Following last night’s “been there, done that” 6-3 lost, I was at a loss of words. There were no more adjectives, no metaphors or uplifting factoids to share about the Twins. The writing, which was on the wall long ago, was now a bright neon sign. This team stinks. The starters, this time Carl Pavano, have been simply too hittable. The offense squanders scoring opportunities time and time again. Listless and noncompetitive: Your 2012 Minnesota Twins. (Not the best marketing line, but it’s honest)
Then, things got a little bit crazy. Almost immediately following the game, the team announced they were demoting struggling 3B Danny Valencia, designating Matt Maloney (and his bloated era) for assignment. In their place the Twins promoted the hot hitting Darin Mastroianni (not saying I told you so – but SOMEONE called for that move a week ago) and AAA pitcher PJ Walters.
Out of all the moves, the demotion of Valencia comes as the biggest surprise. While it has been no secret that Valencia is not exactly Ron Gardenhire’s favorite player, the Twins didn’t (and still don’t) exactly have another alternative at 3B to replace Valencia. Gardenhire said shortly after the game that Carroll and Casilla will likely split time at 3B for the foreseeable future.
The organization obviously hopes that some at bats in AAA will help Valencia hone his swing and fix whatever is ailing him this season. I seriously doubt that will happen. Any fan who has watched the Twins even for a brief while this season can point out Valencia’s weakness – hitting on the edge of the zone. The entire AL seems to have notes that simply instruct their pitchers to hit the zone low and away and watch Valencia swing himself back to the bench.
At this point, Valencia is a 27 year old, 2 year major league veteran who has over 1,000 at bats. If he had the ability to adjust his swing to address his weakness, it would have happened by now. Pending a complete meltdown at third, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Valencia return to the majors in a Twins uniform.
Liriano Moved To The Bullpen
Demoting Francisco Liriano to the bullpen was a move that was about two starts overdue. Whatever magic Liriano had in spring training has clearly run out and he has only been a shell of his usual self this season. Once again, the organization is hoping that this move will build his confidence to help facilitate a move back to the starting rotation.
I’d have to imagine that, off the record, the Twins front office made this move to simply boost Liriano’s trade value. If he proves to be an adequate bullpen arm he’ll be worth SOMETHING at the trade deadline. This is the last year of his contract and with the way he has been pitching, the Twins clearly don’t have plans to retain him. If they can get a mid-level AA prospect for Liriano by the deadline, I think the Twins would be ecstatic.
Mastroianni Called Up:
I was calling for Mastroianni to get a promotion to the majors a week ago. He’s been putting up great numbers in AAA, has some defensive flexibility and is a great base runner. As the Twins were desperately fishing the waiver wire for a 4th outfielder, I continued to insist that Mastroianni was the answer to their problems.
I hope the Twins give him a chance to prove himself in the big leagues. (His previous stint in the majors was in 1 game for the Blue Jays. After which, he was promptly returned to the minors).
What IS The Plan Here?
That being said, I’m not exactly sure what the team’s plan is defensively. By my count, they have 7 outfielders on the roster (Willingham, Span, Plouffe, Komatsu, Doumit, Parmelee and Mastroianni) and 4 first basemen (Morneau, Mauer, Parmelee and Mastroianni). They also have 3 catchers (Mauer, Doumit, Butera) and yet, there’s no true third baseman on the team.
Mastroianni wasn’t called up to sit on the bench and he’ll likely get to see time in RF. Parmelee is young and is being done zero good by sitting on the bench. He won’t start consistently, however, as the team wants to keep Mauer in the lineup everyday, meaning he has to play at 1B with some regularity. Doumit’s bat, which has begun to heat up, is also necessary to keep in the lineup.
Meanwhile, newcomer Erik Komatsu has played fairly well and doesn’t deserve to be relegated to the bench fulltime either. Trevor Plouffe has been collecting dust on the bench, unable to build any sort of offensive momentum this season because he can’t even buy an at bat. Simply put, there’s a logjam of players at too many positions – somebody is going to lose.
Speculation:
The Twins could use this move to put Willingham in the DH role for awhile (until Morneau returns) while playing Komatsu in LF and Mastroianni in RF. Defensively, that would make the most sense while still allowing the offense to flow through Willingham, Mauer & Doumit.
A few weeks ago, stories from the Twins beat writers seemed to indicate that Danny Valencia, Luke Hughes, Trevor Plouffe and Alexi Casilla were on thin ice with the team. Since then, we’ve seen Hughes punted from the roster, Valencia demoted, and Casilla relegated to a bench player behind Brian Dozier. With the flush of OFs on the roster, Plouffe has to be concerned that his spot on the team is fading away. He’s not a defensive asset (far from it) and his bat has been poor at best. If he doesn’t start hitting soon, we may be seeing the last of him as well.
Drew Butera is occupying a spot that would be better used for another utility infielder or third baseman. With Mauer and Doumit on the roster, and each one needing to be in the lineup daily, NOT playing either of them at catcher is foolish. Butera’s defense is solid, but it’s no better than Mauer’s and not markedly better than Doumit’s. His bat certainly is worth a spot in the lineup. Holding him on the major league roster as insurance is a wasted spot on the bench.
More Moves On The Way?
It looks like the Twins are in a full blown youth movement now. With Dozier’s great play and Scott Diamond’s fantastic outing, the team seems to be in the “Why not give ‘em a try?” mode of management. If that’s the case, players such as Deolis Guerra, Anthony Slama, Jeff Manship, Pedro Florimon and Ben Revere should keep a bag packed – just in case they get the call up.
Walters To Start This Weekend
PJ Walters, who has been having a solid year in Rochester, will get to start in Francisco Liriano’s spot on Saturday. Walters has a solid 2.70 ERA with a 3-1 record. He’s struck out 25 batters over 33.1 innings and has only walked 6. By all accounts he’s earned a shot at the major league level.
Walter’s also is known as a “soft thrower” who only hits about 88 to 90 on his fastball. He’s the prototypical pitch-to-contact Twins pitcher, meaning he’ll either thrive and die in the majors. If he can’t locate his pitches, chances are his stay in Minnesota will be brief. Given the other options on the roster – the Twins are willing to at least take that risk once.
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