SHS' forward thinking blueprint (#327)

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Sep 16, 2011 11:09 PM EDT

I know there are several people's ideas and assertions on the direction this team is heading in lately, and thats GOOD, I think we have one of the better (not best) Fan bases in Baseball screw the nation and the universe (Sox and Yanks respectivley)

here is my personel heading into S.T. next season.

*the Josh Johnson dream is dead as several officials and sources have kindly let me know thats not likely to happen.

2012

CF - Denard Span (hopefully he'll end Sept. of this year on a good note and have an ok S.T. next year)

2B - Alexi Casilla

C - Joe Mauer

DH - Jason Kubel (I think Cuddy and Kubel will both end up Type B and we get Kubel a bit cheaper)

1B - Justin Morneau

3B - Danny Valencia

RF - Chris Parmelee (rotation thing between Kubs, Morny and Chris)

LF - Ben Revere

SS - Adieny Hechavarria (*rookie)

Bench:

C - Drew Butera

UTL. - Willie Bloomquist (FA pickup)

2B/3B - Luke Hughes

SS - Tsuyoshi Nishioka

Others on 40-man roster

AAA OF – Joe Benson

AAA OF – Trevor Plouffe

AAA UTL. – Brian Dinkelman

AAA C --- Danny Lehmann

AAA 2B – Yangarvis Solarte

AAA SS – Brian Dozier

AAA INF – Matt Tolbert

Pitching Rotation

SP – Scott Baker

SP – Francisco Liriano

SP – Kevin Slowey

SP – Carl Pavano

SP – Johan Santana (Mets essentially pay us to take him back)

CL – Joe Nathan (agreed to 2.5M buyout than brought back for 2 yrs. $15M)

RP – Glen Perkins

RP – Lester Oliveros

RP – Michael Wuertz (FA pickup)

RP – Brian Duensing

RP – Carlos Gutierrez (*rookie)

LR – Anthony Swarzak

Others on 40-man roster

AAA – SP Scott Diamond

AAA – SP Liam Hendriks

AAA – RP Jim Hoey

AAA – RP Phill Dumatrait (brought back on minor league deal)

AAA – RP Kyle Waldrop

AA – SP/RP David Bromberg

Extended Spring P – Kyle Gibson

AA – SP Alex Wimmers

Rest of the:

AAA Rochester Red Wings Roster

SP – Eric Hacker

SP – Bobby Lanigan

SP/RP – Cole DeVries/ Deolis Guerra (I think 1 gets cut)

RP – Anthony Slama

RP – Steven Hirshfeld

RP – Alex Burnett

RP – Tyler Robertson

3B – Ray Chaing

1B – Aaron Bates

C – Jair Fernandez

OF – Brandon Roberts

OF – Dustin Martin

OF – Mark Dolenc

1) We Trade the Canadian Born Rene Tosoni to the Blue Jays for SS prospect Adieny Hechavarria

2) We Trade Jeff Manship, Jose Mijares & Angel Morales to the Mets for J. Santana and $ 5M

3) We try to dump Pavano to any takers (Royals?) but were unsuccesfull

4) We were able to barely afford Kubel, but lose Cuddyer to big money spender

5) We get Nathan slightly Cheaper

6) We signed Willie Bloomquist, Michael Wuertz, Phil Dumatrait and Gulliermo Mota (last 2 to Minor Lg. Deals) while letting Matt Capps, Jason Repko, Michael Cuddyer, Jim Thome, Chase Lambin, Jeff Bailey all sign elsewhere.

To me on paper this looks like a very good baseball team, but also a very fragile one. Will we be the MOST beligned and malcontent team in the League for the 2nd consecutive year? Or just somewhere in the middle of the pack?

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Comments

Hechavarria is a very good defensive SS who may provide some offensive production

may cost a bit more to pry away from the Jays who have Yunel Escobar as their SS.

With a healthy Casilla and Morneau in 1 years time we could turn one of the worst defenses in baseball to one of the best. Seriously

Liriano, Mijares, Angel Morales, & Anthony Swarzak for Josh Johnson and Brad Hand

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Sep 16, 2011 11:16 PM EDT reply actions

Healthy Morneau might be like a purple unicorn

by DJL44 on Sep 17, 2011 8:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Hechavarria, despite his offensive shortcomings, will require more than Tosoni

Tosoni is basically AAA filler, there’s no reason why the Jays would trade a prospect who may have some value for a corner outfielder that can’t hit.

No doubt we are banking on the healthy returns of basically everybody, but an offseason where basically the only move we make is to take on Johan Santana’s contract would stink on ice.

by JTW on Sep 17, 2011 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions

why the long face

Liriano, Mijares, Angel Morales, & Anthony Swarzak for Josh Johnson and Brad Hand

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Sep 19, 2011 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions

What are you doing with Blackburn?

and I really wish we could upgrade Butera.

by Caleb A on Sep 17, 2011 1:10 AM EDT reply actions

AAAA guy for me i guess

though he’ll likely be at least the long-reliever in the bull-pen

do to that horrid contract.

Liriano, Mijares, Angel Morales, & Anthony Swarzak for Josh Johnson and Brad Hand

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Sep 17, 2011 7:48 PM EDT up reply actions

This is not

Too different than what Twins have now. They need more bench help.
Slowey is pitching himself out of a job and need more bullpen help then you gave
I love the solution at SS
I like the Santana trade

by clutterheart on Sep 17, 2011 7:11 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

On paper

That looks pretty close to the awful team we have now, plus Johan Santana. The bullpen has 2 question marks, the outfield has no power at all, there is no backup plan for Morneau and Drew Butera is still on the team.

by DJL44 on Sep 17, 2011 8:37 AM EDT reply actions

Revere + Parmelee

could end up being a disaster. Not saying it can’t work, but it would give me heartburn.

by archie2227 on Sep 17, 2011 12:34 PM EDT reply actions

Revere's BABIP is low this year, and he should have been in AAA all year long.

Its Awfully easy for me to conclude that in the coming years he’ll have seasons where he’s batting in the upper 200s

like .285 with a .330 OB% and he’ll never be a guy to hit for power or even gap power…..but should have a few inside the park HR’s

I like Revere going forward as at least a GOOD 4th OF…..
Parmelee is nice to have on the team next year from the start, because he can play 1B, RF, and DH so he’ll replace 1 of Cuddyer or Kubel very well defensively. (well not sure what he’ll be like if he’s out in RF)

Liriano, Mijares, Angel Morales, & Anthony Swarzak for Josh Johnson and Brad Hand

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Sep 17, 2011 7:50 PM EDT up reply actions

After consultation

I spoke with a couple of dyed-in-the-wool fans at the game today and our consensus is that the Twins need to: 1) Acquire a catcher capable of playing 50-80 games and being something of an offensive threat—suggestions the Toronto Molina and Ramon Hernandez. 2) Add a middle infielder, preferably a SS. I think Brignac of Tampa could be a fit, the suggestion above of Hechavarria or something similar might be a wise choice. 3) Trade Liriano, part company with Slowey, release Dumatrait. They are aceless, but perhaps someone will develop. 4) The Twins need guys with upside not mediocrities—release Tolbert, designate Butera, demote Tosoni and Dinkelman. 5) Sign one of Cuddyer and Kubel. I think Cuddyer because he still might be the Twins regular first baseman. All those moves mean absolutely nothing unless Mauer and Morneau produce. It could well mean that Morneau is the regular first baseman and Morneau is the DH.

by Alexi Casilla All-Star on Sep 18, 2011 12:55 AM EDT reply actions

By "pay us to take him back" I assume you mean "with most of his contract"

Also, all things considered, I don’t think Hechevarria is much better than Plouffe. The former will get you more outs on both sides of the ball. The later will get you more runs on both sides. Either way, it’s a wash. This team needs more runs, not more out machines.

Also, I agree with the others that back-up catcher is a top priority in the offseason. Drew Butera has sucked more runs out of this team in one season than any player in Twins history. His defense is pretty good, especially his arm (his game calling—meh), but you can’t have a guy catching more than 30 games with an OPS+ of 17. Go back and look at Twins history. Guys with that kind of hitting maybe got 100 at bats in a year, and lasted maybe a year or two. Never in the history of this team have we used a guy who hit so poorly essentially as the starter for a whole year.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Sep 18, 2011 11:05 AM EDT reply actions

Santana

The “pay us to take him back” thing is indeed pretty hollow if the Twins are only getting $5M – that doesn’t even cover the buyout for his option after ‘13. He’s due $24.5M and $25M in ‘12 and ’13, respectively, and I can’t imagine the Twins reacquiring him without the Mets agreeing to take on at least half of that contract.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Sep 19, 2011 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions

7.5 million for Nathan?

He will jump all over that. I think Kubel and Cuddyer will sign elsewhere. Need to find a first baseman or catcher. Starting pitching remains a huge problem

by Emma2011 on Sep 18, 2011 3:11 PM EDT reply actions

Watch Francisco Cordero's negotiations

It will set the market for Nathan

by DJL44 on Sep 18, 2011 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Nathan

I just can’t see signing a 37 yr old with possible arm problems to a large multi year contract. Joe Nathan has done well for the Twins but it is time to go in another direction.

by Emma2011 on Sep 18, 2011 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Just found out Rockies might really want Carl Pavano in a trade if they are unable to acquire Wandy Rodriguez or CJ Wilson and maybe 1 other top target...

Of Course the Rox want Cuddyer in FA after the year too….

Liriano, Mijares, Angel Morales, & Anthony Swarzak for Josh Johnson and Brad Hand

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Sep 18, 2011 7:52 PM EDT reply actions

A blueprint for a realistic chance at the postseason in 2012

will include a lot of luck (or return to health) and will NOT include: Butera, current middle infield options as primary options, Revere as a starter, any two of Blackburn/Pavano/Slowey/Swarzak in the opening day rotation, more than 1 current reliever plus Perkins, and the current GM.

In other words, chances to contend in 2012 are slim at best.

by USAFChief on Sep 19, 2011 4:01 AM EDT reply actions

If they're going to sign Bloomquist, they might as well sign Punto, too

And make the blogo-sphere shit itself.

by subtle on Sep 19, 2011 3:46 PM EDT reply actions

Fairly Realistic

I’d hope they’ll go for someone a little younger and more upside than Johan, but definitely need at least one more #2 caliber starter (I don’t see the Twins getting CJ Wilson or other #1-types).

Another relief arm and a backup catcher that can hit a little, since I don’t think Mauer’s catching more than 90 games next year…

One big thing I think we have going for us is is it’s Liriano’s first real contract year. I expect he will come into camp in as good or better shape than he did for 2010 and pitch much like he did last year. That combined with solid years from Baker and one of Pavano/Slowey/FA being a solid #3 to help keep the pressure off our bullpen. We were spoiled in 2010, but even 4 closers/setup men in your bullpen can’t cover up for starters that regularly don’t go 5 innings.

Free Rick. I mean, Chuck James!
No, I didn't spell Maurer wrong. But I do get asked if I'm related to Joe a lot.

by Maurer Power on Sep 20, 2011 12:13 AM EDT reply actions