Twins Who Are Out of Options In 2014

When players are out of options it can, at times, force the organization into making decisions differently than they otherwise might. For the Twins this season, the front office has to deal with eight such players. Just to make things even more interesting: they're all players with legitimate opportunities to make the team. There isn't a single obvious yeah-go-ahead-and-risk-him-on-waivers player on the list because, well, we all know what state this team is in.

Below is the list of eight players, as well as the circumstances through which they make the team out of spring training or get exposed to waivers.

Samuel Deduno, RHP
Currently: On the bubble

How he makes the team: As the team's fifth starter or, in an even more unlikely scenario, as a member of the bullpen. If the Twins do want to try to assign him to Triple-A though, they're better off doing it towards the end of camp when teams across the league are doing the same thing. Most likely though, if he's making the team, it's as the fifth starter because Kyle Gibson is heading to Rochester. Prior to signing a mass of free agent starters, it's worth remembering that Terry Ryan thought he'd make the rotation from Opening Day.

Scott Diamond, LHP
Currently: On the bubble

How he makes the team: Either with a great spring training that shows he's closer to the pitcher the Twins thought he would be last year, or perhaps as a stowaway in the bullpen as a third lefty - which would mean no Caleb Thielbar. As a fringey southpaw, he seems to be one of the most likely players to be snapped up if the Twins risk sending him through waivers.

Eduardo Escobar, IF
Currently: Bench backup infielder

How he doesn't make the team: Because this job is more or less Escobar's to lose, for the Twins to try to send him to Rochester it would mean that somebody else stepped up in a big way...who can also backup two or three infield positions. A guy like Danny Santana fits the bill with his potential skill set, but he's too far away from being ready to sit on the bench three or four days a week. If Escobar doesn't make the team, it will be because a non-roster invitee (think: Jason Bartlett or Doug Bernier) looks better than we think he will.

Chris Parmelee, 1B/RF
Currently: On the bubble

How he makes the team: I hesitate to resort to talk about injuries being the reason for one guy to make the team, because it's something that could realistically affect the standing of quite a few guys, but the fact is that the roster will be tight when it comes to Parmelee and what he can or can't do. He's limited defensively, especially in the outfield where the team has more lumbering corner options than it would like, but somebody will need to backup Mauer at first. Parmelee has had a good start to the spring with the bat, too, but it's less about spring training performance than it is about how the Twins construct their bench.

Trevor Plouffe, 3B
Currently: Starting third baseman

How he doesn't make the team: Drug trafficking? International espionage? Trying to steal my dog? Because I'm telling you, if Trevor Plouffe tried to take my dog, he'd end up on an island somewhere with nothing but Veronica Mars fan fiction for company.

Alex Presley, CF
Currently: Starting center fielder

How he doesn't make the team: A healthy Darin Mastroianni? Byron Buxton is actually a video game player with 99 ratings in all attribute areas? A religious epiphany that sends Presley on missions to the four corners of the earth? Something about Aaron Hicks and dark magic?

Anthony Swarzak, RHP
Currently: Long reliever

How he doesn't make the team: Kidnapped by the Sasquatch?

Vance Worley, RHP
Currently: On the bubble

How he makes the team: Just like Deduno or Diamond, Worley would need to have a good spring training and prove that he's the most capable of taking that fifth starter's spot - not just over Deduno and Diamond, but Gibson. We can go back to the bullpen idea, because that's the only way that the Twins can fit all three of these pitchers onto the roster without risking any of them being lost, but that's also an area of strength for the team with a finite number of spots available for stowaway, out-of-options starters.

Conclusions

I think it's feasible that all eight of these guys make the team, but it's unlikely. Injuries are always possible and can change a lot of things, but those aren't worth speculating over. But just in case you're doing the math in your head to work out how this could all fit into a 25-man roster, it'd be something like this.

Starters - Nolasco, Hughes, Pelfrey, Correia, Worley

Bullpen - Perkins, Burton, Fien, Duensing, Deduno, Diamond, Swarzak

Catcher - Suzuki, Pinto

Infield - Mauer, Dozier, Plouffe, Florimon, Escobar, Parmelee

Outfield - Willingham, Presley, Arcia, Mastroianni, Kubel

What do you see happening to these eight players - are they in or out?