stringer bell

It won't be that way and shouldn't be that way in this instance. Santana is out of options and will be playing for the Twins in the major leagues or traded. He certainly won't make it through a DFA. Jorge Polanco is not being blocked by Danny Santana. The Twins don't want and even younger guy with a considerable upside to be a bench player.

"You never know what you're gonna get" (from Forrest Gump), this little witticism also applies to baseball players. Every front office projects what their prospects will become, but it is never a sure bet. Consider two current Minnesota Twins: Brian Dozier came to the Twins as a shortstop, thought to be fundamentally sound in the field, but without great tools. As a hitter, he had never hit below .274 and never exceeded nine homers in a season, with his top year yielding at .320 average in a year split between advanced A ball and AA. Typical middle infielder profile. Sometime in 2013, the scouting report changed--Dozier has become a second baseman and a guy with a low batting average, but with the most extra base sock for his position in major league baseball. It could be argued that from the start of 2014 (or perhaps midseason of 2013) until the All-Star break in 2015 that Dozier put together elite numbers based on his power numbers. Overall, despite the low batting average and middling overall OBP, Dozier has established himself as a hitter based on his extra-base hits. Since 2013 he has compiled 105 doubles and 69 homers from second base. Now, lets look at Oswaldo Arcia: Coming through the system, the most used comp for Arcia was Bobby Abreu, a fine hitter with some power. Arcia hit his way throught the minors, always as a young player for the league. He topped out at 17 homers in 2012, splitting his season between A+ and AA and hitting a combined .320. As a Twin, Arcia has become a true home run threat, hitting 34 homers (including some prodigious long balls) in under 800 plate appearances in 2013 and 2014. However, the batting average and more importantly strike zone discipline have diminished dramatically. Both players have increased their power numbers at the highest level, but lost something in the transition. Dozier hasn't cracked .250 for batting average and this season set the club strikeout record. Arcia's K percentage is much higher than Dozier's and he seldom takes a free pass, in fact this year for the Twins Arcia didn't get a non-intentional walk (65 PAs). I think the Twins would be happy if both Dozier and Arcia became more complete hitters, even if it costs a few home runs. In Arcia's case, I think his time in Minnesota will end if he doesn't modify his approach (and results), while with Dozier, becoming someone who uses the whole field more often would be an adjustment to the adjustments that major league pitchers have used on him.

I don't know how much things have changed since the Gardy era, but regulars were regulars and the bench guys were the ones who had to be versatile. As far as Santana backing up third base, I do think the Twins should look at him there in ST. If they keep Plouffe, it likely won't be an issue, of course. Ditto for the outfield. Both Hicks and Rosario played a lot in right last year, so Santana probably wouldn't have to play that position. Robinson played 36 innings there in '15 and he was the fourth OF. FWIW, if a guy can capably play short, it should be relatively easy to adjust to third and we all know Santana has plenty of arm for any infield position. The same with transitioning from center to a corner.

Perhaps Santana's struggles last year explain some of Terry Ryan's apparent affection for middling veterans. I predicted last year that at least one of the Twins' partial season break-outs (Santana, Vargas, or Arcia) would spend time in the minors in 2015. Unfortunately, all three did. I will make the same prediction for the 2015 class-Rosario, Sano, and Duffey. One of those three will get optioned at some point in 2016. It is the nature of the game of baseball and it is also why there needs to be a backup plan for players until they are fully established. Specific to the case of Santana, he can't get down on himself and needs to play free and easy like he did in 2014. Maybe, knowing that his role will be as a utility player going in will help. He showed he can be far better than he played this past season, so there is potential, but he has to play with confidence to approach that potential.

If Kepler and Buxton start the season in the minors, there might be considerable outfield time available for Santana. Has he ever played left or right? If he were capable in left, he could essentially be the fourth outfielder in addition to getting some starts at second and short, maybe even third. I can actually see a bench with both Nuñez and Santana on it. He's not proven in any respect, but he has tools and he sustained his over-his-head performance for over 100 games last year. He should get a lot of rope before the Twins give up on him.

I don't think 2014 should be forgotten, but it should be put in perspective. Split the difference between 2014 and 2015 and you have a fairly decent young player. Regarding his OF defense, by the end of the season last year, I thought Danny was pretty good, especially for his limited experience.

Utility IF/OF. If he hits, he could be the next Ben Zobrist, or going further back Toni Phillips. I also think the yoke of "regular SS" was too much for him. Let him fill in and if he hits, find a place for him almost every day.

I disagreed with retiring both Hrbek's and Blyleven's numbers. I would disagree with retiring Torii's as well, but he is a Twins Hall of Famer for sure. Congratulations to Hunter on a fine career.

Should have changed that moniker to "Mike wants wins Now!". Sorry, Mike. Couldn't resist.

Why did the Twins improve in 2015? Defense is the biggest reason. These proposals weaken the defense everywhere but catcher. I support improving the defense at catcher, first and foremost. Moving Rosario from a position where he is good/outstanding to a position where he would be a novice makes no sense. Plouffe's best position is undoubtedly third base and so far Sano's position is also at the hot corner.

Keeping Plouffe and re-signing Hunter means no meaningful role for Arcia and a too-easy demotion of Hicks or Rosario if/when Buxton is deemed ready and one of the two slump or struggle. I suspect that Santana's utility role is already written in, perhaps in ink. If the Twins limit their number of pitchers and outfielders, there is a place for Eduardo Nuñez, for what that is worth. On the pitching front, I liked the Cotts move and while he had some bad outings, they were mostly in one-sided games IIRC. Having one veteran middle innings guy is probably a good thing. The problem was that the Twins carried three or four all season in 2015. I pretty much agree with Molitor's view on Berrios. I don't expect him to break camp with the Twins, but would be surprised if he isn't in the majors to stay well before the All-Star break.

Buxton's time on the DL is major league service time. I believe he has somewhere around 92 days of service. The arbitration number is based on a certain percentage of players between two and three years of service and changes each year. The 2.130 is an estimate, I'm guessing the number will be closer to 2.140.

With Santana being out of options, he becomes a favorite for utility duty. He played outfield a lot for the Twins in 2014 and played second base in the lower minors. I expect that he'll get some looks at third and the corner outfield spots in Spring Training.

Goodrum has the tools--speed, enough arm, power (especially for a middle infielder), but he hasn't demonstrated the ability to hit for average. It seems to me that both Michael and Goodrum have a good chance to make it to "the show", if not with the Twins, then with another team.

According to mlb.com, Santana's contract was selected in November, 2012 and he was optioned to New Britain in March of 2013. The way I read it, he has used three option seasons, so he wouldn't have any options remaining. Is it possible that he still would have one option remaining?

Re: DSantana It doesn't matter when he debuted, does it? When was he added to the 40-man? An option was used in '14 and another in '15. Was he on the 40-man in 2013?

While Hicks had one outstanding stretch of hitting, I would say that he looked the part of a major league hitter all year. It seemed that he should have been getting more hits early and late, but made up for it with that torrid midseason stretch. Considering the entire season, he was much improved, but not quite even an average hitter. No one talked much about his struggles in the second half of the season because first Hunter, and then Plouffe and Dozier had notable swoons. Hicks' problems seemed minor next to the slumps by those players.

My prediction on the first day of the off-season was that Arcia gets a last shot in right field, while Hicks starts the season in center, with Buxton and Kepler cooling their heels in Rochester. I just don't think the club wants to give up on Arcia (nor should they) and I do think that some AAA time will benefit Buxton.

Aaron Hicks looked and played like a major league player in 2015. That is a big step forward for him. I have said for a while now that I don't believe he can hit enough to be an everyday corner outfielder and I still am of that opinion. The best use for Hicks is to be traded for value.

First of all, what a great conversation about an important topic. Velocity is not a be-all and end-all or Jim Hoey would have been a good pitcher and Mike Pelfrey would have been the Twins' best starter this year. My opinion is that the Twins have overvalued walk suppression to the point that they've ruled out guys with strikeout potential. There has been an adjustment to that view, but the question is whether they've adjusted enough. Moving on with Rick Anderson is probably a key to adjusting their philosophy, but converting the guys in the starting rotation to strikeout machines is not happening. As transition occurs, it will be interesting to see how the strikeout totals evolve. There is no place to go but up.

I really liked what May did in the bullpen. Given the issues the club had there, I would vote for him to be the eighth inning guy next year. IMHO, it is unwise to try to sign Torii Hunter for another year. I would rather give Oswaldo Arcia a last shot, with Buxton and Kepler waiting in the wings. I think the timing is right to trade Plouffe. In the rotation, my opening day projection is Hughes, Santana, Nolasco, Gibson, MIlone with Duffey waiting in the wings. Berrios starts in AAA. The Twins had a lousy year hitting last year. I expect improvement even if there isn't much fresh blood in the lineup.

At midseason, Dozier had been an extra-base machine for over two years. He fell off big-time after the break, but he deserved to be an All-Star this season FWIW.

I agree with this. IMHO, Dozier should have been the team MVP for the last three years. That said, it is unlikely that he'll be the team MVP again with the duo of Buxton and Sano likely to dominate the award for the next decade. There is a lot to admire about Brian Dozier, and it is more than his hair. He made adjustments to become an outstanding player and it appears he will have to continue to adjust if he wants to remain in that class.

Eye test: Hicks is decent in center field, but not exceptional. He goes side-to-side and in very well, but isn't that good going back. I know he has a strong arm, but I wouldn't classify that part of his game as exceptional either. Hitting: He looked like a big leaguer this year, still not an offensive asset. Certainly he's the most improved position player.

Respectfully disagree with your panel. Sano was awesome at the plate, but that is only one facet of the game (albeit a large one). Rosario filled up the stat sheet over 80% of the season, as compared to 50% for Sano. I give the Rookie of the Year to Eddie Rosario.