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Twins notes: Ricky Nolasco, no-trade clauses, Alex Rios, coaching staff

I like your face. Let's talk Twins baseball.

By Jesse Lund
Otto Greule Jr

Your soundtrack this morning is Neil Young performing a new song called Heart of Gold. Well, new in 1971.

  • When players have limited no-trade clauses, it's common for them to update who is on that list after every season of their contract. It's hard to say who was on his list last year, but if he had to update it to three big-market American League teams it's a good bet that he knows those are the places he's most likely to be dealt.
  • Why list your most likely suitors on your no-trade list? Because, as the player, if your team wants to deal you to those organizations, you get paid. A team has to pay, with the player's permission, to break the no-trade clause.
  • For those people still wondering (and on Twitter there were a-plenty): a list of teams on a no-trade clause are the clubs to where a player cannot be traded without his expressed permission. If he grants that permission, he gets money.

  • Not going to lie. Alex Rios does nothing for me. He'll be 34 on Opening Day, has hit a combined .279/.318/.417 in the last two seasons, was worth 0.2 fWAR in 2014, and while his defensive metrics don't rate him as bad I'd like to see a better defender if we're looking at aging corner outfielders without offensive upside.
  • Rios did have a good year in 2012, when he hit .304/.334/.516. But 31 is a long way from 34 for a player with trends like his. More red flags: increasing strikeout rates, decreasing walk rates.

  • Rudy Hernandez is currently in the Venezuelan Winter League as the bench coach for the Aragua Tigers. He was the manager of the Elizabethton and GCL Rookie league teams for the Twins from 2001 to 2003, and most recently has finished his second season as a coach with the GCL Twins.
  • It's disappointing that the Twins have yet to name a coach who hasn't come from inside the organization. It could yet be coming, and I hope it is. Of course it's more that feasible that Brunansky, Glynn, and Hernandez are the cream of the crop in the organization's coaches; they're not inherently bad choices simply because they're internal hires. But yes: an entire Major League staff made up of internal promotions would be a statement to everyone that the organization wasn't interested in having the best staff.
  • Speaking of which, I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone that Eddie Guardado is rumored to be under consideration for the bullpen coach's role while Bert Blyleven hasn't been ruled out by Terry Ryan as a candidate for the pitching coach's job. I wouldn't mind Guardado; I don't want Blyleven.
  • I still like DL44's suggestion of bringing in Rick Renteria as Paul Molitor's bench coach. Renteria was recently fired from the Cubs to make room for Joe Maddon.
  • TwinsFest will be January 23 to 25.
We'll see you back here in a bit for more Twins stuff. Enjoy your Thursday!

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