StarTribune.com

Bass accepts assignment to Rochester

Posted on August 21st, 2008 – 4:42 PM
By La Velle

Righthander Brian Bass has accepted his assignment to Class AAA Rochester and will join the team either today to tomorrow.

Bass, who was outrighted to Rochester on Wednesday, sounded as if he would take some time to check his options before accepting the move. I guess it didn’t take long for him to make up his mind.

The Twins are expected to announce their Arizona Fall League assignments either today or tomorrow. I’m sure that will get Seth’s antennas up! I was told today that Luke Hughes will not play in the AFL this year but will play winter ball. That may be the best thing for him as the Twins appear committed to him learning third base.

Can’t wait for spring training next year to see Brian Buscher (with a year under his belt), Danny Valencia and Luke Hughes in camp.

68 Responses to "Bass accepts assignment to Rochester"

Evan says:

August 21st, 2008 at 4:48 pm

Damn it. Hopefully he has arm troubles and never sees the majors again.

La Velle says:

August 21st, 2008 at 4:51 pm

That’s not nice….

Josh says:

August 21st, 2008 at 4:53 pm

Evan gives Twins fans a bad name. Thanks for the update LEN, and dont waste your breath on “fans” like Evan.

I am not a bass fan but wish him well. If nothing else, he’ll add another insurance arm in AAA.

Any names your hearing before Aug. 31, LEN?

matt says:

August 21st, 2008 at 4:53 pm

La Velle,

Any interest in Dan Uggla this offseason? The Miami Herald said he is one of a few Marlins who will likely be traded this offseason. The other contenders do not have holes at 2B. If we could move Casilla to SS and have Uggla at 2B that would be a nice middle infield combo.

AaronK says:

August 21st, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Thanks LA Velle, this is great news for the Twins. The kid has a decent arm, just needs to develop a good breaking ball, imo. Can’t just throw sinkers all day at this level.

Aron says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:01 pm

“La Velle,

Any interest in Dan Uggla this offseason?”

LOL. Any interest in Ryan Howard? Ryan Braun? Albert Pujols? Brandon Webb?

SethSpeaks says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:01 pm

Good for Bass, and good for the Red Wings. He did pretty well for them last year. He can make a few starts for them and see what he can do. He knows that if he does well, the Twins will bring him back in a couple weeks.

dknute says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:03 pm

Evan, that kind of stupid, perverse hatred is really pretty obscene.

mark says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:05 pm

id rather they put hughes at 2B and let buscher, lamb, valencia battle for 3b.

Me says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:08 pm

Uggla actually might be up for sale, considering he’ll be asking for some big money, the Marlins might be able to trade him away. Huge firesale for the Phish in the offseason, Uggla the headliner

MLT says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:08 pm

Any idea who will be bumped from the Rochester roster when Bass reports? They are at 24 right now, which is the AAA maximum. They also have to make room for Duensing when he gets back from the Olympics. Everett to DL and call up Korecky?

The New and Improved Craig says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:10 pm

Bass has good stuff and good mental make up. I like him, even though he was pounded pretty good. Glad he stayed.

matt says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:12 pm

The Mets, Cubs, and probably the Diamondbacks would be the other teams looking to upgrade and add Uggla to play 2B this offseason.

The New and Improved Craig says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:13 pm

Everett doesn’t have to go on the DL with a bruised hand. He is ready to play. They are just going to give him some time to heal up good.

The New and Improved Craig says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:18 pm

Uggla is better suited for 3B. Girardi tried to move him over there, a few years ago.

Tolbert, Machado, and maybe Tolleson, are ready, if Casilla moves to SS. If Punto is signed, he would be another solid option.

Wheels says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:24 pm

LaVelle, have you heard from the Twins that Valencia will be in big league camp? That would be surprising.

amtrekman says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:24 pm

“Evan, I regret to report that you’ve been optioned to the minors. There’s no room on this team for that kind of attitude.” Bill Smith

Dane says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:30 pm

Bass is a smart man…if he does well, he could be on the fast track back up.

J. Lichty says:

August 21st, 2008 at 5:32 pm

Re Hughes, don’t the Australians typically play in the ABL in Australia in the off season? In fact, when I lived over there there several Americans playing in the Australian league as their winter league. I remember one year John Jaha (former Brewer) tore up the Australian league before he was in the majors.

birdofprey says:

August 21st, 2008 at 6:03 pm

It would be a big jump for Valencia to go from Advanced A ball to start this year all the way to the majors in 09. But I hope he gets to play Spring Training with the grownups.

Zach says:

August 21st, 2008 at 6:12 pm

Bass sucks

Zach says:

August 21st, 2008 at 6:21 pm

Twins Circa 2009

CF Span
2B Casilla
C Mauer
1B Morneau
3B Beltre
RF Cuddyer
DH Kubel
LF Young
SS Punto

C Redmond
INF Harris
INF Buscher
OF Gomez (or in minors and FA instead)

Liriano
Baker
Blackburn
Perkins
Slowey

Nathan
Crain
Neshek
Reyes
Hawkins
Guerrier
Breslow

Captain America says:

August 21st, 2008 at 6:44 pm

He could get called back in September.

Louie says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:02 pm

The Miami Herald said Uggla could very well be traded this winter.

http://www.miamiherald.com/1262/story/645426.html

“One National League general manager said Florida’s predicament is tricky because ”it’s hard to find alternatives if you move some of their best arbitration-eligibles, like Dan Uggla. Mike Jacobs is probably the most expendable.” Among the arbitration-eligible Marlins under the microscope over the final six weeks:
… …• Uggla: His poor second half makes a long-term deal unlikely, and if this continues, Uggla (could get $5 million to $6 million in ‘09) could be dangled this winter. Double A prospect Chris Coghlan has hit well (.302, 65 RBI) but has 20 errors.”

I’d like to see Uggla in a Twins uniform next year.

Trade for Uggla and Beltre and we see this lineup.
(Casilla is a better SS than 2B)

CF Span
SS Casilla
C Mauer
1B Morneau
2B Uggla
3B Beltre
LF Young
DH Kubel
RF Cuddyer

Bob says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:08 pm

Cuddyer batting 9th?

…But who else would?

Steve from Fridley says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:10 pm

What exactly do you plan to give up if we’re trading for Uggla AND Beltre? Our entire rotation?

Same to Zach… you have our entire team there, still in-tact, plus Beltre. How exactly do we just convince the Mariners to give him to us?

Louie says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:14 pm

Salary dump plus prospects. They could both use it.

Steve from Fridley says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:18 pm

Bob, in that (completely unrealistic) lineup… it’d probably be better suited to go:

Span
Mauer
Uggla
Morneau
Beltre
Kubel
Young
Cuddyer
Casilla

Young and Cuddy could be flipped probably.

Still, while I’d like to see Uggla’s bat in the lineup, when was the last time the Twins went out and traded for an all-power, no-glove middle infielder? Uggla’s not a good defensive second baseman, and we all know that the Twins like having solid defense up the middle, even at the expense of offense.

Beltre makes sense, but I don’t see them giving much for one year of Adrian in 2009, and if they do, they won’t go deplete the farm system more by trading for Uggla. They’d move Casilla to short and put Luke Hughes at second before they did that, which I’d be in favor of anyway.

Steve from Fridley says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:19 pm

They wanted Blackburn, a top 5 prospect, and another mid-level prospect for Beltre at the deadline.

The Marlins aren’t going to give Uggla away either, regardless of his bad second half. Each team would want one of our five starters in exchange for those players, plus additional prospects.

Louie says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:22 pm

I know this won’t happen. I just looked up the info people were looking for.

eaa says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:27 pm

I noticed that Punto was not in this best case scenario Twins lineup. Probably an honest mistake …

The New and Improved Craig says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:39 pm

Steve,

Mauer batting 2nd is OVER. Get a grip on reality.

matt says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:45 pm

Would Gomez and Slama be enough to get Uggla?

The New and Improved Craig says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:52 pm

“Still, while I’d like to see Uggla’s bat in the lineup, when was the last time the Twins went out and traded for an all-power, no-glove middle infielder?”

Good point Steve. The answer is never. They gey rid of guys like that (Tim Tuefel, Todd Walker) or take them off the position (Harris, Luke Hughes).

thrylos98 says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:54 pm

Good news for Bass. (hope it happened a month and a half ago, but oh well…)

matt says:

August 21st, 2008 at 7:59 pm

I wouldn’t say Uggla is a no-glove middle infielder. He has about the same fielding % as Punto and although he looked horrible in the All-Star game, he has only 9 errors in over 500 chances this year.

matt says:

August 21st, 2008 at 8:01 pm

The Marlins probably wouldn’t want one of our 5 starters either. If you look at their starters they are all about the same age as the Twins starters.

Steve from Fridley says:

August 21st, 2008 at 8:30 pm

Craig,

When we’re talking about a Twins lineup that includes Dan Uggla and Adrian Beltre, the rules of “reality” don’t apply.

GENO says:

August 21st, 2008 at 8:56 pm

IMO-Gardy wants Cassila at second base.Some of you have stated that Gardy has been stubborn in regards to Punto,you ain’t seen nothing yet.If Uggla can play third,then maybe we have something there.We could then afford to have a glove at short.

mike wants wins says:

August 21st, 2008 at 10:01 pm

No way the Twins deal for a guy in his prime. They don’t do that here. Not gonna happen.

I hope Hughes gets every chance to prove this year was no fluke. I’d like to see a guy with good power and good speed up here playing 3B or 2B.

BoogieNeedsAGoal says:

August 21st, 2008 at 10:08 pm

No way will the FO give up Gomez in a trade this winter.

Troy Johnson says:

August 21st, 2008 at 11:41 pm

Morneau is horrible. What a Joke of a player. He will keep the Twins out of the postseason. And he robbed that MVP award that he received. What a weak hitter. haha

Troy Johnson says:

August 21st, 2008 at 11:58 pm

Ruiz guy he is really good too. HaHa Twins are a JOKE. Have fun watching the Postseason on the TV. Although they are used to that, I guess.

jimbo92107 says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 1:35 am

I haven’t seen Bass pitch much, other than lately when he was shaky. How was he getting batters out before?

TK(2) says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 2:55 am

You know Troy? You are th- eh. Nevermind.

Anyway, not pretty offensivly, but then again the same could be said for the Angels. Helluva job by Baker tonight, and the W is what really matters. I was watching the last inning thinking: I don’t have much faith in Gomez- especially with him already contributing earlier- but Span should give us a good AB. Well, he proved me right. Actually, they both did. Anyway we win, and are now tied for 1st with the Sox (of the Red variety) for the WC lead! Boy, what a (non)sight it would be for a Boston and Yankee-free post season. Not there yet, but I’m-a-hopin’.

VERY tired (State Fair), so night.

**The Twins should have made a trade of some kind…and they lost on my birthday**

KP says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 5:59 am

If the Twins traded for Adrian Beltre, they’d have to try to re-sign Livan or go with a four man rotation. Keep dreaming!

East Coast Twin says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 6:01 am

I understand that any new contract Uggla signs would have an incentive bonus for NOT making the all-star game.

TC (The Original) says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 7:57 am

I hope the Twins can somehow get Beltre this year or definitely during the off-season. Why? In 2009, Beltre is in the final year of his contract. It seems obvious, based on his career stats, that when money is on the line, Beltre comes to play. The guy had an amazing season in his final year with the Dodgers.

Trade for Beltre. Ride his big 2009 to the playoffs again. Let him go. Get the two Type A compensation picks.

Done and done - And I mean done!

IowaTwin says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 9:02 am

Any roster not including Gomez is not realistic.

shameless says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 pm

Beltre was probably juiceing when he had that big year! HELLO

REMEMBER BRADY ANDERSON

jimmy bee says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 12:16 pm

Hello remember Kevin Mitchell???

Jimmy Jam says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm

Off the subject, but can any of you answer this question?

When did MLB teams stop taking Infield/Outfield before the start of games?

Brad says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 1:28 pm

In response to Matts idea about Dan Uggla, while I would love to have his bat in our lineup, there’s no way Gardy wants him defensively at second. Anyone see the All-Star game?

You've got to be kidding me! says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 1:34 pm

Ah. Brad takes the long view. He judges a player’s worth based on 1 glorified exhibition game.

jimmy bee says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm

Dan Uggla LOL. The Twins only get people from Rochester or washed up players in free agency.

matt says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 2:02 pm

Everyone thinks Uggla is a liability at 2B because of his performance at the All-Star game. His fielding % is almost identical to Punto’s and he has only made 9 errors in over 530 chances.

Sweetone says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 4:33 pm

Jimmy,

I believe most teams do take infield/outfield practice before most games. It is that they usually do it before the gates open.

JB says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 5:00 pm

“Get Seth’s Antennas up”.

Whatever. Nice shout out, he scans MILB box scores like the rest of us.

TC says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm

So Beltre just decided to juice for one year? Even so, he put forth an effort that year. He’ll do it again in 2009.

TK(2) says:

August 23rd, 2008 at 3:01 am

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE:

THE TWINS WIN AND ARE IN FIRST PLACE

That is all.

At least for one night they are. If you’d have told me that two games into this series that we would have given up 1 run 21 innings, scored only 2 runs in game 1, scored nine runs in game 2, and won both games, you’d be some sort of psychic. And I would have called you a psychic- but a crazy and wrong one. They actually have a good chance to take the series. I still willn’t count on that, but they Could.

Back to back gems by our starters. If we keep this up- or pitch anything close to what we have so far- This road trip will be an overwhelming success.

Good job so far and good luck for the rest of the trip!

**The Twins should have made some kind of trade**

TC says:

August 23rd, 2008 at 10:00 am

OK, Mr. Bill Smith, this is it. The Twins are in 1st place and officially a World Series contender. This isn’t a rebuilding year. Or a year to refocus with younger players. The Twins are in the thick of the PENNANT RACE!. Please do something un-Twins like and make a deal to acquire a solid relief pitcher to shore up the bullpen for the final stretch and no, calling up Bobby Korecky is not the solution.

TK(2) says:

August 24th, 2008 at 1:04 am

Umm… what’s left? Making a trade in August is tough to do in the first place, but that doesn’t even count the fact that all teams want from us is Span, or 1 of our rotation guys. I would have loved a trade- at the deadline- but now it is too late, I believe. This team is set. They should have made a trade, but they didn’t and now have a set team.

Here’s hoping the Twins take 3 out of 4, but I wouldn’t bet on it. It’s a shame that they A. Came all the way back to lose game 3, and B. They lost by 2 runs and 3 of the 7 (I think) were unearned.

Night.

**The Twins should have made a trade of some kind**

cmathewson says:

August 25th, 2008 at 10:02 am

Nice blog. The Twins go on a 14-game road trip down the stretch of the pennant race and you go on hiatus.

Jeff Johnson says:

August 25th, 2008 at 10:55 am

There is a really funny article on that new Minnesota sports website people have been talking about called sportsonastick.com. It talks about how Scott Baker was carded at a PG-13 movie http://www.sportsonastick.com/#/bakercardedatpg13movie/4530464659

Jeff Johnson says:

August 25th, 2008 at 11:18 am

Anyone else find that site hilarious?

Call Me Stupid says:

August 25th, 2008 at 12:27 pm

“Bobby Korecky is not the solution.”
How do you know? Korecky did a good job while up earlier in the season, and is pitching well in the minors as the closer.

Calling on the AAA squad has worked amazingly well this year for the Twins

You've got to be kidding me! says:

August 25th, 2008 at 1:28 pm

Way to plug your site, Jeff.