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A week ago, we ran our first Winter League report of the season (offseason?). Play had begun in Venezuela a couple of weeks earlier. The Dominican Winter League began Friday of a week ago. Last night the Puerto Rican Winter League began its schedule. We are still a couple of weeks from the start the Australian Winter League.Here is a quick look at how Twins players have started in their winter leagues. VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE The following players have played so far in Venezuela: Luis Arraez played five games this past week. He went 5-20 with a double. Overall, in 17 games, he is hitting .270/.288/.349 (.637) with three doubles and a triple in 63 at-bats. Niko Goodrum also played in five games this week for Caribes. He went 5-17 with two doubles and scored four runs. In 71 total at-bats, he is hitting .282/.350/.394 (.744) with six doubles and a triple. Heiker Meneses went 6-18 in his five games this past week. He had a double. In 15 total games and 51 at-bats, he is hitting .314/.375/.471 (846) with three doubles, a triple and a home run. Jairo Rodriguez played in four games this week. He went 4-9, which included a two-run double. In 12 total games and 34 at-bats, he is hitting .294/.300/.324 (.624) with the double and six RBIs. Reynaldo Rodriguez played in five games this week and went 5-12 with a double and a homer. Overall, he has 69 at bats in 18 games. He’s hitting .348/.384/.594 (.978) with three doubles, a triple, four homers and 14 RBIs. He will play for Colombia in the World Baseball Classic next spring. Wilfredo Tovar went 4-21 with two doubles over five games this week. In 18 games, he is already 25-75 and hitting .333/.383/.427 (.809) with seven doubles. Victor Tademo pinch ran once this week. He has played in four games, all pinch-running. He has one stolen base and scored a run. Omar Bencomo made one start this week. In it he gave up two runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out five. He has thrown 20.1 total innings in four stars. He is 1-0 with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Opponents are hitting just .234 off of him. He has two walks and 13 strikeouts. Lefty Nick Greenwood did well in his start. He gave up one run on three hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked none. In his three starts, he is 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. In his 14 innings, he has given up 14 hits, walked two and struck out seven. Opponents are hitting .269 off of him. Ryan O’Rourke pitched in three more games. He accumulated just 1.2 innings and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Overall, he has worked 3.2 innings in eight appearances.His ERA is north of 19 and his WHIP is approaching three. Left-handed batters are hitting just .143 against him. However, right-handers are hitting a robust .545 off of him. Edwar Colina pitched a scoreless inning in his only appearance to this point. He gave up two hits. In the DSL this year, he posted a 2.30 ERA in 58 innings. Of these players, Meneses, both Rodriguez’s, Tovar, Bencomo and Greenwood will likely all become free agents following the completion of the World Series. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Last week, the DSL was just one game old. This week, they put in a full week of action. Daniel Palka has now played in six games. He it hitting .240/.240/.240 (.480). He is 6-25 on the young season with no walks and seven strikeouts. Carlos Paulino has played in seven games and is 6-24. He is hitting .250/.250/.250 (.500). He can become a free agent at the end of the World Series. PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE The schedule started on Friday night. Juan Centeno went 0-5 last night for Tiburones de Aquadilla. Nelson Molina went 0-2 with a strikeout and a run scored. He is playing for Indios de Mayaguez. A quick glance at the league rosters shows that several Twins players are on rosters. It will be interesting to see who plays when, or if at all. On Molina’s Mayaguez roster are Jose Berrios, Kennys Vargas, and Eddie Rosario. Also, Dereck Rodriguez is on the roster. Hector Santiago, JJ Fernandez and Lean Marrero are on the Carolina roster. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE The ABL will begin in mid-November. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss these players and leagues. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins announced their first batch of cuts from spring training this afternoon. They reassigned five players to minor league camp. Infielders Engelb Vielma, Reynaldo Rodriguez, Heiker Meneses, catcher Alex Swim, and right-handed pitcher Jake Reed will report to the minor league facilities on Monday morning. More transactions are anticipated by the club Monday morning.There were no real surprises among the list of players reassigned. The surprise was that, at this time, the Twins have not officially optioned any players off of their 40-man roster. (Again, expect information on that to come on Monday) Reynaldo Rodriguez is leaving Twins spring training to join the WBC-Qualifying team from Colombia. He will most likely spend the season in Rochester again. Engelb Vielma had a solid showing in his first big league spring. Earlier in the day, he was awarded the organization's top defensive infielder award in the minor leagues. He is likely to spend the season in Chattanooga. Heiker Meneses spent all of last season in Chattanooga and is likely to return there. He played a lot of second base, though he played shortstop when Jorge Polanco was with the Twins or Red Wings. Alex Swim spent last season in Ft. Myers. He could go back there after missing time in the second half due to injury, though he is likely to spend time in Chattanooga as well in 2016. Jake Reed pitched a clean inning today and has been solid in his first big league camp. As Paul Molitor said after the game, it is his command that will need work. He should go back to Chattanooga to start the season, but he could surface in the big leagues late in the season. Feel free to discuss this group, and remember to check back tomorrow for more roster decisions. Click here to view the article