Chris Colabello (pictured above) has been downright dominate at Triple-A Rochester this season and should have gotten an extended look while Willingham was on the DL.
Here are his numbers thus far at Rochester:
.357 AVG
22 HRs
69 RBI
107 Hits
22 2Bs
.436 OBP
.650 SLG
1.086 OPS
These numbers are way better than what we have gotten from any of our outfielders and 1st basemen this season, so why not give him an extended look?
Willingham and Doumit have been nowhere near what they were for us last year. Parmelee has not proven that he can be the player to take over for Morneau if he leaves. Why not have an outfield of Arcia, Hicks and Colabello while Willingham is on the DL and rotate between Morneau, Mauer, Doumit and Parmelee for C, 1B, and DH that way Colabello gets an extended look and your older guys in Morneau, Mauer, and Doumit can get that extra day off and stay healthy.
Colabello is already 29 years old and if he is not going to be a part of the future, he really is taking up a 40 man spot which could go to someone who is a part of the future. Now if Morneau does end up getting traded, Colabello should be the player to take over at first for the remainder of the season.
It's time for the Twins to stop messing around by keeping all these veteran players like Willingham around longer than they should have when they aren't contending for anything. If we plan on contending starting in 2015 it's time to start seeing which of these young guys should be here then and which ones shouldn't.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987