40 man roster

by drnkmn on Oct 10, 2006 5:23 AM EDT

With the announcement that Tiffee, Gassner and Jones have been released from the 40 lets see what everyone thinks about what new players they think should be added and compare it to which ones are added.

My list consists of the following:

Pitchers:
Glen Perkins
Oswaldo Sosa
Alexander Smit

Infielders:
Alexi Casilla
Matt Moses
David Winfree

Outfielders:
Denard Span
Trent Oeltjen

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The two...

...that are already on the 40-man roster are Casilla and Perkins. They were added prior to joining the team this year.

Moses, Span and Winfree are nearly locks to be added in late November when Mr. Ryan normally makes his one big move. Will clear other spots between now and then with Sosa, Smit and Oeltjen all likely to be added. What will be more interesting is who do they remove to clear another 4 spots (currently are at 38)to make room for them? Radke and Stewart will open up two, where will another 2-3-4-5 spots come from?

by roger @ Twinkie Town on Oct 10, 2006 8:17 AM EDT reply actions

They already removed three

I was announced yesterday that they removed Gassner, Tiffee and Jones. Of the three, Jones is the biggest surprise. I wouldn't be surprised if someone claims him off waivers. If no one claims him, he isn't likely to be drafted in the Rule 5.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on Oct 10, 2006 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Jones...

Justin Jones may have good stuff according to scouts, but at some point, you've got to prove you can get hitters out. Repeating A-ball this year (as a 21-year old), he only had 5.4 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9. His HR rate was 0.50 HR/9, but as I recall, the league average HR rate in the FSL is pretty low. I didn't really know he was doing this poorly, but given that, I'm not surprised to see that he's been left off the 40-man--we've got better prospects to protect.

He got 27 innings at AA, probably just to fill in for Perkins or something, and he got more strikeouts there, but his walk rate went all the way to 4.9 BB/9. I guess some teams might be desperate enough to claim him, but I'm not going to be worried if he's gone. He doesn't appear to have a relevant future in the bigs. And like you said, if he's not claimed off waivers, there's practically zero chance he'll be drafted in the Rule 5 draft. I'm not so sure he'd stick on some AAA rosters, let alone a MLB 25-man roster.

by ubelmann on Oct 10, 2006 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Demotion

He started out at New Britain, which was a promotion he earned due to his stellar season at Fort Myers in 2005. But for some unknown reason, he was demoted in May. Some say it was a conflict with Ingram, which is fairly common. Ingram's the weak link int he orgnization, IMO (never had a winning season as a minor league manager despite top talent at every stop). Anyway, Jones didn't take his demotion well, and pitched like JC Romero for the rest of the year. Not to make excuses for him, but a 21 year old left hander with his stuff should be treated better than he was this year.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on Oct 10, 2006 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Actually...

...saying he pitched like Romero is a bit weird. 5 K/9 is Joe Mays territory, not J.C. Romero territory.

Not to make excuses for him, but a 21 year old left hander with his stuff should be treated better than he was this year.

It's tough to say who's at fault when there are player-manager run-ins in the minors. His performance really didn't really justify any sort of special treatment, though.

by ubelmann on Oct 10, 2006 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

I guess the relevant numbers I had in mind had to do with control. The official line was that he was not throwing enough strikes despite decent numbers at AA. He actually went backwards in that department after the demotion. If he had taken the demotion like Bartlett, he would likely still be on the 40 man. But he moped and pitched poorly. So he'll have to earn his way back on, if he's not claimed off waivers (unlikely) or selected in the Rule 5 (highly ulikely). Jay Sawatski deserves it much more than Jones. I would not have proedicted that prior to 2006.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on Oct 10, 2006 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions

He also had...

...some arm problems after he went back to Ft. Myers. There also was a concern at New Britain that he wasn't able to get much further than the 5th inning in most of his starts at New Britain.

by roger @ Twinkie Town on Oct 11, 2006 7:27 AM EDT up reply actions

That makes sense...

Given the high numbers of strikeouts and walks he was getting at AA, he was probably throwing tons of pitches per inning.

by ubelmann on Oct 11, 2006 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions

More spots

Nevin and White are both free agents. That brings the current roster down to 36 assuming they don't resign either one of them before the December draft.

by TT @ Twinkie Town on Oct 10, 2006 10:58 AM EDT reply actions

Yep...

not to mention Lew Ford.

I think in the end we'll be adding almost all of those guys to the 40 man. IE we'll have a LOT of spots opening up.

by djskilbr on Oct 10, 2006 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

White

I really hope we bring White back.

"Baseball is great because you can't take a knee or kill the clock. You have to put the ball over the plate and give the other guy his damn chance." C Stengel

by AdamOnFirst on Oct 10, 2006 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Others.....

Silva may be gone.....

Heintz and Garrett Jones are on the bubble....

Romero or Span....take a choice...but I doubt that the Twins will keep both.

Same with Rabe....he stays or goes and is replaced by Oeltjen.

by twintown on Oct 10, 2006 1:12 PM EDT reply actions

Jay Sawatski on the bubble

I figure he's on the AFL roster to help them make a decision on whether to add him to the 40 man. But lefty relievers with the kind of numbers he put up at AA get plucked off the Rule 5 every year. They're the easiest arms to hide on a 12-man staff for a full year.

To refresh:

75 IP 22 BB 69 K 3 HR 2.87 ERA 1.21 WHIP

My guess is he takes Jones' spot on the 40 man.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on Oct 10, 2006 2:43 PM EDT reply actions

Without taking...

...a really in-depth look at who needs to be protected, I'd think you're right that it's very likely Sawatski makes it on the 40-man roster. By the numbers, he looks even better than Andy Sisco did when he was taken by the Royals in the Rule 5. Someone will almost surely take him if he's exposed.

by ubelmann on Oct 10, 2006 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Okay...looking over the Twins current roster.

Two open spaces because of Tiffee, Gassner and J.Jones being gone.

Radke will retire.

Stewart and White will become free agents.

Phil Nevin will create an opening.

The bubble is out on Carlos Silva. Doubt he'll be abck unless it's cheaper than 4.5 million. I would rather risk the inexperience of a prospect than do Carlos and his Hummer again.

Ford and Tyner are both arbitration eligible. Eitehr could be cut loose, but then you can't resign (the evils of arbitration...you pay or you lose).

Do you keep Rabe and Romero, or go with others like Oeltjen and Span...now. Who will help out next season if the need arises for an outfielder.

Is Rodriguez necessary? Can he be repalced by anyone?

Heintz is okay as that minor league backup, but you can find similar players easily, so no reason to protect him. Yes, you need someone to come up if (heaven forbid) Mauer or Redmond go down. But Heintz is not necessary to 40-man.

And what do the Twins do with Garrett Jones?

Some of the Twins minor league guys on the bubble are Kevin West, Beau Kemp, Glenn Williams, Andres Torres, who will probably find work in another system.

by twintown on Oct 10, 2006 2:53 PM EDT reply actions