Notes, quotes and comment

The last time the Twins put up a crooked number -- meaning they scored more than one run in an inning -- was in the seventh inning last Friday, 38 innings ago. They scored two runs in that frame.

Obviously the starting pitching this year has not been good enough for the Twins to contend. But the offense has been just as bad. And since we knew coming in that the starting pitching was questionable, the offense is truly the larger disappointment.

The Twins expected more from Trevor Plouffe, Josh Willingham, Ryan Doumit and even the unestablished Chris Parmelee and Aaron Hicks than they got. To a lesser extent, that's also true of Justin Morneau. (I don't think anybody expected much from Pedro Florimon as a hitter, and that's what he's provided.)

They just don't have enough Joe Mauers to make this lineup work. Right now, of course, they don't have any Joe Mauers. And it shows.

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Jason Kubel has had a lost season in Arizona, with just
five home runs. Last year he bopped 30 long balls.

Former Twin Jason Kubel was designated for assignment Tuesday by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kubel hit 30 homers for the D-backs last year, the first year of his two-year contract, but this year was hampered by back and quad problems. He'd lost his starting job and leaves Arizona hitting a mere .220/.288/.324, a far cry from his career slash numbers (.265/.330/.456).

But Kubel's production really started its sudden dissolution last season. He entered last August hitting .290 with 22 home runs; in August he hit .159, in September he hit .186. And he never got going at any point this year.

He's 31. There ought to be some juice left in his bat. But if he's physically not able to show it in what remains of the 2013 season -- and that the D-backs are willing to dump him now suggests he's not -- it may be difficult for him to find a major league contract for 2014.

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The reports late Wednesday had the Baltimore Orioles winning the waiver claim on Josh Willingham. The Twins and O's have until Friday to work out a deal; if they fail, Willingham stays with Minnesota the rest of the season.

My guess is no deal. The Twins have no obvious need to move Willingham now; he's under contract for next season, and his value is probably at a low point, since he, like Kubel, has had a injury-plagued season that hasn't been up to his established standard.

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The Twins this week released minor league veteran relievers Luis Perdomo and Tim Wood. Perdomo got some major league action with the Twins last year, showing velocity without command. Which is pretty much what he's always had.

Wood was signed as a minor league free agent after an impressive season in Triple A with the Pirates organization, despite which the Pirates never called him up. Wood spent most of the year on the shelf with arm troubles. He occupied a 40-man roster spot all year and never really came close to landing a 25-man slot.

Releasing him opens a 40-man roster spot if the Twins want to give a September call-up to somebody not now on the 40.

Injuries, rehab and releases

Rafael Perez pitched
four innings for
Triple A Rochester
before being released.

The Rafael Perez era ended Friday when the Twins released the veteran left-hander.

He had shoulder surgery in 2012, and Cleveland let him go during the offseason. The Twins took a flier on him as spring training camps opened on the strength of a bullpen session, but once he was actually in camp their assessment of his current ability clearly diminished. He never threw a pitch in a spring training game and hadn't even joined a minor league team until this month.

It's hardly worth criticizing the Twins for this episode; it was a minor league deal, a small investment that didn't pan out. This is unlike the Tsuyoshi Nishioka signing, which gave reason to wonder if there's a disconnect between the scouts and the major league staff.

Still, it was a curious sequence of events. When the Twins signed Perez, they talked about stretching him out as a rotation candidate. As it turned out, he couldn't stretch out sufficiently to claim the lefty specialist role he was accustomed to with the Indians. The scouts saw something the coaching staff didn't see. Or maybe they were just throwing something against the wall to see if it stuck.

Perez wound up pitching four innings in Triple A — four innings in which he walked three men, struck out two and allowed one run, on a homer.

He had an out clause in his deal — if not on the major league roster by May 1 he could elect free agency — and he waived that clause at the start of the month, but perhaps he and/or his agent think there's an opportunity elsewhere.

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A more significant investment gone sour — Alex Wimmers, the Twins' first-round draft pick in 2010 —took a step forward Friday with his first mound work since his ligament replacement surgery last summer.

Wimmers threw all of five innings last season, and it remains to be seen if he sees any action in the minors in 2013.

He was seen at draft time in 2010 as a high-floor, low-ceiling prospect; one of the attractions with him was the sense that he was nearly major-league ready. But nothing as worked out for him so far, and the floor has proven to be far lower than anticipated.

Wimmers has thrown 62 minor league innings since signing. The Twins have enough invested in him to keep trying, but he's not the pitcher they drafted out of Ohio State, and he may never be that pitcher again.

Tim Wood threw
eight innings for
Rochester before
being shut down.

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Bullpen candidate Tim Wood, who is on the 40-man roster, was shut down a few days before his rehab assignment was to expire early this week. An MRI on his balky shoulder was reportedly clean, but there's still clearly an issue of some sort and he's seeking a second opinion.

Not long ago I was wondering how, or if, the Twins would find room for him in the major league bullpen. He didn't make it that far.

Another example of the truth behind the claim that you never have enough pitchers.

The state of the Twins bullpen

Rafael Perez has
yet to make a
game appearance
this season.

Rafael Perez, the former Cleveland Indians standout LOOGY now in the Twins organization, did not exercise his May 1 opt-out clause (if not in the majors by May 1, he could declare free agency). So he'll continue what appears to be a lengthy shoulder rehab, and maybe the Twins will eventually get something out his signing.

Even if he were ready to pitch in the majors — and his agreeing to stay with the Twins is a strong indication that he knows he's not — it's not easy to see where he'd fit. Here are the ERAs of the seven bullpen arms on the major league roster

Glen Perkins: 4.15 (allowed runs only in two blowout games, in one case because of a misjudged fly ball)
Jarod Burton: 0.96
Brian Duensing: 2.16
Casey Fien: 4.00 (all four runs allowed came in one bad outing; leads team in appearances)
Josh Roenicke: 1.50
Anthony Swarzak: 1.93
Ryan Pressly: 1.69

Tim Wood followed
five shutout innings
for Triple A Rochester
with a six-run
clunker on April 30.

Those seven have totaled 72 innings, with 65 strikeouts, 25 walks and 55 hits allowed. Combined ERA: 2.25. Only Roenicke has allowed a home run.

There's really nobody there who deserves to lose his job. Which means there's an interesting decision ahead, because Tim Wood, who is out of options, is on his minor league rehab assignment. I believe he can be on that assignment a month, and he's about halfway through that period.

By mid-month, Wood figures to be use-or-lose. Unless somebody in the current bullpen gets hurt or goes south, I don't see a place for him.

Notes, quotes and comment

Tim Wood had a
2.19 ERA in 70
innings in Triple A.

Tampa Bay ran at will late in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Twins, and that doesn't bode well for the two relief pitchers involved, Tim Wood and Tyler Robertson.

This was the second time this spring that Ron Gardenhire has commented on Wood's inability to limit the running game. We may be seeing why Wood never got a call-up by the Pirates last year even as he had a dominant season in Triple A.

Few teams run the bases as aggressively as the Rays, but man -- stealing home in a first-week-of-March exhibition? Robertson should be embarrassed.

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Ten Baseball America staffers predicted in the latest issue which teams would have the top three draft picks in 2014 — which is another way of predicting the three worst teams of 2013.

All ten picked the Houston Astros to have the first pick — which would make three straight seasons of having the worst record in baseball.

Four of the 10 had the Twins picking second; three others had them picking third. Not a lot of optimism about the Twins from that bunch. (The Marlins also had four saying they'd be picking second in 2014 and three third.)

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The Twins minor leaguers were due in camp Tuesday, with minor league exhibitions getting under way this weekend. The first cuts in major league camp figure to come then, but with a dozen guys gone for the World Baseball Classic, those cuts may not be very deep.

Most likely to be sent to the minor league camp, in my estimation: RHPs B.J. Hermsen, Trevor May and Mike Tonkin, IF Danny Santana, C Josmil Pinto. They're all 40-man roster players with options who have little to no chance of opening the season in Minnesota, which makes them prime targets for early demotion.  If they get hurt in major league camp, they go on the major league disabled list, get paid a major-league salary and earn service time.

Filling out the 40

The Twins entered Tuesday with 32 players on their 40-man roster. They closed Tuesday -- the deadline for moving minor leaguers to the major-league roster -- with all 40 slots filled.

This surprised me. I expected them to leave slots open to fill via trade or free agent signings; I didn't see eight guys who needed to be protected.

Filling the roster now doesn't rule out future moves. It just means that if the Twins sign a free agent to a major league deal, they'll have to take somebody off the roster. It does hint that the Twins are unlikely to delve into the Rule V draft next month.

The promotions: Kyle Gibson and Aaron Hicks were givens. Michael Tonkin, right-handed relief pitcher, had a big year in A ball — 97 strikeouts in 69.1 innings — and followed it up with a good run in the Arizona Fall League; as a reliever, he was a likely Rule V target if left off the roster. The others, as I see them, weren't:

• Daniel Santana, an infielder of whom I wrote last week, struck me as a marginal roster choice even if he is in fact the best shortstop prospect in the system; I can't see anybody taking him in Rule V and keeping him in the majors all season.
• B.J. Hermsen is a RH starter who doesn't walk or strike out many. Spent most of last year at Double A. The Twins certainly need starters, but the low strikeout rate suggests he isn't an answer.
• Tim Wood, RH reliever, is a curious story. He had a big year in Triple A for Pittsburgh, who decided they had no use for him anyway; the Twins signed him to a minor-league deal earlier this month, and now have put him on the 40. Perhaps there was enough competition for him as a free agent that the Twins feared he'd be snatched up in Rule V. (This happened to them in 2008 with R.A. Dickey.)
• Caleb Thielbar is a LH reliever. A Minnesota native who went to South Dakota State, he opened last season in High A and ended in Triple A, putting up good to decent numbers at each level. Numbers fell off when he hit Triple A. He turns 26 in January. Being left-handed certainly helps his stock.
• Josmil Pinto, a catcher, was named to Baseball America's High A postseason all-star team. His strong 2012 followed an unimpressive 2011. Maybe somebody would have taken him in Rule V and carried him as a backup catcher all year, but I doubt it. Turns 24 in March.

The bulleted five are probably marginal prospects. Maybe Santana and/or Pinto can develop into major league regulars, but they aren't going to do so in 2013. I would have thought the flexibility of one or more open roster spots would be worth the risk of exposing some of them to Rule V predation. Obviously, the Twins didn't see it that way.

Notes, quotes and comment

Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Twins late last week signed a pair of minor-league free agents, RHP Tim Wood and C Eric Fryer, both of whom spent the 2012 season the Pittsburgh organization.

Wood's signing carries some potential significance. He had a very strong 2012 for Indianapolis, the Pirates' Triple A affiliate, and the emergence of Jared Burton and Casey Fien last season has many Twins bloggers anticipating another such success with a minor-league free agent.

Which is certainly possible. It's worth remembering, however, that Wood turns 30 later this week, that he's been unimpressive in previous major league trials and that his excellent 2012 in Triple A didn't get him a call-up with the Pirates.

He'll compete for a job. He may even win one. But if he were really a prime prospect, he wouldn't have been available.

Fryer figures to be Triple A fodder; Rene Rivera's Twitter outburst in September when the Twins bypassed him for Chris Herrmann made it quite likely that he wouldn't remain in the organization in 2013. Fryer figures to rank below Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit, Drew Butera, Herrmann and maybe Danny Lehmann on the catching depth chart.

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Last Tuesday, Lee County (Fla.) approved a $42 million expansion of the Twins complex in Fort Myers, which involves not only the Twins spring training home but two minor league affiliates, the low-Rookie level GCL Twins and the high-A Fort Myers Miracle.

Among the highlights:

• Hammond Stadium's outfield dimensions are to mimic those of Target Field;
• The stadium will get improved concourses and concession areas;
• A 55-bed dormitory will be constructed (the Twins will pay the tab), which will include classrooms and commissary.

The first two will be more obvious to spring training visitors, but it's the latter that I would expect to have the bigger impact on the operation. It figures to give the Twins greater control over the nutrition and education of the young players on the complex-level GCL (Gulf Coast League) Twins, many of whom are Latin Americans getting their first taste of the United States.

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Josh Willingham won a Silver Slugger award. It's a more elegant trophy than comes with the Gold Glove Award.

It's a nice honor for the Willinghammer, who did have a fine season, but I'm not sure that he was really one of the three best-hitting outfielders in the American League. On the other hand, I'm not sure offhand who to say deserved it more than he did.