4 Options for Twins' Final Bench Spot

It's too soon for another player named Dyson.

Only on Twins Daily will you continually read suggestions about trading Eddie Rosario in one place while also constantly reading about acquiring the even more OBP-challenged and slowing Kevin Pillar in another.

Bananas.

I'm really surprised at how much the just-released ZiPS projections like Astudillo (.283/.312/.452, 102 OPS+, 1.5 fWAR). They basically have Astudillo and Cave as equal hitters with Astudillo being the more valuable defender. I would still probably guess that Cave wins the job though.

Only on Twins Daily will you continually read suggestions about trading Eddie Rosario in one place while also constantly reading about acquiring the even more OBP-challenged and slowing Kevin Pillar in another.

 

Bananas.

It's good to have diversity of opinion ... makes you think!

Is LaMonte Wade completely out of this discussion?

I'll go with Austadillo as long as all Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, and Gonzales are all basically healthy. Cave doesn't offer much when that's the case. It might be good to try to trade him for someone relatively equivalent but right-handed - or maybe weaker offensively but better defensively. Easy to say, harder to do.

When I saw the title, I just assumed all 4 we're internal candidates. I figured Wade was one and maybe Gordon....

I don't see the need to go out and pay for a 26th man when you have Cave, Wade, and Astudillo in the system. I think they could all start for some of the rebuilding teams in the league, frankly.

I'd say stay inside org... 

Wade or Gordon if we don't really care if they bat left or right 

Dyson in Rochester might be a good idea,

There is no need to sign a backup OF and lose a player from the 40 man roster. Kepler is an above-average CF. Marwin and Cave are fine in the corners. Wade can come up from AAA if there's an early spate of injuries.

Does Cave have options?  If not, he is the 26th man as Astudillo must still have an option or two.  A big spring from Wade could see him enter the discussion.  Doubt any of the big prospects would be considered as the Twins will want to see them playing every day.

Without Astrudillo, Everytime Avila catches Garver will have to ride the pine. Can't really DH your only backup catcher. I'm pretty sure Cave is the best option for the 25th man and Astrudillo should be the 26th man by about May. I'd say early in the year to go with the 26th man in the BP. Then as the starting pitching gets more reps, to drop the extra bullpen arm and bring in Astrudillo.

Would any of these options be better than Rooker, a RH bat that plays corner OF, if has a good spring training. Cheap and available,

Another thing to consider is whether they stick with a 3-man bench (carrying 13 pitchers wasn't unusual with a 25-man roster) and use the extra roster spot to keep another pitcher active. Given the fact that they're starting the season short-handed in the rotation due to Pineda's suspension and Hill's recovery, and assuming Buxton and Polanco are fully healthy coming back from their surgeries, carrying 14 pitchers might make sense. This is particularly true given the versatility the Twins have built in to their roster. Marwin and Adrianza can both play 6 positions credibly.

Among the options they have already rostered (I'm guessing they aren't looking to sign a middling, at best, FA OF), I'd expect Cave to be the 4th bench bat.

Unless Astudillo really turns it around I`d go w/ Cave. It`d give Astudillo more time to work on his plate discipline. I like the idea of keeping Kepler in RF & having a purer CF like Jarrod Dyson, can we 1st put him AAA w/o needing to putting him on the 40 man? Hopefully we can trade some players off the 40 man.

 Gordon definitely not although I see him improving this year, he`ll take awhile to adjust to the ML & won`t be much more than average. I`d like to see him traded, he could fit better in a different org.

 Like I stated in a different article w/ the Twins flexibility of covering all the bases, couldn`t we bring up an extra pitcher & be more creative w/ the rotation?

Not a Cave Fan at all....we have to be able to do better.  

If Rosario does get traded, a possibility would be to get Maybin to platoon with Cave. He is still a decent player and along with Cave could be a cheap bridge until one of their prospects are ready. That hopefully would be next year.

Another thing to consider is whether they stick with a 3-man bench (carrying 13 pitchers wasn't unusual with a 25-man roster) and use the extra roster spot to keep another pitcher active. Given the fact that they're starting the season short-handed in the rotation due to Pineda's suspension and Hill's recovery, and assuming Buxton and Polanco are fully healthy coming back from their surgeries, carrying 14 pitchers might make sense. This is particularly true given the versatility the Twins have built in to their roster. Marwin and Adrianza can both play 6 positions credibly.

 

Among the options they have already rostered (I'm guessing they aren't looking to sign a middling, at best, FA OF), I'd expect Cave to be the 4th bench bat.

Isn't part of the new rule that teams have a maximum of 13 pitchers?  Thought I saw that last summer when this first came out.

They aren't allowed to carry 14 pitchers. That's a new rule that came with the 26 man roster.

I forgot about that. thanks!

Does Cave have options?  If not, he is the 26th man as Astudillo must still have an option or two.  A big spring from Wade could see him enter the discussion.  Doubt any of the big prospects would be considered as the Twins will want to see them playing every day.

If Cave is out of options, I'd say he's guaranteed a spot at this point.

He's been extremely hot/cold and I don't like his strikeouts (or defense, though that's more fixable). If he can hit as a role player, he's an okay piece on the bench. If he plays like last April-May, then no thank you.