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When news came out that Joe Mauer was retiring and there would be a Monday morning press conference (11:00 central time), many took to social media to pay tribute to Joe Mauer's career. Fans weren't the only to do so, but several current and former teammates shared their well wishes for Mauer. Many simply retweeted the Twins tribute to Mauer. Below you will find many of these tributes. If you have seen others, please share in the comments below.Former Twins Phil Hughes: Dick Bremer: https://twitter.com/dbremer_pxp/status/1061057785142673410 Cory Provus: https://twitter.com/CoryProvus/status/1061067009369260032 Adam Weber: https://twitter.com/Adam_Weber8/status/1061058301717344256 Michael Young: https://twitter.com/MikeyY626/status/1061054893144895490 Morgan Hawk: https://twitter.com/Morgan_Hawk/status/1061330555533492224 Rocco Baldelli: https://twitter.com/roccodbaldelli/status/1061666224797597696 Jamie Hersch: https://twitter.com/...364850373337089 Dustin Morse: https://twitter.com/...046939658137607 This list will continue to be updated as other online tributes are discovered. If you are aware of one, please include them in the comments below. Click here to view the article

On Monday morning, the Minnesota Twins made several very telling roster decisions.The Twins optioned catcher Drew Butera. They also reassigned catcher Dan Rohlfing, infielders Ray Olmedo and Jeff Clement, and outfielder Brandon Boggs. The roster is now at 31. The news is good for outfielder Wilkin Ramirez.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There is really just one more offensive, Opening Day roster spot that is up for grabs. Drew Butera had an option remaining, so he was sent to Rochester. This means that the Twins must be comfortable with Eduardo Escobar as an emergency catcher. More proof of that, the Twins also demoted Jeff Clement, who has not caught much in the last couple of years, but was drafted as a catcher. Dan Rohlfing was not going to make the roster, but he did have a very strong showing. Brandon Boggs was another possibility for the 25th man job. Earlier this morning, Ken Rosenthal tweeted that a lot of teams really would like Butera, but that the Twins prefer to stash him at Rochester for when needed. This basically means that Wilkin Ramirez will be the 25th man unless the Twins decide to go with 13 pitchers. Ramirez was once a prize prospect of the Detroit Tigers and has spent big league time with the Tigers and the Braves. He showed terrific power in Rochester last year and had a very strong big league camp. He will be the fifth outfielder, but primarily, he will be a pinch hitter. The moves really leave just a couple more roster decisions to be made. They are on the pitching side of things. There are 18 pitchers left in camp, but that includes Rafael Perez and Rich Harden, who have only pitched bullpens to this point. Tim Wood will begin on the Disabled List. Samuel Deduno also suffered a groin injury in the WBC championship game. We know that Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing and Casey Fien are the givens. Rule 5 choice, Ryan Pressly, appears to be a lock as he has had a very good spring training. So, it really comes down to Alex Burnett, Tyler Robertson, Josh Roenicke and PJ Walters for two spots. Robertson would the the left-handed option, should they go that direction. He does have two options remaining. Alex Burnett really struggled this spring, and he has one option remaining. Josh Roenicke threw 80+ innings for the Rockies a year ago, and he is out of options. PJ Walters could be competing for the fifth starter job (unlikely) as well as a long-relief job, but he is on a minor league contract. Opening Day is one week away! We're getting close now! View full article

There are Top 10 lists for everything: prospect lists, all-time greatest Philly cheese steaks. Today, I thought I’d work on a similar theme, but instead, I’m going to make it a Top 11 list. Below, I will post, in order, the Top 11 Minnesota Twins players that could be traded in the next 23 hours. Number 11 is the one I would say is least likely (as of right now), and the Number 1 player is the one I would assume is most likely to be traded. Of course, guessing what will happen is a lot of fun.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Twins GM Terry Ryan and his staff will actually have to make real-life decisions on these players, considering what the team can get in return from various teams. So, put yourself in the GM’s seat. Who would be your Top 11 (or 10, or 6, or whatever) players that you think the Twins will trade? If you want, who are the Top 10 or 11 that you think the Twins should trade? I have included a “Percent-Likelihood” for each player. Although I have 11 players listed, the odds of most of them being traded is pretty small. Let’s start with a drum roll, please… (Disclaimer: These are the thoughts of Seth Stohs and not necessarily representative of the thoughts of other Twins Daily writers, the Twins themselves, or any other parties.) #11 – Kevin Correia – 1.9% – Yes, his April was terrific, as it has been in the past, but Correia has come back down to earth each month since then. When he signed with the Twins, I was comfortable with bringing him in, even though no one (myself included) understood the need for a second year. To Correia’s credit, he has been a workhorse. Even with his short start last weekend, he is on pace for over 190 innings. Innings may be very important to the Twins the next two months. #10 – Trevor Plouffe – 2.4% – He had a tremendous 4-6 week stretch for the Twins last season. He’s been more consistent this year. There is a certain Dominican third base prospect chomping at the bit for big league playing time as early as next year (Miguel Sano, not Deibinson Romero). I’d be surprised if there is a lot of interest in Plouffe, and the Twins would be silly to trade him right now. Who knows? He could be the team’s first baseman from June, 2014 forward. #9 – Casey Fien – 6.7% – The Twins signed Fien to a minor league deal before the 2012 season. Since he was promoted to the Twins halfway through last season, he has been one of baseball’s best relief pitchers. Should the Twins trade him while he’s pitching at his peak, or should they plan on him being an 8th (or 9th) inning guy for the next few years? #8 – Josh Roenicke – 8.4% – The Twins claimed Roenicke in the offseason when the Rockies did not tender him a contract. He has been solid, for the most part, with the Twins this year. Listen, he may not have a lot of value, but teams want reliever depth at this time of the year. The Twins have Michael Tonkin waiting in Rochester for an opportunity. #7 – Glen Perkins – 9.1% – Perkins is clearly the big fish. There are a lot of great reasons to trade him, the most important being that he is the one player they could demand a premium for. However, he is also under contract for a few more years at a very reasonable dollar value. He is from Minnesota. He has been quite dominant since moving to the bullpen. How quickly can the Twins contend? That is the question. Will anyone be willing to overwhelm the Twins' GM? #6 – Brian Duensing – 15.8% – When teams call and they can’t (or say they can’t) give up what the Twins want for Perkins, they may still be interested in this veteran Twins reliever. It’s been a frustrating season for Duensing, and for some reason his best trait, his ability to get left-handed hitters out, has disappeared. But, he’s got too much of a track record of success against lefties not to garner some interest. #5 – Drew Butera – 17.4% – This one may come as a surprise to many, but Drew Butera has value in the industry. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not going to fetch a top prospect. It likely would be a prospect few of us have even heard of. However, teams love having a great defensive catcher as their backup. Drew Butera is elite, and there may be a team out there willing to part with a little something to have him as their #2 or #3 catcher. #4 – Justin Morneau – 20.3% – Sentimentality may win with this one. Terry Ryan likely knows that he won’t get much for Morneau in the trade market. Morneau has had a terrific career with the Twins and has long been a fan favorite. So, the little bit that they may receive for two months of his service has to be weighed against what he can bring to the Twins for those two months. The casual fan will not be happy if the Twins trade Morneau for a couple non-prospects, but it may be the right thing to do. #3 – Jared Burton – 22.9% – With a hat tip to 1500 ESPN’s Brandon Warne, it should be pointed out that after a bad stretch, Burton has again become very good. As Warne tweeted earlier, in his “last 11 outings (9.1 IP) - .393 OPS allowed, 0 ER). That is much more reminiscent of what he did in 2012, and what he has done throughout his career… when healthy. He’s signed for one more season at a reasonable rate, which could entice some. #2 – Mike Pelfrey – 24.8% - Pelfrey is set to pitch for the Twins tonight when they open a series with the Kansas City Royals. The right-hander really struggled the first two months, but as Nick Nelson showed us last Friday, he has been terrific since the beginning of June. In seven starts, he has posted a 3.35 ERA and a 29/9 K/BB rate. He isn’t striking out many, but he’s gaining velocity, movement and command. The Twins signed him for just this season. He has the makings of a great mentor for the young pitchers coming up through the minors, but if the Twins can get something for him now, they should shop the Boras client who could be in line for a decent pay raise next year. #1 – Jamey Carroll – 52.1% – There’s little question in my mind that Jamey Carroll will (or at least should) get traded. He is the consummate professional and is a leader on any team. He has played in fewer than half the Twins games this year and because of that, his offensive numbers don’t look very good. But, he is what he is. He puts together solid plate appearances, works pitchers, and he plays terrific defense anywhere around the infield. There has to be a contender looking for some infield depth, and a guy who understands his role. His role on a contender would likely be similar to what it is with the Twins. It wouldn’t cost much for a team to acquire Carroll. In fact, maybe it would just be a Low A reliever, or cash, but it would be good to put Carroll on a team with a chance to win. I can see Cleveland being a realistic landing spot by the end of the day tomorrow. So, there you have it. My Top 11 most-likely-to-be-traded-in-the-next-23-hours Minnesota Twins ranking. It is, of course, subject to change tonight and throughout the day Wednesday as new rumors and opinions present themselves. I’d love to see your thoughts, and your rankings. As you can see, my percent-likelihood of most of these guys being traded is pretty small. View full article

Several minutes after the 3:00 central time trade deadline, reports trickled in that the Minnesota Twins had traded catcher Drew Butera to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reports indicate that the Twins will receive the ever-popular Player to be Named Later. As of now, that will mean the Twins have opened up a spot on their 40 man roster. The Twins were unable to complete any other trades before the July 31 deadline passed. I have a feeling that the Twins will be more busy in August. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In the coming days, and throughout August, the Twins and other teams will place many (most?) of their players on waivers. Players who pass through waivers can still be traded. Back to Butera-- although he proved he can't hit enough to be a starting catcher, his defense was terrific. He'll likely fill a similar role with the talented Dodgers team. View full article

It is now late May, and the Twins season is at a crossroads. The team has lost eight straight games as it embarks on a four-game series in Detroit against the Tigers. The season is in flux, and right now the roster, specifically the starting rotation, is in flux. Before tonight's game, the Twins will add Samuel Deduno to their 40 man roster and then their 25 man roster. Most likely, Tim Wood will be put on the 60 day disabled list. Following another poor performance on Thursday, the Twins optioned RHP Vance Worley to AAA Rochester. That leaves an open spot on the 25-man roster and the need for a 5th starter on Monday. So, who will it be?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I present to you the three options with their numbers: RHP Kyle Gibson is 3-5 with a 3.25 ERA. In 52.2 innings, he has allowed 46 hits, walked 14 and struck out 46. Opponents are hitting .240 against him. RHP PJ Walters is 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA. In 54.1 innings, he has allowed 55 hits, walked 16 and struck out 46. Opponents are hitting .271 against him. LHP Andrew Albers is 1-2 with a 2.34 ERA. In 42.1 innings, he has allowed 41 hits, walked 12 and struck out 40. Opponents have hit .255 off of him. All three have pitched well and a case could be made for each. Quite possibly the biggest advantage for Gibson is his first-round pedigree. However, the bigger disadvantage to Walters and Albers is that they are not on the 40 man roster. The question often is asked: who could the Twins take off their 40 man roster to make room for either of them? Well, assuming Wood goes on the 60 Day DL, they do not have another player eligible to put there (the DL). So, the team would have to DFA (designate for assignment) someone to make room for Monday's starter. It's never fun to look at who could be made available for other teams to claim, but if you think Walters or Albers is the right guy, it's an exercise that needs to be done. Here are some candidates: Joe Benson - His name has been mentioned as a possible DFA candidate. After an injury-plagued 2012 season, Benson has struggled to keep his batting average above .200 this spring with Rochester. He will be out of options next season, but because of his immense athletic talents, I believe that he would be claimed and lost. Drew Butera - The much-maligned backup catcher who plays tremendous defense but can't hit his weight is another name that people mention. He broke his wrist and hasn't played, though he should be getting into games soon. If there is a time that he could go unclaimed, it might be now. Cole De Vries - The 28-year-old Minnesotan was on the Opening Day roster, but he went on the disabled list. In his three rehab starts and one Red Wings start, he has really struggled. I think he would clear waivers and could be kept in Rochester. Liam Hendriks - Though it appears that the Twins brass has soured on the Australian right-hander, he's just 24 years old and until this year has been terrific at each minor league level. He is now on the Rochester disabled list. There is no question that he would be claimed if made available. BJ Hermsen - Last year Hermsen was the Twins minor league starting pitcher of the year, and was very good in 2011 as well. Last year, he got outs and pitched very well in New Britain. This year, after going to big league camp, he was hurt. He has now made a handful of starts and struggled to regain his 2012 form. Although he doesn't have great velocity, he has two option years left, size and smarts. I think he would be claimed, but it might be more 50/50. Chris Herrmann - Another is Herrmann. A year ago, or even earlier this spring, I would have said that was crazy. Now I don't think it's quite as unlikely. The Twins have five catchers on the 40 man roster. Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit aren't going anywhere. Josmil Pinto has proven the team wise in keeping him. Herrmann is off to a slow start in his first AAA season. He can catch. He can play multiple positions and thus gives flexibility. He won't hit for average, but until his slow start, he has generally walked quite a bit and hit some doubles. I think he would be claimed. Wilkin Ramirez - With Chris Colabello on the roster, the Twins have a right-handed bat off the bench. However, as the roster is currently set up, Ramirez is the backup centerfielder making it unlikely he would be made available now. I think he would clear waivers if or when they make him available. So, there are some candidates for removal from the 40 man roster if the Twins believe that PJ Walters or Andrew Albers is the right man to bring up now. It's been a rough season so far. We are just starting to see some transactions, and I anticipate we will see several more. View full article