Garza's Return

Unless you haven't been paying much attention today, you probably have already heard that Matt Garza has been called up by the Twins, with Chris Heintz once again sent down to Rochester. Let me clear up that situation first -- I'm not a fan of carrying three catchers, especially when one of them never plays. It made sense to have three catchers on the squad when the Twins weren't sure about Joe Mauer's health -- but there have been no indications that he's struggling in that department, so it was time for Heintz to go back down.

Now, how about Garza? First, I have to say that I think this was a very clever move for the Twins to make. Garza was chaffing down in AAA, having watched Glen Perkins, Scott Baker, and Kevin Slowey all move past him in the organization this summer. Garza wanted his shot, but there weren't a lot of options for him at hand. Now, the Twins get him up, with a guaranteed start on July 6, and with a chance to pitch in a game or two out of the bullpen to reacquaint himself with big league hitters. I think that's downright savvy. The Twins also have essentially set up a competition between Baker, Slowey, and Garza over which two will have a spot in the rotation when the All-Star Break comes to an end. I think Garza will be in that mix.

For the record, there's been some discussion about whether Boof Bonser's spot in the rotation is in jeopardy, but I don't think that's the case. Bonser has been reasonably solid this year (although there's a LOT of room for improvement). I would be stunned if the Twins took Bonser out of the rotation. Just for the record, Bonser does have an option left -- but can you really see the Twins sending him down? That would absolutely stun me.

I'll be interested to see how Garza performs out of the bullpen (where he will probably be able to get away with just rearin' back and firing fastballs in), and how he adapts back to starting (where he'll need to get his curveball over and will need to complement his fastball with the occasional changeup as well). This was the right move for the Twins right now. I'm excited about what's to come.

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.