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.

Winter meetings, Day 3

Joe Blanton finished 2012 with the Dodgers, for whom
he made 10 starts and pitched 57 innings.

The Twins lost out on one of their reputed free-agent targets Wednesday. As that target was Joe Blanton, that was winning by losing; Blanton hasn't had an ERA below 4.00 or topped 200 innings since 2007. His ERA the last three years were 4.71, 5.01 and 4.82.

He's not close to the Diamond Standard.

Brandon McCarthy missed
much of September after
suffering a fractured skull when
hit by a line drive. His recovery
is said to have gone well.

And Anaheim signed him for two years, $15 million.

Blanton does have a track record of making 30 starts a year, and his strikeout rates have improved with age, but on the whole I'm not impressed. He's a back of the rotation guy, and the Twins have plenty of cheaper options there. I'm glad the Twins missed out on him.

I might as well put this on the record: Of the free agent pitchers linked to the Twins, the three who interest me most are, in order, Brandon McCarthy, John Lannan and Shawn Marcum.

All three are flawed, of course; if they weren't flawed, they probably wouldn't be available. McCarthy and Marcum, both right-handed, are health risks; the left-handed Lannan has poor strikeout and walk numbers. But McCarthy and Marcum, if they can take the mound, pitch well, and Lannan is a true ground ball machine. I have no issue with slotting the two righties ahead of Diamond, and Lannon isn't far off Diamond.

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Coming this morning is the Rule V draft. The Twins have the fourth pick, and they have four open roster spaces still, so we can expect some activity from them.

I anticipate that they'll select a pitcher. If they instead pick an outfielder, that will suggest that a trade of either Justin Morneau or Ben Revere is in the works; whispers out of Nashville this week had the Twins gauging the market for both.

Winter meetings, Day 2

Ron Gardenhire's contract as Twins manager expires
after the 2013 season.

Two days gone on baseball's big winter swap meet, and for the Twins -- as for most teams -- it's been all talk and little action.

Ron Gardenhire had his managerial presser Tuesday -- all managers are expected to do one during the meetings -- and his became the Twins story of the day, if only because there was no competition.

He professes to be OK with his current lame duck status; he said, as he has before, that he hasn't had enough success the last two seasons to merit an extension. Terry Ryan, for his part, told reporters that it's on him to get Gardy a better starting rotation.

Which is true -- you can put any of the managers in the Hall of Fame in charge of the current starting staff, and he's not winning a pennant -- but I doubt the sort of upgrades the rotation needs are available or affordable. Anibal Sanchez is reportedly seeking six years, $90 million? Really? And he's generally reckoned the second-best starter on the market (behind Zach Greinke).

Ryan is vague on what he needs to see from Gardenhire to retain him beyond the coming season. It's an offseason of mixed messages for we the fans -- talk of improvement in 2013 is more than countered by an apparent commitment to a young middle infield that is unlikely to hit, the trade of an established position player for a possible future ace and the continued void in the rotation.

It's still early in December, with plenty of time for significant moves, but the pattern so far says Ryan's priority is 2014-15 and beyond. I'm inclined to think that's the proper direction. But I'm also inclined to think that may not bode well for Gardenhire.

The question before the house: Is Ron Gardenhire a good match for a rebuild? I suspect this will be a running theme for the coming winter and season.

Winter meetings, Day 1

Monday was an outwardly quiet day for the Twins at the winter meetings.

Terry Ryan told SiriusXM radio that Joe Mauer wouldn't be traded (now there's a news flash; I have no idea why the Star Tribune keeps dragging that nonsense out); Ron Gardenhire told MLB TV that the front office is busy trying to trade his entire team; no moves were actually made.

By the Twins or anybody else. The biggest news of the day:

Umpire Hank O'Day. He
is the only man to
play, manage and
umpire in the majors.

• Alex Rodriguez needs hip surgery again; the Yankee third baseman is prehabbing now, will have the surgery in January and is unlikely to play before midsummer. Brian Cashman had an amusing reason for not revealing this earlier: Nobody ever specifically asked him about A-Rod's hip.
• Joe Mauer will play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic next spring; Justin Morneau will play for Canada. Liam Hendriks was also announced for Australia, but Ryan said Hendriks had his elbow scoped and will not pitch in the tournament. 
• The Veterans Committee elected three men from the pre-integration era to the Hall of Fame: umpire Hank O'Day, catcher Deacon White and owner Jacob Ruppert. 

That Ruppert, the owner who turned the Yankees into the Yankees, wasn't already in the Hall is inexplicable. O'Day is most noteworthy as the man who made probably the most famous controversial call in umpiring history; he's the guy who ruled Fred Merkle out in 1908. Merkle's Boner. The call was correct by the written rule, but it went against the conventions of the day. White was a standout in the early days of professional ball -- a 20-year-career and a barehanded catcher.

A barehanded catcher. Yeah, I don't want to think about it either. It was definitely a different game then, but still ...

The Diamond standard

Scott Diamond is the only certain
piece of the 2013 rotation right now.

Last week's Denard Span trade -- established center fielder for Class A pitcher -- was the trade of an organization looking to 2015 more than 2013.

The Twins insist that's not the case. With the winter meetings -- three-plus days of the baseball industry gathered in Nashville -- getting started today, we may be about to find out how serious the Twins are about trying to rise up in the coming season.

Terry Ryan and Co. appear to have some $30 million in payroll available. They also have four openings in the starting rotation and a reputed focus on the free agent crop rather than trades to fill those gaps.

My yardstick for whatever veteran starting pitchers the Twins acquire is fairly simple: Scott Diamond. Diamond's career numbers to date -- 34 starts, 212 innings, 3.82 ERA -- is roughly one full season in the rotation in terms of workload and a decent third starter in terms of results.

The Twins have plenty of options to slot in behind that. They have, on their 40-man roster, five pitchers who figure to start if they make the 25-man roster -- alphabetically, Cole De Vries, Kyle Gibson, Liam Hendriks, B.J. Hermsen and Pedro Hernandez -- and a sixth, Brian Duensing, who may start but probably fits better in the bullpen. They will have in camp as non-roster invitees another wave of candidates, most of whom we're familiar with: Nick Blackburn (and his $5.5 million contract), Sam Deduno, Esmerling Vasquez and P.J. Walters.

That's at least 10 candidates, none of whom can reasonably be said right now to project to the Diamond Standard in 2013. Gibson does in further seasons, but we know he's not going to be allowed to throw 200 innings next year.

The Twins goal in Nashville this week -- if they are serious about trying to return to contention in 2013 -- has to be on finding two pitchers who can reasonably match or surpass the Diamond Standard next season: 30-plus starts, 200-plus innings, ERA under 4.00.

That won't be easy, or inexpensive. But that's the need. The Twins don't need to spend on bulk starters to fill out the rotation; they have that already. They need quality at the head of the rotation.

The Sunday funnies

It occurs to me that I should provide the disclaimer I repeated a few times last winter with the Sunday Funnies: I make no claim of accuracy. These are merely amusing stories, quips and anecdotes; some have some truth to them, others are obviously fictional, many come with a variety of punch lines. We're just having fun here.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers under Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda were generally a very good team, but their infield defense for part of his tenure was suspect at best. Second baseman Steve Sax developed a well-publicized mental block about throwing to first base, and the Dodgers, in an attempt to fit another bat in the lineup, were trying to turn slugging outfielder Pedro Guerrero into a third baseman.

Came a day when Guerrero, Sax and their teammates had another rough game afield, and Lasorda had enough. He closed the clubhouse, called a team meeting and lit into his squad, accusing them of insufficient attention in the field.

"You, Guerrero, what in the world are you thinking about out there," the manager demanded.

"I hope they no hit the ball to me," the Dominican replied.

"Don't you think of anything else?" Lasorda asked.

"I hope they no hit the ball to Sax, either."

Clearing room on the 40-man roster (updated)

Thomas Field's 2012 Topps card.

Last week, the Twins had 40 players on their roster. After a week of subtraction, they're now down to 37 36.

Wednesday: IF Thomas Field was lost on waivers to Anaheim
Thursday: CF Denard Span was traded to Washington; Alex Meyer, the pitcher they got back, isn't on the 40-man roster and probably won't be put on the 40 until he's put on the 25-man active roster.
Friday: RHP Deolis Guerra was outrighted to Rochester; RHP Lester Oliveros was nontendered.

The Span trade, of course, has gotten plenty of commentary, here and elsewhere. The other moves, not so much.

The Twins claimed Field on waivers from Colorado early in November. As I predicted when the Twins acquired him, the Twins tried to slip him through waivers themselves. On Wednesday we learned that Anaheim claimed him. So he's gone.

Deolis Guerra has
been in the Twins
organization since
2008, but is only 23.

The Twins probably picked Field up with the intent of making him the shortstop at Rochester. Now the organization has a bit of a hole to plug there. Last year the Red Wings used Brian Dozier or Pedro Florimon at short (Dozier to open and close the season, Florimon while Dozier was in Minnesota), with Tsuyoshi Nishioka at second base. Nishi won't be back, of course, and Dozier, Florimon and Eduardo Escobar are all in the mix for jobs at the big league level. I expect another infield addition in the Twins future.

Guerra, the last remaining piece from the Johan Santana trade, cleared waivers, which means nobody else wanted to give him a spot on their 40-man roster. He remains in the organization and will be in major league camp this spring. He was out of options anyway, so had he not cleared waivers now and didn't make the team the Twins would have had to waive him in the spring. Guerra had had a good start to his 2012 season and seemed likely to get a call-up, but tailed off and missed a good bit of time to injury.

Oliveros' nontender took me by surprise. Friday's deadline for making "qualifying offers" generally focuses on the arbitration-eligible players -- in the Twins case, Drew Butera, Jared Burton and Brian Duensing. All three were retained. Oliveros, a hard-thrower acquired in 2011's Delmon Young trade, will miss 2013 after having Tommy John surgery, and the Twins apparently decided it wasn't worth keeping him on the 40-man roster. (Update: The Twins have re-signed him to a minor league deal.)

All this frees up plenty of space for either free agent signings or activity in the Rule V draft. The word from Twins execs after the Span trade was that their focus at the winter meetings next week would be on talking to agents rather than trades, so making room was necessary.