Article: Twins Add Three Players To 40 Man Roster

[beckmt]

Would be surprised if we lost Stewart or Burdi because of the injuries and the red flags on both these pitchers, Diaz we could lose, but would probably be returned as he is far from ready and most clubs do not need a 1B type(calculated risk),  I would expect to lose 2-3 in the rule 5 draft, which ones are a mystery.  

[darin617]

The Twins should have used their international money and bought a couple of prospects that needed to be protected. With the Yankees out trading for money it would have made sense to try to swing some sort of deal.

 

I would have to say there is a 1% chance that Ohtani would chose the Twins when the Yankees, Rangers, & Dodgers can't wait to make him a deal.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Yankees added more international money today.

 

250k... not a ton. Though I'd be fine if the Twins could send one of the marginal guys away for enough to put them in front on the Otani cash side of the sweepstakes.

[Thrylos]

 

Right now, Boshers is one of the four best lefty relievers in the organization

 

Let's see:

Rogers, Moya, Melotakis, McIver  and I am not counting the likes of Enns or Thorpe or even Mejia and Gonsalves who could pitch from the pen in a pinch.

[drjim]

No way in hell Lewin Diaz gets picked. No way in hell Twins were going to lose Thorpe. Those were the biggest two locks I had. Lewis Thorpe would be the first pick or essentially the first pick, given the maneuvering teams do up front in Rule V. Diaz, of course, can't help a single team and can't be wasted space with so few position spots used. And unless something clicks, I don't see much evidence for high-end potential.

Agree on both of these. Thorpe was a lock of locks. He might be the best pitching prospect in the system.

 

No one is rostering a 1b/dh that hasn't made it past low a.

 

I'm a little intrigued by Stewart and Burdi, but Reed/Melo/Bard weren't a priority since they couldn't make the roster last season.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Not surprised at all by Diaz. He won't be taken either.

 

Burdi could get taken and stashed on the 60 day DL... I don't like that personally, but that's the risk. He will need to return mid-season and will likely be relatively useless to the team that takes him as he knocks the rust off. I hope he's not selected, but I could see someone trying it.

 

Stewart surprises me. Honestly, that says a lot about what the FO thinks of him. Scouts say the stuff is there, but results matter. The FO doesn't seem to think he's going to make it any time soon, otherwise they would have protected him.

[amjgt]

Wishing and hoping for a headline like this from the Twins in the next 14 minutes:

 

Rangers Acquire Burdi, Bard, Reed from Twins for Int'l Money...All of It

I could have sworn there was a limit to the amount of FA money you could trade for (or trade away)

[SydneyTwinsFan]

Not surprised at all by Diaz. He won't be taken either.

 

Burdi could get taken and stashed on the 60 day DL... I don't like that personally, but that's the risk. He will need to return mid-season and will likely be relatively useless to the team that takes him as he knocks the rust off. I hope he's not selected, but I could see someone trying it.

 

Agree with this. 

 

Diaz posted a .770 OPS in low A, doesn't walk and has projectable rather than demonstrable power thus far.  Personally I'd say there's a 1% chance he gets taken and sticks on a 25-man roster all year.

 

The risk that Burdi gets taken and stashed on the DL is real I think (I would try it on a rebuilding team).

 

Edited November 21, 2017 by SydneyTwinsFan

[nicksaviking]

It seems Twins did most of their DFA'ing a week or so ago, looks like most teams waited until today. Perhaps the Twins have kept their multiple 40-man spots to target some of these guys they knew or hoped would become available. Anyone see any interesting arms let go today?

[tvagle]

 

I could have sworn there was a limit to the amount of FA money you could trade for (or trade away)

 

There is...this from MLBTR

 

"...teams can only trade for 75% of their original pool amount. In the Yankees’ case, the team started with $4.75MM, meaning they are capped at $8.3MM total. And the organization had already boosted its pool to $8MM (a good portion of which it has already spent). As things stand, the Yanks have $3.5MM left to dangle for Ohtani or utilize on other international amateur talent."

 

[mikelink45]

I cannot see Slegers and Boshers when we could lose some of these players.  I guess the new stats must be like reading tea leaves and they see something that I do not. 

 

I do like Gonsalves, Thorpe and Littell, but some of these other players looked too good to dangle in rule V for me.

[nicksaviking]

I cannot see Slegers and Boshers when we could lose some of these players.  I guess the new stats must be like reading tea leaves and they see something that I do not. 

 

I do like Gonsalves, Thorpe and Littell, but some of these other players looked too good to dangle in rule V for me.

In Boshers' case it's probably nothing other than a dearth of LH relievers ready to contribute at the MLB level.

 

Also, with four spots available, it's probably not fair to blame anybody who kept their jobs for costing the team any of the younger guys the team exposed. The team had room to do both but for reasons they'll probably never detail, they didn't.

[jorgenswest]

I cannot see Slegers and Boshers when we could lose some of these players.  I guess the new stats must be like reading tea leaves and they see something that I do not. 

 

I do like Gonsalves, Thorpe and Littell, but some of these other players looked too good to dangle in rule V for me.

It might be stats. I think more likely it is measuring a player’s long term ceiling vs. their real need to have enough of the 40 man roster devoted to players that can make a 2018 contribution.

 

Anyone they protest by adding now, they can’t drop later this winter. They can remove Slegers and Boshers to make room for a free agent. Stewart and Burdi will be of no help in 2018. They must feel that they can do better than Reed and Bard who might have helped. None of the four have high ceilings.

[Deduno Abides]

Let's see:

 

Rogers, Moya, Melotakis, McIver  and I am not counting the likes of Enns or Thorpe or even Mejia and Gonsalves who could pitch from the pen in a pinch.

Rogers, Moya and Enns are the only other lefty relievers in the system who compare, until Jay proves himself, and none of them proven. If you think Melotakis is better than Boshers, we’re just going to have to agree to disagree. The Twins are not going to consider bringing up Thorpe or Gonsalves in May to pitch as an emergency bullpen arm if Rogers or Moya are injured or ineffective. They’ll probably keep Mejia as a starter until at least mid-season, also.

[Old Twins Cap]

Yeah, it's the same every year. 

 

"Our guys are great-- protect them, every last one of them" -- even though no one beyond this website believes that.

 

Look, other organizations have a lot to juggle as well.  Realize, any of these guys selected has to be on the 25 man roster ALL YEAR.

 

We may think Lewin Diaz or Burdi or Bard or even a Cheeseburger can be left on the bench of a team competing for wins, but the reality is, they are just prospects, the odds are stacked against them ever making a difference at a Major League level, not to mention, actually helping a team win in a playoff context.

 

Nope.  Our guys ain't that good.

 

Their guys ain't that good either--witness Pressley-- so let's get on to the real off-season.

 

 

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

Only surprise is Stewart. A really bad team should pick him. No surprise to me on Diaz at all

[Baseball Bat]

Giving Falvine the benefit of the doubt on this, but I have to admit I am a bit surprised that Burdi, Reed, Stewart, Diaz, Bard, and Melotakis all got left off. I would have had at least 3 to 4 of those guys protected.

 

I'm not too concerned about Diaz, given that he is so raw and there is not way a team could keep him on there 25 man for 5 months. 

 

It's not the fact that any of those 5 pitchers individually got left unprotected, it is the fact that all of them got left unprotected. All are former high draft picks (especially for relievers) who have had very solid minor league careers. Reed, who is a lock to be taken in the rule 5 draft, throws mid 90's and had a legit case to be with the Twins last season. Bard, a former second round pick, all the sudden found his stuff and struckout 14 per 9 last season with mid 90's stuff. Stewart is frustrating as heck and even if he does get taken, I am not too concerned about him. 

 

Am I the only one that thinks Burdi's injury makes him more likely to be taken in the rule 5 draft? A team can literally stash him on the 60 day DL for a couple of months, send him for a rehab assignment, then it is September. I'm not a fan of giving up on him. 

 

It is a little bit confusing to me how Buddy Boshers, Aaron Slegers, and Phil Hughes' contract all have 40 man spots over the top 3 of Reed, Melotakis, Bard, Burdi, Diaz, and Stewart. 

 

All you have to do with Hughes is take him off the 40 man, nobody will claim his contract, you can protect an extra player, and add Hughes back later in the season. Hopefully this means the Twins are going to make some moves soon this offseason as they have some roster spots open, and are unprotecting a fair amount of talent. 

[USAFChief]

I think, most of all, this demonstrates the folly of depending on your minor league system to supply your relief needs.

 

I can't remember how many times I've read the Twins didn't need to sign bullpen help, because doing so would block so and so.

The Twins farm system was just overloaded with all these top end arms.

 

They've gotten virtually nothing from that.

[Dman]

 

Only surprise is Stewart. A really bad team should pick him. No surprise to me on Diaz at all

 

I was surprised as well.  I know lots of people on the board don't like his stats or his chances to make an impact at the Major League level but I was still a believer.  I wanted to see him one more year to see if there was any improvement.  I also think he could be a good pen arm.  Jack up his velo and used in shorter stints I feel like those K's might just come back.

 

I've been wrong about a lot of guys and probably am about Stewart but I thought he had enough stuff to keep.  Maybe no one else will like him in the rule V so it won't matter.

[Taildragger8791]

Are we sure Burdi can just be stashed on someone's 60-day DL most of the season? That seems like a major loophole in the system if there is next to zero cost to the team other than paying out a meager rookie salary. Seems like something is missing here.

[Dman]

 

I'm a little intrigued by Stewart and Burdi, but Reed/Melo/Bard weren't a priority since they couldn't make the roster last season.

 Yeah they couldn't keep every reliever with promise and clog up the 40 man.  There are other guys coming up that don't need to be protected so not the end of the world if we lost all of them which is unlikely anyway.

 

This is what the rule V is for I guess.  Given the pen we have it was gonna be tough for those guys to make it anyway.  Now maybe they will get a chance with another team.

 

It looks like they want more proven players for the pen as they have a fair bit of young blood up for relievers in Hildy, Curtis, Busenitz , Chargios, Moya and Rogers.  They'll want some vets to close and work the eighth.  May and Duffy might still end up as pen arms so I can see why they did things the way they did.

[jorgenswest]

Rule 5 and 60 day DL

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/ask-ba-deciphering-disabled-lists-rule-5-draft/#LegrR4ciGcXfx7Rt.97

[Deduno Abides]

I think, most of all, this demonstrates the folly of depending on your minor league system to supply your relief needs.

I can't remember how many times I've read the Twins didn't need to sign bullpen help, because doing so would block so and so.

The Twins farm system was just overloaded with all these top end arms.

They've gotten virtually nothing from that.

That might be a little too broad. It may simply be that Falvey and Levine think there was a lost generation of minor league pitchers during Ryan II. Either they were overhyped or not developed well or had a rash of unfortunate injuries, or all of the above, and after one year, they’ve decided to cut bait with most of them.

 

You can’t, however, say that your own minors can’t supply your own relief needs. Relievers need to come from some organization and the Twins have gotten some promising relievers from their own system. Interestingly, the good ones aren’t the ones that were hyped. The “top end arms” you cite simply may not have been.

[dgwills]

Damn. So much for the hard throwing relievers. You'd think at least one would work out. Pretty disappointing. I guess there's still Chargois.

[Taildragger8791]

 

Rule 5 and 60 day DL

https://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/ask-ba-deciphering-disabled-lists-rule-5-draft/#LegrR4ciGcXfx7Rt.97

 

Good article. So long story short there are some games that can be played, but one way or another he'd have to spend 90 days on the active roster which I can't see happening. A team would have to be pretty desperate or convinced of greatness to sacrifice a 25-man roster spot for half a season.

[Taildragger8791]

 

Damn. So much for the hard throwing relievers. You'd think at least one would work out. Pretty disappointing. I guess there's still Chargois.

 

Chargois missed basically the whole season with a mystery elbow injury (impingement? stress reaction?). I wouldn't count on him for anything next year.

[jorgenswest]

I think someone could take Burdi with the knowledge he would need to start on the 25 man roster in 2019 and finish his 90 days. At that point, if he needs more minor league time he could be sent out. I would imagine that it will take him some time to regain his command which was a big problem prior to TJ. It is hard to imagine he will be useful before 2020.

 

Winkler is a similar case. He still hasn’t paid off for the Braves after 3 years and many days on the DL.

[ChrisKnutson]

I'm a little worried about dangling Stewart and Reed, but then again if it's for free agents I'm all for it, especially relief pitching. I like the idea of bringing Kintzler back as our 7th inning guy, then Tommy Hunter as the set-up (most underrated free agent reliever, IMO), and then trade for Brad Hand to be fireman/closer. If Falvine makes moves for these guys the Twins could have an actual playoff bullpen. 

 

Just imagine....

 

Tyler Duffey

Trevor Hildenberger

Alan Buesnitz

Taylor Rogers

Ryan Pressly

Brandon Kintzler (no introduction needed, yall already know)

Tommy Hunter (former starter for WS losing Rangers teams -> turned 95-100 mph reliever)

Brad Hand (career similar to Andrew Miller's) (has funky delivery) 

 

not to mention: Buddy Boshers (please no) Tyler Jay, John Curtiss, Aaron Slegers, Trevor May (maybe?) and Gabriel Moya

 

If we're looking to extend our core players 2019 and beyond we can't break the bank on Darvish, Minor, 1b Santana (why would we?), Lynn, Davis, Cobb, Morrow, etc. We subtracted from our roster last year and still made the playoffs, all we need to do is add a few "actual" major league ballplayers, not overrated/overpriced stars. Both Kintlzer and Hunter great relievers that are in a way underrated so they should come at a relatively affordable price while Hand, our "big splash" wouldn't cost money, but instead top prospect Gordon and probably Kohl Stewart and Felix Jorge as well.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Rogers, Moya and Enns are the only other lefty relievers in the system who compare, until Jay proves himself, and none of them proven. If you think Melotakis is better than Boshers, we’re just going to have to agree to disagree. The Twins are not going to consider bringing up Thorpe or Gonsalves in May to pitch as an emergency bullpen arm if Rogers or Moya are injured or ineffective. They’ll probably keep Mejia as a starter until at least mid-season, also.

 

Agree with you on this stuff... But again, if the Twins go out and sign a Jake McGee or another lefty reliever, Boshers can be DFAd then.

 

I'd keep Slegers until absolutely needing a roster spot. He can be a solid back end of the rotation guy at least early in the year until Gonsalves and crew are ready. And, well, he's got three options left, so having a 6th/7th starter in Rochester is always valuable thing... 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Yeah, it's the same every year. 

 

"Our guys are great-- protect them, every last one of them" -- even though no one beyond this website believes that.

 

Look, other organizations have a lot to juggle as well.  Realize, any of these guys selected has to be on the 25 man roster ALL YEAR.

 

We may think Lewin Diaz or Burdi or Bard or even a Cheeseburger can be left on the bench of a team competing for wins, but the reality is, they are just prospects, the odds are stacked against them ever making a difference at a Major League level, not to mention, actually helping a team win in a playoff context.

 

Nope.  Our guys ain't that good.

 

Their guys ain't that good either--witness Pressley-- so let's get on to the real off-season.

 

No one is saying they would be taken by contending teams, but there are a LOT of teams that are competing for losses and acquiring as many prospects as they can in whatever ways they can. It's very possible none of these guys get selected, and that's great...