With MLB free agency starting next week, heres what I would do if I was the Twins GM. Manager: While it looks like Molitor will be getting the job, hes actually last on my list. With Rick Renteria suddenly becoming available, Id interview him, and the choice would be between he and Torey Luvullo. It concerns me that the Twins want to stick with an internal candidate, because Im worried that the Twins want to stick with their current method of doing business. Catcher: No major moves. It should be Suzuki and Pinto. 1B: Mauers not earning his keep, but not much to do here. He needs to step it up big time. Infield: Dozier is fine at second base, and Danny Santana needs to stick to SS. Escobar is a good utility player, but if Santana keeps playing well, hes going to be our SS for a long while, so he needs to be comfortable there. Plouffe is fine as a stopgap until Sano gets here. However, Terry Ryans latest insanity is saying that Sano might get moved to OF if Plouffe keeps playing well. No. Keep Sano at 3B, unless his defense is bad, then move him to 1B and let Mauer play 3B or in the OF. Plouffe can play OF as well, and even if hes not a starter, I wouldnt mind having him around on the bench. OF: Shambles currently. Remind me why we traded Revere AND Span? Arcia is the only lock here and he needs to get his average up a little. He should benefit with Gardy gone. As I said before last season, Hicks is done. Actually, I hated that we drafted him in the first place. With Buxton on the way soon, Im ok with Schafer as a stopgap in CF. He did well enough to at least have a shot going into spring training, and hes better than Hicks. As far as the third spot goes, one of two things needs to happen. Either Mauer moves to RF, letting Vargas take over at 1B, or we bring in a good free agent. I make a BIG PUSH at Yasmany Tomas from Cuba. We need a young exciting player. Im not too crazy about the other options, unless Cuddyer took a huge discount to come back. But all the free agents are too old. SP: Hahahahahahaha. Terry Ryan has no clue how to bring in good pitchers. First of all, trim the fat. Mike Pelfrey gets the door. Nolasco too. Even if I have to eat most of his contract. Heres where I make the big splash. Day one, call Max Scherzer. He played summer college ball in Lacrosse. Spend big on him. Bullpen: Perkins is the closer, bring back Pressly, Swarzak, Duensing and Thielbar. The last spot can be a competition between Achter, Pryor, Hamburger, and some others. No need to spend big for a free agent. Bench: The leftovers. As our young prospects come up, the former starters will slide here. Although I wouldnt mind signing Casey McGehee if he can be signed on the cheap. Id also see if I could trade for Mikie Mahtook from the Rays. By all indications, hes a prospect that didnt pan out, but hes put up ok stats and has upside, even though its likely hell be a bench guy. Potential Opening Day Lineup Santana - SS Suzuki - C Dozier - 2B Tomas - LF Vargas - DH Mauer - 1B Arcia - RF Plouffe - 3B Schafer - CF Rotation 1) Max Scherzer 2) Phil Hughes 3) Kyle Gibson 4) Trevor May 5) Alex Meyer Bullpen Glen Perkins Alex Pressly Anthony Swarzak Brian Duensing Caleb Thielbar Stephen Pryor/A.J. Achter/Tommy Milone Bench Josmil Pinto Eduardo Escobar Mikie Mahtook Casey McGehee Aaron Hicks Payroll: $111 million. This includes salaries of Nolasco and Pelfrey, which, in a best case scenario, would get reduced or elimitated. My best guess for Scherzer is $24mil/year, Tomas at 8mil/year, and McGehee at 2mil/year. Of course, cheaper options include Colabello, Parmelee, and Nunez, and Im not invested in McGehee at all, so money can be saved there too.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 20:12:58 +0000
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