Pedro Florimon: The Holding Pattern Until Brian Dozier Returns

Last week at this time we were discussing Brian Dozier and the thin ice he seemed to be skating on when it came to Ron Gardenhire and playing for the big league team. There were, and are, parts of Dozier's game that needed work, and apparently the Twins decided that the best thing for his development was the be sent down to Triple-A. While that's certainly debatable, one thing is for certain:

Pedro Florimon isn't the answer to anything.

When the Twins claimed Florimon off waivers from the Orioles in December, Jon's brief thought was this:

The Twins claimed Baltimore's Double-A shortstop off waivers, according to Bollinger via MLB Trade Rumors. Florimon is "flashy but erratic," writes Tim Dierkes, so I guess the Twins have a Carlos Gomez in the system at shortstop now.

And that's just about right. Nothing has really changed, as Florimon has hit .251/.308/.344 in 311 plate appearances for the Red Wings. He had done slightly better in Double-A, but for a player of his age and skill set it's getting to the point where he's looking like organizational filler rather than a legitimate prospect. There's certainly nothing wrong with being organizational filler, but when the team calls those players to The Bigs it's pretty easy to read into things.

Florimon does have a solid defensive reputation. Over at TwinsBaseball.com, the silver lining is of course in full effect. But it only goes so far.

Dozier will probably never be a superstar, yet he retains the skill set that makes it possible for him to become a dependable everyday player. Maybe returning him to Triple-A for a couple of weeks is what's best for him and maybe it's not, but while we can debate the front office's decision on that front there's one part of the equation that will have zero effect on the future of the shortstop position: Pedro Florimon isn't the answer.

Of course when it comes to middle infield depth at Triple-A, it was either Florimon or Tsuyoshi Nishioka. That doesn't leave a lot of room for whether or not there was a better decision to be made.