Twins Win 2-1, and Ramblings

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The Twins were able to squeak out a win last night against the Kansas City Royals to even the series at a game a piece. The two teams will meet again this afternoon to determine who wins the series. If the Twins can get a win, it will mean a 6-3 road trip, which is pretty impressive no matter who they are playing.

This game was kind of a pitcher’s dual, although not in an obvious kind of way. Brian Bannister limited the Twins to just two runs over seven innings, and just one of the runs was earned. That one came on a long, majestic home run by Justin Morneau, his 19^th of the season. But Twins starter Scott Baker had to work for the Win. He gave up just one run on five hits and two walks over five innings, which isn’t horrible. However, it took him 111 pitches to get through five innings. A couple of weeks ago, Francisco Liriano needed nearly 120 pitches to get through five innings. But unlike Liriano, Baker wasn’t wild in this game. He simply was not able to put hitters away. He had no less than three at bats in which he threw more than eight pitches. 75 of his 111 pitches were for strikes. And since the Twins scored a run in the top of the 6^th, Baker improves to 6-6, and sees his ERA drop below 5! (to 4.99!)

The story of the game, without question was the performance of Bobby Keppel. Again. After throwing four shutout innings on Saturday in St. Louis, he threw another 2.1 innings without a run in this game. The difference was that he came into a one run game in the 6^th inning in this situation and he more than got the job done. He gave up just one hit, a double that was really a catch by Denard Span. He also walked a batter. What is there to like about Bobby Keppel? So far, we have seen a decent fastball, relatively good control, and a very good sinker. What do the fielder’s behind him like? Keppel works very fast. He makes the pitch, catches the ball from the catcher, takes the sign and is in his delivery. That makes playing defense much easier!

Do I think that Bobby Keppel is a long term answer in relief? I don’t know. I kind of doubt it. But the important thing is, Who Cares? The Twins need someone right now who can get hitters out for a couple of innings, and if that’s Bobby Keppel right now, so be it! Is he a place holder for the likes of Jesse Crain, Juan Morillo, Rob Delaney, Anthony Slama or even Alex Burnett? Maybe. But hey, before this season started, I said that I thought Nick Blackburn was the starter most likely to struggle and end up in the bullpen. The beauty of baseball is that, although there are some indicators worth watching, there are always exceptions and players step up and perform, and others don’t. Bobby Keppel is being given an opportunity, and through a very small sample of TWO games, he has made a great impression. Will it last? Maybe not. But maybe. And as long as he is getting the job done, they should continue to use him. Like I said, who would have thought Nick Blackburn would be the team’s ace? How many of you thought that Matt Guerrier would take hold of the 8^th inning job this year? Maybe Bobby Keppel will become another shutdown bullpen arm for the rest of the year, or longer. We shall see!

Speaking of bullpen options, there is talk that the Twins want to go back to 12 pitchers on the staff. That means that they will need to send a position player to Rochester and bring up a pitcher. Who will that player sent down be? Well, in the post game show, Ron Coomer said that it wouldn’t be Jose Morales, but it pretty much has to be Jose Morales at this point. As much as I would rather have Morales on the roster than Brian Buscher or Matt Tolbert, I just don’t understand the need for a third catcher on the roster. They have proven a couple of times that Morales can be there by the next game.

So, which pitcher would be promoted to the Twins as the 12^th pitcher? Well, again, we can name the usual suspects; Jesse Crain, Juan Morillo, Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama, and they are legitimate names. But Jesse Crain simply needs more innings and more work with the Red Wings to get back what he once had. Juan Morillo’s walk totals are just ridiculous, and overwhelm his overwhelming strikeout numbers. Rob Delaney has more to work on at AAA. Anthony Slama should move up to AAA. Of course, Anthony Swarzak is also an option. He could pitch out of the bullpen. Had Francisco Liriano not pitched well in St. Louis on Sunday, he could have been the one heading to the bullpen. So Anthony Swarzak is an option since he has pitched great since he was demoted back to Rochester. I would prefer to keep him starting at this point, until there is a need for a starter, at least at this point. The right pitcher to call up at this time is Armando Gabino. The 25 year old from the Dominican Republic struggled in April. But in May, he had a 0.63 ERA and opponents hit just .102 against him. In June, he had a 2.55 ERA in 17.2 innings during which time he had a 12:2 strikeout to walk rate. He was added to the 40 man roster right after the 2008 season, so it would be easy as well.   

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Josmil Pinto, Elizabethton Twins

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Brad Tippett, Beloit Snappers

NOTES AND ANOTHER TRANSACTION

• David Shinskie was the Twins 4^th round pick in 2003 out of Mount Carmel High School in Pennsylvania. He signed and spent six seasons in the Twins organization, peaking at AA. Last winter, the Blue Jays took him in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. The Blue Jays released him in mid-May, and it appears that his baseball career is over, and he will start preparing for a future career. He is set to go to college at Boston College where he will also play a little Quarterback on the football team. He was an All-American QB in high school and hasd signed a letter of intent to play at Delaware. He figures that he has four years of eligibility, so why not play some football while getting his education.
• LaVelle informed us that with Riccardo Ingram leaving the Red Wings (hopefully temporarily) for medical reasons and Rich Miller moving from Beloit to Rochester, the Twins hired former Twin Chris Heintz as the batting coach at Beloit. I saw in the comments section of LaVelle’s blog that some think he won’t be a good hitting coach for those young players because he hit very little at the big league level. That’s more than a little silly. What does big league success have to do with the ability to coach. Tom Kelly is generally considered an excellent manager, and his big league career consisted of 147 plate appearances in 1975. Bobby Cox had a career OPS of .617 in his two seasons with the Yankees. Tony Larussa played in six big league seasons over an 11 season period. He never had more than 123 plate appearances in a season. His second most plate appearances in a season came in 1968 when he had 53 plate appearances for the Kansas City A’s, at the age of 18. Some of the best hitting coaches in baseball history were not Hall of Fame hitters. Some weren’t even good. Not all good pitching coaches have been Hall of Fame pitchers. I would argue that the guys who had to fight just to get a big league opportunity would be much better coaches and managers than the guys who got there naturally and didn’t fail as often. Ted Williams was not a good manager, or hitting coach. Ability to coach has very little to do with ability to play. I say good for Chris Heintz.      

ROCHESTER REPORT

Tuesday – Rochester, Scranton/Wilkes Barre – Postponed by Rain.

ROCKCAT RECAP

Tuesday –New Britain 9, Portland 5 – The Rockcats scored seven first run innings and held on for the rest of the game. Kason Gabbard started for Portland but gave up seven runs and got just one out. In that first inning, the Rockcats got three hits, walked four times and also had a hit by pitch. Danny Berg cleared the bases with a three run double. Two batters later, Erik Lis hit a three run homer, his sixth of the season. Rene Tosoni went 2-4 with his tenth home run. Toby Gardenhire went 2-4 with a walk and a double. Juan Portes went 2-4. Ryan Mullins picked up his fifth win thanks to the run support. The lefty went six innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out eight. Jay Rainville gave up two runs on two hits in his inning. Then Alex Burnett and Anthony Slama each threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

MIRACLE MEMOS

Tuesday – Ft. Myers, Lakeland – Postponed by Rain.   

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Tuesday – Beloit 1, Cedar Rapids 4 – Brad Tippett had another very strong start in this game. In six innings, he gave up just an unearned run on four this. He walked four and struck out four. Curtis Leavitt struck out two in two perfect innings. With the game tied at one going into the ninth, Steve Blevins came in and gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in the inning. The Snappers bats didn’t help the cause. They had just three hits. Drew Thompson went 1-2 with a walk and his ninth double. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with a walk.    

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Tuesday – Elizabethton 8, Bristol 7 – Billy Bullock coughed up the lead in the top of the ninth, but ended up getting the win. With two outs in the bottom of the 9^th, Derek McCallum and Chris Herrmann singled. Then there was an error, followed by an intentional walk and another error and the E-Twins had a win. McCallum went 2-4 with a walk and his first home run. Danny Rams went 1-3 with two walks and his fourth home run. Josmil Pinto went 3-4 with a double and his third homer. Reggie Williams knocked his first home run. Martire Garcia made the start and went just two innings. He gave up a run on one hit and six walks. He was replaced by Brad Stillings. The Twins 7^th round pick went the next 3.2 innings and gave up three runs (2 earned). He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out three. Edgar Ibarra threw 1.2 scoreless innings. Kane Holbrooks gave up an unearned run in his 0.2 innings. Bullock allowed a Holbrook inherited runner to score and then two more runs (1 earned) in the 9^th. He struck out two.

GCL TWINS THOUGHTS

Tuesday – GCL Twins 1, GCL Reds 4 – Shooter Hunt is not over his control issues. Although he looked good in his first outing, this one was a struggle. In four innings, he gave up one run on two hits. He walked six, hit one, and threw two wild pitches. He did strike out four. Adrian Salcedo came in and gave up three runs (1 earned) over the final five innings. He gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out five. Nick Lockwood and Oswaldo Arcia each went 2-4.     

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Twins Promote Keppel

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, the Twins promoted right hander Bobby Keppel to the team after Sunday’s game:

Starting pitcher Bobby Keppel, who was scheduled to start today, was called up to the Twins after the game.

“Sending Keppel up to the major leagues takes the pain away,” Cliburn said. “He’s a class act and we wish him the best.”

He is incredibly worthy of this promotion. It will just be very interesting to see the other half of the transaction. Will the Twins DFA Sean Henn or Luis Ayala, or will they send Jose Morales, who based on playing time since his promotion, should be demoted as well. Who do you think? Updates to come.  

Any thoughts? Leave your Comments here.

Weekend Game Updates

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The Twins split the first two games of their weekend series in Seattle. On Friday night, they won 2-1 in ten innings. On Saturday afternoon, it was a 2-1 loss.

Friday, Francisco Liriano made a big start. He gave up just one run on three hits in six innings. He still walked four and struck out five. Jesse Crain and Jose Mijares each got two outs. Matt Guerrier went the next 1.2 innings. Joe Nathan recorded his 11^th save with two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning.

Brian Buscher was 2-3. Alexi Casilla went 2-4. Brendan Harris went 2-5. Justin Morneau gave the Twins a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly early in the game. He scored the winning run in the 10^th when a Matt Tolbert fly ball to LF was mis-played by Wladmir Balentien.

Saturday, Nick Blackburn had another excellent start. In seven innings, he gave up just one run. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out one. His season ERA is down to 3.30. Sean Henn gave up the go-ahead run in the 8^th inning on a double by Ken Griffey Jr. Luis Ayala came in for the final out.

It was good to see Michael Cuddyer return to the lineup. Mike Redmond drove in the Twins’ lone run on a double. Joe Crede and Alexi Casilla each had two hits. In a crazy happening, the Twins top three hitters (Denard Span, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau) combined to go 0-12 with just one walk.

On Sunday afternoon, the Twins will send Kevin Slowey (8-1, 3.97 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) to the mound to face Erik Bedard (4-2, 2.37 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) in what should be another pitcher’s dual.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Steve Tolleson, Rochester Red Wings

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Spencer Steedley, Ft. Myers Miracle

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Whit Robbins, New Britain Rockcats

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Robertson, Ft. Myers Miracle

MIDWEST LEAGUE ALL-STAR – Joe Testa was named to the Midwest League All Star team. He was the only player from the Beloit Snappers on the roster. Josh Johnson wondered if another member of the Snappers roster was snubbed. He is probably right.  

Be sure to check out Roger’s Weekly Minor League Update.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday –Rochester 6, Gwinnett 9 – Kevin Mulvey started this game and gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits. In six innings, he walked six and struck out six. Rob Delaney got a chance to see how quickly a game can turn around. He gave up a cycle and four runs in just one inning  He worked a second inning and it went 1-2-3. Tim Lahey gave up a run on a hit and a walk in his inning. Steve Tolleson has continued to hit with his promotion to AAA. He went 3-3 with two walks and his third double. Drew Butera went 2-4. Jose Morales went 2-5.

Saturday –Rochester 2, Syracuse 3 – Bobby Keppel made a spot start and was able to work seven strong innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits. He walked none and struck out five. Juan Morillo threw two shutout innings, striking out four. But he walked three. Brock Peterson went 2-2 with a walk. Jose Morales went 2-4. Luke Hughes was back in the lineup. He had an error and was 0-1 before being pinch hit for. Can’t help but wonder if he re-aggravated his injury.

Check out Travis’s Red Wings Pitcher and Hitter of the Month for May.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain 2, Connecticut 3 (10 innings) – Ryan Mullins struck out eight in 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks. Alex Burnett came in and threw 2.1 shutout innings. He gave up a hit, walked three and struck out four. Anthony Slama gave up a run on three hits and three walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Brandon Roberts went 3-5 with his seventh stolen base. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4. Erik Lis hit his fifth home run of the season.

Friday – New Britain 3, Harrisburg 8 – Cole Devries was the victim of the long ball in this game. In five innings, he gave up five runs (4 earned) on eight hits (three home runs). He walked one and struck out two. Frank Mata gave up three runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk in his inning. Yohan Pino and Zach Ward each threw a scoreless inning. Whit Robbins was 2-4 with his seventh homer. Erik Lis was 2-4.

Check out Travis’s Rockcats Pitcher and Hitter of the Month for May.       

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 3, Clearwater 2 – The Miracle won this game despite getting just six hits. David Bromberg went the first 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. He walked six and struck out eight. Spencer Steedley got the win with 2.1 perfect innings. He is now 4-0. Blair Erickson recorded his seventh save with a scoreless ninth.

Saturday – Ft. Myers 1, Clearwater 0 – This was quite the pitcher’s dual. No runs scored until the final pitch of the game. Rene Leveret singled in Nick Romero in the bottom of the 9^th to give the Miracle to 1-0 win. The Miracle had seven hits. No one had more than one hit. Chris Parmelee had a double. Tyler Robertson threw the first seven shutout innings. He gave up eight hits and walked two while striking out four. Henry Arias gets the win due to his two shutout frames, which included four strikeouts.

Check out Travis’s Miracle Pitcher and Hitter of the Month.      

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 1, Peoria 5 – Michael Allen fell to 0-8 in this game. He gave up five runs on ninth hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out five. Curtiss Leavitt struck out two in a perfect inning. Matt Williams struck out two and gave up one hit in a scoreless innings. James Beresford and Michael Harrington each went 2-4.

Saturday – Beloit, Wisconsin – Game Rained Out.  

Check out Travis’s Snappers Pitcher and Hitter of the Month.   

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Sweep Complete! Bring on the Yankees!

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

• The Twins completed a three game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a dramatic come-from-behind 6-5 win on Thursday afternoon. Through five innings, both Scott Baker and Justin Verlander were throwing shutouts and cruising. However, in the sixth inning, Baker gave up five runs. Down 5-0, the Twins were able to work Verlander over 120 pitches and he left the game after a walk and a single in the bottom of the 7^th. At that point, the Twins bats came alive. Then with the Twins down 5-4 with runners on 2^nd and 3^rd, Joe Crede blooped a two-run single to centerfield that gave the Twins a 6-5 lead. The bullpen got the job done the rest of the way to hold the lead. Jason Kubel went 3-4 with two doubles. Denard Span went 2-4. Craig Breslow went 1.2 innings of shutout relief, and Matt Guerrier got the final out of the 8^th inning. Joe Nathan struck out two in a perfect ninth inning for his sixth save.
• How good was Justin Verlander on this day. 6+ innings pitched. 13 strikeouts. According to Denard Span, “”I knew he was nasty today when I saw Joe Mauer offering at pitches he normally doesn’t swing at. That’s how you know someone is going good.””
• Speaking of Joe Crede playing hero. He came to the plate with the bases loaded and the scored tied at ten on Wednesday night. On a 1-2 pitch, he hit a grand slam to help the Twins win that game in the 13^th inning. If we go back to an old statistic that has not been used over the last several years, in the series, Joe Crede would have had all three Game-Winning RBI. He was 4-15 in the series. Jason Kubel raised his batting average from .308 to .333 by going 6-10 in the three games. Kubel came in to pinch hit with a runner on, down by two, in the bottom of the 8^th, against Joel Zumaya, and on the first pitch hit a home run to tie the game. Joe Mauer went 4-11 with four walks and a home run in the series as well.
• Next up for the Twins? A four game series in New York against the Yankees. The Twins will face Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins to the mound against Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte. 
• If you had May 14^th on the Gardy’s First Ejection pool, congratulations!
• Delmon Young will be away from the team for a little while with Jose Morales being called up to take his place. Young has been placed on the Family Medical Emergency list as a family member of his is very ill, according to LaVelle E. Neal. Jim Mandelaro discusses the Morales promotion, and says that it is Delmon Young’s mother that is very ill. Obviously we wish Young and his family the best.
• In the same article, Mandelaro also commented that Mike Radcliff, Twins Director of Player Personnel, was in Rochester to watch Sean Henn and Bobby Keppel.
• Ed Thoma of the Mankato Free Press find the selection of Jose Morales as intriguing, particularly with the Twins going to New York. You see, the Yankees top two catchers are Jorge Posada and Jose Molina. Both of them are injured. So, is it possible that the Twins are trying to showcase Morales? Thoma admits that is a stretch. In reality, Morales becomes a DH option with Jason Kubel likely to see more time in LF in the short-term.  
• Matt Guerrier has been very good much of this season. Nick Nelson points out that the team’s (meaning the other bullpen arms) need to protect his arm so that he doesn’t tire in the second half of the season.
• According to Phil Mackey, Jason Kubel thinks he can be a .300 hitter. The Twins could really use that!
• Travis Talks presents his Top 5 Most Disappointing Players in the Twins organization so far this year. That was after posting his Top 5 Biggest Surprises the other day.
• On Wednesday, Justin Murphy posted his Upstate Update, a look at the Rochester Red Wings play of late. He e-mailed me something that is certainly worth mentioning, “David Winfree’s batting line, with an OBP under .300 and slugging (almost) .500. I poked around a little bit and found that, on the major league level, only two players EVER have done that over a full season- Dave Kingman in 1976, Mike Jacobs in 2008.”
• Phil Miller tells us what kind of music bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek is not a fan of!
• At Over the Baggy, Parker analyzes the Twins starting five, looking at their run support and games scores and more.            

 MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Mark Dolenc, Ft. Myers Miracle

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Robertson, Ft. Myers Miracle 

ROCHESTER REPORT

Thursday –Rochester 5, Indianapolis 4 – David Winfree has made a career out of coming up with big hits in big situations. Late in this game, Winfree came up with two on and two outs, and drilled a long, three run homer to give the Red Wings the lead. It was his fifth homer of the season. Luke Hughes went 2-3 with a walk and his sixth home run. Justin Huber was 3-4 with his second triple. Jason Jones started and gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks in just 4.1 innings. Bobby Keppel then worked 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. Sean Henn recorded his fifth save. He struck out four in two innings and allowed only an unearned run.    

ROCKCAT RECAP

Thursday – New Britain, Portland – This game was suspended by rain in the top of the 4^th inning. Portland was leading the Rockcats 8-1 already. Jay Rainville started and gave up seven runs (6 earned) on five hits and two walks in just 2.2 innings.    

MIRACLE MEMOS

Thursday –Ft. Myers 19, Sarasota 4 – Mark Dolenc led the potent offensive attack in this game by going 5-6 with three doubles. Evan Bigley is still unfazed by the Florida State League. He went 4-5 with a walk. Ben Revere was 3-5 with a double. Danny Berg was 3-6 with a double. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with two walks. Jair Fernandez and Chris Cates each had a single and a double. Cates drove in three runs. Tyler Robertson was the beneficiary of the offensive support. The lefty gave up just two runs on five hits in 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out three. Alex Burnett got the next four outs, three of them on strikeouts. Santos Arias then gave up two runs on four hits in the final two innings. 

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Thursday – Beloit 6, Clinton 7 (13 innings) – Danny Rondon had pitched two scoreless innings before coming back out for the 13^th inning. It was in that inning that he gave up the winning run. Brad Tippett started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on eight hits and no walks. Henry Reyes gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk in two innings. Steve Blevins struck out five in three innings of one run ball. The Snappers managed just five hits in this game. They did walk seven times. James Beresford was 2-6. Jonathan Waltenbury and Angel Morales each hit their three-run homer.

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Minor Signings

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

I received word that the Twins have signed a few minor league free agents. None are terribly exciting, but each has had at least a little bit of Major League time, and who knows, given the right set of circumstances, could get there again. Will it be with the Twins in 2009? Well, we shall see. They are:

Luis Matos – The former big-time OF prospect of the Baltimore Orioles. He spent at least part of each season between 2000 and 2006 with the O’s. Matos has been a journeyman the last couple of years. After being released by the O’s in July of 2006, he signed with the Nationals where he got 15 at bats in 14 games before being released. He split 2007 between the AAA affiliates of the Pirates and Mets. He did not receive an offer for the 2008 season, so he played in Mexico, for the Yucatan Leones. He is currently playing in Puerto Rico where he has been quite impressive this winter. Matos was once the CF of the future for the Orioles. He is now a journeyman 30 year old outfielder. In reality, the Twins probably just hope that he can come close to producing for Rochester as well as the recently departed Darnell McDonald did (McDonald signed with the Reds last week).

Bobby Keppel – Keppel was the 1^st round pick of the New York Mets in 2000 out of high school. He started in the Appalachian League and basically moved up one level a year until he finally made his big league debut in 2006 at the age of 23 for the Kansas City Royals. In 34.1 innings, he gave up 45 hits and walked 15. He moved to the Rockies in 2007. He started 23 games in AAA before getting four relief appearances in Colorado. In four innings, he gave up six hits and walked three more. He spent 2008 in the Marlins AAA rotation, in Albuquerque, where he went 9-11 with a 5.99 ERA. In 159.1 innings, he gave up 208 hits and walked another 57. He struck out just 85. It is pretty difficult to get too excited about this signing. He is still just 26 years old with big league experience. I would imagine that he could fight for a spot in the Rochester starting rotation.  

Sean Henn – Henn was the 30^th round pick of the New York Yankees in 1999. At 24, he made his big league debut in the Bronx in 2005 by making three starts and going 0-3 with a 11.12 ERA. In 2006, he got into four more games for eth Yankees. In 2007, he pitched in 29 games for the Yankees and went 2-2 with a 7.12 ERA in 36.2 innings. He began the 2008 season in the Yankees organization but was released and claimed by the San Diego Padres. He got into four games for the Padres. He walked nine and struck out nine in 9.1 innings of relief. Henn is a 27 year old, 6-5 lefty that could start for the Red Wings but could also work out of the team’s bullpen.  

Again, I don’t think any of these three players will being the 2009 season with the Twins. They provide depth to the organization. Any thoughts? Leave your comments here.