Ryan: Parmelee may be an option at first base and outfield

[Parker Hageman]

John Shipley at the Pioneer Press spoke with Twins GM Terry Ryan today, addressing Justin Morneau's regular designated hitter playing time as of late. Part of the motivation behind having Morneau at DH may have to do with Chris Parmelee's torrid spring performance. Said Ryan of Morneau and Parmelee:

 

"He could DH. We'll have to see how it plays out this spring. Right now, Parmelee is having quite a spring. You start to say, 'Jeez, how are we going to get that bat in the lineup? He's a first baseman and an outfielder. He can play both.' "

Parmelee's been very impressive this spring, hitting .324/.395/.588 with a double, a triple and two home runs (one against the Phillies' Roy Halladay) and perhaps forcing the Twins to carry him on the roster at the season's onset. If Parmelee is brought north, this certainly complicates the lineup. With Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit, Josh Willingham and now potentially Parmelee, the Twins have a log jam of first basemen/DHs/corner outfielders that Ron Gardenhire will have to get creative in efforts to get all of their bats in the lineup.

[Seth Stohs]

A long home run off a tough lefty like Jake McGee today certainly helps his case!

[Higuys]

If we have Parmlee at first, I think that the position alignment should be:

Mauer Catcher (if he can still play there)

Parmlee 1st

Carroll 2nd

Casilla ss

Valencia 3rd

Revere LF

Span CF

Willingham RF

Morneau DH

 

with Doumit filling in for catcher and other positions where the injury bug has hit.

[woolhouse]

Gardy has said he is very big on keeping Doumit's bat in the lineup daily. And they're paying him to do just that. I think Parmalee is going to see more time in the outfield over Plouffe or Revere, and Morneau/Doumit/Mauer are going to rotate through first base/DH/catcher (minus Morneau there.) In any case, a bench of Plouffe, Hughes, Revere, Doumit, and Parmalee (however it works out) has to be one of the Twins' best benches since Bush/Larkin/Newman...

[darin617]

Why was Jason Kubel never tried at 1st base?

[Higuys]

Because if Morneau was injured, that would be Cuddyer's spot?

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'm going to gloat a bit, as no one seemed to think this was possible.

 

In all seriousness though, I'm loving this. It should be a bit of a challenge for Gardy to keep the bats in the linup daily, but at the same time, it can help the overall health too. Doumit is not a paragon of health, so giving him the occasional day off isn't bad... same goes for Morneau too. You also have the ability of doing some platooning (subbing Plouffe for Parmalee against tough lefties and that type of thing)... but with the versatility of this team, you have options.

 

Doumit 1B/DH/C/RF

Willingham LF/RF

Hughes infield (though not much SS)/RF

Plouffe RF/SS/2B

Parmalee 1B/DH/RF

Mauer C/DH/1B

Morneau 1B/DH

 

Honestly, the only positions where we have non-versatile guys is 3B with Valencia and CF with no real backup. Given the health concerns for Casilla, Hughes, Doumit, Morneau, and Mauer, having a rotation that keeps everyone fresh should work well for the long season.