First cuts, part two

Minnesota product
Mike Strong was the
closest thing to a
surprise in the first
round of cuts.

The Twins made their first round of camp cuts in two parts. Sunday afternoon they reassigned five non-roster invitees to minor league camp; Monday morning they optioned out seven players who are on the 40-man roster. There may be a practical reason for the reassignments in one wave and the options in the other, but I can't fathom what it would be, and it doesn't really matter.

As should be expected in the early cuts, the players sent to the minor league camp are basically guys who didn't have a realistic chance of making the 25-man roster. RHP Yoman Landa and LPH Randy Rosario haven't pitched above low A ball. LHP Mason Melotakis is being handled gingerly in the wake of his October 2014 Tommy John surgery. OF Adam Brett Walker is having his throwing mechanics overhauled. LHP Pat Dean figures to be in the rotation for Triple A Rochester and needs to get innings. RHP J.T. Chargois was no surprise if only because the bullpen has its full complement of right-handed short men, with Kevin Jepsen, Casey Fien and (presumably) Trevor May.

That leaves LHP Mike Strong, who I thought might get a longer look as a second lefty in the bullpen. He was the first serious LOOGY candidate out, though. Still around: NRIs Fernando Abad, Buddy Boshers, Dan Runzler and Aaron Thompson and roster guys Ryan O'Rourke and Taylor Rogers. Rogers and Abad are the most likely finalists, although I'm picking up good vibrations on Runzler.

Also still around, apparently because pitching coach Neil Allen wanted to keep him for a while yet, is Nick Burdi. By implication, the plan had been to send him out in this wave. He faces the same numbers problem Chargois did, and I don't think he's going to escape the second round of cuts.

So 12 players are gone, with 52 still in major league camp. They basically have to cut more than an entire active roster, so there are plenty of moves to come. A lot of them are pretty obvious as well -- there are still seven catchers in camp -- but some are going to take some thought.

Notes, quotes and comment

The Twins made their first cuts of spring training after Sunday's game, sending five non-roster invitees to the minor league complex. More cuts are to be announced today,

None of Sunday's reassigned five -- SS Engleb Vielma, 1B-OF Reynoldo Rodriguez, C-OF Alex Swim, RHP Jake Reed and IF Heiker Meneses -- had any realistic chance of making the 25-man roster. I did think Swim might last longer as the successor to the Dan Rohlfing role of "last non-roster catcher cut because he plays enough other positions that we can use him to sub for a regular."

I suspect today's wave of cuts will include a few more pitchers.

---

Speaking of Swim and catchers, the Monday print column this week actually saw print. (The sports editor apparently forgot to budget last week's.) It is, in effect, "Parsing the catchers, part four" and focuses on Kurt Suzuki and John Ryan Murphy, the duo expected to handle the catching duties this year for the major league team.

---

I want to recommend to you this piece by ESPN 1500's Derek Wetmore about the Twins and medical technology. Injury prevention is the next big goal in baseball's "big data" revolution. It's good to see some evidence that that Twins are working on that.

The opening roster

Josmil Pinto lost out
on the backup catcher
job to Chris Herrmann,
at least for now.

The Twins effectively settled their Opening Day roster Thursday:

• Outfielder Shane Robinson was offically added to the 40-man roster;
• Catcher Josmil Pinto was optioned to Triple-A;
• Catcher Eric Fryer was reassigned to Triple A, and fellow non-roster invitee infielder Doug Bernier was told he will be after the exhibition schedule is over.

In theory, I would have preferred to see Pinto on the roster than Eduardo Nunez, but there are variables that I don't have a handle on: the effects of Pinto's concussion, how comfortable Paul Molitor is with the idea of using Eduardo Escobar as a part-time outfielder, how competent Pinto currently is behind the plate.

Here's how Escobar figures into this: The Twins default starting outfield figures to be Oswaldo Arcia in left. the Jordan Schafer-Robinson platoon in center and Torii Hunter in right. (Those four names are also the four "true" outfielders on the roster.) The Twins figure to face Chris Sale, very good lefty, a week from Saturday. Hunter and Robinson are right-handed; Arcia and Schafer are left-handed. If Molitor wants to get both the lefties out of the lineup against Sale, a non-outfielder has to play left. That won't be backup catcher Chris Herrmann, who is a decent enough outfielder, because he's left-handed too. Escobar is a switch-hitter, Nunez hits right, so either fits that part of the bill. But which, if either, do you really want in the outfield?

The presence of Kennys Vargas also works against Pinto, because Vargas ties up the DH spot. I don't know that Vargas is really a better hitter than Pinto, but the Twins are operating on that basis.To get at-bats in the majors, Pinto has to catch, and while he is said to have improved behind the plate, he's probably still not good.

The current issue of Baseball America, in that light, has a interesting piece about the new era of catcher instruction, with the use of advanced stats to measure pitch framing and high-end pitching machines to provide receiving reps on major-league quality pitches. (I'd link to the piece, but it's subscriber-only.) The story is in the context of the Cubs' efforts to rebuild Kyle Schwarber, an outstanding hitting prospect whose catching skills (or lack of same) may eventually force him to a different position. I don't know if the Twins are doing the same things with Pinto. I hope they are.

Throwing and watching bullpens

Time to get back on the hill for Glen Perkins and the
rest of the Twins pitchers.

The first official workout of Twins camp is today. The full squad stuff is still a week away, but the pitchers get to start throwing now. (There are, certainly, plenty of hitters in camp as well, but they don't have to be and the formal workouts for them come later.)

In a very real sense, some of the most important developments of the spring will occur this week as pitchers find out what their arms are capable of -- especially the guys who are either coming off surgery or who put off surgery in hopes that rehab would suffice.

Pitchers are pitchers. They are all injury risks by definition. But here are four names to monitor in the early bullpens:

Glen Perkins, the All-Star closer who was shut down last September. The expectation is that rest and rehab will "fix" his shoulder problems. If he's hurting, the bullpen plans will require a major makeover.

Mike Pelfrey, who had elbow surgery in June and was throwing bullpens late in the season without any chance of getting back onto the roster. He figures to be on the outside looking in for a rotation berth, but the Twins have a much larger financial commitment to him than to the other candidates and Terry Ryan has repeatedly deflected questions about Pelfrey as a reliever.

Ricky Nolasco had a miserable season to debut his four-year contract, and he spent about a month on the DL in midsummer. He avoided surgery and actually pitched well in September (one true clunker of a start in five outings that month), The Twins have a sizable investment in the 32-year-old, and the only way he won't open the season in the rotation is if he is injured.

Tommy Milone, the lefty acquired in midseason from Oakland who had a benign tumor removed from his neck. Milone's record with the A's is much better than he showed in his handful of starts with Minnesota, and he is probably the favorite to come out of camp with the fifth starter's job.

Parsing Monday's cuts

The Twins on Monday optioned out, reassigned or released 10 players. This was the really serious round of cuts, the ones that truly shape the Opening Day roster.

Let's analyze:

Pitchers: Non-roster relief candidates Deolis Guerra, Matt Hoffman and Aaron Thompson were reassigned, and 40-man roster relievers Michael Tonkin and Ryan Pressly were optioned out. Nonroster reliever Matt Guerrier was released.

That Chris Herrmann didn't
make the roster figures
to affect how Josmil
Pinto is used.

Guerrier might be back, and I think he will. Had the Twins simply reassigned him to Rochester — and they could have — they would have owed him a retention bonus. Guerrier figures to see if anybody else was impressed enough to offer him a major league job; if not, he's likely to re-sign and go to Rochester.

Pressly was in the bullpen all last season, but he was a Rule 5 guy then. Those restrictions no longer apply, and he and Tonkin simply ran afoul of the numbers. I saw tweets from a couple of metro writers surprised that Tonkin didn't make the roster, but he needed one of the established right-handed short men (Jared Burton, Casey Fien) to be traded or hurt. Still does, for that matter.

Guerra, Hoffman and Thompson were always destined for Rochester.

Hitters: Nonroster infielders Doug Bernier and Delbinson Romero were reassigned, as was nonroster outfielder Wilkin Ramirez. No real surprises there.

Catcher-outfielder Chris Herrmann, who is on the 40-man roster, was optioned out, and after Ron Gardenhire went out of his way on Sunday to rave about Herrmann, that was a surprise. It appears the Twins will keep Chris Parmelee, who is out of options, instead.

The problem is that it means little DH time for Josmil Pinto, and that probably means the Twins will be using a lefty at DH or in the outfield against left-handed starters. Gardenhire has never paid a lot of attention to the platoon advantage, of course, but after the weekend hint that he was open to it, this is disappointing.

What's left: The Twins now have 29 players in camp, four more than they can take north.

One cut is obvious: Nonroster catcher Dan Rohlfing's not making the final roster. He's just around to ease the strain on Kurt Suzuki and Pinto for the final week of exhibitions.

Kyle Gibson and Scott Diamond are duking it out today for the fifth starter job. Gibson has an option left, Diamond does not. The Twins might opt to keep both and option Caleb Theilbar out.

One of Parmelee or Chris Colabello stays, and Colabello has options left.

The utility infield job goes to either Eduardo Escobar or Jason Bartlett, and as much as Gardenhire raves about Bartlett, Escobar should be an easy choice. Maybe Bartlett will agree to go to Rochester. If he doesn't, I don't think the Twins are losing out on much.

One week, 14 cuts to go

There was a fake report Sunday night that Vance Worley had been returned to the Phillies.

I suppose part of the reason it got some play on Twitter is that it's believable, even expected in some circles; the Phillies need pitching depth, the Twins have no obvious role for him at Rochester, and the Vanimal had some success with them.

Whether there's interest elsewhere in Worley, the Twins have some serious roster moves ahead, and probably some will come today. When Worley cleared waivers last week and was outrighted to Triple A, the Twins were down to 39 players in camp (and, coincidentally, 39 players on the 40-man roster). That's 14 too many for the Opening Day roster.

The word Sunday was that Ron Gardenhire had hinted at keeping Chris Herrmann on the Opening Day roster for his versatility — and, presumably, because having three catchers would allow heavier use of Josmil Pinto as a DH, perhaps in a platoon role with Jason Kubel.

Gardenhire's platoons have been few and far between, so at least until he specifically says that's the plan I'm not counting on it.

Still, the idea seems to be a bench of Herrmann, Pinto, Eduardo Escobar and Alex Presley. Or maybe Gardenhire will get his wish and have Jason Bartlett on his team. If he thinks Bartlett can be his alternate center fielder, that could bounce either Escobar or Presley. (Gardenhire's bench almost always has somebody who doesn't really have a role to play.)

Either way, it's not looking good for Chris Colabello or, in particular, Chris Parmelee, who (unlike Colabello) is out of options.

UPDATE: Scratch all that Herrmann stuff. He was one of 10 cuts this morning. Too bad.

What did they expect?

Jason Bartlett has had a horrendous spring at the plate,
but Ron Gardenhire apparently really wants him on the roster.

Before the Twins' game Wednesday, assistant general manager Rob Antony sounded off on the poor springs of several players:

“I wish somebody would step up and earn a job. Nobody’s really doing that, all these guys that are in competition. (Aaron) Hicks hasn’t been anything special this spring. Neither has (Alex) Presley. There’s your centerfield battle. ... Nobody’s really stepped up to try to earn the spots. That’s a bad feeling when you’re looking at giving spots away."

It wasn't just the center fielders Antony was griping about. It was the guys going for the fifth starters job (although, frankly, he really has no reason to complain about Sam Deduno or Kyle Gibson). It was the guys seeking the utility infielder job (Eduardo Escobar, Jason Bartlett and Doug Bernier). It was Jason Kubel, brought in for the DH job.

I am not alone, I know, in responding: What did you expect?

The Twins put their resources this winter into adding pitchers. The only certain change they made to their lineup was replacing Justin Morneau with Kurt Suzuki. Even the low wattage Morneau we've seen since his concussions figures to be a better hitter than Suzuki.

And that's it. The rest of the "upgrades" amount to recycling Jasons (Bartlett and Kubel). The rest of the projected roster is the same bunch that finished near the bottom of the American League in runs scored.

This lineup is going to struggle to score 600 runs, and that struggle was eminently predicable all winter.

Bartlett is one for 27 in Grapefruit League play after finally getting a single Wednesday. Well, the man hasn't hit since 2009. He hadn't played since April 2012. Was Antony really expecting him to hit like vintage Derek Jeter this month?

Hicks hit under .200 last season before the Twins sent him to Triple A, and he hit under .200 there. Then he sat out winter ball. On what basis did Anthony expect him to turn into Pete Rose this spring? (And considering that Hicks had a sensational spring training last year, would it really matter if he did hit like Rose?)

Presley's limitations as a player were manifest last September, when he played pretty much everyday after coming over in the Morneau trade. He's 28. He is what he is. Jason Kubel is 31, he hit .216 last season, and nobody has accused him of overdoing his conditioning work. He's hitting .080 this spring. Josh Willingham is 35, he hit .208 last year, and his skill set seldom ages well.

And now, as March is dwindling, Antony and Ron Gardenhire find themselves with a roster featuring Joe Mauer, Oswaldo Arcia and a bunch of guys who should hit eighth or ninth if they belong in a major league lineup at all.

And somehow they manage to sound surprised about that. What the devil did they expect?

The roster outlook

With most (but not all) the intriguing prospects relegated to the minor league complex, the Twins major league camp now gets down to the business of winnowing down to the 25-man roster that will open the season.

There are still 48 players in camp, almost enough to field two full teams. And some of them aren't fighting for jobs.

These players, assuming they're healthy, will assuredly be on the roster when the season opens in Chicago on March 31:

Catcher: Kurt Suzuki

Comment: In my ideal world, Suzuki would be a heavy-use No. 2 — 60 to 80 games— behind Josmil Pinto. That's clearly not the current plan, and I'm starting to wonder if Pinto is durable enough to be a regular catcher anyway.

Infield: Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Pedro Florimon

Comment: Florimon's appendectomy has held him back, but Ron Gardenhire has said Florimon's his shortstop. He's practicing now but hasn't appeared in any Grapefruit League games.

Outfield: Josh Willingham, Oswaldo Arcia, Alex Presley

Comment: The Twins aren't publicly conceding a job to Arcia, but it would be rank silliness to send him back to the minors in order to feed at-bats to the likes of Jason Kubel or Chris Parmelee. Presley may or may not be the regular center fielder -- I think the Twins would prefer to have Aaron Hicks get the job -- but if he's not a regular, he'll be a bench guy.

Rotation: Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correa, Mike Pelfrey.

Comment: These four are to get at least $5.5 million each this year. They're in.

Bullpen: Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Casey Fien, Anthony Swarzak

Comment: Between contract status and effectiveness, they're in. The Twins may try to trade one or two of them to make room for younger relievers, but they're not going to release any of them.

That's 17 locks. Assuming a 12-man pitching staff (five starters), that leaves room for five position players, one starter and two relievers.

And that's what the remaining 31 players in camp are competing for the next two-plus weeks.

The first cuts are the deepest

Byron Buxton (70) is greeted at home plate after his
home run Saturday by Max Kepler. Both prospects were
sent to the minor league camp on Sunday.

The Twins on Sunday optioned out or reassigned 16 players in their first round of cuts. Last year the first set of cuts involved five players, four of whom were injured anyway, so those cuts were barely noticed.

Among the 16 moving down the street to the minor league setup are Byron Buxton and Alex Meyer. Miguel Sano too, although that's just a paper move; he's to have his Tommy John surgery Wednesday.

The Twins now have 48 players in major league camp, and presumably part of the purpose in cutting so many early on is to free up more at-bats and innings for the players who are going to be on the opening roster -- or who are competing for that roster. Ron Gardenhire was playing Buxton a lot this past week on the basis that "the clock is ticking" on the prospect. Now that playing time will go to the likes of Aaron Hicks and Alex Presley.

Neither Buxton or Meyer had a realistic chance at the Opening Day roster. Nor did any of the other 14. In that sense, their demotions were logical, even necessary.

Still, speaking as one who has tickets for three exhibition games in the next week, I have to say: I'd much rather see the just-demoted Buxton or Max Kepler or Jorge Polanco in those games than Presley, Jason Kubel or Jason Bartlett. One set represents the unknown but presumably bright future; the other set represents the fading past and present mediocrity.

The Monday print column discusses the issue of spring training lineups and touches on the ethics of charging nearly regular-season prices for games with lineups that are not of regular-season quality. In the case of the Twins, I don't think the customers are being ripped off when the lineup is heavy on prospects and light on regulars. The Twins' kids are more interesting.

Early March, and I'm already fully expecting another Twins team that's not only bad but boring. That tone has now been set.

Attendence attention

The prime seats for Monday's exhibition game in Fort Myers.
The game was called for rain after five innings.

I've been to Twins spring training twice (2008 and 2011), and the games were always, if not sold out. close to it.

So this photo caught my eye. I had heard that the attendance at Fort Myers was noticeably lower this spring, and it was a rainy Monday, but still ... man, that's sparce.

Just as one shouldn't put weight on spring training stats for players, I'm not sure that low fan turnout at spring training games, per se, tells us much about what lies ahead for turnout at Target Field.

It figures to be down some, certainly; the Twins lost 195 games the last two seasons combined, and the Vegas oddsmakers set their over-under for Minnesota at about the same level — which means they figure the bettors expect the same.

But it has also been a longer-than-usual exhibition schedule, which may have spread out whatever games the locals go to; it's been a rather mild winter in Minnesota (at least until this month), which might have led Upper Midwest fans to stay put; and it seems, as a follower of the team, that there's been more nippy (for southwest Florida) weather than usual. Those are all factors that might nibble away at the turnout as well.

Weather or not ... if you'll pardon the pun ... it's now less than two weeks from Opening Day, and Minnesota is still getting winter stuff. There might be some scenes like this in April in Target Field.

The spring training transition

Twins prospect J.O. Berrios is pulled
from Tuesday night's WBC second-round
game against Team USA. The 18-year-old
has impressed with his talent and his
attitude.

Spring training 2013 is a bit longer than usual. For that we can blame/credit the World Baseball Classic; camps opened earlier than normal so that WBC-bound players had an opportunity to get ready for competitive games in early March.

For the Twins in particular, the first half of spring training was largely about the dozen players headed to various national teams, and about taking a peek at the future — getting a glimpse of talent deemed too raw for serious consideration for the April roster. Alex Meyer, Michael Tonkin, Trevor May, Danny Santana, Eddie Rosario, J.O. Berrios.

The first four listed have already been sent "down the road" to the minor league complex. The last two will be when they return to Fort Myers whenever Puerto Rico is done with the WBC.

Spring training now is about fine-tuning the established regulars, the jockeying for jobs, the settling of the rotation.

As I listened to the radio broadcast Wednesday night and followed the ninth-inning debacle that was the relief work of Josh Roenicke and Caleb Thielbar, I couldn't help but think that part two of spring training is going to be less fun, and less interesting, than part one was.

Ron Gardenhire and company have about two weeks to select four relief pitchers out of a grab bag that includes Roenicke and Thielbar, plus Alex Burnett, Casey Fien, Luis Perdomo, Ryan Pressly, Tyler Robertson, Anthony Slama, Anthony Swarzak and Tim Wood. They have a bit less time to sort out the order for the rotation and decide who's opening the year as the fifth starter.

These decisions matter for the 2013 season, and they certainly matter for the players involved. But they don't offer much to dream on either.

Pic of the Week

Snow and ice cover a playing field at the Rockies
training complex in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Thursday.

Spring training got started a week or more earlier this year around the majors, mostly (entirely?) to give more prep time to the players scheduled to compete in the World Baseball Classic tournament, which begins early this month.

Perhaps as a result, the teams have encountered some squirrelly weather. The Twins had a couple of days in Fort Myers, Fla., in which workouts at least began in temperatures in the low 40s or upper 30s — warmer than Target Field on one day by just nine degrees.

Then there was the strange snow and ice that hit a few places in the Phoenix metro area, home to a number of spring training complexes.

Maybe it was timing. Or maybe it's just another case of the weather being the weather, and anything can happen.

A different team from April

Ben Revere opened the season as a
backup outfielder; then he was demoted to
Triple A. Now he's the regular right fielder.

On May 15, the Twins were 10-26. They had played a brutal early schedule, one loaded with the power teams of the American League -- they had series against the Yankees, the Rangers, the Angels, the Red Sox and the Rays -- and they did not fare well.

Monday's thumping of Cleveland lifted the Twins to 48-61, giving them a record since May 15 of 38-35. That's not a pennant-winning percentage, but it's definitely not embarrassing.

Part of the improved record, without a doubt, is the softer schedule over those last 73 games. Part of it, also, is how different the Twins today are from the team that broke spring training.

The only survivor of the opening rotation is also the least effective of the current one (Nick Blackburn). Francisco Liriano, Carlo Pavano, Liam Hendriks and Jason Marquis have given way to the Four Ds -- Scott Diamond, Brian Duensing, Cole DeVries and Sam Deduno.

Six positions in the lineup have been changed; only Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Denard Span are playing the same positions and filling the same roles as they were in April. The entire infield is different.

April's infield: Chris Parmelee at first base (with Mauer getting considerable time); Alexi Casilla at second; Danny Valencia at third; Jamey Carroll at short.

The reshuffled infield, by and large: Justin Morneau at first, Carroll at second, Trevor Plouffe at third, Brian Dozier at short.

Right field has gone from a jumble of Ben Revere, Plouffe, Clete Thomas, Ryan Doumit and Eric Komatsu to a steady diet of Revere.

It is tempting to say the Twins made too many wrong calls in forming the initial roster. But that looks too simple.

In March, the Twins were concerned that the added exertion of playing the field might raise the risk of concussion symptoms for Morneau. That led to the decision to open with Parmelee on the roster and led to the downsized role for Revere.

Dozier impressed many during camp, but he probably benefited from a few weeks in the International League. Even so, he has not had a seamless transition to the American League. I doubt the Twins would have been noticeably better in April with Dozier in the lineup.

The Twins went with their veterans in the rotation, only one of whom was new (Marquis) and switched them out as they failed and/or got hurt. That wasn't a spring training decision; that was an off-season decision.

It's a different team now; it's a better team. That doesn't mean they messed up in the spring.

Watching a Twins win

Tuesday's Twins game was, like Monday night's, telecast back home in Minnesota, and I watched most of it.

A few observations:

There is nothing quite like watching Grapefruit League games to realize limitations of the spring stats, even beyond the small sample sizes. There was a strong breeze blowing in Tuesday at the Port Charlotte, Fla., park, and that made it play a lot bigger.

For all the talk early in camp about how Ben Revere had improved his arm by throwing a football, it's pretty obvious that he remains a well-below average thrower.

The Twins had some more sloppy play, but unlike Monday the mistakes by and large didn't factor in the scoring. (One of Tampa Bay's two runs scored because of an error by Darin Mastroianni in left field.) The first few days of exhibitions have been marked by fielding miscues and baserunning blunders. Imagine how slipshod things would be without the three extra days of drills.

I've written before about liking Matt Maloney's minor-league stats, and he looked good Tuesday afternoon. He's out of options, and I don't know how he would fit on the staff, since there are five starters with multi-million contracts ahead of him and other long relief candidates (notably Anthony Swarzak and Terry Doyle) who are also use or lose.

The stories of spring

It may appear that an inordinate number of posts here during the past month have concerned obscure middle relief candidates. The Twins had numerous bullpen departures during the free-agency season, they raked up a large field of candidates, and arguably the Twins story of the month has been the winnowing of that field.

There has been a bit more to spring training than the bullpen, of course, but those stories have gotten less play here than the bullpen. Let's do a quick rundown:

Michael Cuddyer has
been out of action
until very recently.

Injuries: Joe Nathan's elbow and Justin Morneau's head were the highest-profile rehab cases entering camp, but there were a couple of starters coming off non-radical elbow surgeries (Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn) and a couple of lineup fixtures coming off knee "cleanups" (Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer), Add in Cuddyer's infamous foot wart and Delmon Young's turf toe, and the health issues were fairly prominent early on.

Things appear to be coming together, and there were hints Monday that the Wednesday game (which is to be on FSN) will feature the regular lineup, together again for the first time.

Middle infield: It didn't take long for Ron Gardenhire to ratify the expected alignment of Tsuyoshi Nishioka at second and Alexi Casilla at short. Nishioka has drawn raves for his defensive skills, and while it's too soon to say with certainty how he'll hit, I'm not worried that pitchers stateside will knock the bat out of his hands.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka will be
the second baseman.

The infield reserve job is still undecided, although I expect it will go to Matt Tolbert.

Starting rotation: Six starters, five jobs. They entered with two locks, Francisco Liriano and Carl Pavano, and Gardenhire swiftly made Brian Duensing a third. Once Blackburn established that his elbow was sound, he was made a fourth. That leaves Baker and Kevin Slowey and trade speculation.

My current take: Baker in the rotation, Slowey in long relief, no immediate trade. Baker is said to need a longer warmup before pitching than usual; this is both a reason to keep him out of the bullpen and a reason to fear reinjury.

Lining up the minor league depth: Other than the bullpen and the utility infield spot, there were no roster spots obviously available this spring. The usual raft of prospects in camp were largely jockeying for position for later call-ups.

I haven't a real handle on the "no. 3 catcher" competition, which is to be the guy who gets called up if either Mauer or Drew Butera goes on the shelf. My guess is that Steve Holm is the guy, but Danny Lehmann is probably the better defensively. Rene Rivera (like Holm, a minor-league free-agent import) is third on my list, but he could be first on the Twins'. All three remain in camp.

Of the guys lopped already, Trevor Plouffe fell in my eyes, Joe Benson rose and Ben Revere remains the same. Benson and Revere aren't likely to matter much in the majors in 2011, but either could well be a starter for the Twins in 2012.

On the pitching side, Kyle Gibson's showing may embolden the Twins to make a trade involving Slowey, as he's a viable replacement if/when Baker or another rotation member gets hurt.

Opening Day is a week from Friday.

Back home again; first cuts

I missed seeing David
Bromberg pitch during
my spring training trip,
which particularly
disappointed me because
I now know his girlfriend
reads this blog.

My wife and I were winging our way back to Minnesota today when the Twins made their first round of training camp cuts.

That they would start trimming soon was obvious. The minor league camp opened Friday, so the displaced players now have a place to report. The pitchers who are going to be in starting rotations in Triple A need to do more than one-inning stints, and the pitchers who are going to be in the major league rotation are going to suck up more innings.

None of the moves really qualify as a surprise. I note that Joe Benson will repeat Double A, but he hasn't had a full season there and struggled at that level to start last season. A month or more, even, of consolidation there isn't a bad idea. I surmise that Kyle Gibson, David Bromberg, Anthony Swarzak and Eric Hacker will be four of the five starters at Rochester, and it's quite possible that Yorman Bazardo will fill out the rotation.

Fourteen cuts, six of them pitchers, none of them left-handers. Five of them were subjects of the just-completed bullpen series, but none of them were, in my view, serious candidates. I got through that one just in time.

The Twins have about two weeks left in Fort Myers. I would expect the next round of bullpen cuts will nail at least two lefties (non-roster invitees Chuck James and Phil Dumatrait) and at least two of these five right-handers: Kyle Waldrop, Carlos Gutierrez, Jim Hoey, Alex Burnett and Anthony Slama. Waldrop and Gutierrez, as non-roster guys, will be easy targets. The toughest decisions will be still to come.

27 pitchers and so few jobs

LaVelle Neal had a post Saturday about one of the issues with having 27 pitchers in camp: How do the manager and coaches get a good look at everybody?

Jeff Manship is part of a
crowded competition for bullpen
jobs with the Twins.

A somewhat related issue is that of making sure that the top dogs on the staff get enough work to be ready for the season.

Consider this: The Twins will almost certainly carry 12 pitchers on their 25-man active roster, as they have in recent years. Assuming everybody's healthy, we can name nine of them right now: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn, Brian Duensing, Joe Nathan, Matt Capps and Jose Mijares. We don't necessarily know what role each will play, but the combinations of salaries and track records mean each will be either active or on the DL.

That leaves 18 pitchers in camp competing for as few as three bullpen jobs. Theoretically competing, I should say; Kyle Gibson, for example, is not going to pitch middle relief, and Anthony Swarzak and Deolis Guerra are more likely competing to remain on the 40-man roster than to crack the majors.

From this distance, I would say these are the 10 pitchers in camp who can realistically hope to get one of those three jobs, with some being in better position than others: left-handers Glen Perkins, Scott Diamond and Dusty Hughes; right-handers Pat Neshek, Alex Burnett, Anthony Slama, Jeff Manship, Jim Hoey, Eric Hacker and Kyle Waldrop. (Waldrop is the one man on that list not on the 40-man roster.)

Ten pitchers for three jobs is probably a bit more manageable than the 27-pitchers thing appears at first glance, but it's still a lot.

So why are there so many other pitchers in camp? Some (Gibson, Carlos Guttierez) are highly-regarded prospects who didn't have to be put on the 40 this winter but are likely to ge major-league ready by mid-summer; the big league staff gets to know them this spring. Some (Chuck James, Phil Dumatrait, Yorman Barzado) were minor-league free agents signed to deepen the Rochester staff and promised a spring training invite as part of the deal. Some (Swarzak and Guerra) are fading prospects the team has invested heavily in and is unwilling to discard.

Guys like Swarzak and Dumatrait may feel when they get sent to minor league camp that they didn't get a fair shake. The reality is that even 15 good  innings in spring training shouldn't outweigh a full season of poor results in Triple A. The reality also is that the opening roster is not set in concrete. Get outs in Triple A, you'll eventually get a shot in the majors.

Spring fashion show

Curtis Granderson — former Detroit Tiger, even more former Mankato Masher and now a new member of the New York Yankees — combines his trademark high socks with the Yankees workout gear. Derek Jeter can't bear to look.

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It's been more than a week since my last post, a rare bit of on-line silence from me caused by a shortage of compelling baseball news and a bit of a virus.

But it's time to re-emerge. The first major league training camps officially open today.

Not the Twins. They're typically one of the last to open camp, and in their case pitchers and catchers don't report until Sunday with first workouts on Monday.

All that's official, of course. Unofficially, players are already throwing balls and swinging bats at the various spring training facilities — as seen in the above Granderson-Jeter pic.

Meanwhile ...

Johnny Damon remains without team. Various reports have the Tigers being the lead suitors for the alleged outfielder, although at this point it's difficult to imagine that Detroit has indeed offered him a two-year, $14 million deal. He and greed-master agent Scott Boras can't possibly imagine at this point that anybody else is going to surpass, or even match, that figure.

Boras got dumped last week by another unsigned player, Felipe Lopez. The (sarcastic phrase alert) always classy Boras responded: "We wish Felipe well. He's a fine player. We understand that a player gets frustrated when we contact all 30 teams numerous times and there is not a starting job for him."

Methinks there was a starting job for him — at a certain price point.

Just as there was a price point at which Damon would still be a Yankee.