stringer bell

The Twins have plenty of prospects. They also have a wealth of back-of-the-rotation starters and bullpen arms. It can and should be done. I am not an expert, but I think the best course is to pry loose a good prospect for talent in an area where the Twins have more depth.

Turner and Young have versatility. I don't know if Polanco could be considered anything other than a 3B (I know he played second back in the day). Having a RH hitter to play first and another position would be nice, although it may end up being Plouffe.

I don't begrudge any free agent who signs elsewhere, including with a division rival. The first word here is free. For whatever reason the club and the player didn't extend their contracts. I remember both Torii and Cuddy making comments about checking out other teams after being with the Twins since they were teenagers. BTW, Nathan (Texas) and Hunter (Angels) both signed with Western Division teams--I wouldn't call that direct division rivals. If memory serves, Knoblauch forced a trade, something none of the other position players mentioned ever did.

Well, I say no to both Knoblauch and Gladden. Gladden wasn't that good for that long for Minnesota and Knoblauch has become another sad story with a lousy disposition. Cuddy should be a Hall-of-Famer without a doubt IMHO.

I met him in Cedar Rapids last year. Seems like a nice young man. I thought his English was pretty good. He is still very young. I hope he takes big steps forward this year.

Is it just me, or does Albers look like he could be Justin Morneau's little brother?

There is no reason to move Gilmartin to the 40-man unless he makes the 25-man roster, a real long shot to start the season.

Boom Boom's snark meter must need adjusting.

Defensively, I'd move Versalles down. He had great tools but made too many bad and unnecessary throwing errors. There was a very small window when he was a "steady" SS. I thought Cardenas was the best for a decent time increment--three years--and Hardy was fine but played only 2/3 of one year with the Twins. Until he suffered some injuries, Guzman was the whole package on defense. He was pretty steady but many a lot of "oh wow" plays as well. I think Smalley was very good, but lacked range. He had a very strong, true arm and positioned himself very well. The heavy legs betrayed him as time went on, but the Twins had him in his prime and he deserves to be highly considered. Bartlett was pretty good for a couple of years and Pat Meares was about average at everything.

I expected last year to be a transition season where "out with the old, in with the new" would happen. Some movement occurred, but it was late--Morneau and now Doumit are gone and the pitching staff has new faces--and the season was a gigantic mess. I am again expecting major changes this year. I expect that the starting staff will be sort of stable because of the guaranteed contracts for four of the projected starters, but Correia has to be a likely midseason or earlier trade candidate and whoever seizes the fifth spot will probably be switched out at some point. The Twins starters at third, center field, left field, DH and shortstop probably won't see another Opening Day with the club. I am hoping that a young potential-filled club will be on display by midseason or September 1 at the latest. Players who currently have less than one season--Arcia, Hicks, Pinto, Gibson--should be mainstays and we should know whether there is anything to Plouffe, Florimon, and Parmelee. If not, they should be gone and not coming back. Sano, for sure, should see his major league time and perhaps Rosario and Buxton, along with Alex Meyer on the mound. Guys at the end of their contracts--Willingham, Correia, Suzuki--should either be gone or re-upped. I don't want to see a holding pattern like most of last season was. I want the club to know what they have to pursue in Free Agency in order to contend until 2020.

Gagne is one of my top all-time Twins, but my eyes told me that Florimon (after a slow start in April) was better defensively than Gags, who many years after played here has now become the gold standard for defense (I don't recall that when he played here). I think Florimon was in the top quartile defensively and that is worth a lot. However, his offense is pretty bad. I hold out little hope for him ever becoming more than an acceptable #9 hitter (I'd guess a ceiling of .670 OPS). I agree that if the Twins are looking for Pedro's replacement, it should be somebody who will be hitting his peak in the years to come and it probably will have to come from outside the organization.

Here is the problem with every free agent signing. Drew crushed Florimon last year in all offensive facets except stolen bases. Will he next year? I can't say for sure, nor can anyone on this board--past performance doesn't guarantee future results (from one of the investments companies, I think) and it is true for baseball players as well. What is known is that players decline after age 30 and they suffer more injuries. Stephen Drew could defy these statistics, but given his position and his injury history, I doubt it. I don't think he'll be a good player when the Twins are good.

So, in total about 5 million for the three arb-eligible players. I think that's about right. Swarzak getting less than a million kind of surprises me, but the other two seem pretty close.

The story that Drew is willing to play other positions gets my attention. The Twins really need a LH bat to counterbalance the splits that Dozier and Plouffe have put up. If Drew were willing and able and the Twins concurred, perhaps he could play 60-80 games at third, another 20 or so at second, and twenty to thirty at short. If someone got hurt or quite hitting, Drew could claim that spot. I still don't think that Drew will be worth anywhere near the numbers being bandied about, but I don't deny that he is a far better hitter than two of the Twins starting infielders.

Rieder, what in my statement wasn't "entirely true"? You support Florimon and think that you he can improve his strikeouts so that he can improve his overall offense. My statement didn't say supporters thought he could win a Silver Slugger, just that he could improve with the bat.

To summarize this thread: Florimon supporters think he is very good defensively and can improve offensively. The detractors think he's pretty much what he is. Drew supporters point out his outstanding 2013 season on a championship team and note his good defensive metrics. I am not a Florimon backer, but I really think Drew will decline significantly and isn't worth the investment. While I don't buy a lot of projections, I don't trust 30+ shortstops and I don't like guys leaving Fenway for a lesser hitter's park.

All good choices. Perhaps you could add Parmelee and Plouffe, who have tantalized the fan base for a few years but haven't sustained the productivity of their "hot" streaks.

Did anyone else see Tom Powers picks for the Twins 25-man roster? He has Hicks, D. Robinson, Kubel, and Pinto all going north. No Parmelee, Colabello, Worley, or Deduno.

Parmelee is a better corner OF than either Arcia (at present) or Willingham (ever), plus he has some positional flexibility. I can't see him starting one game as a DH. If he makes the team, he's going to have to earn ABs. I like Parmelee (met him at ST, seemed to be a nice kid) and I thought his work converting to the OF was pretty good, but the guy has to hit to have a job with anybody. He's out of options, so it is fish or cut bait for Chris.

The crickets are chirping all over MLB. Delmon Young (on a minor league deal) was the biggest news yesterday, so no teams are making big moves right now. I wonder how long the price and years stay up for Morales and Drew. No one is biting at the prices those two are putting out there. To me, everyone is looking for a bargain with the guys who are rated as the top free agents. For some reason, I can't find the writeup on Drew that noted the projections for him were all way down. I remain hopeful that Ryan will do what he does best--acquire good talent from other teams--in trading a couple of out of options hurlers.

The Twins have spent money this off-season bolstering their starting rotation. They still apparently have money to spend. The consensus on this board is that they should sign at least one more free agent. Which one (if you can only pick one)?

Add Delmon Young, who just agreed to a minor league contract with a Spring Training invite.

As things stand today, Ryan will have to do something with his out-of-options guys. I presume that somebody will get dealt.

I really doubt the Twins break camp with more than 12 pitchers. They don't have post-surgical arms to protect, they have 5 off-days and they bought lots of innings with their free agent acquisitions. I'm old and I remember when 9 was the standard number of pitchers, then 10, then 11 and now 12. In a sport that changes slowly, it is amazing how the role of pitchers has changed.

What I can see (and grudgingly accept) is two utility infielders--Bartlett and Escobar--with Bartlett seeing quite a bit of duty as a quasi-platoon partner for Florimon. This would hinge on Bartlett hitting well enough against left handers to be considered an alternative as a pinch hitter against a left hander late in a game. Bartlett isn't a second or third baseman, but a shortstop can adapt at least marginally to the other infield positions as a second backup at both second and third. A left handed hitter to get at-bats at third and second would be optimal, but maybe there will be some improvement from Escobar. He at least has some youth on his side.