Sunday, February 8, 2009
Roster Preview
2009 Minnesota Twins
Hey everyone! Well, the Twins pitchers and catchers will be reporting in less than ten days. With the pending signing of Luis Ayala, I have to believe the Twins are done adding players to the bullpen. There are still rumors of Joe Crede becoming the Twins 2009 3B, and I fear there is better than a 50% chance that it will happen. Other than that, the roster is pretty well set. In fact, there may only be one or two roster battles in the spring. So with that, I am going to present a look at the 2009 Minnesota Twins roster as I see it coming out of spring training. I will add a few thoughts as well. And, well, you know I can’t stop with just the Twins roster. I have to try to guess who will be on the opening day rosters of the Rochester Red Wings, the New Britain Rockcats, the Ft. Myers Miracle and the Beloit Snappers. Those are the four full-season minor league affiliates of the Twins. Those will be posted in subsequent articles, likely this week, so be sure to check back for them. I actually spent a little time thinking through the rosters of the Elizabethton Twins and the Gulf Coast League Twins as well, but we definitely won't know the E-Town roster until after the June draft. Same thing with the GCL Twins.
I would love to hear your thoughts. If you agree, let me know. If you disagree, definitely let me know! If I am completely forgetting someone, you must let me know!! With that, let's get this started:
2009 MINNESOTA TWINS
|
Starting Pitchers |
Scott Baker |
Francisco Liriano |
Kevin Slowey |
Nick Blackburn |
Glen Perkins |
A year ago, the Twins had lost Johan Santana, Carlos Silva and Matt Garza and the starting rotation was one of the Twins biggest question markets. This spring, there really is little question about who the Twins starting five will be. Scott Baker really solidified himself as a top of the rotation starter and has already been named the Twins Opening Day starter. A year ago, we had no clue what to expect from Francisco Liriano. Our hopes were high, but coming back from Tommy John surgery, it was impossible to guess what he would do. In reality, he probably did what we should have expected. He struggled with control early, was sent to AAA, earned his way back to the Twins roster and pitched very well. In my mind, he is the wild card to the outlook on the 2009 Twins. At times, he reminded us of what we saw in 2006. He also threw about 180 innings. Hopefully he can return to that form! Kevin Slowey showed just how dominant a pitcher with impeccable control can be. Just imagine, a guy perceived not to have an “out” pitch had two games with more than ten strikeouts. I believe all three of those can be top of the rotation pitchers. Nick Blackburn was the surprise of 2008. He had a very solid rookie season, far exceeding any of my expectations. And finally, Glen Perkins skipped a start in September, but we often forget that in August, Perkins shut out the Yankees and the Angels in a span of three starts. What is exciting is that at one point or more throughout the 2008 season, all five of these pitchers could have been called the team’s best pitcher. I happen to think that that bodes well for the Twins for now, and for the next several years.
|
Closer |
Joe Nathan |
Best closer in baseball since coming to the Twins, Nathan was as good as ever in 2008. 39 saves. A 1.33 ERA. A 0.90 WHIP. 74 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 67.2 innings. Can’t ask for anything more in your closer!
|
Relief Pitcher |
Jesse Crain |
Matt Guerrier |
Luis Ayala |
Craig Breslow |
Boof Bonser |
Phil Humber |
Pat Neshek will be out for the 2009 season. We know that. It’s unfortunate really, but he should be back in 2010, ready to pitch in the new stadium. The state of the Twins bullpen was a cause of much debate throughout the offseason. The struggles over the last couple of months led to widespread belief that major change was needed. I didn’t buy that. I am a big believer in 1.) the Twins pitchers that were overused, and 2.) the Twins pitching depth as a whole. What Jesse Crain did in 2008 was astonishing considering he was less than a year from two major shoulder surgeries. Matt Guerrier was an excellent reliever for two and a half years prior to him breaking down in the second half of 2008. I fully expect him to be a very solid contributor again. Craig Breslow has arguably been the best acquisition in Bill Smith’s brief tenure. Boof Bonser clearly has the stuff to be a dominating relief pitcher. He’s always been a strikeout pitcher as a starter, so he could be even more dominant out of the bullpen. Phil Humber is kind of the question mark at this point. Like Bonser last year (and obviously this year too), Humber is out of options, and if he doesn’t make the Twins roster, he could be (and would be) lost to another team. I see Humber as a pitcher who is very comparable to Guerrier. Good fastballs. Good control. Very good curveballs. It would be unfortunate to lose him and his potential. Luis Ayala simply has to pass a physical to become a member of the Twins roster. I actually don’t mind this signing. I don’t think he is the 8th inning guy that we are told they need, but I do think that along with Crain and Guerrier and the rest, he can really help the bullpen. There is one name that I am certain you noticed is missing. That is Jose Mijares. A couple of weeks ago, we heard that he left his Venezuelan team and there certainly is concern about his attitude. There isn’t really any questioning his talent. That said, I have said all offseason that we have to look at the whole of his minor league development as opposed to just looking at how good he looked in ten games with the Twins in September. Remember that he only has a couple of games at AAA, and those were in 2007. I truly believe that it is a good thing for Mijares to start the 2009 season in AAA. It also allows the Twins more time to evaluation the back end of their bullpen. In reality, Mijares does have options remaining.
|
Starting Lineup |
|
Denard
Span CF |
|
Alexi Casilla 2B |
|
Joe Mauer C |
|
Justin Morneau 1B |
|
Michael Cuddyer RF |
|
Jason Kubel DH |
|
Delmon
Young LF |
|
Brendan Harris 3B |
|
Nick Punto SS |
There really are just two questions as it relates to the Twins starting lineup in 2009. The first is what happens if the Twins do sign Joe Crede. I think he would jump into the 5 hole in the lineup with Cuddyer dropping to 7 or 8. Obviously it would move Brendan Harris to the bench. The other question is the allotment of playing time to the OF. As I have stated previously, I think that a plan can be devised for the first half of the season. Denard Span is the best leadoff hitting option and needs to be in the option. There is a need for RH hitting, so Delmon Young and Michael Cuddyer need to play most of the time. And as much as AAA time may help him significantly, I think we know that Ron Gardenhire will want Carlos Gomez manning CF much of the time. 3B is likely a platoon situation if Crede is not signed, although I would like to see Brendan Harris take the job and run with it. And any time you can have Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in the middle of your lineup, you have to be happy. Having Cuddyer around to consistently separate Morneau and lefty Jason Kubel will be very helpful. That said, I believe that by mid season, Delmon Young will show what he can do and take over the five spot.
|
Reserves |
|
|
Mike Redmond |
Backup Catcher |
|
Brian Buscher |
Backup 1B, 3B, |
|
Matt Tolbert |
Backup 2B, 3B, SS |
|
Carlos Gomez |
Part-Time CF |
Again in 2009, there is no question who the backup catcher is. Mike Redmond has been everything the Twins could have hoped for in 2009. He becomes a free agent after the season so he will need to continue to prove his value to come back for the first season in Target Field. In my mind, I like Brian Buscher’s bat enough for him to be a solid left-handed bat off the bench, and he can play some games at the corner positions. Matt Tolbert seems to be the front-runner for the utility infielder job. I think Alejandro Machado would be considered if he proves himself able to play the left-side of the infield and throw the ball across the diamond. And finally, the outfielder that isn’t starting on a particular day will be on the bench as well.
You will notice that I have a roster that includes 13 hitters and 12 pitchers. Based on the composition of the roster, I think that in the American League, they can play with just four bench options. It is possible that they may need to add a hitter for inter-league games in National League parks.
So there you have it, my February 8th opinion on the Minnesota Twins 2009 roster. There aren’t too many question marks at this point. Any thoughts? Send me an e-mail, or let's talk about it in the Comments here.