After Sunday's 10-4 win the Twins made 3 roster moves that should help now and in the future.
The Twins sent OF Oswaldo Arcia, OF/1B Chris Parmelee, and INF Eduardo Escobar back down to Triple-A Rochester, and the Twins called up C/OF Chris Herrmann, SS Doug Bernier (pictured above in black), and OF/1B/DH Chris Colabello.
Arcia really needed to go back down and take care of somethings. While he has bounced back and forth and that can be bad for a young players psyche, but I think some more time in AAA can help refine his swing and help him cut back on the strikeouts. In the last week he was 1-22 with 12 strikeouts, making his batting average .045, which was even worse than Hicks' earlier this season. Arcia has the tools to be a great hitter and a HUGE part of our future and sometime to refine his swing in AAA will help him.
Parmelee needed something to happen and since he still had options this was probably the only real move the Twins could do with him. He has shown very small glimpses on why the Twins thought he would be a huge part of this team this year and for years to come at first base as Justin Morneau's replacement. Maybe he can destroy AAA pitching like he did last year for a short period of time and regain his confidence and become what the Twins thought they were getting when they drafted him in the first round in 2006.
Escobar has struggled in his limited playing time but like Parmelee has shown glimpses of why he could be a very solid player in the future for us. At Rochester he will get to play everyday and get the at bats he needs to try and grow as a hitter.
Herrmann even with limited at bats has been great at the plate this season at the major league level. I'm still curious as to why he was sent down earlier this season. In very limited at bats he is hitting .462 with 1 homerun and 4 rbi while slugging .792. He is a part of the future and that future needs to begin now.
Bernier has had a great year at AAA and deserves this call up. He is an easy guy to root for who has been doing the minor league grind since 2002 with only 4 major league at bats to show for it. Even though he is 33, if he can hit the way he has down at Rochester and play solid defense there is no reason he couldn't be a good solid backup player if not starter until a good young prospect is ready.
Colabello has torn up AAA and has deserved his shot at consistent playing time to see what he can do at this level. He has been a pro's pro and not complained one second about having to be in Rochester for so long. He has taken his lumps and now he gets his shot to prove himself. Is he a long term solution for this franchise? Probably not. I mean some players don't really hit their stride until their late 20s early 30s like Jose Bautista for example. Now I am in no way shape or form comparing Colabello to Bautista, I am simply just saying he may be seen as more of a stop gap, but so did Bautista at some point and he became a cornerstone and you never know if Colabello could do the same.
All in all, only time will tell if this shake up will really actually help us now and in the future, but something tells me this shake up is a good thing.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
The Twins sent OF Oswaldo Arcia, OF/1B Chris Parmelee, and INF Eduardo Escobar back down to Triple-A Rochester, and the Twins called up C/OF Chris Herrmann, SS Doug Bernier (pictured above in black), and OF/1B/DH Chris Colabello.
Arcia really needed to go back down and take care of somethings. While he has bounced back and forth and that can be bad for a young players psyche, but I think some more time in AAA can help refine his swing and help him cut back on the strikeouts. In the last week he was 1-22 with 12 strikeouts, making his batting average .045, which was even worse than Hicks' earlier this season. Arcia has the tools to be a great hitter and a HUGE part of our future and sometime to refine his swing in AAA will help him.
Parmelee needed something to happen and since he still had options this was probably the only real move the Twins could do with him. He has shown very small glimpses on why the Twins thought he would be a huge part of this team this year and for years to come at first base as Justin Morneau's replacement. Maybe he can destroy AAA pitching like he did last year for a short period of time and regain his confidence and become what the Twins thought they were getting when they drafted him in the first round in 2006.
Escobar has struggled in his limited playing time but like Parmelee has shown glimpses of why he could be a very solid player in the future for us. At Rochester he will get to play everyday and get the at bats he needs to try and grow as a hitter.
Herrmann even with limited at bats has been great at the plate this season at the major league level. I'm still curious as to why he was sent down earlier this season. In very limited at bats he is hitting .462 with 1 homerun and 4 rbi while slugging .792. He is a part of the future and that future needs to begin now.
Bernier has had a great year at AAA and deserves this call up. He is an easy guy to root for who has been doing the minor league grind since 2002 with only 4 major league at bats to show for it. Even though he is 33, if he can hit the way he has down at Rochester and play solid defense there is no reason he couldn't be a good solid backup player if not starter until a good young prospect is ready.
Colabello has torn up AAA and has deserved his shot at consistent playing time to see what he can do at this level. He has been a pro's pro and not complained one second about having to be in Rochester for so long. He has taken his lumps and now he gets his shot to prove himself. Is he a long term solution for this franchise? Probably not. I mean some players don't really hit their stride until their late 20s early 30s like Jose Bautista for example. Now I am in no way shape or form comparing Colabello to Bautista, I am simply just saying he may be seen as more of a stop gap, but so did Bautista at some point and he became a cornerstone and you never know if Colabello could do the same.
All in all, only time will tell if this shake up will really actually help us now and in the future, but something tells me this shake up is a good thing.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987