Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

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1 Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Monday, February 22, 2016 Twins, Molitor officially begin MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 1 For the 19th season, welcome to spring training. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 2 Is 200 innings too much to ask for a Twins pitcher? Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3 Not signing Greinke? That was a controversy? I'll be darned. Star Tribune (Reusse) p. 4 Souhan: Upbeat Meyer seeking to keep his pitches down for Twins. Star Tribune (Souhan) p. 6 Five questions regarding the Twins rotation. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 7 Twins have not explored contract extension for Paul Molitor, source says. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 7 Wetmore: 10 Twins storylines worth tracking during spring training ESPN (Wetmore) p. 8 Twins 2016 outlook: After suspension, rough patch, Ervin Santana was great late ESPN (Wetmore) p. 11 Q&A: Hawkins discusses lengthy career. MLB.com (Ringolsby) p. 12 Molitor hoping to push Twins to 'next level' in second year. Associated Press p. 13 Spring training: Player development center paying dividends for Minnesota Twins. Naples Daily News (Butherus) p. 14 Twins, Molitor officially begin 2016 Rhett Bollinger MLB.com February 21, 2016 The Twins officially opened Spring Training on Sunday, as all 38 pitchers and catchers reported without any issues and are set to participate in the first official workouts Monday at the CenturyLink Sports Complex. Position players don't report until Friday, with the first full-squad workout scheduled for Saturday. But several position players are already at the complex working out, including Korean slugger Byung Ho Park, Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, Eduardo Escobar, Danny Santana and Oswaldo Arcia. "I think it's probably up," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said of the number of early arrivals. "We have a lot of people here and people who want to get out of the northern climates. We have guys competing for jobs. So I'd say it would make a lot of sense for guys to show up a tad early. It's not required that they come early, so it's a good sign." It's the second year for Twins manager Paul Molitor, who finished third in the balloting for the American League Manager of the Year Award last year after guiding the Twins to their first winning record since Molitor plans on running Spring Training similar to 2015, with an emphasis on both improving baserunning and stopping opposing teams' basestealing. "The second one is different than the first," Molitor said. "But there won't be any major changes. There were some things that will be at the forefront like last spring. Baserunning wasn't fantastic. Defending baserunning wasn't fantastic. So that's what we'll talk about with the pitchers. But I'd rather them get guys out than be overly consumed with those things. But there aren't going to be major overhauls." Molitor and the rest of his coaching staff will nevertheless have some interesting decisions this spring, as there are openings in both the rotation and bullpen -- as well as a crowded outfield that features plenty of youngsters such as Byron Buxton, Sano and Rosario. Buxton, ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect by MLBPipeline.com, will have to earn the job in center field, while Sano has to adjust to moving to right field. "I have a lot of outfielders I have to try to find at-bats for," Molitor said. "Sano is going to have to play a lot with the new position."

2 The front of the rotation is set with Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes, leaving others such as Tommy Milone, Ricky Nolasco, Tyler Duffey, Trevor May and Jose Berrios to compete for the final two spots. Based on his 10 starts down the stretch last year, Duffey has a strong case to be in the rotation but has to have a strong spring to beat out veterans such as Milone and Nolasco. Molitor also clarified the catching situation, as Kurt Suzuki remains the club's primary backstop, with John Ryan Murphy set to be his backup. Murphy was acquired this offseason from the Yankees in exchange for center fielder Aaron Hicks. The two are among eight catchers in camp, but barring injury, it'll be Suzuki and Murphy on the Opening Day roster. It all leads up to the first Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox on March 2 at JetBlue Park. The Twins open the regular season on April 4 against the Orioles in Baltimore. For the 19th season, welcome to spring training La Velle E. Neal lll Star Tribune February 21, 2016 There were no berms, no outfield seating of any kind. The infield was one of the worst in Florida. Instead of an array of office buildings behind the wall, there were cows grazing on undeveloped land. Gators hung out in the pond behind the right field fence. Paul Molitor was in uniform - as a player. Fort Myers was a semi-sleepy town in 1998, my first year on the Twins beat. And Hammond Stadium reflected it. I've seen things change dramatically. After taking a big hit during the down housing market period, the town is thriving. There's plenty to do, especially if you like golf. Hammond Stadium has been extensively renovated. A dorm has been built. There's a bar beyond the right field wall. The Twins' facilities aren't just solid anymore, they're among the better ones in the league. George Toma was hired to overhaul the infield, and it's one of the best. I'm watching George pick pebbles off the dirt and launch them into foul territory as I write this. A large Samsung HD television - something that had no shot of being here five years ago - is showing the Michigan-Maryland game while I write. This team stunk when I arrived. Mike Morgan, Bob Tewksbury, Otis Nixon, Frankie Rodriguez, Greg Swindell, Terry Steinbach, Brad Radke and others were great to cover, but the team went that year. The Purge took place after that, when Torii Hunter and friends were called up, and the Twins eventually became the best team in the AL Central. That run ended in Then came four years of losing, which led to the firing of Ron Gardenhire - then the hiring of Molitor. This is my 19th year on the beat, and I'm wondering if the Twins are at the beginning of another cycle of relevancy. They surprised nearly everyone by going last season. This despite Phil Hughes and Glen Perkins having back problems, Ervin Santana serving an 80-game suspension for using a PED and the bullpen looking overmatched at times. Kyle Gibson is walking around here like it's mid season. Perkins and Hughes are in good shape after offseason core work. Several position players are already in camp. They all know that making the playoffs is a realistic goal in Well, every team thinks the playoffs are realistic. But it's one thing to be realistic and another to be realistic and be wrong. The Twins have valid reasons to think they can be a playoff team. But, man, the AL Central might be a bloodbath this season. The first pitchers and catchers workout is tomorrow, as the Twins begin preparations for the 2016 season. Can Hughes bounce back after a poor 2015? Can Perkins hold up the entire season? How much time will John Ryan Murphy take from Kurt Suzuki? Can Alex Meyer step up and become a factor in the bullpen? Can Ricky Nolasco embrace a relief role if he can't break into the rotation? Position players report later in the week. Lots of intrigue there. Can Miguel Sano transition to the outfield? Will Joe Mauer find his old stroke? What kind of hitter will Byung Ho Park be? I'm curious to see how year 19 will turn out 2

3 Position players don't have to report until the end of the week, but several are already in Fort Myers. Have seen Sano, Eddie Rosario, Adam Brett Walker, Eduardo Escobar, Danny Santana, Joe Benson, Darin Mastroianni and Oswaldo Arcia in recent days. Haven't seen Park, but he has been seen here working out. Casey Fien will probably leave camp for a couple days this week. His wife, Joann, is ready to give birth to their second child. ``Any day,'' he said. ``Any minute.'' Chatted with Alex Meyer on Saturday. He spent part of the offseason (when he wasn't getting married) working on his mechanics. He said he was pretty much sidearming the ball by the end of last season, so he's spent trying to get used to throwing out of a three-quarters slot, which should give him more movement. He could be a huge factor for the Twins if his can harness his 95-plus heater and win a bullpen spot. Jim Souhan will weigh in on this one in tomorrow's editions. Phil Hughes feels great after working on strengthening core muscles during the offseason. His back really caused him problems last season, and he hopes to gain some life and velocity on his fastball now that he's healthy. Twins manager Paul Molitor plans to enter the season with Kurt Suzuki as the No. 1 catcher, with the right to give John Ryan Murphy more starts if merited. I'll have more on this in the middle of the week. A couple things to keep in mind: I'm taking suggestions for the food guide. And start scouting players for Picks to Click. Should be interesting. Is 200 innings too much to ask for a Twins pitcher? La Velle E. Neal lll Star Tribune February 22, 2016 There is something Terry Ryan misses from his starting rotation. We haven t had any length in our rotation for a while now, said the Twins general manager, aware that Phil Hughes is his team s only starter to throw 200 innings in a season since This season could be different, as the Twins return a starting rotation that lacks a true No. 1 ace but improved last season and has a few pitchers capable of pitching into the seventh inning or later. The trend in baseball is toward buttressing bullpens. The World Series champion Kansas City Royals have thrived with a power arm parade out of their bullpen, making it hopeless for opponents to rally when trailing after six innings. Royals starters, in fact, threw 912⅔ innings in 2015, 24th in the majors. But Ryan remains in favor of having starters who can pitch deep into games to protect against bullpen burnout. Twins starters threw 928 innings last season, 20th in baseball. Twins starters were last in baseball in 2014 with a 5.06 ERA, but their 4.14 ERA last season under first-year pitching coach Neil Allen was good for 16th. There s optimism that the 200-inning barrier will be broken by at least one Twins pitcher this season. The 200-inning mark is kind of a mystical number for a starting pitcher, said righthander Kyle Gibson, who was with a 3.84 ERA in 194⅔ innings. I think what it really shows is that if you re getting to 200 innings, everything else is going to fall into place. You re not going to have to look at your ERA and wonder if you had a good year. If you re throwing 200 innings, you are averaging over six innings a start and you re doing something right. Gibson, 28, led the staff in innings pitched in 2015, nearly cracking the 200-inning barrier for the first time. Hughes, 29, threw 209⅔ innings in 2014 and famously turned down an offer to pitch in relief at the end of the season to get past 210 innings and earn a bonus. Ervin Santana, 33, has thrown 200-plus innings five times and 196 in another, but he missed 80 games last year in his first season with the Twins to serve a suspension for using performanceenhancing drugs. Ricky Nolasco, a 33-year-old who is not guaranteed a spot in the rotation, has thrown more than 200 innings twice. Lefthander Tommy Milone, 28, threw 190 innings in 2012, his first full season with Oakland, but he hasn t gotten close since. I do see that potential we have to get more length out of our rotation to take a little stress off of our bullpen, Ryan said. They are capable. It s not like we re talking about 21-year-old kids here. These guys are somewhat of a veteran staff. 3

4 There are some starters still finding their footing but who will, or can, factor into the rotation. Tyler Duffey, 25, went 5-1 with a 3.10 ERA in 10 starts to keep the Twins in playoff contention late in the season. He opened a lot of people s eyes, Milone said. Trevor May, 26, landed in the bullpen last season when the Twins really needed help there. He is coming to camp stretched out to start but will likely begin the season in the bullpen, barring unforeseen developments. Jose Berrios, 21, reached Class AAA Rochester last season and was 6-2 with a 2.62 ERA to cement his status as one of the top pitching prospects in the game. He likely will begin the season at Rochester but could get the call if there s a need for a starter. Based on how last season ended, a rotation of Hughes, Santana, Gibson, Duffey and Milone seems most likely, with Nolasco and May in the bullpen and Berrios in the minors, Injuries and effectiveness could lead to a different starting five. And no team in this age goes through a season without needing more starters. If Nolasco doesn t crack the starting five, he could be summoned from the bullpen. May might be needed to spot start. Berrios should make his major league debut at some point this season. Overall, it s a group the Twins feel good about. There s going to be injuries, there s going to be guys who run into rough patches, Gibson said. That s going to happen every year.. Our success is going to be determined by how the other guys step up and fill the shoes if there is a void. It s the makeup of this group that has the Twins optimistic that one or more pitchers will reach the 200-inning mark this season. The Twins haven t had multiple pitchers reach 200 innings since 2009, when Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn did it. We can have our good games and we can have our bad games, Hughes said. But our bad games can t be ones that we re just giving away. We have to give ourselves a chance. If we go out and have a bad start, we can still battle for seven innings and give us a chance. That s the biggest key. Not signing Greinke? That was a controversy? I'll be darned Patrick Reusse Star Tribune February 21, 2016 It would appear that I missed something over the past couple of months. Apparently, there is an element of baseball observers and fans still disillusioned from the swoon who are very upset over the manner in which the Twins conducted the offseason in the area of player acquisition. I ll admit to being somewhat puzzled by the signing of Byung Ho Park, the 29-year-old from the Korea Baseball Organization. More than anything, they wanted to move Miguel Sano from the DH role, so the Twins decided to bring in a DH option with power (at least in Korea). I watched Park take batting practice a handful of times in Fort Myers in informal workouts earlier this month. He did not get one wow out of me, but we ll see if that means anything. Kennys Vargas got plenty of wows out of me a year ago in the same type of BP sessions in Fort Myers, and that didn t turn into anything. The Twins aren t going admit it, but it s my belief the No. 1 reason they want Sano in the field is his weight. He weighs between 265 and 270 pounds, and I think the Twins fear he could get heavier if he s not playing in the field. My solution would have been to have Sano and Joe Mauer share first base and DH, with Sano playing two-thirds of the games at first. Go ahead, tell me again, that Joe doesn t have the production needed at DH, and I ll you this again: What difference does it make, first base or DH, Joe s still going to be in the lineup. The Twins had outfield options without adding Sano to mix: Rosario and Buxton for left and center, with Max Kepler and Oswaldo Arcia to compete for right field, and Danny Santana as an extra outfielder. What if Buxton isn t ready as a hitter? You bat him ninth and wait until he starts figuring it out. Buxton isn t going back to minors, not as long as the manager and his coaches have anything to say about it. 4

5 So, if I saw a big controversy with the Twins, it was with the addition of a player Park and not that they didn t add significantly to what now figures to be a $107 million payroll. Aaron Hicks for a catcher, John Ryan Murphy. No controversy there, that I can see. Keeping Trevor Plouffe? Hooray! I had him as the Twins most valuable player. Failing to sign Antonio Bastardo as a lefthander for the bullpen? I would ve been on board with Bastardo, but the Twins don t think he s that good. Period. A team has to trust its opinion, whether the observers buy into it or not. If the main crime the Twins committed was not signing a free agent lefty to replace Brian Duensing, it was a winter of petty misdemeanors in the roster department. I found out last week that there s a greater controversy than that. I was in Fort Myers, doing my afternoon radio show from the press box at Hammond Stadium. General Manager Terry Ryan did a 20-minute interview on Thursday. Ryan was asked to again explain the move of Sano to right field, and also why it was right field rather than left. He was asked if he felt bushwhacked by Joe Mauer s recent comments on double vision problems at the plate. He was asked what the solution might be for Ricky Nolasco, still owed $25 million and a complete flop in two seasons in Minnesota. Ryan gave his answers. Next question. Several complaints rolled in about Ryan not being grilled properly. About what? I had to ask a radio colleague. He said: They are mad the Twins didn t sign Zack Greinke. Have to admit, I didn t realize that was a controversy. I spend way too much time in the real world. Further feedback indicated it was the old if the Pohlads weren t so cheap, the Twins would have a No. 1 starter argument. Hey, the Dodgers couldn t beat Arizona s offer, so did any non-idiot expect the Pohlads to do so? These gentlemen are great philanthropists, but baseball is not about philanthropy. Everyone is worked up about the bullpen. I kind of like the bullpen. That will require the Molitor-Allen tandem to do a better job monitoring usage in Year 2 and not to wind up with almost the whole crew on the disabled list again. Only Glen Perkins avoided the DL last season, and only because his shutdown came in September when the roster was expanded. Perkins. Kevin Jepsen. Trevor May. Ryan Pressly (if healthy). Casey Fien. Even Alex Meyer. Those are good arms. And the spot lefty you re worried about there s always one of those around. The rookie, Taylor Rogers, could be it this time. As for not having a No. 1 starter well, the Twins had a No. 1 in Phil Hughes in He went backwards in 2015, and now he looks fit and ready, and he s got a chance to be back to what he was. He s in there with Erv Santana and Kyle Gibson, both good, and we ll see if Tyler Duffey can be what he was down the stretch last season. The Twins will run out Tommy Milone as the lefty starter. He doesn t do much for me but others in my occupation see him as serviceable. Nolasco will probably end up in the pen, and Jose Berrios will be in the minors for a while, until an opening is created with the fivesome of Hughes, Santana, Gibson, Duffey and Milone. The phrase we ll see was used here two or three times. That s the great thing about spring training and then the season the we ll see part. To me, there s nothing to be mad about with the Twins and this offseason. That's the danger of realism, I guess. 5

6 Souhan: Upbeat Meyer seeking to keep his pitches down for Twins Jim Souhan Star Tribune February 22, 2016 Sunday represented the Twins official reporting day for pitchers and catchers. Technically, that means those players must be in Fort Myers, but most pitchers and catchers have been in Fort Myers for days, if not weeks, and showed up at Hammond Stadium for an informal workout. Alex Meyer was there, sitting in a locker adjacent to Jose Berrios. That placement is symbolic of Meyer s situation, just as his situation is symbolic of all that spring training can mean for a struggling young players, for whom angst can obliterate joy. Berrios has replaced Meyer as the Twins top pitching prospect. Berrios has flown through the farm system while displaying obvious fire on the mound, in the clubhouse and in the Olympic-level workout videos he posted from his native Puerto Rico this winter. Meanwhile, Meyer has given himself and his organization reason to worry. He is 26 now, and no baseball player who is 26 is considered promising. You are either valuable or not. Meyer is no longer necessarily considered a starting pitcher. If he wants to make the team out of spring training, it probably will be as a middle reliever. If he goes to Class AAA Rochester as a starter, he will be about seventh or eighth in line to start in the big leagues. The Twins traded Denard Span to Washington for Meyer in It was a logical move, the Twins dealing from their deep array of young outfielders for what they thought was a potential ace, but Span is a good major league player and Meyer has given the Twins nothing. He knows it. Asked to offer one word to describe his attitude this year, he said: Positive. That s the thing. Last year, I got too worked up and felt like I was letting too many people down at times. You never want to feel like that. If you re worried about stuff like that All I need to worry about is myself. Last year I was worried about letting the coaches down and wanting to help the team out so badly. I was underperforming. When you re in Triple-A and you see guys getting sent down, you want to be the one going up. I want to be the best pitcher I can be and let everything else take care of itself. What s strange about Meyer s struggles is that there doesn t seem to be much wrong with him. He is 6-9 and 225 pounds. He always appears to be in good shape. He throws hard. He cares. Toward the end of last season, the Twins showed Meyer recordings that showed he was pitching almost sidearm. The motion added some life to his pitches but took away his biggest advantage a dramatic downward plane on fastballs. I know I need to raise my arm slot, which we worked on this offseason, he said. That was brought to my attention at the end of last season. He might never become the ace the Twins hoped he would be, but this is spring training and the time to imagine what could be, and Meyer could be valuable to an ambitious team. The Twins have two relievers who can close games, in Glen Perkins and Kevin Jepsen. If Meyer can harness his 97-mile-per-hour fastball, he could give them the ideal modern bullpen, one that turns sixth-inning leads into routine victories. I m just trying to be as prepared as possible and make the team and go from there, Meyer said. From the get-go of spring training last year, I just struggled. I wasn t very good in camp. I went down to Triple-A and struggled to start the season and got put in the bullpen. From there, it was a roller coaster. With a 4.79 ERA at Rochester and five runs in 2⅔ innings in the majors last year, 2015 was by far his worst season as a pro. For Meyer and many others in Twins camp, this spring offers hope, because spring always offers hope to the healthy. It is past time for Meyer to apply the phrase downward plane to his pitches instead of his career. 6

7 Five questions regarding the Twins rotation La Velle E. Neal lll Star Tribune February 21, 2016 ROTATION QUESTIONS Can Phil Hughes turn it around? Hughes won 16 games in 2014, walking 16 batters all season and giving up only 16 home runs. Then came 2015, during which he gave up 13 more homers his 29 led the majors in 45⅓ fewer innings. Back inflammation limited his effectiveness. Hughes fastball averaged a career-low 90.7 miles an hour last season while his changeup averaged That s not a good variance. He is in better shape and motivated to put last year behind him. And it s an even-numbered year: Hughes won 18 games in 2010, 16 in 2012 and 16 in Will Kyle Gibson take the next step? Gibson has been getting a little better each season. Last year, he set career bests in innings pitched and ERA. At 28, he should be hitting his prime. Gibson now faces the final frontier: putting hitters away. He has one of the best sliders in the league and flashed an improved changeup that he relied on more in 2015, but he averaged 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings, a figure they d like to see improve. He seems to have the repertoire to strike out more hitters than he does. If he can figure that out, he will take off. Who will start on Opening Day? Hughes made his first Opening Day start ever last season and figures to be in line to do it again in Ervin Santana has had a more productive career but is in his second year with the Twins and, frankly, it would be a surprise for him to get the start after he drained team morale with a drug suspension last season. Kyle Gibson was the Twins best starter last season and deserves consideration as well. The signs point toward Hughes. We will know as soon as pitching coach Neil Allen sets his spring rotation. What to do with Ricky Nolasco? As camp starts, Nolasco, still due $25 million over the next two seasons, looks headed to the bullpen. He is with a 5.64 ERA in his first two seasons with the Twins, making only eight starts last season because of surgery to repair a right ankle impingement. He doesn t appear to have much trade value, and he won t have a chance to make himself very marketable if he is a reliever. The Twins and Nolasco will have to figure out a way to make things work. But he s in excellent shape and should be motivated to pitch as well as he can. When will Jose Berrios get the call? Berrios, one of the top prospects in the game, looked ready for a promotion back in August but was passed over for Tyler Duffey. Then he was passed over for a September call up. He has poured all his focus into his offseason work (video can been viewed on his Twitter feed) and is in camp to prove he s ready to join the rotation. He ll probably begin the season at Rochester, but a strong camp will cement his place in the pecking order to be summoned if help is needed in the majors. Twins have not explored contract extension for Paul Molitor, source says Mike Berardino Pioneer Press February 21, 2016 Managerial contracts were in the news last week with three teams either extending or picking up options on their dugout leaders. The Kansas City Royals extended Ned Yost for two seasons through 2018 after winning their first World Series in 30 years. The Arizona Diamondbacks picked up their option for 2017 on ex-twin Chip Hale, who led them to a 79-win season and a third-place finish in his managerial debut. The Texas Rangers, who won the American League West with 88 wins in Jeff Banister s first season, essentially tore up his contract, gave him a raise and now have an option on him for What about the Twins and Paul Molitor? According to a person with direct knowledge, there have been no talks between the two sides about altering or extending the hall of famer s contract beyond There is no club option in Molitor s deal, which was signed as a three-year contract upon being chosen to replace Ron Gardenhire in November The Twins responded well to Molitor s guidance in his first season, going and staging a 13-win improvement that ranked as the seventh-best in Twins 7

8 franchise history. Molitor, who turns 60 in late August, was voted American League Manager of the Year by the Sporting News and finished third in the AL in voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Banister and Houston s A.J. Hinch, another first-year skipper who took the Astros to the AL wild card, finished ahead of Molitor in BBWAA voting. Twins general manager Terry Ryan was tight-lipped on the subject of a potential extension for Molitor in the light of a busy week for opposing managers. I don t know what their situation is, but you know I m not going to comment publicly about contracts, Ryan said. Asked how much more comfortable he and Molitor are with each other after a successful first season, Ryan said things were about the same. I wasn t uncomfortable before, Ryan said. I ve known him for a long time. We ve dealt with each other through the minor leagues and development and major league coach. I m not sure anything is going to change between (us), regardless. It hasn t. Ryan is essentially on a year-to-year arrangement with the Twins and has said repeatedly he isn t thinking about retiring anytime soon. If Molitor wants to continue managing beyond 2017, the expectation at this point is that he would have every opportunity to do so. The St. Paul native and year-round Minnesota resident appreciates the proximity to family and friends his job allows. He also has a seamless fit with Ryan in the GM-manager dynamic. I have the utmost confidence in how (Ryan) goes about his job, the transparency with which he presents, Molitor said this winter. He s got a plan, and he knows how to operate within whatever boundaries he needs to operate within to the most efficient manner. I think it s nice that we can collaborate on things. I have a lot of faith in what he brings to the table for me. Hall of famer Rod Carew is due to fly in from southern California on Tuesday and be in uniform as a special instructor from Feb. 27 through March 18. Carew, who suffered a massive heart attack on Sept. 20, was determined to make his annual trip to spring training. Recently retired pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, in his first spring as a special instructor, is due in Twins camp on Monday when pitchers and catchers hold their first workout. Another recent retiree, Torii Hunter, is due to begin his 10-day instructional stint on Friday. Wetmore: 10 Twins storylines worth tracking during spring training Derek Wetmore 1500 ESPN February 21, 2016 All sports have their holidays, but pitchers and catchers is a phrase that makes even the most reserved baseball fans do a small fist pump. After the World Series ends, other sports march on, but there s not really any big-time baseball going on in the U.S. In northern climes, it s cold and sometimes miserable. For a long time after the Fall Classic, it s not baseball season. And then, suddenly, it is. For Twins fans, that day is almost here. Twins pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Sunday. Their first workout will be Monday. Here are 10 storylines to follow during Twins spring training. There are other stories that will develop over the course of six weeks or so, and this list is not ordered or ranked in any meaningful way. These are 10 prominent stories that will impact the 2016 season: How will Miguel Sano transition into the outfield? The Twins decided not to trade Trevor Plouffe this winter, and as a result, they ll keep Plouffe at third base and try Sano in right field. This will be the first professional experience as an outfielder in Sano s life. At 6-foot-4, 265 pounds, Sano will be among the biggest outfielders in the game. The Twins accurately contend that he has good top-end speed for his size, and the first-step agility to play third base, not to mention his remarkably strong arm. The tools are there. But it remains to be seen how he ll adapt to the outfield. How will the team s best hitter fare in his first try as a corner outfielder? And even if there s a downgrade defensively in right field, will it be enough to offset the fact that the Twins lineup could include powerful bats at several 8

9 different positions? Is Byron Buxton ready to hit in the Majors? Buxton showed the world last year that when he s got a glove on his hand, he s ready to be an MLB centerfielder. The question that remains is whether he ll eventually be able to hit in the Majors the way he has in the minors. He hasn t shown that yet. Keep in mind, though, that he s only received 129 at-bats, so any struggles he had as a 21-year-old in the Majors are understandable and not necessarily statistically significant. He still qualifies as a rookie by MLB standards, which could make the Rookie of the Year race interesting in the American League if Buxton is ready to hit the ground running. Will Buxton break camp as the Twins centerfielder? Or will he require a little more time in the minor leagues before he s ready to flash his star potential at Target Field? How will Byung Ho Park adjust to Major League pitching? The Twins biggest splash of the offseason came when they surprised a lot of people around baseball by winning exclusive negotiating rights with Korean slugger Byung Ho Park. The two sides then worked out a contract that looks like it could be pretty friendly to the Twins, although it s not without its risks. In the past three seasons playing in Korea s top league, the KBO, Park, 29, has posted video-game numbers. He mashed 142 home runs in the past three seasons, and if even 75 percent of his offensive production will translate to the tougher league in the Majors, the Twins will have a solid designated hitter on their hands. The question on my mind is simple: How long will that transition take? Is Trevor May a starter or a reliever? Maybe baseball fans around the world aren t exactly waiting with bated breath for the answer to this question, but it s nonetheless a significant decision for the Twins this spring. The Twins have said that May will report to spring training as a starting pitcher, primarily because it would give the team the flexibility to make either decision at the end of camp (or sooner). If May went to Fort Myers as a reliever, it would remove any flexibility, because if they needed to change their mind late in camp, he likely wouldn t be able to build up his innings load in time to start the season in the rotation. So essentially this Twins are just buying time by having May report as a starter, which is a wise strategy. Still, the way it looks right now from my perspective, with some rotation depth and question marks in the bullpen, May could well be destined for a relief role after making the conversion midseason last year. Is Glen Perkins healthy? A few weeks ago, Perkins reported to TwinsFest healthy except for maybe being a little tired and gassy which is good news for the Twins. Perkins said he worked with a low-back specialist for three months beginning in October, which has made a world of difference, Perkins said recently. Perkins is a great reliever when he s healthy, and likely one of the best the Twins have ever had. Last year, however, he broke down in the second half of the season with a series of injuries, including an ailing neck that required a cortisone injection and a back that tightened up late in the season and restricted his movement. A healthy Perkins would be a great start for the Twins bullpen. If there are any further injury problems this year, they d risk losing the best arm they have out there. Is Phil Hughes healthy? Hughes showed up to TwinsFest looking noticeably trimmer than when he left the clubhouse for the final time in the 2015 season. 9

10 Like Perkins, Hughes also dealt with a lower back problem, which required he get an epidural injection in August. A healthy and productive Phil Hughes would be a big boost to a Twins rotation that fell apart down the stretch last year. If he can regain some of the 2014 form that made him a staff ace and earned him a contract extension, consider that a big win for the Twins. Is Ricky Nolasco going to get a chance to start? Signing Nolasco has been a disaster for the Twins through two seasons of his four-year deal. Injuries and ineffectiveness have turned the contract from an investment into a big burden. He still has two years at $12 million apiece left on that contract, not to mention a $1 million buyout the final year (or a $13 million team option). It looks bad right now, of course, but the final chapter of Nolasco s time with the Twins has not been written. He still has a chance to salvage some value. The 33- year-old righty still has two years left to reduce that sense of regret that Twins fans express any time they mention his name. I m curious to see if he ll be a strong candidate for the starting rotation, or if he ll get an audition this spring for a bullpen role. Who will make the bullpen? In January, I took a stab at projecting the Twins opening day roster, which isn t an easy task. The most difficult portion, for me, was the bullpen, where I m still not sure exactly how the chips will fall. Perkins and May are two big dominoes, and then you d have to expect last year s trade deadline acquisition Kevin Jepsen to play a key role. After that, it gets trickier to predict. There s plenty of talk about a wave of young pitchers with live arms in the Twins system who could make noise in camp. One or more of that group certainly could make the club as early as April. As a subhead to the original question here, do the Twins have non-perkins lefty they can trust? Among the players out of options which if any will make the team? Oswaldo Arcia, Michael Tonkin and Danny Santana are out of minor league options. In other words, they can t be sent to the minor leagues without first clearing waivers. That should make for some dramatic roster spot battles. Tonkin will fight to earn a spot in the bullpen, while Santana and Arcia will head to camp hoping to show they belong in the outfield mix. (Santana still can play some infield, so he ll have added versatility, which should help his case. Shortstop, though, is spoken for.) Who will start at catcher? Kurt Suzuki, 32, is the incumbent, and John Ryan Murphy, 24, is the newcomer. The Twins traded Aaron Hicks to the Yankees this winter in a one-for-one deal to acquire Murphy. The team sorely needed an upgrade at catcher, and that could very well happen this year, whether that s Suzuki improving his performance from last year or Murphy taking over. At the time of the trade, early indications were that Suzuki would start the season as the catcher and over time Murphy could see his playing time increase. We ll see if that s the way things play out. Bonus: How will Joe Mauer respond after seeing his numbers decline a second consecutive season? Mauer recently revealed in an interview with Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press that the first baseman has dealt with blurred vision at the plate, likely the result of a concussion he suffered in Mauer told Murphy he ll experiment with wearing sunglasses this year to help track the ball out of the pitcher s hand. Will that lead to a boost in 10

11 production? A step forward from Mauer offensively could be a big boon to a team that already looks like it could score a lot of runs this season. Twins 2016 outlook: After suspension, rough patch, Ervin Santana was great late Derek Wetmore 1500 ESPN February 21, 2016 The term ace gets tossed around pretty loosely these days. It s a subjective measure, of course, and I m not too sure that all baseball fans, media members and participants all would agree on one cut-off line that delineates aces from starting pitchers. For all the depth the Minnesota Twins have in their starting rotation right now, it s hard to argue they have an ace. How many true aces are there in the Majors right now 15? Twenty? A steroid suspension wiped out the first half of his 2015 season, but when he returned, Ervin Santana was as close to an ace that Minnesota had. Popped late OK, let s get the obvious out of the way first. Santana s 80-game drug suspension and the timing of it served the Twins with a punch in the gut just before the start of the regular season. Here was their high-priced pitching acquisition expected to perform as a counterweight to Phil Hughes at the top of the rotation. And then, bam. He was gone, and the Twins were left to search for answers. Mike Pelfrey was pulled from his very brief bullpen demotion to replace Santana in the rotation, and actually pitched well in the first half of the season. In a statement released at the time through the MLB Players Association, Santana said that he would never knowingly take anything illegal to enhance my performance. In the time since, he s maintained only that he s human and we all make mistakes. While the details might be a little murky, his was a very public mistake and it robbed the Twins one of their best starters for roughly half a season and cost that pitcher several million bucks in salary. Around the time of the suspension and in the weeks after, I had conversation with people without any skin in the game fans or media members or the like who wondered if Santana had been using before in his career and never got caught. Some of them wondered if the pitcher that would return to the Twins in July to finish the rest of a four-year, $55 million contract would be a lesser version of the Santana the Twins thought they were paying for. So it s probably reassuring to that crowd that Santana performed reasonably well once he returned from the suspension. Great late Santana wasn t perfect on the mound last season; August was a bad month for him. He was near-heroic down the stretch though, and a time when other Twins starters were either injured, faltering, or both, Santana and Tyler Duffey were the only two consistently reliable starters taking the ball in the heat of the wild-card race. Santana returned to face the Royals in Kansas City on July 5. He pitched 8 strong innings and gave up just two earned runs, struck out eight Royals and walked three of them. The feeling at the time from the Twins, I believe, was that they d gotten a big midseason boost, and Santana could start the long process of putting the steroid suspension behind him. August didn t go nearly as well, though, for the most expensive free agent in Twins history. In a six-start stretch from July 29 to August 25, Santana permitted 31 runs in 30 1/3 innings, with more walks (15) than strikeouts (14). His ERA in that span was an ugly 9.20 and he pitched into the 7th inning just once. Fortunately for the Twins, Santana hit the gas beginning on Aug 30, his 11th start of the year, and never really let the pedal off the floor after that point. 11

12 From Aug. 30 until the end of the year, with the Twins in a tightly contested race for the postseason, Santana was dominant, with a 1.62 ERA and a 47:14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He never failed to complete 7 innings, and opponents hit just.209/.275/.294 while Minnesota s playoff postseason chances hung in the balance. Any performance concerns? On a rate basis, Santana didn t strike out as many batters as he s used to, but it wasn t a significant step back from his career average (6.83 strikeout per 9 innings, compared with his career rate of 7.18). He also walked a couple more batters here and there, but again, it wasn t by itself an alarming uptick. He jumped from the National League to the American League and his numbers strikeout rate, walk rate, swinging strike rate, ERA, FIP did suffer a little. In the five season leading up to Santana signing with the Twins, the righthander was the most slider-happy starter in baseball. Last year, he s right up there again. According to FanGraphs, the pitchers who threw sliders most often last year were Tyson Ross and Madison Bumgarner. Santana s next in line, as basically one out of three of his pitches was a slider in his first year with the Twins. Don t be alarmed, though, because that s pretty normal for Santana, who has also been mostly durable during his career. And despite the popular perception that sliders are somehow worse than fastballs for a pitcher s arm (or gulp his UCL), Will Carroll, who writes about sports injuries, has pointed out that myth isn t exactly true. Santana s now 33 years old. One of these years, age-related decline could very well come into play for Santana. It might be too early to start fretting about that this season, though. Santana pitched 108 innings in his 17 starts after the suspension, which means he was on pace to complete 200 innings for the sixth time since But there s a difference between on pace and getting it done, so take his innings figure for what it s worth. Depending on what the Twins get out of pitchers like Hughes, Kyle Gibson, Duffey and depending on when J.O. Berrios arrives in the big leagues, it s reasonable to expect Santana to be a solid contributor to a rotation that could potentially take a step forward in Q&A: Hawkins discusses lengthy career Tracy Ringolsby MLB.com February 20, 2016 Spring Training camps are opening in Florida and Arizona. LaTroy Hawkins is at home in Prosper, Texas. After 24 years of participating in baseball's rites of spring, Hawkins will take a 10-day trip to Florida and serve as a guest instructor with the Twins, in the coming week. But it's not a job, not like it had been ever since Hawkins turned down a basketball scholarship to Indiana State to sign with the Twins as a seventh-round Draft choice out of West Side High School in Gary, Ind., in June After 21 years in the Major Leagues, Hawkins, 43, decided to hang it up after a career in which he appeared in 1,042 games, 10th all-time, and in which he was the oldest player in the Major Leagues for each of the past three seasons. In this week's Q&A, Hawkins reaffirms he made the right decision in hanging up his spikes. MLB.com: When did you know you made the right choice? Hawkins: When (Twins general manager) Terry Ryan called and said, "Are you sure you are done?" I told him, "I am." Someone told me the time to retire is when you don't want to. You don't want to wait until you can't make the decision because everybody else made it for you. It's been harder than I expected. When I saw guys signing as free agents, I started to feel it in my belly, but that's when I knew it was the right thing to do. I still sit at home thinking about baseball. It dominates my thoughts. For 25 years, that's what I've done. I enjoyed every minute of it, so of course I'm going to think about it. MLB.com: Was it difficult to decide a year ago you were going to retire after last season? Hawkins: No. I was not being myself. I could still throw 93 (miles per hour), but it was once every day. I was not able to recover like I used to. I realized I was getting old. I was a guy who could go out there, two, three days in a row, and have my stuff, but not anymore. I was starting to feel old. I didn't want to be the guy who the manager would have to call down every day and ask if I was capable to go. If I was going to play, I was going to have to feel like I could go every day. When I would go to Spring Training, the idea was to compete and be better that year than the year before. That wasn't there anymore. 12

13 MLB.com: You are, however, not completely cutting ties? Hawkins: Terry and I talked about what I might want to do. My daughter is a freshman in high school. I want to be able to spend time with her, to make up for all the time I have missed. That's my priority. Terry said I should come down (to Fort Myers) for 10 days and get a feel for how I might be capable to help. So I am going down to the Twins' camp Sunday and staying until March 2. MLB.com: You went out in style, being traded to Toronto in late July, and being a part of the AL East champions. Did that make you think about coming back for another year? Hawkins: No. It made it easier (to retire). That was a blessing for me. It sent me out on a good note. I went out with a team that played in October. It would have been better if I could have gone out like Peyton Manning, winning it all, but to finish my career with the excitement of those 90 days in Toronto was a great way to have it end. MLB.com: What are you going to miss? Hawkins: Hanging around the clubhouse. The relationships with the other players, the media, the clubhouse guard, the grounds crew, the parking attendant. Those were the people I was around every day, the people that make the game special. I don't know if I will actually miss playing the game. I still love the game. I'll always enjoy the game, but you have to know when it's time. MLB.com: Did you get the itch at all to get ready to pitch during the offseason? Hawkins: No. I knew it was time. I went to Brazil during the winter to work with kids down there for the third year in a row. The last two years, I would take my gear and start throwing to get in shape when I was down there. I didn't even take my glove this year. I threw the ball a few times, but I didn't even take my glove. MLB.com: You said earlier you enjoyed every minute of your 25 years, but after breaking in with the Twins, you signed with the Cubs as a free agent, and it seems you took the heat from disappointed fans. That had to be a challenge. Hawkins: Jim Hendry (general manager) and Gary Hughes (special assistant) were great guys I got a chance to know. I remember when I was traded to the Giants. Jim said, "LaTroy, good people shouldn't be treated like (the fans) are treating you." I never looked at that as being tough on me. I felt it was a learning experience. I came from Minnesota where everything was hunky dory. Chicago was an eye opener. I learned to deal with that different level. I learned from it. I grew because of it. MLB.com: And you might eventually come back in a different role? Hawkins: Sure. I was always told the single greatest thing you can do is when you leave the people still want you to be around. That's how I approached everything I did. I never burned bridges. Everything wasn't perfect, but everything isn't perfect in life. Molitor hoping to push Twins to 'next level' in second year Associated Press February 21, 2016 On Tuesday night, Twins manager Paul Molitor caught Bruce Springsteen's concert across the state in Sunrise, Florida. Molitor and the Boss have developed, if not a friendship, a mutual respect since meeting at Yankee Stadium in 1998, Molitor's final season as player, wrapping up his 21-year career. The pair of Hall of Famers in their respective careers chatted before the show. It gave Molitor a chance to be in what his wife calls one of his happier places. There are precious few opportunities for a major league manager for those kinds of leisurely nights from now until the end of the season. But, with Twins pitchers and catchers reporting Monday, Molitor hopes his second season as a manager will lead him to another one of those happier places -- the postseason. The Twins narrowly missed out last season, finishing in second place in the American League Central, three games out of a wild-card spot. They 13