More on Carmen Cali

If you are a transaction buff like I am, knowing the status of players in the organization is a top priority. Part of that includes knowing somewhat obscure things like the number of options a player has left and all the other good stuff. So, if you're interested in knowing the background of Carmen Cali's Major League career, this post should clear up some of the fuzz.

Cali was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th round of the 2000 draft. He made his way through the system, sometimes posting solid numbers and sometimes having off-years, like most prospects. He started off 2004 with AA Tennessee, and rode a 2.91 ERA in 46.1 innings to AAA Memphis. On September 3, 2004, the Cardinals purchased Cali's contract, adding him to the 40-man roster for the first time in his career. At the end of Spring Training 2005, Cali was optioned to Memphis, making 2005 his first option year. He didn't stay there long, as he was recalled on April 12 following an injury to Bill Pulsipher. A week later, Matt Morris was activated from the DL, and Cali was optioned back to Memphis. Again, his stay was short -- on April 27 he was recalled again when Jason Isringhausen went on the DL. On May 5, he was sent back to Memphis. He was called up a third time on June 24, and this time stayed with the team until July 9 (noticing a pattern yet?). That would be Cali's last major league call-up until the Twins made the move yesterday.

Cali's 2006 season was spent entirely in Memphis, after he was optioned there by the Cardinals on March 22. The Cardinals ended up releasing Cali on November 21 of last year, and the Twins signed him in time for this season.

The upshot of all of this? Cali has one option year remaining, and the Twins are very likely to use it up this season now that he's been added to the 40-man roster. Cali is very unlikely to stay with the team for the rest of the season, and if he's sent back down it will consume option #3. That would mean that the Twins would have another player in the organization (along with Scott Baker and Garrett Jones, for instance) who they would have to make a decision on next spring. More than likely, that means that this will be Cali's only season in the Twins organization -- at least, unless he just blows everybody away like Dennys Reyes did last year.