked through the wide-open left side when the Pirates shifted him.

 

Given his lack of remaining options and his ability to play both infield and outfield, it’s tough to see Santana being left off the roster. His versatility, combined with his speed and switch-hitting, make him a nice bench piece.

 

“Danny can spray the ball," Molitor said after the game. “He stayed on the ball better today I thought."

 

* Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson was on top of his game. His 10-to-0 grounder-to-fly ratio is exactly what you like to see from a sinkerballer, and in the second inning he shattered the bat of former Twins farmhand Danny Ortiz with a pitch in on the handle.

 

As usual, Gibson lamented his walks after the outing (he had two), but he generally seemed pleased with where he’s at.

 

“The pitches I’ve been working on are where I want them to be, and they’re getting better,” he said.

 

* Taylor Rogers was first to come on in relief for Twins after Gibson was removed in the fifth. Rogers is involved in one of the other remaining position battles on the roster: the left-handed relief gig.

 

Fernando Abad is considered the front-runner in that race. The 30-year-old veteran has a sizable experience edge over Rogers and others, but he historically lacks the platoon splits that might come in handy for a situational bullpen role.

 

I asked Molitor on Sunday if that weighs into his decision.

 

“I’m kinda looking for guys who are pitching the best,” he replied. “The season [Abad] had in 2014 it seemed like he dominated lefties and righties fairly well. Last year was a little bit of a step back.”

 

“He’s not afraid to throw that changeup to lefties and he can throw that curveball over, which is a good pitch to have. I am aware of the history and the numbers, but I’m just looking for the guys who are throwing the best and give us the best chance."

 

* Glen Perkins fired a scoreless sixth frame with a pair of strikeouts. He has now worked six innings this spring with three hits allowed, a 6-to-0 K/BB ratio and a 0.00 ERA.

 

Sure, it’s spring training and the numbers are ultimately meaningless. But it’s still nice to see after the way he finished last year.

 

* Eduardo Escobar went 1-for-2 with a hustle triple, his second three-bagger of the spring. He also made a couple of slick plays defensively at short.

 

Before the game, Brian Dozier called his double play partner “one of the most underrated players in the game,” and it’s hard to disagree with his assessment, given how many Twins fans I saw beckoning the team to explore options at shortstop this past offseason.

 

"You put his stats up, anything regarding defense, offense, everything, it’s up there with the elite shortstops in the league,” Dozier said. "He’s going to have a chance to play every single day this year. You’ll see his numbers get even better."

 

* David Freese was batting third in the Pirates lineup. I mention him because his situation over the winter was reflective of a lukewarm (at best) third base market that might have contributed to the Twins not trading Trevor Plouffe.

 

Freese was far and away the best third baseman in free agency, and really the only quality starting option, yet he went unsigned until 10 days ago when Pittsburgh acquired him on a meager one-year, $3 million deal.

 

The lack of a market for Freese, and the underwhelming return that the Reds got for dealing Al-Star Todd Frazier to the White Sox, suggest that Ryan made the right choice by holding onto Plouffe.

 

Whether or not it was prudent to send Miguel Sano to right field to make all of the pieces fit is another discussion.

 

* On Sunday I mentioned that Ryan had expressed an inclination to keep Alex Meyer in the rotation at Class-AAA Rochester rather than relegating him to a bullpen role.

 

Today, the general manager made it official that they’ll go with Meyer as a starter for now, with the caveat that it’s not necessarily an assignment that will stick for his career of even for the entirety of the 2016 season.

 

Ryan specifically pointed out that working as a starter enables the big righty to utilize and refine the entirety of his pitch repertoire (particularly his so-so change), which is much more easily done from the rotation than the bullpen. But you also have to think that his fantastic 2014 performance as a starter in the International League – which really isn't all that far in the past – factored in.

 

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[Seth Stohs]

Great stuff, NIck!

 

I noticed this afternoon (And it surprised me) that Darin Mastroianni is hitting .300 this spring (though we all know that, by nature, all Spring Training stats are small sample). He also is the best defensively of the Quentin/Sweeney/Arcia/Mastroianni group.

 

I'm not saying I'd be willing to lose Arcia for Mastroianni, but I think he should at least be in the same discussion.

[bluechipper]

Carlos Quentin is a basically a DH only. Sure he's a veteran presence off the bench, but who is he ever going to pinch hit for? He's not much of an upgrade with the bat over anyone who is going to start regularly.

 

The case for him making the team makes very little sense to me.

[HitInAPinch]

I don't know about Arcia.  Are we kinda dreaming that he can be a successful bench guy?  He seems to be the type that needs consistent AB's.  I'd wouldn't like to see him go, but realistically, is there really a spot for him?  Danny Santana makes more sense:  multiple positions, contact hitter and swings from both sides of the plate.

 

 

[bluechipper]

 

I don't know about Arcia.  Are we kinda dreaming that he can be a successful bench guy?  He seems to be the type that needs consistent AB's.  I'd wouldn't like to see him go, but realistically, is there really a spot for him?  Danny Santana makes more sense:  multiple positions, contact hitter and swings from both sides of the plate.

Either Sweeney, Quentin, or Arcia is for sure going to be on the opening day roster. Two of those guys are over 30 and didn't play baseball last year. The other will be 24 on opening day and has great minor league numbers with some success in the majors. There's definitely a spot for him, and I think the choice is an easy one.

[Kwak]

.179 with negative defensive value--a definite spot?  No.  Search the waiver wire. 

[big dog]

I still want to keep Arcia, at least for a couple of months, to see what he can do.  I just wish he would do something this spring to make it easier to be excited about that.

[jimmer]

 

.179 with negative defensive value--a definite spot?  No.  Search the waiver wire. 

Since when does defense seem to be an important consideration on this team?

[Nick Nelson]

 

Great stuff, NIck!

 

I noticed this afternoon (And it surprised me) that Darin Mastroianni is hitting .300 this spring (though we all know that, by nature, all Spring Training stats are small sample). He also is the best defensively of the Quentin/Sweeney/Arcia/Mastroianni group.

 

I'm not saying I'd be willing to lose Arcia for Mastroianni, but I think he should at least be in the same discussion.

IMO the two "battles" here are Santana vs Sweeney (and maybe Mastro, I guess?) and Quentin vs Arcia. I think they want one backup OF who can play all three positions, and one slugger off the bench. Can't see any reason they'd carry both Santana and Mastroianni.

 

Regardless of how well Mastro is hitting in spring, it'd be ridiculous to take a guy north who didn't play in the majors last year and hasn't even sniffed a .200 average since 2013. But I guess you can't discount the possibility after the Bartlett fiasco. 

[h2oface]

 

Since when does defense seem to be an important consideration on this team?

 

Ouch! Hey..... It kept Plouffe at third base. There is one rare example.

 

Quentin seems like a lose lose to me, and a loose canon. He can't field, and he is a guy that will pick a useless fight and attack a pitcher. A real chump thing to do (the 8 game suspension for fighting and breaking Greinke's arm seemed light to me). I really thought having him around was a total waste of time and wast of at bats for the younger prospects. His fiasco fielding at first the other day was a joke.

 

http://m.mlb.com/video/v26207091/ladsd-scully-calls-the-dodgerspadres-fracas

 

Edited March 22, 2016 by h2oface

[jimmer]

 

Ouch! Hey..... It kept Plouffe at third base. There is one rare example.

 

Quentin seems like a lose lose to me, and a loose canon. He can't field, and he is a guy that will pick a useless fight and attack a pitcher. A real chump thing to do (the 8 game suspension for fighting and breaking Greinke's arm seemed light to me). I really thought having him around was a total waste of time and wast of at bats for the younger prospects. His fiasco fielding at first the other day was a joke.

 

http://m.mlb.com/video/v26207091/ladsd-scully-calls-the-dodgerspadres-fracas

yeah, but by keeping Plouffe there they threw Sano out in RF.  I'm guessing that ends up being a net negative, defensively :-)

Edited March 22, 2016 by jimmer

[blindeke]

Interesting detail about Meyer. I hope it works!

[James Richter]

 

Interesting detail about Meyer. I hope it works!

Me too - but either way I think it's a good decision.

[Matt Johnson]

 

Great stuff, NIck!

 

I noticed this afternoon (And it surprised me) that Darin Mastroianni is hitting .300 this spring (though we all know that, by nature, all Spring Training stats are small sample). He also is the best defensively of the Quentin/Sweeney/Arcia/Mastroianni group.

 

I'm not saying I'd be willing to lose Arcia for Mastroianni, but I think he should at least be in the same discussion.

 

I love watching Mastroianni on the bases. I saw an interesting study awhile back, though, suggesting that clubs may be wise to sacrifice a significant amount of range in center field in favor of a power bat...

[Seth Stohs]

 

IMO the two "battles" here are Santana vs Sweeney (and maybe Mastro, I guess?) and Quentin vs Arcia. I think they want one backup OF who can play all three positions, and one slugger off the bench. Can't see any reason they'd carry both Santana and Mastroianni.

 

Regardless of how well Mastro is hitting in spring, it'd be ridiculous to take a guy north who didn't play in the majors last year and hasn't even sniffed a .200 average since 2013. But I guess you can't discount the possibility after the Bartlett fiasco. 

 

That's a good point... one defensive option and one power bat option for the bench. 

 

And yeah, Mastroianni is definitely nothing to be excited about, but he is still in camp and doing well. We know what he is... defense and base running. Sweeney and Quentin didn't play in 2015 either. And, at least Mastroianni, unlike Bartlett, is actually a good outfielder. 

 

But I think the odds of it being anyone but Santana and Arcia are pretty low. At least to start the season.

[USAFChief]

I love watching Mastroianni on the bases.

Yeah...such a rare treat.

[HitInAPinch]

 

Either Sweeney, Quentin, or Arcia is for sure going to be on the opening day roster. Two of those guys are over 30 and didn't play baseball last year. The other will be 24 on opening day and has great minor league numbers with some success in the majors. There's definitely a spot for him, and I think the choice is an easy one.

 

I'm not sure how relevant those minor league numbers are.  If we're leaving out last year, then it looks like 2014 was his last trip down.  And it's still MiLB pitchers.  I'd really like to see Arcia succeed [ and let's face it, the deck is kinda stacked in his favor ] I just don't see him being successful coming off the bench.

[Mike Sixel]

So, they are going to decide the RP based on who is throwing well in spring training......except they aren't really, since Burdi was throwing well, right? Who here thinks they'll choose the young, upside guy, over the veteran, Abad? Anyone?

 

I think Arcia is here to start, doesn't hit at all, and is replaced by Kepler by the ASB. Kepler can play any OF position, DH, or 1B. And, can hit.* Arcia can do none of that right now.

 

*I'm assuming last year was not a fluke....we'll see over the coming year or two.

[Old Twins Cap]

One outfielder has to come in for Sano late in games and play quality defense.  I guess that means Danny, for now.  Switchhitting is nice as well should the game go into extras.

 

And, for that late game quality at bat.... I'm not sure who a guy like Quentin or Arcia is supposed to hit for.   Buxton?  Escobar?  Suzuki? 

 

I don't see a lot of pinch-hitting against AL clubs.  NL clubs, sure.

[Mike Sixel]

 

One outfielder has to come in for Sano late in games and play quality defense.  I guess that means Danny, for now.  Switchhitting is nice as well should the game go into extras.

 

And, for that late game quality at bat.... I'm not sure who a guy like Quentin or Arcia is supposed to hit for.   Buxton?  Escobar?  Suzuki? 

 

I don't see a lot of pinch-hitting against AL clubs.  NL clubs, sure.

 

on the PH question.....yes, yes, yes, those all seem like reasonable candidates to be hit for.

[Oxtung]

on the PH question.....yes, yes, yes, those all seem like reasonable candidates to be hit for.

At this point Buxton is a wildcard and it's hard to know if he will need to be pinch hit for. Suzuki clearly could be. Escobar not so much; he had a .750 OPS last season.

[alarp33]

 

At this point Buxton is a wildcard and it's hard to know if he will need to be pinch hit for. Suzuki clearly could be. Escobar not so much; he had a .750 OPS last season.

 

Pinch hitting for Buxton dramatically decreases your OF defense, and with Sano standing next to him out there, that matters quite a bit.  I would hope the only pinch hit for Buxton situations are early in the season, trailing by a run or two, in the bottom of the 9th.  

 

I seem to remember a couple of times where Sano was pinch run for in tie games, only to see his spot in the lineup come up again in extra innings... 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Pinch hitting for Buxton dramatically decreases your OF defense, and with Sano standing next to him out there, that matters quite a bit.  I would hope the only pinch hit for Buxton situations are early in the season, trailing by a run or two, in the bottom of the 9th.  

 

I seem to remember a couple of times where Sano was pinch run for in tie games, only to see his spot in the lineup come up again in extra innings... 

 

Pinch running for a guy is much different than pinch hitting for a guy. Pinch running for a guy on first with two outs? Insanity.

[Matt Johnson]

 

Yeah...such a rare treat.

 

I'm not sure if you mean that there is a dearth of exciting base runners on this team, or if you mean that Darin Mastroianni is so seldom on base. 

[USAFChief]

I'm not sure if you mean that there is a dearth of exciting base runners on this team, or if you mean that Darin Mastroianni is so seldom on base.

 

Yes.