Liriano Out, Blackburn In -- For Now

I made it back home a little earlier than I anticipated, and within moments had seen the news that Francisco Liriano has been optioned to Ft. Myers. I wasn't going to blog until tomorrow, but this is a pretty big deal and I thought I should post a few thoughts.

First, I thought that the Twins would take Liriano north, and have been saying so all year. Still, I can't disagree with the decision to give him a couple of minor league starts (it sounds like one in Ft. Myers and one in Rochester). This is also great news for Nick Blackburn, who will get at least a couple of chances to prove his value to the team.

What's interesting about this move is that the Twins made the decision to option Liriano rather than placing him on the DL. However, on further review this isn't particularly strange. First, under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, an option is officially used on a player only if that player is on optional assignment for more than 20 days in a season. For Liriano, that means that if he is recalled by the Twins before the 16th of April, and doesn't get optioned again this season, he won't have used up an option year. Even if he does, however, who really cares? This would be Liriano's second option year. That would leave him with another year in which he could be optioned. Is there really any doubt, however, that once healthy Liriano is going to remain a big league player? The Twins don't need to be careful with his option years, because almost certainly he isn't going to use them.

So, the last piece of the roster puzzle seems to have fallen into place. Now, we can look forward to tomorrow's spring finale against the Pirates, and Monday night's season opener against the Angels. I can't wait!

Busy 24 Hours for the Twins

La Velle Neal has a blog post this morning with a lot of important tidbits. Since it's important stuff, I'm largely going to just repeat a lot of it, with a few comments as I go along:

1.) Glen Perkins was cut this morning. The handwriting was on the wall after his last performance, which continued his trend of just not being very good this spring. This was a significant cut in terms of making clear what the Twins intend on doing going forward this season, as it puts Brian Bass on the verge of making the team as the 12th pitcher. I like Perkins a lot, but there's no question that there were better options this year. Hopefully Perkins will re-establish himself this season in AAA -- and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him get the call later this year, either as a starter or a reliever.

2.) Neal also mentions that some significant cuts are expected to be made tomorrow morning. I suggested last week that the Twins would probably make final roster decisions today, so that the team that was going north had a full week to concentrate solely on getting into playing shape. So what can we expect to see tomorrow? I would guess we'll get a final determination on almost everything. I expect both Denard Span and Jason Pridie to be cut tomorrow (more on this when I post my roster update), along with Philip Humber, Brian Buscher, Eli Whiteside, and Drew Butera. Why no Kevin Slowey or Nick Blackburn? Well -- I expect Slowey has made the roster as the fifth starter, and I suspect Blackburn will be kept around in case a decision is ultimately made that Francisco Liriano or Scott Baker need to start the season on a rehab assignment.

3.) Some big Rule 5 updates were also included in Neal's post. First, for the second straight year, the Twins agreed to a trade with the Washington Nationals allowing the Nats to keep a Rule 5 pick despite sending him to the minors. Last year, it was pitcher Levale Speigner. This year, it's outfielder Garrett Guzman. There's no word yet on the player coming back to the Twins, but in exchange for Speigner, the Twins got outfielder Darnell McDonald back -- so don't expect a whole lot. Elsewhere, the Mariners are believed to be close to giving knuckleballer R.A. Dickey a spot on their roster, and Tim Lahey was pitching well until recently with the Cubs. If either of these guys come back before the season starts, then, it will probably be Lahey. I know there was a lot of interest in Dickey because of his unusually fast knuckleball -- but frankly, I don't see it. Maybe he'll be great for the Mariners, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

4.) Finally, there's a distinct chance that a deal with Joe Nathan could be announced today. If it happens, I'll more to say on that at the time.

Morning Cuts

A number of questions were answered this morning with the Twins latest round of cuts -- although for the most part, they weren't the questions that most of us have been waiting for. Still, there were some interesting names on the cut list. Here goes, with some thoughts:

Randy Keisler - LHP - reassigned to minor league camp
This isn't particularly surprising; Keisler was brought in as a potential lefty reliever/swingman starter possibility, but he just wasn't impressive enough to move past the young guns who were in the system before him. I assume that Keisler will be asked to stick around in Rochester in case there's an injury in the bullpen, but I won't be all that disappointed if he's just cut.

Ricky Barrett - LHP - reassigned to minor league camp
Another lefty possibility in the bullpen, Barrett was brought into camp after being removed from the 40-man roster in the offseason. He pitched 6 innings in camp, giving up 3 earned runs on 5 hits while striking out 2 and walking 4. The K/BB ratio wasn't very good, but the other numbers weren't terrible -- just not good enough to really get himself moved into the discussion as a legitimate contender for a spot on the big league roster. Like Keisler, he's a possibility for a mid-season call-up if someone in the bullpen gets hurt.

Tommy Watkins - IF - reassigned to minor league camp
Watkins was brought back into the fold this off-season as a minor league free agent, which I was pleased with because Watkins is a veteran of the Twins minor league system and its nice to see him still around. The question is what role Watkins can legitimately expect to pay in the system this year. I'm sure he'll get a roster spot in Rochester, but how much playing time will he get, and where? The bottom line relating to this cut is that Watkins had an awful spring at the plate (the ordinary caution about small sample size applies), and didn't prove himself to be a legitimate big league candidate. While Watkins made his big league debut last year, I'd be stunned to see him get another callup -- which is really too bad since he hit .357 in 28 big league at-bats before getting hurt.

Randy Ruiz - 1B/OF - reassigned to minor league camp
Ruiz was one of my dark horses throughout camp, because I was intrigued by his minor league numbers and thought he could bring some power to the team off the bench. However, it became apparent throughout the spring that he's -- shall we say -- a bit deficient defensively. He also didn't really fit into what the Twins need to fill out the roster; if they were carrying 11 pitchers, they'd have an extra spot to stash a guy like Ruiz, but with 12 pitchers likely making the roster the team really needs to get the maximum value out of all 13 position player slots. As much as I was rooting for Ruiz, even I recognized that, and I agree with the decision to cut him.

Garrett Jones - 1B/OF - outrighted to AAA Rochester
Jones cleared waivers and has been outrighted off the 40-man roster. This was necessary since Jones was out of options, and so had to make the team or be offered up to other organizations. Of course, it was a pretty safe bet that Jones was going to clear waivers, because he's demonstrated very little potential as a big league player (many fans are fond of pointing out that he has a "long swing"), and he's not getting any younger. Still, he's got a shot to get back onto the roster if he plays well this season in Rochester and the team needs someone with some left-handed power off the bench. La Velle Neal asked an important question, however: where's Jones going to get his playing time, and at who's expense?

Two More Cuts

The Twins made two more cuts this morning, one of which I foresaw and one which surprises me a bit -- although I can't say that either disappointed me. I'll be posting a roster update later today, but for now, here are some thoughts on the cuts:

Carmen Cali - LHP - outrighted from roster (cleared waivers)
Cali seemed to me to be the front-runner in the race to win the job as the teams 12th pitcher, and I've been tooting that horn all spring. Turns out I wasn't just wrong -- I was woefully wrong. Cali, who was out of options and so had to clear waivers to stay in the system (he did) was having a reasonably good spring -- he hadn't allowed a run in 3.2 innings of work, but he had walked more batters than he had struck out, so all was not perfect. Still, the Twins wanted a second lefty reliever, and Cali seemed to be a likely option. While I'm not in the least upset with this cut, I am a bit surprised. The biggest beneficiary of this cut is probably Glen Perkins, who now seems to be a logical fit in the bullpen. There are certainly other alternatives, and I've already been woefully wrong once on who would win the 12th spot, but for now Perkins seems a likely choice. Of course, there's one other possibility here, and that is that the Twins needed to make room on the 40-man roster for someone they intend to bring north who isn't currently on the roster. The only players that it seems even possible that that could apply two would be Randy Ruiz, Casey Daigle, or Randy Keisler -- and frankly, I doubt that any of them will make the team (despite my lobbying for Ruiz all spring). That makes it most likely that Cali was just cut, plain and simple, with no ulterior motive.

Kevin Mulvey - RHP - assigned to minor league camp
I expected this cut to come two days ago, when the Twins made the second round of cuts. Mulvey survived that round for some reason (maybe there was disagreement over whether he should be sent down just yet), and was scheduled to pitch yesterday -- but that never happened, and the handwriting seemed to be on the wall when he wasn't put into the game (of course, it's always possible that La Velle's belief that Mulvey was supposed to pitch yesterday was wrong). Mulvey didn't have a bad spring, but he also was nowhere near the guys in front of him in the battle for a starting spot. This was a good move, simply because it gives guys who still have a shot of making the team a chance to get innings.

Cuts -- Round Two

Right on schedule, the Twins trimmed some more fat off of their spring roster. While none of the cuts was tremendously surprising to me, there was at least one that disappointed some fans (more on that in a second!). This post is simply going to cover my thoughts on the players who were cut, and I'll also give some ideas on who could be next. Incidentally, if you're looking for notes on today's game (and yesterday's, which I haven't discussed yet), I'll be posting something later tonight. Now, onto the cuts:

Julio DePaula - RHP - optioned to AAA
DePaula, who made his big league debut last season in a rather forgetful stint with the Twins, was in camp solely because he's on the 40-man roster. He actually put together a solid spring, giving up just 2 runs and 5 hits in 6 innings of work -- but DePaula was never a legitimate candidate to make the team. The Twins have, at best, just one available spot in the bullpen (and that's assuming they take 12 pitchers north), and that almost certainly will go to a lefty or a veteran. Still, it never hurts to have a good spring, and now DePaula can start working on getting ready for Rochester's season.

Bobby Korecky - RHP - optioned to AAA
Korecky is in a similar position to DePaula in that he was only in camp because he's on the 40-man roster, and he also fits the same niche as DePaula, meaning he was pretty much fated for an option as soon as the spring started. Still, Korecky also had a good spring (albeit in very limited action -- 0 runs in 3 innings of work), and like I said earlier that can't hurt. Now that he's on the 40-man roster (he was added in November), he's got a chance to make his big league debut at some point this season. Now just wasn't his time.

Mariano Gomez - LHP - reassigned to minor league camp
I was pushing for Gomez to be cut prior to the first round of cuts, but the Twins kept him around. He proceeded to continue pitching unimpressively, and now he's out of camp. Gomez was always a long shot to make the team, but because he's a lefty he at least was in a more preferable position than DePaula or Korecky were coming in. Of course, when you give up 6 runs on 7 hits (3 of which left the park) in 5 innings, you pretty much remove yourself from consideration. I won't particularly miss Gomez -- there are other, better options for the position that he was competing for. Maybe he'll get a chance in the minors to prove that he can be an asset for the organization.

Alexi Casilla - IF - optioned to AAA
Here's the most controversial of today's cuts. With the struggles of Nick Punto and Brendan Harris as they fight for the second base job, many fans were pointing at the speedy and young Casilla and shouting "that's our guy!" I didn't jump on this bandwagon, mostly because I didn't think it was realistic -- the Twins are going to keep Punto and Harris on the roster no matter what happens, and while both could have made the team as backup infielders with Casilla as the starter at 2B, I just didn't see it happening. More problematic, though, is what I've read about Casilla's attitude from the beat writers. He still apparently hasn't developed a big league mentality, and Gardy doesn't accept that from his players. Aside from all that, Casilla hasn't exactly blown away the competition with his performance this spring, either -- he's hitting .250, with 5 hits in 20 AB's, but none of this hits went for extra bases and it sounds as if several of them weren't particularly well hit. I'm still enthusiastic about Casilla's future, but honestly I think Punto or Harris would be a better choice at 2B to start the season.

Matt Macri - IF - optioned to AAA
Macri went 3-for-15 this spring, as he waged a long-shot battle to claim a spot as a backup infielder (or an even longer-shot battle to try to become the starting 2B, depending on how you look at things). He's more than likely going to be the starting 3B in Rochester this season, and that should be more than enough for him. A solid season will give him a shot in the bigs in the future, but there didn't seem to be a lot of reasons to keep Macri around camp any longer this year.

Chris Basak - IF - reassigned to minor league camp
Basak went 4-for-14 this spring, but he had no shot to make the team after being removed from the 40-man roster during the off-season. I'm still not sure why the Twins felt the need to claim Basak off waivers from the Yankees last season, but here he is nonetheless. There's not much more to say about Basak, really -- he was a warm body in camp for the early part of spring, and this cut is completely unsurprising.

Howie Clark - IF - reassigned to minor league camp
Ditto what I said about Basak being a warm body. Clark went 3-for-16 on the spring and was used in a number of roles, but the veteran journeyman probably could have hit .500 and not made the team. I'm hopeful that the Twins decide to let Clark go rather than giving him a minor league roster spot, but we'll see what happens at the end of the spring. I have a sinking feeling that he'll get some playing time for Rochester this season.

Who's Next?
Tommy Watkins and Matt Tolbert remain in camp, and while Tolbert may stick around beyond the next round of cuts, Watkins should be gone soon -- he's had a horrid spring. LHP Ricky Barrett also remains in camp, despite having virtually no chance of making the team (although he's had an OK spring). The Twins will also want to start whittling down a couple of the starter candidates who are at the bottom of the list -- Randy Keisler and maybe Kevin Mulvey are likely to go before too long. While any number of other players could be cut at any time, the names I've listed above are those who I would be most comfortable saying are likely to leave soon.

First Cuts of Spring

As expected, the Twins cleared some room in camp this morning by making the first round of spring cuts -- and they went a bit hog wild, cutting 12 players from camp. I had predicted 8, and of the 8 names that I listed, 7 were cut -- the only unexpected survivor, in my mind, was lefty Mariano Gomez. Here are the names, with a few thoughts on those who I didn't mention in yesterday's post:

Expected by me:
Oswaldo Sosa - RHP
Armando Gabino - RHP
Deolis Guerra - RHP
Jeff Christy - C
Allan de San Miguel - C
Felix Molina - 2B
Darnell McDonald - OF

Unexpected Cuts:
Jose Mijares - LHP
Zach Day - RHP
Brian Duensing - LHP
Jose Morales - C
Alejandro Machado - IF

Mijares wasn't actually unexpected -- I just forgot about him yesterday. He is going to miss significant time this season (probably the entire season) with an injury sustained in a car accident, and so I don't believe he was ever actually in camp. Nonetheless, he's on the 40-man roster and so had to be officially dealt with by the team. The team chose to option him to AA New Britain to clear him off of the active roster, and while there had been some speculation that he would eventually make his way onto the 60-Day DL, this presumably makes a lot more sense from a financial standpoint since Mijares would have had to be paid a big league salary for the season if he was on a big league DL.

Now to the more surprising names, starting with Zach Day. I wasn't a big fan of the Day signing at the time, because I was ready for the full-fledged youth movement to take over the rotation. It became a moot point, however, when the team signed Livan Hernandez to hold down the requisite "veteran pitcher" slot in the rotation. Day pitched just three innings in camp, giving up 3 earned runs on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3. Simply put, those weren't good enough numbers to justify keeping him around when he no longer fit anywhere on the roster. He's now in minor league camp, but I think he'll have to earn a spot in the Rochester rotation -- depending on how things shake out, there simply might not be any reason to keep him around even in that role -- although at the list I think he could be kept around as a long reliever even if he doesn't make the rotation.

Brian Duensing was a surprise to me because I thought he'd make it at least to the second round of cuts -- however, he was absolutely terrible in limited action this spring, never finding his control. In 2.1 innings, Duensing gave up 5 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks while striking out just 2. Basically, I think he played himself out of a more extended run in spring training. His odds of making the team were never good, because there were so many players in camp who were above him in the pecking order. Nonetheless, this was a bit of a flame-out on his part.

Perhaps the most surprising cut announced today was Jose Morales. Obviously, the Twins already have their starting and backup catchers solidly locked in place, but a lot of fans who I've spoken with this spring (including some in the comments on this blog, if I recall correctly) thought that Morales could make the team as the 25th man on the roster. I think this move, more than anything else so far, provides a pretty strong indication that the Twins are serious about taking 12 pitchers north -- and that's a strategy I agree with considering the youth of the starting rotation. Morales was removed from big league camp by optioning him to AAA.

Finally, Alejandro Machado didn't last long. When I released my first list of roster projections, I put Machado in the drivers seat for the second backup middle infielder position -- mostly because there were a lot of names and I thought he had a skill set that might be useful. I moved him out of that position quickly, but I'm still surprised by the quick cut for Machado. It was fairly clear from the sparse use the team made of him this spring (just 5 AB's), however, that the Twins never really considered him a viable major league option.

From this point on, expect a few cuts to be made every couple of days going forward. Last year, the first list of cuts was made on Monday, March 12 -- and the next two cuts came the next day. In other words, marginal players (such as Mariano Gomez) could be gone at any time. The really interesting cuts, of course, aren't likely to come until the last week of camp.

Finally, I'll have a roster update posted later today -- but I want to give this post some time to breath at the top of the blog for a few hours first.

Cut Predictions

Supposedly, the Twins will be making the first round of Spring cuts on Sunday. Last year, eight players were cut in the first round, and I'm going to guess that the Twins will stick right around that number this time around. Here are the candidates that I think are distinct possibilities to find themselves out of big league camp sometime tomorrow:

Armando Gabino - RHP
Why: He was supposedly a non-roster invitee to camp, but according to the stats I'm looking at, he hasn't even made it into a game. Also, while Gabino has some solid minor league numbers, he was never a viable candidate to make the Twins big league roster -- he was always nothing more than filler. Seems they didn't even need him for that. If he really was invited to camp, he should be gone by tomorrow.

Oswaldo Sosa - RHP
Sosa made it into one game this spring, giving up a run on 2 hits in 1 inning of work. As with Gabino, however, Sosa was never going to make the team -- he's never even pitched above AA to this point. Look for him in the future, but he'll be a quick cut this year.

Mariano Gomez - LHP
Gomez was brought in to compete for the 12th spot on the pitching staff, but he just hasn't been very good in his 4 innings of work (4 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk and 2 K's). While that's a very strong sample size to make any decisions, the fact is he's competing against a lot of pitchers who are in better positions to make the team. The Twins might keep him around for another cut because there's no particular rush, I think they'd be better off cutting him now and opening up innings for other pitchers.

Deolis Guerra - RHP
He hasn't giving up a run in his 2 innings of work, so why cut him? Simply because he has absolutely no chance of making the team, and he might as well start working through minor league camp. It was nice to see him put up the goose-egg ERA, though.

Allan de san Miguel - C
De san Miguel is in camp exclusively to give the team enough catchers to deal with all those pitchers who are in camp. There's no reason to keep him around now that some of them are shipping out. Minor league camp calls.

Jeff Christy - C
As with de san Miguel, there doesn't seem to be any reason to keep Christy around now that the first round of cuts have started. Even after cutting de san Miguel and Christy, the Twins will still have five catchers in camp (Mauer, Redmond, Jose Morales, Drew Butera, and Eli Whiteside), which should be plenty. Incidentally, both de San Miguel and Christy have picked up one AB this spring -- but Christy is the only one of the two to have a hit in that AB (not that that's going to keep him in camp).

Felix Molina - 2B
Molina, who returned to the team after becoming a minor league free agent this off-season, just hasn't done anything in camp. He didn't have a shot of making the big league roster anyway, because he was behind Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, Matt Tolbert, Matt Macri, Brian Buscher . . . ok, you get the idea. Going 0-for-7 with 3 K's clearly didn't help Molina make an impression, either.

Darnell McDonald - OF
McDonald was removed from the 40-man roster when Livan Hernandez was signed and added. He's also hurt and hasn't played in a spring game. Is there any reason to keep him officially in camp? Didn't think so.

That Was Quick!

Twins Territory has alerted me that shortly after I posted on Durbin, the Twins officially set their 25-man roster by cutting Josh Rabe, which means that Chris Heintz has indeed made the roster (Marty, you can be happy now -- just ignore the Silva thing). Honestly, this move makes a lot of sense -- Mauer's injury, which will probably result in him DH'ing a fair amount of games early this season, coupled with Heintz's excellent spring and ability to play some 3B if necessary, really made him the logical pick over Josh Rabe. Heintz will likely be with the team until Lew Ford is healthy, when it's likely that he'll be sent down. This could make the early catching situation in Rochester somewhat interesting.

For my thoughts on waiving Durbin, see the post immediately below. Spring training now enters the boring phase for me, as there are no more roster decisions to be made. Can't wait for the season to start on Monday!

Farewell, Real Deal

The Twins have reportedly waived J.D. Durbin, and Arizona has claimed him. This marks the second time this off-season that the Twins lost a player to a Diamondbacks waiver claim (the last being OF Alex Romero in January). Durbin's departure indicates that the Twins will be carrying just 11 pitchers on the roster at the start of the season, and opens the door for either Chris Heintz (75%) or Josh Rabe (25%) to make the roster.

First things first: anyone who was screaming about Mike Venafro being cut to make room for Durbin should apologize to Twins management. Venafro was cut because the Twins didn't want to keep 12 pitchers around, not because the Twins were planning on taking Durbin north. As much as I wanted Durbin to make the team, the Twins were clearly looking to go in another direction after it was clear that Durbin was going to struggle this spring. I can't even recall how many screeds I read suggesting how stupid management was for cutting Venafro and keeping Durbin -- this is why it's a good idea to pause before you yell.

Next, let me say that I'm sad to see Durbin go. He had (and has) tremendous potential, and I think he still could turn into a serviceable major league ballplayer someday, either as a middle relief guy or a back of the rotation starter. If his arm strength comes back fully, I could even see him becoming a setup guy, and maybe getting a chance to close. I understand why the Twins didn't exactly bend over backwards to keep him, though; there's so much talent in the system that Durbin just wasn't needed anymore. Good bye, J.D.

Garza Goes Down

The Twins ended the suspense earlier than I expected them to, sending down Matt Garza this afternoon and anointing Carlos Silva as the fifth starter. I think it's likely that this move was made today rather than after Silva's start tomorrow as a pre-emptive show of faith in Silva's ability to nail it down tomorrow -- at this point, it's all about head games with Carlos. The howls of outrage from Twins Territory will undoubtedly be deafening every time Silva takes the mound, and there's not a lot of hope that his performance on the field is going to lessen the pain.

Nevertheless, I'm going to take one more stab at providing some perspective on this decision. Feel free to gripe in the comments if you don't by my justification. First, Silva is going to be on a short leash. If he is terrible, then the Twins won't keep him around; they don't want to simply cut a guy who is getting paid over $4 million, however, and they want to see him fail in games that count before they finally pull the plug. If Silva starts as the fifth starter, he'll likely make 4 starts in April. The Twins season is not going to be won or lost in four April games -- I realize that every game counts, and that the Twins needed absolutely every game last year to catch and pass the Tigers, but if Matt Garza were starting those games it's not like it would be a sure thing that they'd go 4-0. In other words, if you assume Garza is a better pitcher than Silva and would give the Twins a better chance to win, they'd still only be likely to win 2 or 3 of those games -- and they're likely to win at least 1 of Silva's games now. SO -- for all of you who consider this to be the end of the Twins season, think again. This decision is not going to kill the team. Now, if he's really bad and the Twins keep him beyond April . . . well, then there's more of a cause for complaint.

What's the practical result of today's move? I've become convinced that the Twins aren't going to keep J.D. Durbin around (contrary to my position for most of the spring), and think that this move should make Chris Heintz very happy -- he's now in the driver's seat to win the 25th spot on the roster.

Unofficial Roster Talk

UPDATE: There's a reason this is listed as "Unofficial" roster talk -- turns out it wasn't true, and Buck Martinez is backtracking from the position taken by Gary Thorne during the game. Multiple sources heard Thorne say that Garza was being sent down, but whether he said that or not isn't really the point -- the point is that no decision has yet been made on whether Silva or Garza will get the 5th starter spot, and there is now talk that Garza might be starting on Friday. For the sake of posterity, here's the original post:

If you're watching the Twins on ESPN, you just heard Gary Thorne answer the question that we've been waiting all day to hear: Silva or Garza in the rotation, and in what slot. Thorne said that Ron Gardenhire told him this morning that the Twins want Garza starting everyday, and aren't yet ready to give up on Silva. As a result, Garza either has been or is about to be optioned to AAA, and Carlos Silva will make the team as the fifth starter.

I can't confirm this yet with anything even remotely official (I would consider an article on the Twins website or the Strib, or even a mention of this in La Velle Neal's or Joe Christensen's blogs to be official). Nevertheless, this matches the rumors that have been circulating throughout the morning, and is in line with what I thought would happen.

If this information is accurate, it leaves the 25th roster spot as the last question, with J.D. Durbin and Josh Rabe as the last two guys competing for that spot.

Major Roster Moves

I slept in this morning (it's spring break around these parts) and woke up to the announcement that some major cuts had been made this morning. While some of them were routine (you mean Brad King wasn't in the running for a roster spot?), some of them were so surprising as to constitute a genuine shock.

First, here's the list courtesy of La Velle E. Neal at the Strib:

Mike Venafro - LHP
Matt LeCroy - DH/1B
Brad King - C
Tommy Watkins - IF
Glenn Williams - 1B/3B

The shocker is, of course, Venafro. With the self-destruction of J.D. Durbin over his last two appearances, and with Venafro's 0.00 ERA, it looked like a pretty sure bet that the Twins were going to go with Venafro as the 12th guy on the pitching staff. On the positive side, Venafro likes the organization and seems at least to be considering the possibility of accepting an assignment in Rochester rather than electing free agency as Randy Choate did. While he probably wouldn't have a hard time hooking on with another team, at this point in the spring it would probably be a pretty bad team. Venafro might prefer going to Rochester and staying in the Twins organization in hopes that a spot opens up later in the season, allowing him to pitch for a contender. We'll find out fairly soon.

Matt LeCroy looked terrible for most of the spring, and he really shouldn't have been in camp as long as he was. About 2 weeks in it was clear that he just doesn't have the bat speed to be an effective major league hitter any longer. I suggested when the Twins signed him that this might be the prelude to a retirement (and possibly a career coaching) -- it will be interesting to see whether the Twins offer him a minor league roster spot, or if LeCroy does indeed hang 'em up.

King, Watkins, and Williams were all pretty much just filling spots on the roster. None had a legitimate chance of making the team (although at one point fairly early in the spring I had suggested that Watkins might be a better choice than Luis Rodriguez for the backup middle infielder spot -- Tommy proved me very wrong on that one).

By my count, this leaves Matt Garza, Chris Heintz, and Josh Rabe in camp on the outside looking in, assuming that Carlos Silva gets the 5th starter slot and J.D. Durbin gets the 25th roster spot. Garza and Rabe could still easily end up slotting in. Incidentally, if anyone knows who the 29th guy in camp is, please let me know . . . my count has been one off from the major media count for most of the spring.

Who's going to get that last spot? Honestly, I still think it's J.D. Durbin. La Velle says there is no way that it's going to be J.D., and that because Durbin has pitched so poorly this spring he might even clear waivers. I have to respectfully disagree. Durbin is a notoriously slow starter, and I imagine there are still a fair number of executives who think he could be helpful down the road. You can't tell me the Washington Nationals or Kansas City Royals couldn't find a place for him somewhere. The Twins basically are down to choosing between Durbin or Rabe, and I think they'll take Durbin and give him until Lew Ford gets healthy to increase his value, and then try to spin him off in a trade.

The other alternative, which I think is very bad, would be to have both Matt Garza and Carlos Silva on the team, one as the 5th starter and one as the 12th pitcher. This makes no sense to me, even if Garza were the one starting. Garza needs to be starting, either at the Major or Minor league levels. Considering how the Twins handled the Alexi Casilla situation, I think they understand that . . . then again, they did keep Francisco Liriano around last year in a very similar situation to be used out of the bullpen. At the time, however, there were no other lefties in the 'pen, so the situation was a bit different.

The roster should be set soon, and it will be interesting to see which direction the Twins decide to go.

Perkins Cut

In the first genuine surprise of the spring, the Twins this afternoon cut Glen Perkins, according to Joe Christensen. He doesn't mention this, but that should mean that he was optioned to AAA. While I expected this to be the eventual result of the spring battle, I'm surprised at the timing. Ron Gardenhire made it clear after today's game and Silva's horrible performance that Carlos' spot in the rotation is by no means secure. This move means that Matt Garza is now the last man standing in the battle for a young gun (excepting Boof Bonser) to make the rotation.

Morning Cuts

Joe Christensen reports that the Twins cut Scott Baker, Alexi Casilla, and Garrett Jones this morning. All of them were optioned to AAA, where they will get a chance to develop further. Alexi Casilla will be with the Twins in some capacity this year, although it probably won't be until September when roster's expand. Jones and Baker are, in my opinion, unlikely to see action with the Twins this year.

The only move here that could be called even remotely surprising would be sending Casilla down, who some folks thought should make the team out of spring training as a backup. I think this was certainly the best move, because he needs to play every day.

Baker and Jones are both in an interesting position, as the Twins just used up their last options. That means that this is a year in which they need to establish themselves, or they'll likely end up somewhere else. I'll be watching intently this season to see how they perform, and whether they can put themselves into a position to make the team next season in some capacity.

Randy Choate Cut

It's been coming for awhile, but the Twins today officially cut Randy Choate, sending him to minor league camp. To be frank, I'm somewhat surprised that Choate wasn't cut outright. There's already a bit of a crunch for roster space in Rochester's bullpen, and Choate hasn't shown enough in camp to justify keeping him around. I still would be surprised if the Red Wings started off the season with Choate on the roster, but maybe the Twins are thinking about this differently than I am.

More Cuts

Thanks again to La Velle for announcing additional cuts after today's game. This makes just as much sense as waiting until after the break tomorrow, I guess, so I should have seen it coming. The four players cut this afternoon were:

Kevin Slowey
Carmen Cali
Jason Miller
Jeremy Cummings

Really, no surprises here. Slowey was never going to make the rotation this season (hence my keeping him in red all spring on my roster updates). Jeremy Cummings had a solid spring but had no chance against the group of guys who were in front of him. Jason Miller and Carmen Cali were at the back end of the bloc of lefties who were competing for a spot in the bullpen, and neither did enough to move ahead of Mike Venafro at the head of that list. I'll be most interested in seeing where Carmen Cali is assigned at the end of the spring, or if the Twins let him go. Everybody else should end up in AAA to start the season.

I'll have more later tonight on the other part of Neal's post, which discussed the way that Twins roster is setting up. Now, though, it's time for Martin's podcast.

Denard Span Cut

I didn't expect any more cuts until tomorrow or Tuesday, but the Twins jumped the gun this morning and optioned Denard Span to AAA, according to La Velle E. Neal. Expect to see Span at the Major League level this year; if the Twins have fallen out of contention at the trade deadline, Torii will likely be traded and Span will inherit center field. If not, then Span will be a September callup (his speed makes that a virtual certainty - he's the perfect kind of player to have on the bench as a pinch runner in close and late situations down the stretch). Barring something unforeseen, he'll be the starting center fielder in 2008.

Yet More Cuts

The Twins spring roster continues to shrink, as Joe Christensen reports this morning. Righty reliever Julio DePaula was optioned to AAA Rochester, and righty reliever Tristan Crawford was assigned to the minor league camp. DePaula had a great 2006 season at AA New Britain, so his promotion doesn't come as much of a surprise. Crawford is also likely to end up in AAA, but the Twins don't have to make a decision one way or the other on him until the end of camp because he isn't on the 40-man roster.

Two More Cuts

Joe Christensen reports that the Twins have cut two more players. Lefty Errol Simonitsch has been optioned to AAA Rochester, and lefty Jose Mijares has been optioned to AA New Britain.

It's no surprise that these two guys have been cut -- neither was going to make the roster out of spring training. What is surprising to me, however, is that Simonitsch was optioned to Rochester. He is, after all, a starting pitcher, and the Rochester rotation is going to be jam-packed with talent almost no matter how you look at it. For instance, here's one possible rotation, assuming that Sidney Ponson made the Twins roster:

Matt Garza
Glen Perkins
Scott Baker
Kevin Slowey
Jeremy Cummings / Dave Gassner

Where does Simonitsch fit? Even if Gassner is released (which is possible - the Twins unceremoniously dropped him from the 40-man roster last fall), Cummings has pitched very well this spring and, like Simonitsch, is primarily a starter. Considering that Simonitsch had his worst year as a professional with New Britain last year, it seemed logical for him to end up in New Britain at the start of this season as well. Doesn't look now like that's going to happen (of course, the Twins could always change course and demote him when the season starts).

Jose Mijares, meanwhile, seemed destined to end up in New Britain after a strong season in Ft. Myers. This one makes perfect sense.

First List of Cuts

UPDATE: The Twins website has posted where the players who were cut today have been placed. I've updated the post to reflect that, and also mentioned whether I was right on the placement of the three players who were assigned to a particular team. Now on to the original post:

I was either right on the money with my prediction of WHEN the first cuts would come, or missed it by just a hair. Either way, I underestimated the number of cuts that were forthcoming, and I got some of the names wrong. Here's the full list, courtesy of La Velle.

P - Ricky Barrett (optioned to AAA)
P - Alexander Smit (optioned to High A)
P - Brad Voyles (minor league camp)
P - Oswaldo Sosa (optioned to AA)

C - Jose Morales (minor league camp)
C - Jeff Christy (minor league camp)
C - Korey Feiner (minor league camp)

IF - Gil Velazquez (minor league camp)

None of these names are that strange, but I'm just a tad surprised that three catchers were already cut. That leaves Mauer and Redmond, of course, as well as Chris Heintz and Brad King in camp.

Also, I assume that all of these guys have just been sent over to the minor league camp, but if anyone (I'm particularly thinking of Brad Voyles) was actually "cut" as in "released," then I'll update that once I find out about it. Now we can wait for round two of cuts, which should be a good deal more interesting.

So, how about my predictions? Three-for-three so far. I had Barrett in Rochester and Smit in Ft. Myers, and I had Sosa cross-listed between New Britain and Ft. Myers. So, I guess an argument could be made that I have 2.5 instead of 3 right . . . I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt.