Penthang

I was initially surprised when I heard they had picked up a very mediocre reliever and Enlow was the 40 man victim. I understand he struggled after returning from surgery last year but that’s not terribly uncommon. I have to believe that either they know something that’s not obvious to us or that they plan to make him part of a trade package in the next few days.

That was a beautifully written recap of the feelings that a lot of us are likely having right now. For now I still have hope…for next year…and ready to be done with 2020. Pretty sure there are still a few breaking curves left for us this year though. Time to start dreaming on a 2021 season with minor league ball and fans in the stand. It’s a nice dream/hope.

On the record: Buxton will be the teams MVP this year and in the conversation for league MVP…and the Twins are loaded with candidates who could be in play for that title: Donaldson, Garver(if he plays enough games), Palanco, Sano, Kepler, and Berrios.

On the record: Buxton will be the teams MVP this year and in the conversation for league MVP…and the Twins are loaded with candidates who could be in play for that title: Donaldson, Garver(if he plays enough games), Palanco, Sano, Kepler, and Berrios.

This is a good list. The fact that I could make another list with three or four other names tells you just how good this team can be if everyone is going and stays healthy! Sano, Berrios, Arraez, and lets not forget a healthy Donaldson! I’d argue that you have to consider Rogers as already there.

If the season had started on schedule I would have picked Sano to take the belt this year and run with it.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s piece.

Based on last years results and the results so far in spring training it should be Dobnak’s nod to loose and he would be my choice. That being said, due to the fact that they would loose him if they don’t give him the spot, I think it will take very little for Chacín to win the spot. If he does, and Johnson can help him regain his previous form, this would be a steal. I see it as a two way race at this point. The time Thorpe lost will put him at AAA to start the season. Smeltzer, while doing ok so far, is just behind those two. Isn’t it nice to have a battle for the 5th spot between what could have been pitchers 1-4 in the rotation from a few years ago. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration but not a huge one.

I will be interested to see where Gordon gets playing time once the minor league season starts. My thoughts since Arraez came up have been that Gordon could replace González coming up.

I would think that once he finishes an inning he could be removed at any time following that since he has past one of the qualifiers to be removed and that starting another inning shouldn’t change that.

This front office has done a great job of shedding the dead money and avoiding putting themselves in a position to take on dead money. The team friendly deals they have signed have been with players who have upside and they’ve limited the potential amounts that injuries might cost them by being very selective with the multi year deals that they have been willing to give. That payed off this off season with the Donaldson signing. Does a buyout option also count as dead money…it should? It should also be pointed out that this front office is not totally averse to dead money. The previous front office would have kept Hughs and his contract taking up a spot on the major league roster until that contract expired. Also, it is my belief that between Bailey and Chacín whichever one is performing worse when Pineda returns will probably be released.

Backup in center field has been the one spot that has troubled me. If Buxton is ready at the start of the season and plays 135-140 games that would be awesome, but if he spends any significant time hurt, then they need some help. If Kirilloff, Larnach, or Celestino is ready then that would be ideal but if not then it would be great not to have to play Cave…guessing he’ll start the season in AAA anyway.

Chacín has the potential to slot in as a #2/3 if the coaching staff can help him figure it out. I look for Bailey to be the #5 guy and bumped for Pineda when he returns. That leave IL starts for Dobnak and company unless they push someone out of the rotation…which would be a great problem to have.

I think the front office has given the coaches a great staff to work with in both the regular season and the post season…now it’s on Baldelli, Johnson, and company to get the most out of them. I honestly don’t feel like a mid season addition from outside the organization will be necessary, Hill is that guy.

As Topgunn#22 said, this would be a fun review maybe on opening day and then quarterly through the season…especially since injuries can change a lineup a lot. ETwink, Hicks had Tommy John a couple months ago and probably won’t be much of a factor if he plays at all this season.