twins/mlb
La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts. Mark Rosen borrows him occasionally for WCCO-TV.
Twins might not be done looking at pitchers, plus plenty of other notes
Posted by: La Velle E. Neal III Updated: December 26, 2012 - 3:02 PM
After adding Vance Worley, Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey to the starting rotation, and signing Rich Harden to a minor league deal with hopes he can contribute in 2013, the Twins appear to be done shopping for pitchers.
Not so fast.
"I wouldn't say we're done," assistant General Manager Rob Antony said. "I wouldn't say were pushing hard. We have our feelers out there. If the situation is right, we could do something else. If not, we're O.K. too.''
Indications are that they are not going to hand out the two-year deal for $14-15 million that has become the rage this offseason (see Brandon McCarthy, Joe Blanton and Francisco Liriano). They will let Joe Saunders walk if that is the case. Same for Brett Myers and Shawn Marcum (there are health issues with Marcum too).
But if the offseason continues and the those pitchers remain unsigned, the Twins will take a harder look at them if they lower their demands. Despite having money to spend (they could open the season with a payroll in the low $80M range) they are not going to pay what they think is too much for average pitching.
Let's see how this plays out.
Here are some other notes on the day after Christmas:
THE TWINS' THINKING ON PITCHING
I'm not asserting that the Twins made a good move or not, but their approach to Kevin Correia is their classic move.
The Twins see value in Correia making at least 26 starts in each of the previous four seasons. They feel he was on his way to 190-plus innings last season when the Pirates dealt for Wandy Rodriguez for the stretch drive and bumped Correia to the bullpen. To them, $5 million a year for a back of a rotation guy is reasonable.
Now, Correia has to prove he can pitch in this league and in a park that's not as pitcher-friendly as PNC Park. The Jason Marquis experiment was a disaster last season, so there's concerns about Correia attempting to make a similar jump. But the Twins believe that Correia has a little bulldog in him and will go at hitters and get them to put the ball in play.
Based on their thinking, giving McCarthy $15 million over two years isn't wise. McCarthy has not thrown more than 170 innings in a season and has had injuries (not counting the line drive off his noggin last year).
So let's watch how Correia and McCarthy fare in 2013. McCarthy has the potential to be very good. Correia has been reliable. Who will have the better season?
My take: If you want to stick to your guns and not pay McCarthy because of health concerns or not pay Edwin Jackson because $13 million a year is too much for a career .500 pitcher, that's fine. But keep in mind that if all the cool kids are doing it and you don't take a chance once in awhile, you'll be stuck on an island alone with your principles when it's time to dance.
One of these years, the Twins have to take the plunge.
PACKED CAMP
I need to clarify that the Twins have 34 pitchers coming to camp in February.
They have 22 pitchers on their 40-man roster who automatically get to report with the major leaguers. Last week, the Twins signed Harden and announced that righthanders Bryan Augenstein, Nick Blackburn, Deolis Guerra, Alex Meyer, Lester Oliveros and Anthony Slama were being invited to camp.
But there's more. Over a month ago, the Twins announced that right-handed pitchers Samuel Deduno, Shairon Martis, Luis Perdomo, Esmerling Vasquez and P.J. Walters were invited to camp as well. That's what I failed to mention last week.
So the Twins will have a record 34 pitchers in camp in February, one more than last spring.
WINTER LEAGUE UPDATES
Miguel Sano is batting .265 with 4 homers and 14 RBI for Estrellas of the Dominican Winter League. Not great numbers - and he's not playing every day - but the Twins are pleased. "Any time you can get playing time at age 19 in a league like that, it's a good thing," Twins GM Terry Ryan said last week. "He's holding his own down there."
Eddie Rosario is balling in Puerto Rico. He went 3-for-5 with a home run on Saturday and was a triple shy of the cycle. His .349 batting average is second in the league to go with his four homers and 15 RBI. He's playing the outfield in winter ball but the Twins intend to keep him at second base, where his bat could really be an asset.
Chris Colabello spent seven seasons in independent ball before signing with Class AA New Britain last season, going .284-19-98. He's gone nuts in the Mexican League, going .332-17-44 in 57 games. He's third in batting, tied for third in home runs and first in slugging percentage. Remember, this is the Mexican League. And Colabello is 29 and hasn't played above Class AA.
I have a friend who reads the Latin papers for winter ball news. Drew Butera had to leave Estrellas because of bronchitis but returned to the club a few weeks later. My friend said the papers made a big deal about about Butera returning to help the cause.
You can look up stats of every Twins player in an offseason league here.
Etc.
The Twins, as of now, have 66 players scheduled to report to camp. That's 34 pitchers and 32 position players. Add 22 coaches and that's 88 people in uniform - close to a numbers crunch.
The Twins will hand out 88 uniform numbers but have eight retired numbers. That's 96. There will be some 93's 94's and 95's handed out this spring.
Ryan Doumit will take over Steve Liddle's old No. 9.
Oliveros will be at camp but will be rehabbing from Tommy John surgery he had in August.
One more thing. With Pelfrey, Diamond and Correia all being ground ball pitchers, the Twins' need to make sure they have reliable fielders behind them.
Twins sign Harden, Diamond has minor surgery. Non-roster invites
Posted by: La Velle E. Neal III Updated: December 21, 2012 - 10:20 AM
The Twins have reached agreement with righthander Rich Harden on a minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training.
Harden missed all of last season while recovering from rotator cuff surgery in January. It's a very low-risk move to see if the oft-injured Harden can bounce back. Despite his injuries, Harden averaged 9.20 strikeouts per nine innings from 2003-11, thanks to top shelf stuff.
But the other news is that lefthander Scott Diamond, the Twins' most effective starter last season, was in New York on Tuesday to have a bone chip removed from his left elbow. The procedure is a simple one but still raises an eyebrow.
The Twins also announced their list of non-roster invites to spring training: : Righthanders Bryan Augenstein, Nick Blackburn, Deolis Guerra, Alex Meyer, Lester Oliveros and Anthony Slama; outfielders Brandon Boggs and Clete Thomas; infielders Jeff Clement, Chris Colabello, Ray Olmedo and Mark Sobolewski; and catchers Kyle Knudson, Danny Lehmann and Dan Rohlfing.
Francisco Liriano takes his talents to Pittsburgh
Posted by: La Velle E. Neal III Updated: December 21, 2012 - 9:23 AMThe Francisco Liriano era is officially over in Minnesota. The lefthander has agreed to a two year, $14 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to a source. The deal will be finalized once Liriano passes a physical.
Liriano was one of three pitchers the Twins received in exchange for catcher A.J. Pierzynski in 2003. Liriano reached the majors in 2005. but it was 2006 when he electrified Twins fans with a 12-3, 2.16 season. That season was cut short by a torn elbow ligament and, while he seemed to regain almost all his stuff from that injury, he couldn't become a top pitcher.
(What if moment: What if Liriano could have pitched in the postseason that year with Johan Santana?)
Liriano was 3-10 last season with a 5.31 ERA before being traded to the White Sox. The Twins discussed re-signing Liriano a few weeks ago but talks stalled.
The Twins have moved on, signing Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey. They are interested in Joe Saunders and Rich Harden, but I've heard that a couple other teams have stepped up their pursuit of Saunders. Stay tuned.
The Twins have been in contact today with the agent for righthander Rich Harden, according to multiple sources.
Harden, who has been hampered by injuries in recent years, is attempting a comeback after a year away. He would likely sign a minor league deal and be invited to major league spring training. It's not clear if he's attempting to come back as a starter or a reliever.
Stay tuned. This one is heating up pretty quickly.
Twins officially sign free agent righthander Mike Pelfrey
Posted by: La Velle E. Neal III Updated: December 20, 2012 - 9:09 AMThe Twins have (finally) announced the signing of righthander Mike Pelfrey to a one-year, $4 million contract after the player passed a physical on Wednesday.
Pelfrey joins the Twins after spending most of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery on his elbow. The surgery took place May 1, and there's an outside chance that he could be ready to contribute during the first month of the season. The bet here is that the Twins go the safe route with him and ease him back into full duty.
Several teams expressed interest in Pelfrey, but indications are that the choice came down to the Twins and Kansas City. Pelfrey is from Wichita and pitched for Wichita State, making Kansas City an attractive option.
In addition to the $4 million, Pelfrey can receive another $1.5 million through incentives.
Pelfrey, 29, will be one of three new faces in a vastly altered Twins rotation. The Twins signed veteran righthander Kevin Correia last week and traded for righthander Vance Worley two weeks ago. Lefthander Scott Diamond, who went 12-9 with a 3.54 ERA last season, will be the only sure thing returning from 2012. Rookie righthander Kyle Gibson could factor too, but his innings will be monitored as he comes back from Tommy John surgery in 2011.
Pelfrey is a former first round pick by the Mets who is 50-54 in seven seasons. His best year came in 2010, when he went 15-9 with a 3.66 ERA. He slumped to 7-13, 4.74 in 2011 and made three starts last season before going down with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.
And the Twins might not be done adding pitchers. According to a source, they remain in the hunt for lefthander Joe Saunders - although adding him would round out what might be the greatest ground ball-inducing staff since the dead ball era.
Twins have a tentative deal with Mike Pelfrey
Posted by: La Velle E. Neal III Updated: December 17, 2012 - 1:58 AMThe Twins have reached agreement with free agent righthander Mike Pelfrey, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The deal won't be finalized until he passes a physical.
According to reports, Pelfrey will receive $4 million in 2013 with the chance of earning another $1.5 million in incentives.
Pelfrey started three games last season for the Mets before being lost for the year due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, required reconstructive surgery. Pelfrey has indicated that he should be ready to go for the start of the 2013 season, but nothing will be known for sure until he makes it through spring training.
Pelfrey, 29, is a former first round pick by the Mets who went 50-54 in seven seasons. His best year came in 2010, when he went 15-9 with a 3.66 ERA. He slumped to 7-13, 4.74
Twins General Manager Terry Ryan was not available for comment.
If the Twins do sign Pelfrey, he will join Scott Diamond, Vance Worley and Kevin Correia in the 2013 rotation. The Twins, however, might continue to look at starting pitching options during the offseason.
It's an interesting move by the Twins. Pelfrey could be a solid addition if he can contribute early and regain his form. But Pelfrey has his Tommy John surgery about two weeks after Scott Baker did. The Twins tried to sign Baker but apparently want to have an option year on his deal, which Baker balked at.
Then they give Pelfrey a one-year deal. Hmmmm.
Baker ended up signing for the Cubs for $5.5 million - plus $1.5 million in incentives.
A ground ball pitcher, Pelfrey hasn't given up more than 21 home runs in a season and has a career rare of 0.7 home runs per nine innings.
I view Correia as a back-of-the-rotation guy. Pelfrey can be more than that, if he gets his mojo back after Tommy John surgery. I thought the Twins would sign a couple Pelfrey-level pitchers this offseason. He has won 15 games in the league before and might have another season like that in him.
But you have to look at the Twins' potential rotation and wonder if they have anything more than a No. 3 starter. I still think the Twins would have some support if they just announce that they are building for two years down the road. They might think they can be competitive, but we'll be watching Alex Meyer and Trevor May to see if they get off to fast starts and can get here by September.
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