Written By Brandon Warne
There isn’t a lot of leeway for players that are on the outside looking in to make the 2015 Minnesota Twins. The rotation and bullpen appear full, the outfield and infield seem crowded and there is no shortage of players that are in that sort of 25th-man flux depending on how many pitchers or fielders the Twins choose to carry to fill out the roster.
Today we’re going to take a peek at a few players who could sneak onto the roster, sort of like Wilkin Ramirez and Sean Burroughs have done in recent seasons. Some are on the 40-man roster, others will require some reshuffling to find their way up north.
Let’s have a look (in no particular order):
RP Blaine Boyer
The 33-year-old Boyer isn’t the kind of player that Twins fans will recognize, but he has value and quite frankly is the kind of minor-league signing the team should pursue every single season. Boyer had a nice season working in middle relief for the Padres last year, but the team — flush with relievers as they are — decided they didn’t want to pay him the contract he would have commanded via arbitration and removed him from the 40-man roster in late November.
But here’s a look at Boyer’s numbers last year compared to another mainstay in the Twins’ bullpen:
Boyer:
40.1 IP, 6.5 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9, 42.5% GB rate, 3.57 ERA, 2.93 FIP, 0.3 WAR
Pitcher A:
54.1 IP, 5.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9, 45.7% GB rate, 3.31 ERA, 4.51 FIP, -0.2 WAR
That other pitcher is Brian Duensing, whom the Twins took to arbitration for a third and final year. Duensing-like pitchers are available as minor-league free agents year in and year out, yet the Twins are willing — and perhaps happy — to go year-to-year with those types for arbitration-levied raises rather than flipping them for surplus value. With the way relievers are valued in today’s game, this probably should change. Nevertheless, Boyer can definitely help this bullpen — especially at the price by which he was acquired.
CHANCES: ~50 percent
C/OF Chris Herrmann
Herrmann’s likelihood of making the club hinges on a couple things. First, the Twins would probably have to send Aaron Hicks back to Triple-A Rochester. Hicks has one option year left, and if he doesn’t take the starting center field job this could feasibly happen. It isn’t likely, but that would leave the Twins needing a backup outfielder. Since Danny Santana is on the roster as a natural backup center fielder — assuming he starts at short — and Jordan Schafer is still around, the club wouldn’t necessarily need to find someone who can play center to fill that final role. That leaves Herrmann, who can play the corner outfield and act as a third catcher — thereby freeing up Josmil Pinto to DH frequently if needed — as an option to crack this team. As the third ‘catcher’ — it’s unclear just how the team views him in this respect at this time — on the 40-man roster, Herrmann probably has the best chance of all position players to sneak onto the Opening Day roster. For him to be successful, his on-base skills from the minor leagues will have to shine through. That hasn’t happened yet with the Twins.
CHANCES: ~30 percent
OF Shane Robinson
Robinson makes this team if the Twins decide they need a more traditional fourth outfielder. That is, someone who can step in and play center — probably signaling a 100 percent commitment to Santana at short — but isn’t the kind of player who a team needs to find regular playing time for. In just over 450 career plate appearances, Robinson has hit just .231/.303/.308 with 19 extra-base hits. He would certainly fit the bill.
CHANCES: ~10 percent
C Eric Fryer
Fryer isn’t on the 40-man roster but could easily make this team if the Twins are serious about wanting a more defensive-minded backup. Still, this would be a frustrating development, especially considering the Twins’ current public issue with Pinto is that his bat didn’t perform last year but that he’s improved defensively. This isn’t extremely likely but would not be surprising. It would be uninspiring, though.
CHANCES: ~30 percent
RP Mark Hamburger
Hamburger is more than just a local kid who has made good after some personal issues. Hamburger, who was signed after a local tryout and flipped to Texas for Eddie Guardado just a year later, has a little big league experience with the Rangers in 2011. Hamburger did a pretty nice job in that small stint but hasn’t found himself back in the bigs after going through some personal stuff in the meantime. The 28-year-old righty worked his way back from the bottom, starting with the St. Paul Saints before ultimately spending the bulk of 2014 as a swingman between Double- and Triple-A in the Twins’ system. In short bursts, Hamburger has some pretty good stuff, starting with a fastball that reached the upper-90s in his short time with the Rangers. It appears he still possesses that velocity, which may suit him best to work in short relief should he make the team. If he doesn’t — and it isn’t ultra likely — it won’t be because of talent, though. This bullpen is simply a numbers game. And to be frank, it might make more sense to go cheap with the bullpen and bring up Hamburger than pay some of the current vets the team has. But that’s a discussion for another day.
CHANCES: ~15 percent
RP Aaron Thompson
Thompson is a soft-tossing lefty who got a cup of coffee with the team last year and didn’t embarrass himself. Whether or not he should be on the 40-man is up for debate, but as long as he’s there he has a chance. It likely isn’t a strong one with Duensing and Caleb Thielbar ahead of him on the depth chart. A.J. Achter and Logan Darnell are also in this discussion.
CHANCES: ~5 percent
RP Lester Oliveros
It’s hard to believe Oliveros is still kicking around after coming over in the Delmon Young-to-Detroit trade, but then again the Twins still had Deolis Guerra (Johan Santana trade) as recently as last year, so anything is possible. The Twins have stuck by Oliveros as Tommy John surgery cost him large chunks of 2012 and 2013. It paid off, as Oliveros reemerged and had a fantastic minor league season (1.64 ERA, 12.1 K/9) before ultimately finding his way back to the big leagues in September. That stint didn’t go nearly as well (7.11 ERA in just 6.1 innings), but to simply be back on the big league mound at that point is a huge plus. Add to that the fact that PITCHf/x suggests Oliveros is throwing as hard as ever — average fastball velocity of 93.7 mph with the Twins last year — and he would seem to be back to where he was before. At 26, his ceiling is as high as ever. The trouble is, he does struggle with control at times, and there are a lot of arms to leapfrog for another chance. As long as he’s on the 40-man, there is hope.
CHANCES: ~5 percent
OTHERS CONSIDERED: IF James Beresford, IF Doug Bernier, UTIL Eric Farris