Comments on: A Full Forty – Dissecting the 40-Man Roster (Position Players)

By: Jim Crikket

Jim Crikket — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 04:00:45 +0000

Wow, you got your series posted just in time… With Field getting removed and claimed by the Angels, the roster is now a not-so-full 39.

That said, I really don’t get why they filled up the 40 man if they knew they were going to want to cut it to 39 in order to make room for a Rule 5 pick, which we have to assume is the reason they tried to pass Field through waivers.

By: Eric Pleiss

Eric Pleiss — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 00:22:58 +0000

I’m a Parmelee type, hitting right but throwing left. So I get the bad side of the platoon and can only play 1B. My upside is limited though, as my bat has yet to break through above 3rd grade ball.

By: Jim Crikket

Jim Crikket — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 19:48:48 +0000

For some reason, I was thinking Parmelee hit left but threw right, like Morneau (and me, for that matter), but yeah obviously being a lefty limits his flexibility. It’s wrong for anyone to just assume Mauer could even be an adequate 3B at the MLB level because it’s just not that easy. I’d sure like to know whether he could play the position, though. It would open up so many more options. Of course, they probably can’t even have him try to pick up ground balls at 3B without 50 people reporting/tweeting that “the Twins are moving Mauer to 3B!”

By: Eric Pleiss

Eric Pleiss — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 19:08:03 +0000

I guess with Parmelee it all depends on his bat transitioning to (as Bert would say) the Big League level. He’s left handed, so he can’t play 3B, and I like the idea of Mauer at 3B, especially since we know he has more than enough arm strength to wing the ball across the diamond. And if Ron Gardenhire knew what he was doing, he could have a nice Platoon with Plouffe and Mauer at 3B, moving Doumit in at catcher when Mauer is at 3B (presumable with a RHP on the mound), and Doumit hits best against RHP as LHB.
Look out Terry Ryan, Knuckleballs is taking your job!

By: Jim Crikket

Jim Crikket — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 18:54:06 +0000

Honestly, I’m not sold on Parmelee as the 1B for the next several years. I guess that’s one reason I’m looking for rationale to keep Morneau around a couple more years until someone like Sano or Vargas might be ready. I don’t see them trying him at 3B though. He’s never played it, to my knowledge, and I don’t think you want a guy with concussion issues diving after balls at 3B. Maybe Parmelee could learn the position? Probably not. I still think it’s worth a look at Mauer over there, but that’s not in the cards either. The 2/20 figure you mentioned is kind of what I had in mind, too. I just have no idea if that’s even remotely realistic.

By: Eric Pleiss

Eric Pleiss — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:53:17 +0000

Jim,
I find it hard to imagine the Twins hanging on to Morneau unless they’re really not sure about Parmelee. I’d need to be able to get Morneau for 2/20 or better to want to keep him around, especially when you have a Parmelee who will cost just 1 million for those same two years, and could occupy 1B for the next 4-6 years. But I agree that if you can sign Morneau to a team friendly 2 year deal, you definitely have more trade leverage. But I don’t see the Twins signing him just to deal him away in the near future, that doesn’t seem to be their operating style.

If I am looking to make a deal with the Twins, and I have a young pitcher I am going to wan Span + MLB Ready Outfielder. If the Twins are trading Revere I think it takes him, and MLB Ready type, and then another B-/C+ type prospect. Revere’s limited offensive upside hurts him against Span. I think it makes more sense to move Span and then Arcia because Arcia isn’t a center fielder and his left handed bat gets lost in the Twins lineup. Because even if the Twins move Span and Arcia, the Twins still have Mauer, Morneau (at least one more year), Parmelee, and Revere from the left side. And then they could go Revere, Jamey Carroll (ideally Mauer in the 2 hole, but Gardy’d never go for that), Mauer, Willingham, Morneau, Plouffe, Parmelee. So that’s a nice LRLRLRL at the top of the line up, forcing teams to burn a LOOGY for just one batter, or be willing to risk a skilled Twins hitter teeing off on them.
Another outside the box scenario, especially with Terry Ryan harping about someone pushing Plouffe at 3B, what if the Twins pulled a Detroit and pushed Morney over to 3B to free up 1B for Parmelee? Sacrifice more defense, but you can keep two excellent defenders in the OF (Revere and Mastroianni or MLB Ready mid-season callup Aaron Hicks). I don’t see it happening, but if the Twins want to keep Morneau, find ABs for Parmelee and have a solid OF defense, it could work.

By: Jim Crikket

Jim Crikket — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:28:00 +0000

I have no idea what the Twins were thinking when they added Pinto to the 40-man. Just seems totally unnecessary.

Pretty much everyone assumes that Justin Morneau will be playing out the final year of his contract and then move on (unless the Twins find someone willing to trade for him). I’ve been wondering lately, though, if that’s necessarily true. I could see the Twins try to negotiate a team-friendly two year extension if Morneau and his agent would go for it, without a limited trade provision. That might actually make him a more valuable trade chip while removing the urgency to do a deal during the season before he walks as a FA. Of course, that would also allow the Twins to retain the option of trading Parmelee instead.

Let me also pose one more question that’s been on my mind lately: If you were the Braves, Rays or Reds (apparently the most likely potential trade partners with pitchers to send to the Twins), would you give up better pitchers for a package built around Span, Revere, or one of the “MLB-ready” outfielders like Hicks or Arcia? Everyone just assumes Span is the guy out of that group that other teams would want, but I’m not so sure. Of course, it’s also possible that in order to get the pitching Terry Ryan wants, he’d have to give up more than one of those guys anyway.

By: Eric Pleiss

Eric Pleiss — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:20:33 +0000

Andrew,
My thinking was that as a part time catcher, who primarily played infield and spent some time in the outfield before really become a 2/3 time catcher in 2010, that he still has a long ways to go defensively. His arm certainly helps him throw runners out, and his AA CS% are very encouraging, but in the Eastern League in 2012, five teams had a CS% north of 40%, so he is not that far ahead of the curve. More than likely he is benefiting from base runners that are still learning their base stealing skills. However, I do not think he’s likely to be as bad as Ryan Doumit behind the dish, and his bat and positional flexibility more than make up for any rawness he has as a catcher. At 25 he isn’t exactly a young prospect anymore, but I’d like to see him log some more innings above AA before I would be willing to say he’s an average defensive catcher.
However, you’ve likely seen a great deal more of him than I have, so when he performs well in Rochester I’ll be more willing to accept his success as skill based rather than a sample size fluctuation.

By: AW

AW — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:42:14 +0000

Great rundown, Eric. My only quibble would be describing Chris Herrmann as “pretty rough” as a catcher. Admittedly, I didn’t watch much of his Sept. call-up, but I did find him to be perfectly adequate — even above-average at some points — in New Britain last season. In 2012, he threw out 44% of base stealers, and his lowest percentage in the minors in any year is 36 %. Also keep in mind that he was dealing (for the most part) with new pitchers during his time in MN.

Not to say he’s superior defensively to Drew Butera, but I think he’s at least adequate.