stringer bell

The trade of Ryan Doumit seems to make acquiring a veteran catcher a necessity. It would be best if the veteran hit lefty and was above-average defensively, but there aren't a lot of guys like that available.

I'm not saying Doumit is all that, but he has some value. A switch hitter with some power with a lifetime OPS+ of 106 and someone that can play some at catcher is not devoid of value. I think we tend to go with "what have you done for me lately?" and presume that the likes of Diamond, Worley, Hammer, Pelfrey, and Doumit are all doomed to regress even more from good years in the recent past. However, we Twins fans are willing to take on guys who were bad last year--Lincecum, Hughes, Johnson--because they were good sometime before.

Went to BB Ref and used their number for Willingham's (and Doumit's) two years with the Twins.

I appreciated Parmelee's efforts in right field. One question/thought: If he comes in about 20 lbs. lighter, would he be better, both in the field and at the plate? I now that he'll never be a fast runner and body types are body types, but Parmelee looked pretty dumpy in his uni.

According to espn, Gilmartin isn't on the 40-man roster. This means the Twins won't have to DFA anyone to put Pelfrey on the 40-man. Gilmartin, Albers, Diamond, and Johnson all look like the same guy to me.

I agree with those that don't fault Parm's defense. He is slow, no doubt. As his offensive struggles continued, he was less sharp in right field, but he on balance was decent out there. Yes, much like Cuddy, if he hits, no one will notice the lack of range. Whatever the metrics, I see a big difference between Parmelee and the likes of Doumit and Willingham. The Kubel that played left and right for the Twins fits between Parmelee and Hammer/DevilEyes.

Not a fan of Drew. I'd save the money (and draft choice) spent on Drew and go with Michael Young instead of Reynolds. I also don't see why Florimon would figure as a utility guy. I like Escobar in that role and think that he has a chance to get regular at-bats if someone falters.

It seems to me that Pinto has the basic tools to be a decent receiver. Where he needs work is in advanced skills such as pitch framing, calling a game, and working well with a pitcher. It would be nice to have a veteran to work with Pinto but Mauer and Steinbach can serve as mentors in "advanced receiving". Doumit is a decent switch-hitter who can fill in behind the plate. If he doesn't block Pinto or Arcia. I see no problem with him on the roster

Player A: 543 PAs, .812 OPS, 124 OPS+, 25 HR, 79 RBI Player B: 533 PAs, .745 OPS, 105 OPS+, 16 HR, 65 RBI Player A is the average for the Hammer in the last two years. Player B is Doumit, same calculation. My point is there may some hope for a bounceback for both players. The average of the past two years isn't bad at all, particularly Willingham.

IMHO, this is an acceptable stopgap scenario for 2014: Pinto starts every game vs. LH at catcher, Kubel starts every game at DH vs. RH pitching. Doumit catches about half the time vs. RH pitching and DHs most of the time vs. LH pitching. It would figure then that Doumit, Kubel, and Pinto would each start more than 100 games. That said, if the Twins can acquire a veteran catcher who is OK offensively and average defensively, go for it. I would put both Suzuki and Lobaton in that category.

My main concern about Deduno is injury. While he may be able to throw as soon as this spring, I wonder if he'll have the special movement he had on pitches that he had before his injury. Frankly, I don't know his injury history prior to coming up to the Twins, but we've seen "minor" injuries sap the effectiveness of Worley and Diamond after they had been successful pitching in the big leagues.

I want to see a rotation sometime next year with May, Meyer, Gibson, Pelfrey and Hughes. 6'5", 6'9", 6'6", 6'7", and 6'5". Like some wag said about a basketball team "they'll look impressive walking through airports".

The age thing. Colabello is 30 (he's older than Pelfrey) already. I'm no expert but the swing and his swing mechanics just don't look polished enough to hit big league pitching. Ever. Add to it that he is marginal at first base and doesn't belong anywhere else in the field, and you have a player who doesn't belong on a 40-man roster.

Lobaton had just a handful of ABs vs. lefties IIRC. I understood his defense to be pretty bad, but I would take average with average (for a catcher) offensive numbers. I thought the Whities had acquired him, but maybe that was just a rumor.

The Twins have acquired some off-the-chart bombs-Nishioka, Marquis, and (on last year) Worley. Some of that is probably their fault, but some of it is really rotten luck. I thought the club got lucky over and over late in the last decade (Span and a half season of Lexi for two position player examples) and they've seemed to be snakebit since. If there is anything to things evening out, they should get far above expected performance from someone.

I doubt that the Twins use only six or seven starters. Injuries and ineffectiveness will happen. If Ryan thinks the out-of-options guys can help then it is his job to find a way to keep them.

Colabello isn't anything more than an emergency fill-in. I can't see him ever starting a game at 3B. IMHO he can't hit major league pitching either.

Plouffe is still pretty young and he's only been a 3B for a bit over a year. I think he would be league average this year. Give him a chance to increase his value before Sano arrives.

I would give Parm another chance before cutting him loose. He played surprising well in RF last year and he's raked in the majors. Obviously this is his last chance.

I remember that the Twins optioned Jason Marquis after he missed most of spring training because of his daughter's injury. They had to get permission from the player to do so, and I believe they agreed to recall him on a certain date.

I actually doubt Dozier will run much at all this year if he is hitting in front of Mauer. I do not blame Gardy for keeping a leash on a guy with average success stealing in front of a three-time batting champion. Florimon will be hitting from the bottom of the order, so I would expect him to run a bit more, but he has to get on and that has proven difficult for Pedro.

My guess is Colabello, second guess is Mastroianni, then Albers.

I'll repeat my very weak endorsement of the Pelfrey signing: I predict Pelfrey will have better overall numbers next year than one of the three veteran free agents signed in the last two off-seasons. He also throws a mid-90s fastball and is younger than both Nolasco and Correia. The cost isn't that high and two years isn't forever.

I'd take Arroyo for two years. That would take one veteran off the books each year--Correia (2014), Arroyo (2015), Hughes (2016), and Nolasco (2017). It seems he would be a much safer option than Pelf and the change to the AL would be offset by pitching in a much more pitcher-friendly environment compared to the GAB in Cincy.

Team speed is a weakness for the current Twins. Their corner guys are slow and they have no regulars who have game-changing speed or much ability to steal bases. There are many candidates, but I don't know if there is one guy who is a clear-cut favorite to lead the 2014 Twins in stolen bases.