Minnesota Twins Who Are a Lock for Next Season's Roster

The Minnesota Twins have struggled this year, so changes must be made.

The Twins were picked by some to be the American League representative in the World Series, which only adds insult to injury when looking at how terrible this season truly has been.

Due to these struggles many players will be let go or traded; there are only a certain few that have solidified their spots on the major league roster for 2012, and one of them is not Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

As a forewarning, no one in the rotation is on the list—telling you just how bad a season it has been.

Joe Mauer

He simply is the face of the franchise: the hometown boy from St. Paul, former MVP /batting champ, the best player on the team—and is under contract for some dope cash.

Mauer will be a Twin until the $23 million runs out; and then he’ll be re-signed again. Joe Mauer will always be a Twin.

Glen Perkins

The Twins pitching has been absolutely terrible—starting and bullpen alike. There has been one bright spot though, Glen Perkins.

He’s the other local boy on the team (Stillwater, MN) and the organization has always been fans of that, from Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield. Plus he’s only getting paid $700,000 this season.

Danny Valencia

Third base has been a black hole for the Twins ever since Corey Koskie left, but now it seems the Twins have found a permanent fix.

After Tony Batista, Jeff Cirillo, Mike Lamb, Joe Crede and others, the Twins have finally found a competent third baseman.

He’s still improving and that’s all the Twins can ask for—and he’s one of the few Twins not to make a trip to the DL this year.

Justin Morneau

He’s a former MVP and if the team had two faces he’d be the second face. Everyone has forgotten about Morneau, so in all honesty his trade value is at an all-time low.

It would be extremely hard to move him and he’s gone from iron man to injury-prone. If he could stay healthy in 2012, it'll be a huge boost for the organization.

Ben Revere

The Twins' big call-up of the year sparked the Twins to that little win streak.

He’s a little ball of energy, young and improving and will ultimately be cheaper than keeping other current outfielders.

The Twins like him and fans seem to like him; that’ll be enough to keep him around for 2012.

Joe Nathan

You can’t rid of everyone in the bullpen, but I will say right now that Joe Nathan will be a Twin in 2012.

After a rough beginning to 2011, he has bounced back and become one of the few good arms in a horrible bullpen.

Nathan is a fan favorite and doesn’t cause any riffs in the clubhouse, he’s on the right side of the organization, and on the right side of this list. Plus he just became the team’s all-time leader is saves, if that means anything.

What Happens to Everybody Else

Obviously the Twins can’t let everyone go and their “window” is still open, but the Twins will have to cut some ties.

It is assumed Jim Thome will retire after hitting home run 600, so he will no longer be on the roster.  

Jason Kubel will be a hot commodity on the free-agent market and the Twins will have to pick between him and Michael Cuddyer. The Twins have more loyalty to Cuddyer, plus he is much more versatile, so I assume the Twins keep Cuddyer and let Kubel walk.

Alexi Casilla has improved greatly and will probably be around for the next couple years; Tsuyoshi Nishioka is another story.

Nishioka has been improving as of late, but he really has taken a long time to get there and he simply can’t hit a major league fastball. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nishioka sees some time at Triple-A next year.

Denard Span is at the mercy of who the Twins executives. First of all, the Twins need to decide where Joe Mauer is going to play, and if it’s not catcher, where he would go?

If Mauer is put in the outfield this takes away a spot from Span. Then if Mauer doesn’t get put in the outfield, who do the Twins keep as outfield options? Span is behind Revere, Cuddyer, Kubel and possibly Trevor Plouffe in the offseason depth chart.

Delmon Young has simply taken too long to develop. When he brought over from Tampa Bay, Delmon was labeled as a big time power hitter, but he has not lived up to those expectations. I’d be shocked to see Delmon on the roster next year.

The pitching staff is so screwed up I don’t even know who will stay and who will go. The most likely starters to stay are Brian Duensing and Scott Baker, but the bullpen is anyone’s guess.

Personally, I’d like to see Fransisco Liriano in the bullpen as his electric stuff would be a good addition to the struggling pen. I’d like to see Liriano in the pen or long gone.