Mastroianni Outrighted

[Joe A. Preusser]

I'm sure the Twins want Hicks to win the starting center field job out of spring traing. I just can't figure out what he can do to win it. He can't play better than he did last spring. He can't play any worse than he did in April. What can he do to convince them he's ready? I doubt he can do anything in ST. It'll have to happen at Rochester.

 

Respectively, I disagree. He certainly can't hit any better this spring than last, but there are all sorts of intangibles that he could put on display along with a nice batting average that could persuade the coaching staff that he's ready. Playing stellar defense in CF could also sway some minds.

[Hawkeye12]

I think Hicks wins the starting CF job again, but won't have the pressure of leading off this year. If not, Escobar is capable of backing up in CF. Can't remember if he ever ended up out there last year, but I know it was talked about by Gardy at one point.

[stringer bell]

Respectively, I disagree. He certainly can't hit any better this spring than last, but there are all sorts of intangibles that he could put on display along with a nice batting average that could persuade the coaching staff that he's ready. Playing stellar defense in CF could also sway some minds.

If you recall last spring, the official (and unofficial) word from the Twins was that Hicks was showing the maturity of a 10-year veteran and doing all of the things he needed to do to earn the starting CF gig. He didn't hit and some "little things" popped up that apparently were unacceptable to the team. I personally think that the "little things" would have been swept under the rug if Aaron was hitting 100 points higher.

[Kwak]

100 points higher--would still have been >.150 ! I sure hope that isn't the "bar" for success.

[darin617]

I still think that Hicks makes the team out of Spring Training. Not much sense in keeping him at AAA as a 24 year old.

 

I never saw anything out of Hicks to think that his best place to start the season is at AAA. He has proved nothing besides some defense. When a guy can't hit his weight for most of the season he has not business in the majors.

[Willihammer]

I guess I wasn't been paying attention, evidently Mastro had a piece of "fixation hardware" put into his left ankle last spring, and then taken out in October. Hope he's better, I kind of liked what I saw in 2012.

[cmathewson]

I guess I wasn't been paying attention, evidently Mastro had a piece of "fixation hardware" put into his left ankle last spring, and then taken out in October. Hope he's better, I kind of liked what I saw in 2012.

 

He broke his ankle on a foul ball at the end of Spring Training. But they made him play on it and delayed his DL stint for a couple of weeks, calling it a "stress reaction." Finally they sent him in for surgery in late April. After he got off the DL and was sent to Rochester, he played hurt the rest of the year. Hopefully, he's healthy again. If so, he'll be added back when they have to DFA a pitcher who is out of options.

[Highabove]

If you recall last spring, the official (and unofficial) word from the Twins was that Hicks was showing the maturity of a 10-year veteran and doing all of the things he needed to do to earn the starting CF gig. He didn't hit and some "little things" popped up that apparently were unacceptable to the team. I personally think that the "little things" would have been swept under the rug if Aaron was hitting 100 points higher.

What little things are we talking about?

Baseball little things or staying out late on the road trips little things.

[jorgenswest]

Perhaps another move is planned. The OF defense will be league bottom. Presley will be below average as a CF. Willingham and Arcia are poor in the corners. The Twins really need Hicks or Buxton as soon as the service time date passes.

[oldguy10]

What is the deal on Mastroianni having a "stress reaction" and Twins medical staff thinking it was a minor thing? Haven't we heard this before with other Twins' players? It is not written about much but that opinion is out there, I do not remember where I have seen it but it exists. I hardly think this is the way to run a purported MLB organization, do any of you?

[Guest USAFChief]

Put me in the camp thinking Hicks starts the season as the everyday center fielder.

[Kwak]

Put me in the camp expecting Hicks to start and stay in Rochester.

[Blackjack]

And of course, there is always the possibility that Hicks is the 4th outfielder.

 

With the big goose egg that Hicks laid last year he played himself into AAA to start the season regardless how well he does in spring training. Plus I think the Twins will want to see what they have in Presley.

[Thrylos]

Rewind a year ago. Substitute "Dozier" for "Hicks" and "2B" for "CF" and you got the answer about where Hicks will start the season. Unless he shows up in awful shape in ST.

 

The Twins get nothing by having Hicks at AAA at this point.

[stringer bell]

 

The Twins get nothing by having Hicks at AAA at this point.

If Hicks spends a month at Rochester, he will not go to Super 2 status two years hence, increasing his value. I am in Blackjack's camp that the team has no rationale to start Hicks as the CF this April. Unlike Dozier, there is an incumbent in center field who wasn't born during the Nixon administration. While I think this will straighten out before the All-Star game, Presley starts in center and Hicks starts in Rochester.

[ashbury]

What is the deal on Mastroianni having a "stress reaction" and Twins medical staff thinking it was a minor thing?

 

Strikes me as second-guessing. We don't talk about the times the trainers take a day-to-day approach with a player and it works out. We know that the medical staff is on Terry Ryan's radar, and that's an area I think he has more information than we do on which to judge their efforts.

[johnnydakota]

Strikes me as second-guessing. We don't talk about the times the trainers take a day-to-day approach with a player and it works out. We know that the medical staff is on Terry Ryan's radar, and that's an area I think he has more information than we do on which to judge their efforts.

 

And yet time after time we hear how it is a bruise or a sore elbow a strain and just needs a couple days ,and it ends up in surgery.If Darren was the 1st fine ,if he was the 2nd ,maybe but this has been time after time after time.....

[minn55441]

Put me in the camp thinking Hicks starts the season as the everyday center fielder.

 

I'm with the chief on this one. Presley and Hicks complete for the spot and if Hicks plays like he did last spring he wins the job. It takes most players a few trips to the majors before they figure things out. It was a tough year for Hicks, but I'm confident that he will come back fighting for a spot on opening day. I think he will earn the spot, the question is whether he will stick once the season starts.

[IdahoPilgrim]

And yet time after time we hear how it is a bruise or a sore elbow a strain and just needs a couple days ,and it ends up in surgery.If Darren was the 1st fine ,if he was the 2nd ,maybe but this has been time after time after time.....

 

It did seem to me, though, based just on what I remember from forum threads last season, that there were far fewer complaints about the medical staff last year than from previous years, and I seem to remember that that was one area where some changes were made between 2012 and 2013.

 

Sports medicine is not an exact science or a mathematical equation. There's not always just one right answer. Use the same treatment on two people with identical injuries and it might work on one and not work on the other. And ankles are tricky things to rehab and heal - as I can attest having broken one myself. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.

[golfboy1]

Rewind a year ago. Substitute "Dozier" for "Hicks" and "2B" for "CF" and you got the answer about where Hicks will start the season. Unless he shows up in awful shape in ST.

 

The Twins get nothing by having Hicks at AAA at this point.

 

There are several differences. Dozier is 3yrs. older than Hick & though he failed in his initial call up he still hit better than .192.

 

Dozier went to winter ball to work on his game & learn 2nd better. He also only had to beat out Nishioki & Carroll. Pressley is a "decent" CF option until he fails or someone beats him out.

 

Hicks hasn't even proven he can hit AAA pitching. He is terrible vs. RH pitching so I don't understand why he would be handed a ML starting position. That's what AAA is for. Work on his weaknesses. I hope he tears it up in AAA & forces the Twins to call him up but I doubt he will start in the majors.

 

If Mastro is healthy he can make the team as a NRI. One or more of the starting pitcher options will be sent down or cut. If he proves he is healthy I believe he will make the team.

[Alex]

This discussion has two different parts:

 

1) Does this move with Mastro mean the Twins will give the starting CF job to Hicks? My answer is yes.

 

2) Should they? No.

 

I won't go into detail because it's really no different than the discussions on this last season.

[cmathewson]

It did seem to me, though, based just on what I remember from forum threads last season, that there were far fewer complaints about the medical staff last year than from previous years, and I seem to remember that that was one area where some changes were made between 2012 and 2013.

 

Sports medicine is not an exact science or a mathematical equation. There's not always just one right answer. Use the same treatment on two people with identical injuries and it might work on one and not work on the other. And ankles are tricky things to rehab and heal - as I can attest having broken one myself. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.

 

The Maestro case was the only one where I felt like they delayed the inevitable and it ultimately hurt the team and the player. It is generally not a good thing to play on a broken leg. We don't know if it made it worse, but it is likely it did.

 

Otherwise, I agree, the changes they made improved their practices.

[Kwak]

And yet time after time we hear how it is a bruise or a sore elbow a strain and just needs a couple days ,and it ends up in surgery.If Darren was the 1st fine ,if he was the 2nd ,maybe but this has been time after time after time.....

 

My guess it was the Mastroianni decision to "play through it". This was his chance, and he wasn't going to watch it vanish without a try. We all see what happened--he got DFA'd because he didn't prove himself. Sitting-out and "being injured" wouldn't have changed things one iota.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I cannot imagine Hicks starting in CF. He wasn't just bad, he flat out wasn't ready. I think he starts and plays the entire season in Rochester unless he suddenly puts up Colabello type numbers.

[Danchat]

For how bad Hicks played in AAA last year, I don't think he starts right away. Parmelee and Pinto have had limited success in the majors but Hicksie has shown next to nothing. He has to prove it in AAA first, like Pinto and Parm have.

[AScheib50]

At this point Hicks has a lot to prove before he becomes a part of the future. Buxton is fast on his tail. So if Buxton stays on his current trajectory of a 2015 arrival(or sooner depending on who you talk to) Hicks has basically this year to prove himself. He'd really have to improve his numbers at the plate to suggest he could be a regular at the corner.

[cmathewson]

My guess it was the Mastroianni decision to "play through it". This was his chance, and he wasn't going to watch it vanish without a try. We all see what happened--he got DFA'd because he didn't prove himself. Sitting-out and "being injured" wouldn't have changed things one iota.

 

I understand and appreciate the sentiment. But it's not his call. Part of the problem with the medical staff before the changes was a history of letting the player talk them out of what is best for the player long term. It is conceivable that he could have healed more quickly if they had shut him down the moment the medical imagery showed a fracture. By the time they shut him down, he had to have a plate installed, which limited his mobility when he returned. Thus we endured Clete Thomas for much longer than we would hope.

 

Counterfactuals, I know. Maybe it all ends up they way it did anyway. But it was a screw up.

[Steve Johnson]

I think that this means they are committed to Presley, and want to keep their options open with Hicks. They're plan is probably Hicks as the Starter and Pressley as the 4th OF. If Hicks doesn't impress, there is still the possibility to find a back up CF and enough of their own guys that'll have to be passed through waivers anyway for being out of options.

[Kwak]

I understand and appreciate the sentiment. But it's not his call. Part of the problem with the medical staff before the changes was a history of letting the player talk them out of what is best for the player long term. It is conceivable that he could have healed more quickly if they had shut him down the moment the medical imagery showed a fracture. By the time they shut him down, he had to have a plate installed, which limited his mobility when he returned. Thus we endured Clete Thomas for much longer than we would hope.

 

Counterfactuals, I know. Maybe it all ends up they way it did anyway. But it was a screw up.

 

If the extent of the damage was truly known--he would have been shut-down--but it wasn't!

 

He played and things got worse. Scenario #2: Mastroianni goes on DL, someone else climbs-in (like Clete Thomas did)--and plays well. Darin is screwed. He doesn't know how bad it really is--but he has waited years for this opportunity, and isn't going to sit by and watch it disappear and spend the rest of his life wondering "what if?". He got his answer.