Twins Rotation Is Fine Without Another Big Addition

Am also "okay" with the rotation as it is as is solid one through 3 and the 4th and 5th starters have had some success and would likely be as good or better than "most" 4th and 5th starters of the majority of the teams we will be playing. 

Also have some starters in the minors that are very close to contributing and it is likely we will be seeing them this summer with an injury or two... 

There are still a bunch of pitchers out there looking for a home and some have started taking that one year deal... I think owners have figured out that if we are going to take a risk on a player make it a short risk... players are going to have to adjust... no reason to go for a 3 year deal on a "risk"... 

That being said if somehow the owner loses his mind a bit and somehow lands Bauer I am sure we all would be jumping for joy and again we would be a lot closer to contending for more than the division. 

I would add as many starting pitchers as I could. Not sure anyone threw 70 innings last year.  It may be difficult to expect 180 innings from starters. Send Dobnak, Smeltzer and Thorpe down knowing you will need them plus probably Duran and Balazovich. Probably need 8-10 starters to go 162 game schedule. 

Did I miss the Twins signing of Mike Foltynewicz? He is exactly the type of arm you should take a flyer on

I've been saying more or less the same thing since the Happ signing. If I had a choice between another starting pitcher ala Odo or a couple of quality relievers, I'd probably take the relievers at this point. Berrios is still only 27 - it's worth recalling that Gerrit Cole's breakout year was at age 27 - the year before he was 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA for Pittsburgh. Berrios for one can still get better.

If they are not picking someone else up then they will have to depend on the young arms to be productive because injuries happen to pitchers all the time.  Thorpe and Smeltzer did not look ready last year and Duran and Balazovic are likely on innings limits this year so if the Twins do have injuries we could be in trouble.  Hopefully they can bring in one more vet just in case.

I am guessing the reason for one year deals is they plan to use Duran, Balazovich and or Canterino next year?  Pineda and Happ could be gone next year and we don't know how Randy will do with a full season so there will most likely be plenty of room.

In my opinion, they need depth. Right now, everything is fine if nobody gets hurt. But somebody will. At that point, you don't want to be pushing Balazovic or Duran, ready or not. Ithe show they are ready OK. But if not, you need some kind of insurance,

Please give room for minor league prospects to pitch their way into the rotation for this year and the future.

I don't like the idea that the Twins must always have someone with a major-league track record for every slot. That's expensive and gives us a team of 30-somethings. The current squad is mostly home-built, and the next generation needs a chance to play soon.

Seems to me that Tanaka would have been worth 4 mill per year for two years which is what he got by going back to Japan?? 3.74 career era and an 8.5 K9 and was pitching in Yankee stadium. It seems strange that no one would give him 4 mill?

The rotation works as is right now, and should be a solid rotation.  I'd like to see Dobnak have a chance to right the ship, if not, he's a great bullpen addition.  Smeltzer and Thorpe would be alright options from St. Paul when needed.  It's hard to get excited about them though.  We also will have Bailey Ober, Bryan Sammons, and Griffin Jax with higher level experience than Duran and Balazovic.  Again, nothing to be excited about, except maybe Ober and Jax.  Sammons is a workhorse though.

Odds of both Duran and Balazovic studding out is pretty slim, but I'm ready to find out who they are in The Show.

We land one more starter, we'd be well insured.  We don't, we'd be relying on a lot of AAA and AAAA guys until Balazovic or Duran are ready, which isn't a guarantee.

So we're counting on:

1) Pineda being available for a full season,

2) Maeda continuing to be the pitcher we saw for 11 games last year, and not the 4 seasons prior

3) Berrios to avoid his annual late season fade

4) A revolving door at the 5th spot being productive

And if all of that shakes out in favor of the Twins they'll have a rotation that "isn't that bad, could be pretty good, but isn't top tier."

Yikes.

I don't tend to view a sinker as a positive. I don't want pitchers who intentionally put the ball in play.

I sort of agree, I mean I like the guys who can strike everyone out, al la Roger Clemens, etc.... But I'm thinking for me it kind of depends on what they are able to do with that sinker and what else they bring to the table. I mean Kyle Hendricks is a sinker ball pitcher and I'd love to see him in a Twins uniform. Not saying Dobnak will ever be Kyle Hendricks, but if he were able to do some of the things Hendricks does on a consistent basis then I'd be good with Dobnak. But that is a big "If"

I’m ok with a sinker ball pitcher that puts the ball in play, especially with the defense setting up the way it is.

Tanaka finished 3rd in Cy Young voting, has a consistent history, and is battle tested in post season. I cannot understand why a team wouldn't have thrown a 2 year/12 million contract offer at him, with the opt out after the first year, unless he is injured. In my uneducated opinion the Twins need a 1 or 2 caliber SP and a couple more helpers in the bullpen. Maeda was admittedly great last year, but seems possible it was an outlier. Berrios still struggles. I like Pineda but he is a 2 pitch pitcher, maybe a bullpen candidate. Happ? Hmm. I guess he's a lefty and just ok. Seems we have a lot of 3-4 types. That won't get it done in post season.