Twins Give Trevor May an Offseason Push

[Bob Sacamento]

From Baseball America:

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“Sometimes players get a little caught up working on things at one level, and sort of let time go by,” general manager Terry Ryan said. “So you give them a challenge, force them to figure things out against a little better competition, as a way to say, ‘Let’s go. It’s time to step it up.’ ”

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“I believe he can get batters out at that level. I’ve seen him pitch when he’s going good, and he has the stuff to get (major league hitters) out,” Ryan said. “We’re kind of throwing him in the pool to see if he can swim. And I think he will.”

TWIN KILLINGS

• Righthander J.T. Chargois, the Twins’ second-round pick in 2012 out of Rice who missed the entire 2013 season with a sore elbow, will have Tommy John surgery. Chargois experienced elbow pain this spring, but made progress under a throwing program until injuring the arm again while throwing batting practice in August.

 

• Center fielder Aaron Hicks, who batted just .222/.317/.333 in 22 games after being demoted to Rochester, has informed the Twins he does not plan to play winter ball as they had recommended, preferring instead to work out near his California home after a disappointing rookie season.

[John Bonnes]

Center fielder Aaron Hicks, who batted just .222/.317/.333 in 22 games after being demoted to Rochester, has informed the Twins he does not plan to play winter ball as they had recommended, preferring instead to work out near his California home after a disappointing rookie season.

 

Hmmmm.....

 

I'm glad to see they're pushing May.

[Bob Sacamento]

Yeah I don't know what Hicks is trying to accomplish by not listening to recommendations by his own team. Do you want to be traded? Because there is some kid named Buxton who is closing in on you fast, very fast.

[Badsmerf]

That is interesting about Hicks. I wonder if there is more to that story or if it isn't worth thinking about...

[Bark's Lounge]

I don't think Hicks not playing winter ball is anything to stress or get one's panties in a bunch about. He had a bad year and battled some injuries after June. I would hope he feels let down and frustrated with his performance this year.

 

Every person is different and combats their demons in different ways. For Hicks, maybe it would serve him better to clear his head and come to spring training in 2014 mentally and physically refreshed. I recall reading an interview with Hicks on this site where he had said this was going to be his first off season that he was not playing baseball since he was drafted.

 

I have a hard time believing that Hicks will be partying every night, eating at Chinese Buffets daily and chain smoking Lucky Strikes. I am sure he will keep himself in good shape and I read someplace that he will be working with Rod Carew in SoCal this off season. His foot will still be dangling in the waters of baseball.

 

Hopefully it works out. The guy has a tremendous amount of talent. I dread the thought of having Alex Presley as the Twins Opening Day CF.

[Thrylos]

Hicks, like every other player, has the right to chose not to play winter ball. The Twins a. should not force him (they did not try to force Parmelee or Dozier last season even thought the stinkage was similar) and b. do not publicize the fact and their internal discussions (and throw him under the bus publicly, which, unfortunately has become the "Twins way" for players disagreeing with Terry and Gardy recently.)

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Yeah I don't know what Hicks is trying to accomplish by not listening to recommendations by his own team. Do you want to be traded? Because there is some kid named Buxton who is closing in on you fast, very fast.

 

Why wouldn't he want to be traded?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Hicks, like every other player, has the right to chose not to play winter ball. The Twins a. should not force him (they did not try to force Parmelee or Dozier last season even thought the stinkage was similar) and b. do not publicize the fact and their internal discussions (and throw him under the bus publicly, which, unfortunately has become the "Twins way" for players disagreeing with Terry and Gardy recently.)

 

Agree with both a. and b. Go back and re-read that second paragraph -- Trevor May is going to see the GM telling the press that May needs to 'step it up' -- I don't know how that's supposed to endear a prospect to an organization. What, is May supposed to reassign himself to the next level?

[cmb0252]

I might be crazy but I'm still pretty confident in May. Will he be a future 1/2? No. But I could see him being an innings eater who can strike out a lot of guys. That's pretty valuable. People who followed his year know he pitched pretty well but still had problems with "that one bad inning" which was due to BB or HR.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Agree with both a. and b. Go back and re-read that second paragraph -- Trevor May is going to see the GM telling the press that May needs to 'step it up' -- I don't know how that's supposed to endear a prospect to an organization. What, is May supposed to reassign himself to the next level?

 

Honestly I doubt this. There were complements in there. It was honest assessment, and if his psyche is that fragile, I doubt there's much anyone in the org can do to make him better.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I might be crazy but I'm still pretty confident in May. Will he be a future 1/2? No. But I could see him being an innings eater who can strike out a lot of guys. That's pretty valuable. People who followed his year know he pitched pretty well but still had problems with "that one bad inning" which was due to BB or HR.

 

I actually think that he could still turn into a front of the rotation guy. I get that the odds of doing this are fairly low at this point, but sometime it takes a while for these lessons to settle in... especially the control. The fact that the walk rate dropped and K rate rose, even slightly is a good sign IMO... and he definitely had his problems with defense and that bad inning. Some of that will improve in the bigs just by having better defenders at most positions. Some I suspect is just mental and not letting the situation get to you.

[Seth Stohs]

The Twins value guys who can throw a lot of innings, and Trevor May has done that the last couple of years. There is certainly value in that, and despite some control issues, he does continue to miss bats. Worst case, he can be a very solid reliever. Best case, he's a mid-rotation starter. Nothing wrong with that. I don't think that sending him to Rochester for one playoff game is really pushing him. It's pretty normal for AA guys to go to Arizona, so I don't see that as pushing. They're good opportunities for him, and hopefully moving him up with help push him.

 

As for Hicks not going to a Winter league is really not a big deal. Others have declined before, and it doesn't affect anything. He played last year for 4 weeks or so. Dozier played for three weeks. It's just some extra plate appearances. It's keeping involved. But, players can do work at home too. And, frankly, they've been at this since February. No worries about making the decision to not play and work out on their own.

[orangevening]

Yeah, Gardy complained about Hicks not playing winter ball on his radio show a couple of weeks ago. One of the things I don't like about him. I'm definitely worried about the Hicks-Gardy relationship

[Shane Wahl]

Yeah, Gardy complained about Hicks not playing winter ball on his radio show a couple of weeks ago. One of the things I don't like about him. I'm definitely worried about the Hicks-Gardy relationship

 

Exactly. So it clearly IS a deal (maybe not a "big" one), since the manager takes it upon himself to complain about it publicly. How responsible and professional of him, by the way.

[Kwak]

Ryan needs to validate his CF for P trades. Worley flat-out stunk. Meyer's shoulder problem causes "concern". May has to be pushed to see if he really is part of the solution. If none of these guys succeed--oooh my!