Roster Shuffle: Buxton And Kepler Out, Meyer And Santana In

Ya'll (you know who you are) can stop clutching your pearls about David Murphy now. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/04/david-murphy-requests-release-leaves-twins-organization.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

remember that four-game winning streak? that was awesome.

I don't rip management very often, but it's clear there is no plan. Danny Santana is backing up every single position except for catcher, and that's not OK. The Twins need more than two bench players. 

It just doesn't seem like they're trying to win. Especially after yesterday's debacle.

Ahem, if I may weigh in: As someone who is an expert at flailing, I can easily recognize flailure in others.

Make no mistake: The FO and the Manager are flailing wildly rather than calmly assessing the situation.

I don't rip management very often, but it's clear there is no plan. Danny Santana is backing up every single position except for catcher, and that's not OK. The Twins need more than two bench players. 

 

It just doesn't seem like they're trying to win. Especially after yesterday's debacle.

Santana for catcher: Because, he's not John Ryan Murphy.

Other than playing a MLB game with a 2 man bench, sure......what could go wrong?

Why is everyone worried about when Duffey is going down? The guy just put up a better start than Milone, Gibson, and maybe Hughes/Santana have thus far in 2016, against a legitimate World Series contender on the road. The real question should be, 'why isn't Duffey a permanent member of the rotation yet?'

Not to mention, he was the team's best starter for 2-3 months last year after getting the call.

Ryan needs to learn to let go. I get that he loves Milone, because he's living back in '95 when any breathing lefty was valuable...but that time has long since passed.

This isn't even bringing Berrios into the equation, who hasn't even gotten a major league start yet, despite being the best talented pitcher in the organization for going on two years now.

Whatever happened to fielding the team that gives you best chance to win baseball games?

I'm glad to see everyone else appears to be getting as frustrated with this front office as I am. It's not an exaggeration to say that there isn't a more poorly run organization in any major sport in the world (football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, cricket, rugby, lingerie football....whatever).

Also, sending Buxton to AAA isn't going to do anything for him in terms of learning to hit major league pitching (namely breaking balls), which is his paramount issue. It may increase his confidence level so he's not pressing so much. But, I think it's one of the bigger fallacies in sports (propagated by service time issues) that players need a certain amount of time in the minors. If he succeeds in the future, it will have little to do with spending more time in the minors, IMO. Who is to say he's not equally as likely to figure out with more hands on experience? Who is to say more minor league pitching wont only allow his bad habits to persist? The only practice for a major league breaking ball, is a major league breaking ball. In the same vein, what's the excuse for sending down a guy who has shown he can handle major league pitching and manage the strike zone (Kepler), after basically letting him rot on the bench after showing that potential?

I've gone on long enough to discuss the JR Murphy thing in depth. At least Hicks could play defense...and very well... is all I'll say.

Its almost like TR is doing everything he can to get fired, and he just cannot make it happen.

anyone interested in explaining how a FO can let a MLB team go into a game with a two man(position player) bench?

anyone interested in explaining how a FO can let a MLB team go into a game with a two man(position player) bench?

There's a new promotion being offered: First 10,000 fans get a chance to be a "Twins Bench Player for a Day."

I know

 

I've already had a Murphy Sized Cow over the open spot on the 40 man. 

I bet they could reacquire Aaron Hicks "on the cheap".

Centano for Murphy? Or maybe they reach down to AA. At least whatshisname is a good receiver.

Stuart Turner? 

Atlanta is swirling the bowl--make a trade for AJ, so he can get his 2,000 hit in a Twins uniform!

These moves, along with running Hicks through waivers and Murphy leaving the team, have all the makings of a trade in the works...or TR thought he had a trade sewed up that fell through. Hear me out:

Twins trade (A) SP for ( backup C and © stopgap CF. I don't think the Twins are getting anything particularly sexy back in return, mind you. Hear me out:

A: The Twins have too many SP on the 25. I think the consensus around here is that it would take a team with an injury or extremely poor performance in ST/April/May to pull the trigger on someone like Nolasco or Milone. Well, it's late April. And Meyer's been starting, and he's up.

B: JR Murphy should be in AAA. I don't think he's a lost cause by any stretch of the imagination, but he's lost right now. Why run your third catcher through waivers if you don't have someone better on the way to replace Murphy? Maybe because TR just traded for him, but still.

C: Buxton and Kepler down, CF is left up to Rosario and Santana, Murphy requests release. Seems like the Twins sort of thing to tell a vet on a minor league deal that they weren't calling him up...because they have someone else on the way?

Pure speculation, I know, and I've knocked on my coffee table enough times to put knuckle marks in the veneer, but if I were a beat writer for the Twins I'd be on the horn with whatever contacts I had at the other 29 MLB franchises right about now.

I fully expect these moves to leave the 25 a bit of a cluster (fart) and nothing more...but a trade kind of makes sense, no? 

Buxton's "game changing defense" didn't keep him in the MLB.  Geez, no kidding.  Being close to a guaranteed out every time he stepped up to the plate will sure do that.   This time do him a favor:  Keep him at AAA for the rest of the year.  No bunting.  He needs to learn how to take a walk.

BTW:  promoting Alex Meyer is a pretty simple one.  Twins have exhausted their bullpen.  If the game gets outta hand early tonight, Meyer can handle the extra innings,as he has been stretched out as a starter in MiLB

Looking at the big picture here, it's pretty darn inexcusable for a MLB team to find itself--in late April, no less, with all winter to plan--in a position where they have a game tonight and feature a 25 man roster with no less than 14 pitchers, and a 40 man roster short a man, but featuring only 17 position players.

 

I mean, I could see if a rash of injuries tore up a plan, by maybe July or August.  That's not the case. They've had a couple injuries, but nothing out of the ordinary or not faced by lots of teams, lots of times. They had all winter to plan this out, and come out of spring training with this mess.  

I would also say its irresponsible to go in to three straight seasons without at least some reasonable back up option for your CF plan. No matter how great a prospect Buxton is, there were questions as to his readiness this season. (Like Hicks the past 2 seasons) TR confessed as much when he commented to promoting earlier than what they wanted, and before he was ready, last season as they didn't have an option.

The Twins offseason plans for 2016 is looking more and more like a total gong show these days. When everyone else including the fans knew they needed bullpen help, the Twins decided to put there heads in the sand. Let the gongs continue to bong at One Twins way, no bullpen, no catcher, no center fielder and a fricken gong show of a 40 man roster right now. 

What's a gong show?

These moves, along with running Hicks through waivers and Murphy leaving the team, have all the makings of a trade in the works...or TR thought he had a trade sewed up that fell through. Hear me out:

 

Twins trade (A) SP for ( backup C and © stopgap CF. I don't think the Twins are getting anything particularly sexy back in return, mind you. Hear me out:

 

A: The Twins have too many SP on the 25. I think the consensus around here is that it would take a team with an injury or extremely poor performance in ST/April/May to pull the trigger on someone like Nolasco or Milone. Well, it's late April. And Meyer's been starting, and he's up.

 

B: JR Murphy should be in AAA. I don't think he's a lost cause by any stretch of the imagination, but he's lost right now. Why run your third catcher through waivers if you don't have someone better on the way to replace Murphy? Maybe because TR just traded for him, but still.

 

C: Buxton and Kepler down, CF is left up to Rosario and Santana, Murphy requests release. Seems like the Twins sort of thing to tell a vet on a minor league deal that they weren't calling him up...because they have someone else on the way?

 

Pure speculation, I know, and I've knocked on my coffee table enough times to put knuckle marks in the veneer, but if I were a beat writer for the Twins I'd be on the horn with whatever contacts I had at the other 29 MLB franchises right about now.

 

I fully expect these moves to leave the 25 a bit of a cluster (fart) and nothing more...but a trade kind of makes sense, no? 

There had better be some trade(s) brewing.  The OF either can't hit, can't field, or neither hit or field.

There are oodles of pitchers available--and the Twins need a catcher--yesterday!

I know he isn't off to such a great start, but at this point, wouldn't everyone been better off if the Mastro had just been kept directly out of ST where he was playing well and let Buxton open at Rochester?

I mean...20/20 hindsight...but if there was any clue he wasn't going to be ready or this is what he'd be facing 20 some games in...sheesh!