Notes, quotes and comment

Frank Viola during the 1987 World
Series. "Sweet Music" was the MVP
of that memorable Series,

The Twins sold Vance Worley to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

It's no surprise that they moved him out of the organization; as I've written a few times, he didn't fit in the Triple A rotation. Even if, as it now appears, Kyle Gibson isn't going to be optioned out again, Rochester has Alex Meyer, Trevor May, Sean Gilmartin, Kris Johnson and Logan Darnell, all of whom figured to be ahead of Worley.

The Twins didn't get much from Worley, but that doesn't mean the Ben Revere trade was a disaster. May remains, and he was always the higher ceiling piece of the deal. And Revere remains what he was when the Twins traded him, a player of extreme strengths and weaknesses. He should be a usable major leaguer for years; I don't expect him to become a star.

Certainly the Twins expected more than they got from Worley, and certainly the trade would look better had they gotten some decent pitching from him. I don't think his failure means the Twins should regret the trade.

---

Frank Viola, one of my faves from the the 1980s Twins, needs heart surgery. It will come next week, and it will keep the 1988 Cy Young Award winner from serving as the pitching coach for the Mets' Triple A affiliate in Las Vegas. Good luck to him.

---

I found this fascinating: Joey Votto, the Cincinnati Reds star, says he swings at too many strikes. He wants to be more like Joe Mauer:

... when he says that he’ll swing less in the strike zone this year, he’s talking about really swinging at the pitches he wants to make contact on. In other words, he’d like to be “more in that (Joe) Mauer category, really efficient, swinging at a really low rate inside the strike zone, and outside the strike zone, very rarely swinging.” Nobody swings less than Joe Mauer.

Votto, like Mauer, takes a lot of heat from the local radio ignoramuses who confuse RBIs with productivity.

---

Matt Guerrier did re-up with the Twins. While he lost out on his retention bonus, he did get an earlier opt-out date, so he got something out of it.

What to do with Vance Worley?

Vance Worley's spring
ERA: 13.50.

Vance Worley didn't make it out of the third inning Tuesday night against Tampa Bay. Eight outs, 11 hits allowed, seven runs and not a single swing-and-miss. He was, sorry to say, in midseason 2013 form, which is to say he was awful.

There were four major candidates for the fifth starter job when camp opened, and all four are still around: Sam Deduno, Scott Diamond, Kyle Gibson and Worley. Deduno, Diamond and Worley are out of options and would have to clear waivers for the Twins to send him to the minors.

There's a pretty good chance right now that Worley would clear waivers. Indeed, Worley's dismal outing hadn't yet ended when the always optimistic Seth Stohs tweeted:

Personal opinion, Twins should put Worley on waivers right after he's done. Should pass through waivers. Would like to keep him.
— Seth Stohs (@SethTweets) March 18, 2014

The problem is: If they keep him, what will they do with him?

Assume that the Twins do get Worley through waivers. Further assume that they option out Gibson and either keep both Deduno and Diamond or lose the loser of the fifth starter competition on waivers.

The Triple A rotation would figure to start with Alex Meyer, Gibson and Trevor May. Also on hand would be lefties Sean Gilmartin (a 2011 first round pick by Atlanta, acquired in the Ryan Doumit trade); Kris Johnson (who arrived in a followup adjustment to the Justin Morneau trade); Logan Darnell (6th round pick in 2010, spent a good chunk of 2013 in the Triple A rotation); and Brooks Raley (picked up from the Cubs just before camp, spent 2013 starting in Triple A  or relieving in the majors).

I would rather work any two of the lefties in the Triple A rotation than Worley. I just don't see much upside to the "Vanimal."

Swing and miss

Vance Worley:
Very low rate of
swing-and-miss

As I've noted in previous posts, Ricky Nolasco doesn't have an overpowering fastball (averages just over 90 mph, according to Baseball Info Systems), and he doesn't throw his fastball even half the time (44 percent fastballs in 2013, 45 percent in 2012, both figures according to BIS).

But he does get swings-and-misses: 17 percent. That's a solid rate for a starter. The Red Sox' top three starters, for example: Jon Lester, 14 percent; John Lackey, 16 percent, Clay Buchholtz, 15 percent.

Phil Hughes, on the other hand, does throw hard (average fastball exceeds 92 mph) and throws his fastball quite a bit (more than 60 percent of the time).

He gets, or did in 2013, somewhat fewer swings and misses, 14 percent.

This should be no surprise — Nolasco's swing-and-miss rate was considerably higher than anybody's in the 2013 Twins rotation, and Hughes would rank up there as well. (Listed in order of starts, each had at least eight):

• Kevin Correia: 10 percent
• Mike Pelfrey (free agent): 10 percent
• Scott Diamond: 10 percent
• Sam Deduno: 13 percent
• Pedro Hernandez (released): 10 percent
• Kyle Gibson: 14 percent
• Vance Worley: 7 percent (wince)
• Andrew Albers: 10 percent
• Liam Hendriks: 14 percent
• P.J. Walters (released): 10 percent

Andrew Albers:
Two-thirds of his
pitches were strikes.

Percentage of pitches that were strikes (called, swinging, fouled or put in play:)

• Nolasco: 64 percent
• Hughes: 67 percent
• Correia: 63 percent
• Pelfrey: 61 percent
• Diamond: 62 percent
• Deduno: 61 percent
• Hernandez: 60 percent
• Gibson: 59 percent (wince)
• Worley: 63 percent
• Albers: 67 percent
• Hendriks: 63 percent
• Walters: 61 percent

Hughes and Andrew Albers really do pound the strike zone.

The sixth starter

P.J. Walters, having been designated for assignment, is now in baseball limbo. He's not officially in the Twins organization, but if nobody claims him on waivers, he can be outrighted to Triple A.

At the moment, the Twins' rotation features, in alphabetical order, Kevin Correia, Sam Deduno, Scott Diamond, Kyle Gibson and Mike Pelfrey. (It will be interesting to see how Ron Gardenhire lines them up coming out of the All-Star break; my guess is that Gibson will be at the end of the line.)

Considering that there's about half the season yet to play, the odds are that bunch will change. If Walters isn't a candidate to move back into the rotation, who is?

The possibilities include:

Pedro Hernandez

Status: 40-man roster, pitching in Rochester
Comment: Hernandez has made seven starts in the majors for the Twins (3-1, 5.54) and six for Rochester (2-2, 3.60). If he has a major league career ahead of him, it's probably as a relief pitcher. He'd be a safe place-holder, but that's all.

Cole De Vries was
5-5, 4.11 in his
time with the Twins
in 2012.

Cole De Vries

Status: 40-man roster, pitching in Rochester
Comment: The Minnesota native would have opened 2013 in the major league rotation but ran into arm issues. He's made nine starts in Rochester and has gone 3-4, 8.16, with just 19 strikeouts in 43 innings. Hard to see him being close to a callup.

Liam Hendriks

Status: 40-man roster, pitching in Rochester
Comment: The Aussie opened with the big club and went down quickly. He dominated the International League last year but has fallen off this year (1-6, 5.05). His status isn't high.

Vance Worley 

Status: 40-man roster, pitching in Rochester
Comment: He's 5-3, 3.81 since his demotion, which looks pretty good compared to his fellow 40-man roster mates. But it comes with just 30 strikeouts in 52 innings. I do expect him to return to the major league rotation this year, but that's more because of what the Twins have invested in him than because he's earned it.

Minor league veteran
Andrew Albers pitched
for Team Canada
in the WBC.

Andrew Albers

Status: Not on the 40-man roster, pitching in Rochester
Comment: Lefty from Canada, he was just named to the IL all-star team (8-3, 3.00 with 86 K in 99 innings). He's 27 and has spent more time in his career in relief than starting, but he's been a fixture in the Red Wings rotation and is having a fine season. I don't see him as a likely long-term rotation candidate.

Logan Darnell

Status: Not on the 40-man roster, pitching in Rochester
Comment: Another lefty, he has made one start for the Red Wings after a strong first half with Double A New Britain (6-6, 2.61). He's 24, and this is by far his best minor league performance. Probably behind Albers in terms of getting a chance.

Nick Blackburn:
Forgot he was still
around, didn't you?

Nick Blackburn

Status: Not on the 40-man roster; on rehab assignment in the Gulf Coast League
Comment: He makes the list only because he's getting $5.5 million this year, which I believe makes him the Twins' highest-paid pitcher. He's gotta do something in the minors before the Twins will consider letting him try to earn some of his pay in the majors, and I don't think it's real likely. No future benefit from his return; the Twins won't exercise his $8 million option for 2014.

Alex Meyer

Status: Not on the 40; currently on disabled list
Comment: Was shut down with a shoulder issue last month; the Twins say there's no structural damage, but caution is being exercised anyway. Probably the best pitching prospect in the organization, he's 3-3, 3.69 in Double A New Britain with 73 strikeouts in 61 innings. Won't get a callup this year. (Came to Twins in the Denard Span trade.)

Trevor May came
to the Twins in the
Ben Revere trade.

Trevor May

Status: On the 40, pitching in New Britain
Comment: Some good signs from May as he repeats Double A (6-5, 3.98 with 93 K in 95 innings). The control is improving, although his season walk rate (3.9 BB/9) is still too high. He might be a September callup, since he's already on the 40, but he's not going to be yo-yo'd up and down. Expect patience with him. 

Rethinking the center field trades

Ben Revere couldn't catch up to this Oswaldo Arcia
double during Tuesday's game in Target Field.

The Twins entered last offseason with two more-or-less established leadoff-type center fielders in Denard Span and Ben Revere. By the end of the winter meetings, they had none.

And today, 61 games into the 2013 season, center field has to be seen as a significant failing of this roster. Aaron Hicks, the designated successor to Span as the center fielder and leadoff hitter, is on the disabled list with a strained hamstring and bruised batting average (.180). Joe Benson, once seen as a key component of a future Minnesota outfielder, hit under .200 in Triple A and was waived. Darin Mastroianni, whose purpose figures to be as a fourth outfielder -- speed off the bench --sustained an ankle injury at the end of spring training that ultimately required surgery.

Which leaves the Twins limping along with Clete Thomas in center for the time being. And raises the question: If the Twins had it to do over, would they still make the same trades?

There were two trades involved, one with Washington, the other with Philadelphia. As it turns out, the Twins just finished a series in Washington and are playing the Phillies now. Let's review:

Span to Washington for Alex Meyer: Span is hitting .277/.327/.374 for the Nationals, which is slightly below his career slash line but well within the range of expectations. Washington manager Davy Johnson has raved about Span's defense all year; having seen the Nats afield for a few games, Johnson may be enthused about Span's glove because the rest of the team is indifferent to bad in the field.

Meyer, generally regarded as the Twins' top pitching prospect, just went on the disabled list with Double A New Britain with what is described as shoulder discomfort; he has a 3.69 ERA in the Eastern League with 73 strikeouts in 61 innings.

This is not a trade for the Twins to regret at this point. The Twins never expected a 2013 payoff from this deal. Meyer will someday, health permitting, provide a power arm at the front of the Minnesota rotation, and that promise made dealing Span -- a good but not great player -- worthwhile.

Revere to Philadelphia for Vance Worley and Trevor May: Ugh.

Revere and Worley have been disappointments. Revere is hitting .244/.287/.274 for the Phillies, which ain't getting it done; even Hicks has a higher OPS+ (a stat that attempts to take league and ballpark biases out of the hitting numbers.

At least Revere's still in the majors. Worley, who started on Opening Day for the Twins, is now in Triple A and not thriving there either (1-5, 7.21 with the Twins, 1-3, 4.74 with the Red Wings).

The wild card (with wild being the operative word) to this trade is May, a hard-thrower who is, like Meyer, pitching in Double A (3.92, 28 walks and 54 strikeouts in 64.1 innings). The ERA is down almost a run per game from 2012 in the same league, but the walk rate is a tick higher and the strikeout rate a bit lower. There's not a lot of real progress visible in the numbers.

This one's a harder call. Revere is a deeply flawed player (no power, no throwing arm), and the notion of exchanging him for a mid-rotation guy (Worley) and a prospect lottery ticket (May) was one the Twins really could not pass on last December.

But now ... well, it seems pretty obvious that Hicks would have benefited from a 2013 in Triple A, May isn't progressing as hoped, and Worley has regressed from previous levels. Of course, the Revere of 2013 isn't worth playing in the majors either.

Statistically, this trade has been an exchange of trash, not that I'm calling any of these players garbage. Right now, I think Revere has the best chance of being a worthwhile major leaguer, although I'm back to seeing him more as a fourth-outfielder type rather than a regular.

The Twins had good reason to make the trade when they did, and they can't undo it regardless. Maybe the possibility that May will figure out how to throw strikes, or that Worley can regain his ability to get outs, is high enough that the Twins will ultimately be happy they made the deal. I don't think the Twins crippled themselves by giving up Revere. I'm still unwilling to call it a mistake by the Twins.

Plenty of roster moves, with more coming

Vance Worley leaves the field Wednesday — and heads
to Triple A Rochester.

I've spent the last few days writing about the talent on the Cedar Rapids Kernels, and it's certainly been more fun thinking about that team (hey, Byron Buxton hit a triple Wednesday!) than about the Twins.

Monday's post, written in a Cedar Rapids hotel room after an afternoon spent driving and listening to the Sunday game/rain delay, anticipated a coming roster shuffle.

Changes have come, and more will, because the active roster is a starting pitcher short.

Follow the bouncing changeup:

Pedro Hernandez demoted, Caleb Thielbar promoted. Fifth starter out, eighth reliever in. I've always expected the Twins to shuffle through fifth starters in search of somebody who might emerge; I didn't expect Hernandez to get his opportunity as early as he did. Thielbar quickly joined the ranks of overused mop-up men in the bullpen.

Trevor Plouffe took Dan Uggla's shin in the temple
Tuesday night while breaking up a double play.

Trevor Plouffe put on concussion list; Darin Mastroianni put on 60-day disabled list; Chris Colabello put on 40-man roster and on the 25-man roster. The Twins' recent history with concussions — Justin Morneau and Denard Span — has not been a happy one, and the sight of Plouffe taking a shin to the temple raised too many bad memories for Twins fans. Nobody really knows what to expect from concussions, so there's no point in me speculating about how long Plouffe may be out.

Colabello gives the Twins right-handed power, but he's a first baseman-DH, and as such an ill fit on the major league roster as constituted. If he remains, Chris Parmelee or Oswaldo Arcia are likely to get shipped back to Triple A. Third base figures to be handled by a combination of Jamey Carroll and Eduardo Escobar, neither of whom offers Plouffe's pop. I wrote about Mastroianni's status in the Monday post.

Vance Worley demoted, Sam Deduno to be promoted. Worley has gone from Opening Day starter to Triple A in less than two months, which is what a 7.21 ERA can do to a fellow. "The Vanimal" has been the biggest disappointment in a rotation that has been almost completely disappointing.

Deduno has been slated all week to fill Hernandez' rotation slot but hasn't been officially added to the roster yet. One aspect here is that the Twins need another spot on the 40-man roster as well. This may well be found by moving Tim Wood to the 60-day disabled list.

All this still leaves the Twins a starter short. Somebody has to take the ball in four days, when Worley's turn comes around again. My guess: Kyle Gibson. It might have been Gibson for Friday's game except that they don't want to debut him against Detroit.

Grading the Twins rotation

Scott Diamond shone once more in a day game; for his
short career, his day ERA is 3.32, his night ERA 4.27.

Scott Diamond had his third straight quality start Wednesday, but it was the first time this season he was truly the ground-ball machine of 2012. According to Baseball Reference, he had 13 ground balls and five fly balls Wednesday, bringing him to a 40/35 split for the season.

Diamond's breakout 2012 was all about avoiding walks and getting grounders, so Wednesday was a welcome sign. I'll pick a nit and say I'd like to see him break past six innings next time out; while the bullpen has been very good, the rotation needs to eat more outs.

The Twins have used six starters so far. Vance Worley's had six starts, Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey five each, Diamond four, Liam Hendriks and Pedro Hernandez two each.

I classify the starters into three camps:

1) Semi-established: Diamond and Worley. These are the guys I can envision being part of the rotation for the next contending Twins team. Worley's had a difficult go of things so far: 0-4, 7.22 with less than 29 innings in the six starts, and his strikeout rate is down almost two per nine innings.

Indications are that Worley's leash is long, and it ought to be. But he's not doing well.

I'll give Diamond a C for the season so far. Worley has to be earning an F.

2) The disposable veterans: Correia and Pelfrey, the veterans brought in a free agents. I can't argue with Correia's results, even if I doubt he can sustain them. Pelfrey's been brutal. An A for Correia, another F for Pelfrey.

3) The fifth starters: Hendriks and Hernandez. I fully expect the Twins to cycle a number of pitchers through the rotation looking for someone to break through as Diamond did in 2012. Hendriks got the first shot and was quickly supplanted by Hernandez.

I'll give Hendriks a D; he wasn't all that awful in his two starts, but he did get sent down, and unlike last year, he hasn't dominated Triple A upon his return. If and when the Twins swap out another rotation piece, it probably won't be Hendriks getting the call. Cole De Vries and Sam Deduno are more likely (not that either is ready yet).

The left-handed Hernandez has split time between the rotation and long relief since his return, a pattern imposed by the offdays and weather problems, and has put up an ERA of 2.35, which is not to be sneered at. I'll give him a B, but, as with Correia, I don't really expect him to continue at that level.

Here's a key difference between Diamond and Hernandez, at least as far as one can judge Hernandez off 15.1 innings: Hernandez does not appear to be a worm killer. Baseball Reference has him at 20 grounders and 30 fly balls so far.

Notes from a frigid opener

It was a mighty cold day to pitch
in short sleeves, but that's what
Vance Worley did Monday.

One incentive for me to go ahead with my plans to attend Monday's Twins opener despite the weather was the opportunity to add Justin Verlander to the list of great pitchers I've seen in person.

Verlander is great, but this was not one of his great days. Maybe it was the cold, maybe it was just one of those days, but he didn't have his usual velocity (the highest reading I saw on the stadium signs was 93), and a man known for working deep into games and running up some of the highest pitch counts in baseball was pulled after five innings and 91 pitches.

Five shutout innings with seven strikeouts -- that's pretty impressive for someone who wasn't on his game. Verlander will have better ones.

For his part, Twins starter Vance Worley was pretty impressive for someone who gave up three runs in the first two innings.

Worley worked deeper into the game than Verlander (six innings, 101 pitches) and he threw a higher percentage of strikes (59.3 percent strikes for Verlander, 68.3 percent for Worley).

But the Twins left more plays unmade behind their starter than the Tigers did for Verlander.

In the first inning, for example, Worley got Miguel Cabrera to hit a slow grounder to shortstop with men on the corners, but the Twins couldn't turn the double play. That left Cabrera on to score later in the inning.

In the fourth inning, Worley himself was unable to handle the relay on what should have been an inning-ending 3-6-1 double play. That, plus a clear error by shortstop Pedro Florimon, turned what should have been a quick, 15-pitch inning into a 28-pitch one.

Then there was the blunder made by Trevor Plouffe in the third. Torii Hunter had led off with a double to right (a single that Chris Parmelee turned into a double by not fielding it cleanly). Cabrera followed with a grounder to the hole that Plouffe dove for but had no chance of reaching. Florimon made the play, getting Cabrera at first, but Hunter, seeing Plouffe on the ground, took third without a play. That didn't cost the Twins a run — Worley got Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez to ground out harmlessly — but it could have.

The Tigers didn't play perfectly for Verlander. Cabrera bobbled a Joe Mauer grounder for an error in the first inning. But that was really the only play the Tigers didn't make that they should have, and the Twins didn't play nearly as clean a game.

Benchmarks for 2013: Starting rotation

Scott Diamond struggled in his
2011 call-up but emerged in 2012
as the Twins best starter. Now
to see if he can sustain that success.

The Twins went into spring training 2012 figuring that they had a solid, veteran starting rotation: Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, Jason Marquis. Each of those five had potential issues, but still ... they each had years of major league starting experience. The Twins had $30 million invested in those five, and got nothing out of it.

It was never reasonable to expect that all five would come through. It was equally unreasonable to expect all five to fail miserably, but fail they did. The Twins wound up cycling 12 pitchers through the rotation (not counting Baker, who didn't make it out of spring training), each of whom made at least five starts and only one of whom performed well enough to be assured a 2013 slot.

None of the spring training five remain on the 40-man roster; only Blackburn remains in the organization. Of the pitchers on the 40-man roster, the only man to throw 200 innings in a major league season is Mike Pelfrey, and he's coming off Tommy John surgery.

The goal: Establish a bona fide major league rotation.

The first two pieces are Scott Diamond and Vance Worley. Diamond was the one success story in the 2012 rotation tryouts; the lefty came up in May, threw strikes, got ground balls, and compiled a 3.54 ERA in 173 innings. He also had a low strikeout rate, which is not a good sign. Worley, acquired from Philadelphia in the Ben Revere deal, has had two decent partial seasons in the Phillies rotation; last year ended early for elbow surgery. (Diamond also had his elbow scoped this offseason).

Mission: Keep them healthy and sustain their success. Diamond's not likely to get significantly better than he was in 2012, but if he can continue to be this extreme a ground ball pitcher he won't have to be. Worley's durability has yet to be established. They won't be aces, but they can be the third and fourth starters in a championship-caliber rotation.

Kyle Gibson had
ups and downs
in 2012 as he
returned late in the
season from his
Tommy John
surgery.

Beyond finding if those two can be 200-inning rotation anchors, the most important job is propect Kyle Gibson, in the process of rehabbing his reconstructed elbow. The one real benefit of signing low-ceiling veterans Kevin Correia and Pelfrey is that it eases the necessity to push Gibson into the rotation; there is also the corresponding risk that they'll unnecessarily block the higher-ceiling Gibson.

The rest of the significant action in the rotation rebuilding project figures to come in the farm system -- trade acquisitions Alex Meyer and Trevor May, 2012 draftee J.O. Berrios, whoever the Twins take with the No. 4  pick in June's draft. Diamond and Worley aren't going to head the rotation of a championship club; that will take more powerful arms, and Meyer, May and Berrios have that kind of talent.

The veterans who figure to be in the back of the 2013 rotation at least to start the year (Correia, Pelfrey, Blackburn, Rich Harden) and the survivors of the 2012 rotation shuffle (Cole De Vries, Sam Deduno, Liam Hendriks and others) aren't particularly good bets to emerge as usable pieces moving forward. If one does, that's a bonus.

The end game

The ultimate goal, of course, is to see least one of the Meyer-Berrios-May trio graduate into front-of-the-rotation Cy Young contenders and to establish Gibson, Diamond and Worley as 30-plus start, 200 inning men. That's not a realistic set of expectations for 2013. For this year, success should be defined as establishing Diamond and Worley, as getting Gibson's major league career going successfully; as keeping the prospects on track — which is out of Ron Gardenhire's hands —  and maybe find a useful back of the rotation guy in the stack of discards and rehab projects.

Winter meetings, Day 4

Vance Worley had a 3.01 ERA in 2011 but 4.20 in 2012.
He had bone chips removed from his elbow in September.

And on the fourth day they acted.

On Thursday, after the Twins selected a relief candidate in the Rule 5 draft, they made a more significant move: Trading OF Ben Revere to Philadelphia for RHS Vance Worley and power-pitching prospect Trevor May, also a rightie.

Revere -- with his big smile, infectious personality and speed -- had quickly become popular with Twins fans, but this was a good trade for the Twins, even if it creates a bit of a gap in the middle of the outfield.

Worley emerged as a surprisingly good starter in 2011 for the Phillies when their super rotation (Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton) started having injury issues in the back end. Worley was markedly less effective last season, and had elbow surgery in September.

Does he meet the Diamond Standard? Well, he's not pitched 200 innings in any season, but he came fairly close in 2011 (50-plus in the minors, 130-plus in the NL, a handful of outs in the playoffs), but his career ERA in 277.2 innings is 3.50. Assuming the elbow's sound, he's a good bet.

Then there's May, a big-hoss (6-5) pitcher who has struck out 647 men in 525.1 minor league innings. The scouting reports I've seen cite not only a good fastball but good secondary pitches. He's regarded as a prime prospect -- Baseball America last spring ranked him No. 69 among all minor leaguers -- but he's got work to do.

He pitched in the Eastern League (Double A) last year and led the circuit in walks and home runs allowed -- an indication of problems with command and control. He's on the 40-man roster, so he'll be in spring training; conceivably he could win a rotation spot if he comes in to camp throwing strikes, but more likely he'll be sent to Rochester.

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The Rule 5 addition is Ryan Pressly, a right-handed reliever out of the Boston organization. By definition, he's fringey -- hot prospects aren't exposed to Rule 5 -- but he appeared to raise his trajectory last summer when he was shifted to the bullpen in Double A, and he impressed the Twins during his stint in the Arizona Fall League.

He'll compete with the likes of Alex Burnett, Josh Roenicke, Tim Wood and Anthony Swarzak for a spot deep in the Minnesota bullpen. Most of that crop are use-or-lose -- either out of options or, in Pressly's case, a Rule 5 -- and it will be interesting to see how it shakes out in spring training.

Another interesting move, and one that may never be mentioned again, was the signing of Jason Lane, former major league outfielder, as a left-handed pitcher on a minor-league deal. He's 35. He's been pitching in independent ball and Triple A for four seasons.