Twins add eight prospects to 40-man roster
Posted on November 19th, 2008 – 4:57 PMBy Joe Christensen
The Twins announced today that they have added eight prospects onto their 40-man major league roster:
LHP Brian Duensing, RHP Anthony Swarzak, C Drew Butera, C Wilson Ramos, INF Luke Hughes, INF Trevor Plouffe, INF Deibinson Romero, and INF Steve Tolleson.
The moves leave the Twins with 39 players on the 40-man roster. Eligible players left unprotected can be selected in the Dec. 11 Rule 5 draft.
I’ll have more on this in our first editions.
80 Responses to "Twins add eight prospects to 40-man roster"
No surprises here.
how about lahay??? we cant let him away again..
How did it turn out with Lahay last year? I think the Twins are 25K richer for it.
[…] Christensen is reporting that the Twins have added eight players to their 40 man roster, leaving them with one open spot which could be used on a free agent or for a Rule V draft […]
surprised to see Butera in there and not Lis and/or Mullins
Butera could be a backup catcher in the big leagues now.
I am a little surprised by Lis because I do think he could hit… there is some minor risk he could be taken.
thrylos,
I think that settles the fact that Deibinson Romero had to be protected because he signed in 2004.
Butera is a shocker to me, also.
sane,
you are correct.
If Butera could be a back up catcher in the majors right now, why did the re-sign Redmond? I think that Butera will be flirting with the wrong side of the Mendoza line in the majors for ever. Keeping him and letting Winfree go just blows my mind…
Even if Butera could be a backup MLB catcher now, he should not have been protected at the risk of losing a REAL PROSPECT.
There are dozens of Butera clones all over the minors.
Replacing him would be like replacing batteries in your remote control.
Buy another one, just like him, after he is gone..
the other thing is that Butera is behind Jeff Christy and Jose Morales (if healthy) in the “MLB-ready” emergency catcher department (if a 24 year old who hits .219 in AA could ever be considered MLB-ready)
One roster spot remaining. I wonder if that is being saved for Casey Blake?
or Nick Punto 
I am sure guys can be moved off and on between now and 12/11 based on any signings, trades…. not all hope is lost
Shawn,
yes (and it is a high likelihood that will happen), but the ones who were not added to the 40-man roster today will be eligible for the Rule V draft no matter whether they are added tomorrow.
A couple notes for the sane/thrylos conversation…
Butera would likely be taken. Winfree won’t be. Winfree will be back. Butera is behind Morales and Christy in terms of where he ended the 2008 season, but the reason Christy was moved up to AAA was because it was as a backup. They wanted Butera to play every day. In terms of prospect status, Butera is definitely ahead of those two.
Redmond being resigned just makes sense. But how much are backup catchers making these days? A couple million? Butera can back up Mauer for three years before he makes more than league minimum, and as a backup catcher, he likely never would get too expensive. He could be around for awhile.
Butera is well respected for his defensive skills around the league, not just with the Twins. He probably would have gone.
Shawn,
I learned today that players added to the 40 man roster now can not be removed from the 40 man roster until next spring training. If they need to make adjustments to the 40 man roster to keep from going over 40, it would have to affect someone not added today.
ok, i didn’t know that the deadline is today
how does it work if they sign/trade for 2 more players than they lose? can they drop someone else?
Seth,
I will still maintain that it doesn’t make sense that five of the twenty-two Twins protected POSITION players are catchers (Mauer, Redmond, Morales, Ramos and Butera) when the starter is 26-yrs-old and just won his second AL batting title and a Gold Glove.
Ramos, Morales AND Butera are not ALL future Twins big-leaguers, unless Mauer is leaving.
Why Drew Butera?
Shawn,
I believe players bumped off the roster by the 40-man limit would have to clear irrevocable waivers to be kept in the Twins farm system.
I think that having Ramos, and Morales on the 40 makes sense. Morales could come up if Baby Jesus hurt himself walking on water, and slapping a single to left field. Ramos is a stud in the making. There are 20 readers on this blog that can out hit Drew Butera… he is going to make an awesome bullpen catcher someday for a AAA team, but to put him on the 40 man roster is just beyond me as well.
Sane,
Maybe they would rather use the catching prospects as trade material down the line then let them go in rule V. Just a thought. This is not going to be the end all 40-man roster. We’ll see how these guys play in Ft Myers, then do what we need to do. If they are not traded before then.
Seth,
they can be removed but they need to pass through waivers (like everyone removed from the 40 man roster). I am not really sure how I feel about Redmond re-signing yet. It was cheap, he was a good presence, what the hey… I could live with it but I’d rather have a healthy Morales in the bigs next year.
Butera has a nice would be stealer thrown out ratio. I give him that. But we are talking about the Twins who are set with a primary catcher for a while and they basically need a fill in as a back up. Morales is light years ahead as a back up with the bat. The other thing is that the Twins as an organization have several catchers that have much higher ceiling than Butera (Ramos, Soto, Pinto for starters.) Having Morales and Christy as emergency is fine for 2009.
For me it’s a simple question:
who would I rather see go:
Butera
or
Lis, Winfree, Mullins?
(I would rank Butera below all 3 of them and I think that you did too 
)
dilemina,
I understand the ST roster could be much different, but this is the list of protected players during the Rule V draft and the Twins took a beating last year when they lost three prospects in the MLB portion of Rule V.
I would like to believe the Twins have an idea of who needs to be protected, but last year’s (and the previous year’s) Rule V losses makes me doubt that.
i guess i’d have to ask….
do you see an MLB team where Lis, Winfree, Mullins would stick with next season?
what do you guys think about Anthony Swarzak making the 25 in the spring in the ballpen he could take boofs spot or have him as a starter and move blckburn to the pen
i missed spelled nicks last name blackburn
I would have kept Lis or Winfree on the roster instead of Butera, but I think I would have put you on the 40 man roster Thrylos before I would have considered Butera.
Shawn,
they do not need to be taken in the MLB portion of the draft. They are in AA so they can be taken by any team that a. puts them in their 40 man roster and b. have them at the AAA next year.
The only unprotected player who might go in the major league part of the draft is Brock Peterson (or someone like Lahey who is not a big loss). But I do not see too many teams north of maybe the Florida Marlins taking a flyer on Peterson.
Shawn,
I wouldn’t regret losing Lis (no defensive position) or Winfree (now a bad outfielder - formerly a bad 3b).
However Mullins is a 6′7″ LHP from Vanderbilt who was Baseball America’s 16th best Twins prospect LAST SPRING!
Butera was the FIFTH BEST CATCHING PROSPECT - not even close to being ranked as a overall prospect by BA.
Things can change in a year, but holy crap!
BC Beneke,
I was a pitcher on the on days and a second baseman on the off days and a bad one at that. Butera deserves many more roster spots than me, just not with these Twins.
I have seen Butera play a few times, yeah, his bat sucks something fierce.
By that I meant Butera was ranked below
Ramos,Morales, Rams, and Soto as TWINS CATCHING PROSPECTS, and only Ramos was ranked in the Twins top 30 overall prospects.
Mullins ranking was 16th.
Butera was not close to the top 30.
sane,
ok about Lis (Frankly, all the New Britain OF/1B rotation was quasi interchangeable last year) but Winfree is a 22 year old with a .198 isoP and third in home runs in the minors behind Garett Jones and an abbreviated season of Randy Ruiz (with 19) in an organization hurting for right hand power. You just don’t let him go. And I agree about Mullins. At this point, I would rather see Korecky unprotected (who does not really have an MLB future with the Twins) than Mullins…
Plus, 6′7″ lefthanded pitchers like Mullins often develop later in their career after their coordination and mechanics settle in.
[…] Around the Majors – […]
The one negative thing about Mullins is that he has been regressing for the last few years. I am not sure whether it is the Twins’ coaching or what, but he has been regressing. That said, adding Armando Gabino (whom I like but is not the second coming of Pedro -or even Ramon- Martinez) to the 40 man roster and still leaving Mullins unprotected is a tad unsettling…
Maybe the Twins feel Mullins would not be kept on a drafting team’s MLB roster next year because he has been a starting pitcher exclusively.
Relief pitchers are more likely to be selected in the MLB portion of Rule V, than are SP’s.
If Mullins is on the Twins’ 38-man AAA reserve list or 37-man AA reserve list, he would be protected in the minor league portion of the Rule V Draft.
I hope that is the Twins thinking, and I hope they are right.
They lost three guys last year in the Rule 5 draft, got the best one back (Lahey), and made trades for the other two. Anyone miss Garrett Guzman and R.A. Dickey? I think they like the catcher they got from Seattle. He was in Beloit this year.
Two years ago, the Twins lost Kevin Cameron to the Padres in Rule V and he proceeded to pitch in 48 games for the Padres in 2007. (2-0 with a 2.79 ERA)
Joakim Soria was a Rule V pickup for the Royals last year.
Sometimes you are the dog.
Sometimes you are the hydrant.
and Shane Mack
and Johan Santana…
How many of you have actually seen Butera play?? or even really know anything about him besides what you read in the minor league report?? or that he’s the son of a light hitting ex catcher. I’m just saying. I don’t think it’s a big deal either way.
Tom,
I did see Butera play (more than once) last year.
sane,
I got a contest going on at my blog. I figured that you being a coach and all might be a person to get it (go check it, if you care - yes the price is right 
)
here is the url:
http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2008/11/where-have-you-gone-aaron-heilman.html
I saw Butera play about 5 times last year
Shawn,
I assume that you saw Palacios play as well, then. How would you rank them?
Palacios? is he a mets catcher?
Tom,
Every subject discussed / debated on this blog is probably “not a big deal either way”.
This subject is more interesting to me than the Pedroia-MVP discussion, but that’s just a personal preference.
If I wait for the “important” hot stove discussions, I have a long wait ahead of me.
thrylos,
It looks like Heilman’s change-up grip has changed and his thumb is now used to grip the ball.
In 2007 he forked the ball between his 2nd and 3rd fingers with very little (if any) thumb contact.
If he returns to his 2007 grip, MAYBE the effectiveness of his change-up will return.
Shawn,
Vicente Palacios is a Rock Cats catcher
sane,
there… not here… and i give you the fact that they are both change up grips.
And yes, focusing of the grip is the right thing to do, but…. you sound like a hitting coach
(and the shots are at slightly different parts of the delivery, but you got that)
I never saw him play then and am not actually familiar with the name…… DOH
I saw Butera and Christy this year
Shawn, you then saw games earlier in the season i assume… the B’ Mets were ok, wheren’t they?
The B-Mets ended up being pretty good this year…. although i still didin’t see too much of F-Mart that impressed me, though he was hurt alot. Yeah, i saw all the games in April/May and then a game in NEw Britain in July. NB has a really nice stadium for AA.
NB has a great stadium for the level (not like the Ft. Myers pump and circumstance and fountains and all) but is a great place to watch a ball game. I know that it is far from the Twin Cities for most Twins’ fans but certainly worth the trip if one has a long weekend to spare.
The one thing I like about the B-Mets (and that’s an organizational thing really) is that they are getting their prospects up fast unlike the Twins… If Revere was in the Mets organization he would be in triple A ball next season…
Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans both made an impact for the Mets this year. Thay have slowed F-Mart down though. 2 years in AA.
thrylos,
Yeah, I am a hitting coach.
And to paraphrase the line used on Earl Weaver,
“the only thing I know about pitching, is that it is hard to hit”.
If Heilman was throwing a fastball in those pictures I would say that he is failing to keep his throwing hand ABOVE THE BALL this year.
But since he is throwing a change-up in both pictures, I am not sure if that is a valid criticism.
I think that to throw a change-up correctly, a pitcher wants his hand behind the ball, not on top of the ball as in a fastball grip.
Thry - it’s actually Rodolfo Palacios that was the other catcher at New Britain… Someone asked the question, which ones will be taken in the Major League Rule V… and Butera would have been. Mullins probably won’t. Winfree wasn’t last year, probably wouldn’t this year. Same with Peterson, and Pino, and several others. Lis is one I think might, but in reality, the Twins have had several of that type of player who hit at AA that weren’t taken.
And, certainly the Twins will have Mullins and Rainville and Waldrop and several others on their AAA and AA reserve lists.
sane, thrylos, Shawn, et al, you guys have made me an expert on Twins catching prospects! It’s good to know that in the post Redmond era we have options waiting in the wings.
thrylos,
you going to see any of the dome farewell tour?
Looks like the Twins made all the right decsions again. Business as usual.
Let’s all admit that this is the best management group in baseball period.
World series champions in ‘09 .
You saw it here first.
I thought we all agreed to get rid of
Thrylos98!
Butera is above average defensively, and he was showing some batting improvements in late 2008. –Morales was poor defensively when he was at NBritain.
Lis got injured in last month of 2008; I think it was a shoulder problem; don’t know if it’s severe. –Good hitter but below average defensively and slow foot speed.
LHP Brian Duensing, RHP Anthony Swarzak, C Drew Butera, C Wilson Ramos, INF Luke Hughes, INF Trevor Plouffe, INF Deibinson Romero, and INF Steve Tolleson.
only Duensing, Swarzak, Ramos, and Hughes should’ve been added. the other 4 will never be much in MLB. Plouffe still has the best chance though.
klide says:
November 19th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Looks like the Twins made all the right decsions again. Business as usual.
Let’s all admit that this is the best management group in baseball period.
World series champions in ‘09 .
You saw it here first.
as long as ron is the manager, no chance in hell.
Shawn in Binghamton says:
November 19th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans both made an impact for the Mets this year. Thay have slowed F-Mart down though. 2 years in AA
Martinez slowed down Martinez. He was nothing but lousy in AA this year.
Daniel Valencia should have been a protected player also. He is possibly their best prospect in the minor leagues and is a third baseman. The University of Miami start hitter could be an MVP for the Twins in the future.
The bone heads running the Twins organization don’t seem to realize that Punto and Cuddyer are liabilities rather than asset for the teams chances in 2009. Both create an unsettled atmosphere in trying to establisha solid infield and outfield and both allow the confused Manager Gardenhire to continuously shuffle the lineup at the expense of the Twins in the standings.
tom,
Valencia is already protected by the fact that he signed in 2006, so he can’t be drafted in Rule V by another team.
Right now, the Twins need their 40-man-roster spots for players who are eligible to be lost in the Rule V draft.
anyone know who wasnot put on that could be tabbed in the rule draft?
only Duensing, Swarzak, Ramos, and Hughes should’ve been added. the other 4 will never be much in MLB. Plouffe still has the best chance though.
Tolleson would have been chosen as well. He’s ripping up the AFL.
The guy most likely to get taken is Zach Ward, IMO. I’ve said this in a few other places, but he’s never had a FIP over 4 or a GB% under 50 in four minor league stops. He’ll make a reliable long man or middle reliever for a rebuilding team next year. Maybe the Reds will want him back.
My posts are being rejected.
I must be inadvertantly posting obscenities in an unknown(to me)code.
Save Lis sign a minor league veteran to be the emergency catcher.
Cue the opera singer:
MI-STAAAAAAAAKE!
Check this interesting perspective out on the AL MVP vote:
http://baseballsavant.blogspot.com/2008/11/was-pedroia-deserving-or-was-mauer.html
I think they should have kept Sosa, Pino, and Lis.
Let go of Butera, Ruiz, and Macri
remember, players taken in the rule V draft must be kept on the MLB roster all season long, or they’ll be returned to the team they were drafted from unless a trade is worked out. are there any players the twins didn’t put on the 40 man that are capable of hanging with a big club for a full season?
[…] Swarzak, Wilson Ramos, Luke Hughes, Trevor Plouffe, Deibinson Romero, and Steve Tolleson were added to the 40-man roster at the same time, but Butera sticks out because unlike everyone else he won’t be on my upcoming annual list of the […]
