I want to take a few moments to expand on a topic I touched on yesterday during the recap of the series with Toronto. Yesterday, I mentioned that Trevor Plouffe has been on a cold streak of late that could cost him his place on the roster. Plouffe went a frigid 1-13 through the 4 game series and looked slightly out of place playing 3B in place of the demoted Danny Valencia.
Plouffe’s defense has never been anything but average at best – so the Twins didn’t plug him in at third expecting a gold glove player to develop. What Plouffe does do, or at the very least – should do – is hit well. Plouffe has decent power and has improved his plate discipline. The team clearly expects him to be an offensive improvement over Valencia, who was struggling to hit .200 before his demotion. Right now, Plouffe isn’t meeting those expectations.
Running Out Of Spots
Plouffe was originally expected to play most of this season as the team’s fourth outfielder. With the acquisition of Erik Komatsu and promotion of Darin Mastroianni, the Twins no longer need that fourth outfielder. As such, Plouffe has been converted to a stop-gap solution at third. That position certainly isn’t guaranteed, especially if Plouffe’s numbers continue to linger below Valencia’s. Essentially, Plouffe is quickly running out of positions to play with the Twins. If his bat doesn’t heat up, he could be the next player to be cast from the team.
Options Are Out There
While the Twins don’t have a true 3B prospect in the minors who is major league ready (Sano is still at least a year, if not two, from being ready for the big leagues) they do have other options available.
The mostly likely candidate for “next-man-up” is Pedro Florimon. Florimon is regarded as a defensive player, rather than an offensive player (in fact, his defense is considered to be better than that of recently promoted Brian Dozier) so fans shouldn’t expect him to come up and hit the ball as well as Dozier has, but he could still fit very nicely into the Twins infield.
Dozier could either be shifted to 3B or remain at SS while Florimon takes over at the opposite position. That would allow the Twins to use Alexi Casilla as a super utility infielder, adding much needed depth to the infield. Jamey Carroll would continue to man 2B and Chris Parmelee or Joe Mauer would protect 1B.
On paper, an infield of Mauer, Carroll, Dozier and Florimon may be one of the best defensive infields in baseball. That’s quite an improvement considering this was one of the weakest parts of the team last season.
If Plouffe can’t pick up his numbers during the next two games with Cleveland, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Florimon called up and given a chance at the starting job. So far this season the young call-ups have proven to be great assets for the Twins. At the moment, Scott Diamond is the best pitcher on the roster. PJ Walters may be the second best pitcher (even after 1 start) and Dozier is establishing himself as the future SS. (Not to mention, Mastroianni looks like a solid #4 outfielder). Given that success, the Twins might be more willing to roll the dice on another young call-up.
Odd Man Out
If Florimon comes up, someone has to be sent down. Ideally, I’d like to see Drew Butera returned to the minors – which would allow the Twins to platoon Mauer & Doumit at catcher and would give the fulltime 1B job back to Parmelee. Morneau would be returning from the DL, allowing him to move back into the DH role and giving Doumit the RF gig. That would put the roster as such:
C: Mauer
1B: Parmelee
2B: Carroll
SS: Dozier
3B: Florimon
LF: Willingham
CF: Span
RF: Doumit
DH: Morneau
Bench: Casilla, Mastroianni, Komatsu, Plouffe
I don’t see that happening unfortunately. I believe Ron Gardenhire is entrenched in keeping Butera on the roster as a third catcher – allowing him to flex Mauer at 1B and Doumit between DH and RF. I’m okay with keeping Butera on the roster (did I just type that?) so long as that means both Mauer and Doumit get to start as well. In that situation, the youngster Chris Parmelee would likely be sent to AAA to work on his swing. That would make the roster look like this:
C: Butera
1B: Mauer
2B: Carroll
SS: Dozier
3B: Florimon
LF: Willingham
CF: Span
RF: Doumit
DH: Morneau
Bench: Mastroianni, Komatsu, Plouffe, Casilla
I don’t like this move for two reasons. First, I don’t think Parmelee has gotten a fair shake at keeping the starting 1B job. He’s been bounced between starting and the bench so often he hasn’t had a chance to develop any sort of rhythm. I don’t know how the Twins can expect any player, let alone a young player, to develop any sort of consistency when he isn’t in the lineup.
Secondly, I don’t like Butera taking up a roster spot. The Twins are carrying two very good catchers already and while Butera is a solid defensive catcher, his bat simply does not warrant a roster spot. The team would be better served by keeping Parmelee up and letting him develop rather than allowing Butera to sit behind home plate.
Odds Plouffe Is Off The Roster?
Slim to none. While Plouffe has been frustratingly ineffective in two seasons for the Twins, the team still thinks he has potential. He has the ability to play nearly every position on the field and is always a threat to put a solid charge into the ball while at bat. The thing that is saving Plouffe’s major league spot is the fact that he is out of minor league options. The Twins would have to pass him through waivers to get him to AAA, and I don’t think the team is confident they could do that.
That Being Said…
Let me start this by saying I like Trevor Plouffe. I think he certainly has the potential to develop into a decent outfielder or a league average 3B with solid offensive numbers. I’ve seen flashes of his offensive ability – when he is seeing the ball, he can drive it with the best hitters in the league. Unfortunately, those flashes seem to come too infrequently to rely on. While the Twins don’t WANT to pass him through waivers, don’t we have to ask if it might be better for both sides if the DID?
If the above scenario comes to fruition and Florimon is promoted to the majors to play 3B that would demote Plouffe to a full time bench option. With Mastroianni and Komatsu on the bench, Plouffe will never see time in the outfield – meaning he’ll only be plugged into the lineup to give Dozier, Florimon or Carroll a game off.
Or he would – if Alexi Casilla wasn’t already on the bench. Of the two, Casilla is clearly the better option to be a utility infielder. That means Plouffe’s job on this roster would be…what? Pinch hitter? Unlikely – there’s little chance for a younger player like Plouffe to develop if he can’t get regular at bats. The Twins aren’t going to let him rot on the bench and then expect him to continue to improve and develop.
In the end, it might be the best option to simply DFA Plouffe. If he makes it through waivers – great. Let him develop in Rochester and hope that he improves his swing and defense at the infield positions. If someone claims him, wish him the best and move on. It may be better for both sides that way.
No comments:
Post a Comment