Stewart Returns
As expected, Shannon Stewart was activated from the Disabled List today, and there's a good chance that he'll be in the lineup as the Designated Hitter and leadoff man tonight against Milwaukee. In order to make room for Stewart on the roster, the Twins placed Rondell White on the 15-day Disabled List, retroactive to about a week ago when he last played.
I suggested on Martin Andrade's most recent podcast that the worst thing the Twins could do would be to place White on the disabled list, favoring his outright release instead. I'm thinking that I may have been too hasty, however.
My biggest problem with this move was, and is, the fact that it feels like wasted effort. White has been miserable for the team, and rather than delaying a final decision on White, my preference would have been for him to be designated for assignment, to go the way of Tony Batista off into the sunset. I now feel, however, that this might not be such a bad decision after all. White is going to go to AAA Rochester and play everyday, trying to loosen up the shoulder that has prevented him from hitting fastballs all season. The best-case scenario would be for White to find his swing again, and start producing at AAA. With players filling LF (Kubel) and DH (Stewart), the Twins don't need White anymore. But if he becomes productive, another team may just decide to pull the trigger on picking him up. The Twins probably wouldn't get much for him, but sending him on his merry way for something (even a mediocre A-ball prospect) would be a heck of a lot better than just cutting him and having to pay his entire salary.
White should be eligible to come off of the Disabled list in a little over a week. Let's hope the Twins don't make the foolish decision to bring him back up then, or ever.
UPDATE
Unfortunately, Dick just said on the Fox Sports telecast that Ron Gardenhire expects White to be in Rochester for about 10 days. I'm hoping this is just bureaucratese type nonsense, the type of thing you say (similar to a vote of confidence) when you want it to appear that a player or manager is still in the long-term plans. If not, I shudder to think what will happen in 10 days when White is activated. I can't think of a single player I would want to have displaced from this roster in favor of White. I suspect Terry Ryan feels the same way, but we'll see.
I suggested on Martin Andrade's most recent podcast that the worst thing the Twins could do would be to place White on the disabled list, favoring his outright release instead. I'm thinking that I may have been too hasty, however.
My biggest problem with this move was, and is, the fact that it feels like wasted effort. White has been miserable for the team, and rather than delaying a final decision on White, my preference would have been for him to be designated for assignment, to go the way of Tony Batista off into the sunset. I now feel, however, that this might not be such a bad decision after all. White is going to go to AAA Rochester and play everyday, trying to loosen up the shoulder that has prevented him from hitting fastballs all season. The best-case scenario would be for White to find his swing again, and start producing at AAA. With players filling LF (Kubel) and DH (Stewart), the Twins don't need White anymore. But if he becomes productive, another team may just decide to pull the trigger on picking him up. The Twins probably wouldn't get much for him, but sending him on his merry way for something (even a mediocre A-ball prospect) would be a heck of a lot better than just cutting him and having to pay his entire salary.
White should be eligible to come off of the Disabled list in a little over a week. Let's hope the Twins don't make the foolish decision to bring him back up then, or ever.
UPDATE
Unfortunately, Dick just said on the Fox Sports telecast that Ron Gardenhire expects White to be in Rochester for about 10 days. I'm hoping this is just bureaucratese type nonsense, the type of thing you say (similar to a vote of confidence) when you want it to appear that a player or manager is still in the long-term plans. If not, I shudder to think what will happen in 10 days when White is activated. I can't think of a single player I would want to have displaced from this roster in favor of White. I suspect Terry Ryan feels the same way, but we'll see.
posted by JST @ Friday, June 30, 2006
2 Comments:
At Fri Jun 30, 11:57:00 PM ,
Marty said...
Terry Ryan IS the problem. From what I've heard from Pat Ruesse and Sid Say-he's-not-really-alive Hartmann is that Ryan thinks White can still produce. White is great in batting practice, and he puts on homerun shows during BPs that would rival Greg Luzinski.
At Sat Jul 01, 01:58:00 AM ,
JST said...
Well, that's of course consistent with his injury. He can turn on pitches that are coming at him 60-80 miles per hour without problem. When you start throwing him fastballs, he's screwed.
I'll say this; IF (and it's a big if) the doctors have isolated the shoulder problem, and IF whatever treatment he's undergoing can alleviate the problem, then there is a possibility that he can return to being a productive player. I'm just not at all convinced that he's going to improve in time to help the team this season.
And I don't know about the Terry Ryan thing. If it's true that he thinks White is a potential contributor, then either 1.) he knows something we don't know, 2.) he's suffering from a form of "pride-of-authorship," and is unwilling to admit he utterly failed this off-season, or 3.) he's lost his touch. Frankly, I'm hoping we're dealing with #1, or even #2.
Also, he gets a free pass as long as Francisco Liriano is on the team. If that trade isn't made, who knows where the Twins would be right now.
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