21 Twins Names to Know for the 2021 Rule 5 Draft

[rv78]

After reading the comments on most of these guys it just makes me wonder even more why the Twins hang on to players that they get little to no production from like Smeltzer, Thorpe, Stashak, Astudillo, Cave, & Garlick. In addition, guys like Dobnak, Coloumbe, & Minaya are a dime a dozen that can be traded for or easily replaced with up coming talent. There's 9 open spots to use. Rooker, Garza and Barnes aren't anything special either but they are young and I wouldn't cut ties with them yet. In my opinion the Twins didn't do themselves any favors by playing 2021 September games with these guys including Colome and Simmons. If you weren't going to keep/resign them for 2022 they could have been DFA'd Sept 1 and you could have brought up a Palacios, Miranda, Gore, or Contreras. Geeze, let's just let these guys rot in the minors until someone does a Baddoo on us. With only the future to look forward to why play the rest of the 2021 season without looking at as many youngsters as you can? The veterans who have/had no future with your team should not have been playing.

[roger]

19 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Can someone tell me if I'm doing this right? I went to twinsbaseball.com and they show 38  players on the 40 man roster including the 8 on the 60 day DL. We start there.

Next, I would then remove Cave, Astudillo, and Garlick. All easy calls, all possible MiLB contract signers with some team and it could be the Twins if we want them back. Now we're down to 35. The top 5 players on Seth's list are all more important to the Twins both long and short term than those 3 guys. The FO should be able to make this decision in their sleep or over coffee. Now we're back up to 40. So far, no really tough decision to make. 

NOW, we get to the hard part. Are any of Vallimont, Gore, Hamilton. Palacios, etc. more important to keep than Smeltzer, Thorpe, Rooker, Strotman, Jax, Garza, Dobnak or Barnes? That's the choice. My choice would be to drop Thorpe and Barnes, replace them with Vallimont and Gore.  Thereafter, the questions are who might get drafted and would we rather have them than Garza, Smeltzer, or Minaya, and do we need open spots for free agents. It seems logical to me that the best thing to draft/easiest to stash guy for a bad team with a longer term horizon is a pitcher; even better is an injured pitcher. Utility guy comes next. With that mindset, I do 2 things. First, I trade Rooker or Larnach together with Sano or Kepler for a combination of one MLB ready pitcher and younger non-40 man prospect(s).  Opens 1 spot. I leave it open for a FA. If I need more spots, I drop Smeltzer, then Garza, and I keep Minaya.  If I can't swing a trade,  I drop Smeltzer, Garza and Rooker in that order (hoping to re-sign them to MiLB deals), and keep Palacios first, then Hamilton, then Schulfer.   Not sure I'd trade Hamilton for Garza or Rooker for Schulfer so I might stop before or right after Hamilton.  Take my chances with the rest.  

One thing we need to keep in mind is that the Twins are likely planning on adding several free agents over the winter.  Will need spots for those.  The problem this poses, and someone can correct me if this has changed, is that players added to the roster now must be kept on the roster until...is it spring training?  That means if they release some of the guys you talk about and take it back up to 40, where are they going to find spots for those free agents?  That's the reason I doubt you will see them adding as many as you mention.  But loved your overall discussion. 

The next 24 hours or so should be very interesting.  Will be shocked if we don't see at least a couple guys DFA that will be surprises.  Guys like Thorpe, Stashak, Smeltzer, Cave, Astudillo will all be surprised to many of us, but will be equally surprised if at least one or two of this group isn't sent packing.

[LA VIkes Fan]

1 hour ago, roger said:

One thing we need to keep in mind is that the Twins are likely planning on adding several free agents over the winter.  Will need spots for those.  The problem this poses, and someone can correct me if this has changed, is that players added to the roster now must be kept on the roster until...is it spring training?  That means if they release some of the guys you talk about and take it back up to 40, where are they going to find spots for those free agents?  That's the reason I doubt you will see them adding as many as you mention.  But loved your overall discussion. 

The next 24 hours or so should be very interesting.  Will be shocked if we don't see at least a couple guys DFA that will be surprises.  Guys like Thorpe, Stashak, Smeltzer, Cave, Astudillo will all be surprised to many of us, but will be equally surprised if at least one or two of this group isn't sent packing.

Excellent point and one I couldn't really address with my limited knowledge. My thinking is that once the FO decides how many spots they need for free agents, that the next players sent packing are Thorpe, Stashak, Garza, and Smeltzer. Each without a corresponding add so the spots stay open. 

I think Cave and Astudillo are already all but gone. No one should be surprised when they are DFA'd in the next few weeks. The shock would be if either one is retained on the 40 man roster. Keeping either one on the 40 man would be a very bad decision. 

[Twins33]

Lewis, Winder, Miranda, Sands, Enlow, Vallimont

I could see Scherff being taken but wouldn’t protect. If they did protect him, I’d be fine with it. 

 

Drops:

Astudillo

Cave

Garlick (ok with keeping as 4th OF)

Barnes (I don’t think he has what it takes to even be a RP)

Garza Jr

Minaya

Smeltzer

[Seth Stohs]

13 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Yes, but he has to be protected initially on the 40 man roster before being placed on the 60 day IL to create another roster opening, right?

And if I'm right, when can he be transferred to the 60 day to allow for an open spot?

Yes, he would need to be added to the 40-man roster... and I think the 60 Day IL is available right around when spring training starts. 

[Rosterman]

So few of this year's crop of minor league free agents were actually homegrown talent. 38 names. Whew. And those that did leave would've been at AAA ball this season if not for 2020. LuJan, Cabbage, Whitefield, and pickups from otehr teams like Cheshire, Cabrera, Bray.

 

Who else got held back?

[Jacksson]

What is the logic behind requiring that players on the 60 day IL be added back onto the roster at the conclusion of the season?

Why is it then that the same players can then be moved off the roster and onto the 60 day IL at the beginning of the next season?

With the recovery time associated with knee and arm injuries requiring surgery as well as the ability of information and documentation afforded by technology, there is no reason that surgically recovering players should not be able to remain on the 60 Day IL once placed on it, until such time that they are medically cleared to return..  Stashing is more difficult these days.