Minnesota Twins

While center field is still in flux, it is fairly clear at this point how the Twins envision their starting lineup coming together at the start of the season. Chris Parmelee will be taking over for Ben Revere in right, and Ron Gardenhire has made no secret of the fact that he'd like to see Brian Dozier and Pedro Florimon take the reigns in the middle infield. All other positions will be occupied by players reprising their roles from 2012.

There is less certainty when it comes to the composition of the bench. When I projected the Opening Day roster in my spring training preview, I guessed that the Twins would follow the typical Gardy formula: short bench (resulting from a seven-man bullpen) populated by a third catcher and a bunch of defensive specialists who can pinch-run.
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Earlier this week a post went up on ESPN's Sweetspot Blog about the importance of one player to the future of baseball in Europe. Mariners infielder Alex Liddi has only played 53 games in the major leagues but he is the first player born and raised in Italy. He has hit .224/.278/.397 during that stretch which aren't exactly eye-popping numbers. Still the article said, "If baseball is going to grow in Europe, it's going to be because of people like him."

There are other important players with European heritage. Heck, the Twins already have one Hall of Fame player, Bert Blyleven, that was born across the pond. He spent most of his youth in California so it wasn't exactly like he grew up over seas.
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As they try to rebuild their shattered starting pitching corps, the Twins are relying on Kyle Gibson to become a fixture in the rotation. Whereas the rest of the organization’s top pitching prospects are widely considered to be at least a year or two away, Gibson is ready now.

After being sidetracked by Tommy John surgery, he’s returned throwing harder than ever and – much like in his first big-league camp in 2011 – he is impressing coaches and onlookers with his poise and polish. He is a beacon of hope for the future that the Twins can present to fans now; a bridge to what they hope will be a revamped young rotation that returns them to relevance.

Considering his importance to their short-term and long-term plans, Gibson will obviously need to be handled carefully. From a physical standpoint, the Twins are addressing that by limiting his inning total for this season. But what about from a financial standpoint? The decisions made this spring, and later in the summer, will have a considerable bearing on when he'll be in line for free agency.
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In 1965, the first year of the MLB draft, the Twins had the ninth overall selection. They used it on a talented shortstop from the University of Arizona, Eddie Leon. But Leon didn't sign with the Twins, instead going back to Arizona and earning All-American honors in 1966. The following year, he was selected third overall by the Chicago Cubs in the June secondary draft, but once again failed to sign and went back to school. Like he did in 1966, he once again earned All-American honors.

Finally, in 1967, Leon was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the June secondary draft and at the age of 20 reported to the Double-A Pawtucket Indians in the Eastern League. When asked why he declined to sign his first times through the draft, ...

If you’re like me, one of the fun things to do during spring training is to read through all of the box scores. They’re long, and full of names as starters are just getting a couple of at bats and managers are wanting to see their role players and non-roster invitees. It’s a good reminder of the offseason transactions and who signed where. That’s important for the big free agents, but it’s also fun to see where the lesser-known names and the minor league free agents signed.

As someone who is coming up on ten years of blogging on the Twins, it’s also fun for me to see where former Twins players wind up. Some of the names are easily recognizable, and some of the players may not have even made it to the majors but ‘grew up’ in the Twins farm system. ...

Spring is an exciting time for baseball. Players are happy to be back in camp doing what they love. Coaches are pumped to reacquaint with returning team members and welcome new ones. Fans are giddy at the sound of gloves popping under the sun.

It’s easy for reporters on hand to get caught up in the flurry of good vibes. This year’s prime example is Mike Pelfrey, who wowed everyone present during his early workouts, less than 10 months removed from Tommy John surgery. Pelfrey spoke about how great he felt, assured people he’d be fully ready for the start of the season and drew rave reviews from coaches and trainers as he fired off the mound in bullpen sessions with his imposing 6’5” frame. The media reports glowed, and it's not hard to see why.
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