Minnesota Twins Need to Make a Move: Send Gomez and Young to the Minors

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The Twins are struggling early this year. It might be time for a change of personnel. Right now the Twins have a few weaknesses, chief among them the fact their offense is inconsistent and inadequate. Two players at the AAA affiliate in Rochester can provide some added offense without sacrificing defense significantly.

Dustin Martin is a swift footed outfielder wielding a golden bat so far in the International League while infielder Matt Macri is entering his most productive year statistically and is showing it. Admittedly, the sample size here is small but at the moment there is little to lose.

The two young outfielders the Twins are banking their future on right now are Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez. Currently, the speedy Gomez is failing to hit his weight while Delmon Young has shown no patience at the plate in very little playing time.

Sending these two players down should allow them to play every day and develop a bit as hitters. It will also save the Twins some service time and might help push arbitration eligibility back a year for Carlos Gomez.

Both Delmon and Carlos are only 23 years of age and could both still develop into All Stars. Taking a breather right now and getting extra playing time and at bats to work on hitting will do them both a lot of good.

There are other problems too.  Four of the five starting pitchers and two relievers are failing to perform at the major league level. Third baseman Joe Crede is having problems at the plate. Crede is a veteran who wouldn't learn anything in the minors; if he fails to perform he should be released.

These problems might fix themselves but if they still exist in mid-May the Twins are going to have serious problems this year.

This doesn't mean it's time to panic or to give up on the season yet. In fact, this early in the year there is still plenty of time for many of these players to improve and the team as a whole to turn around.

But looking at Rochester shows there are other players ready to answer any calls from the big club. These include starting pitchers Anthony Swarzak, Brian Duensing, and Kevin Mulvey, shortstop Trevor Plouffe, and utility man Matt Tolbert.

Depending on how the rest of April goes, Twins GM Bill Smith needs to look inside the organization to produce the offense his team needs to win.

Besides, a little development now will do Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young a lot of good further down the line. Making the investment in these players might make for a really competitive team when the Twins start playing outdoors next year at their new stadium.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?