It’s almost a local pastime to speculate whether the Twins should trade third baseman Trevor Plouffe. Fans critical of the organization and the team’s awful start this season are amped up about trading the 29-year-old who plays the same position as franchise savior Miguel Sano.
Sano, forced to play right field, literally stumbles around in his new position. The 22-year-old slugger has been trained to play third base but Plouffe, a seven-year veteran with the Twins, blocks his path to the infield.
What to do? Don’t panic is the best advice to the Twins. The club has a long list of needs including pitching and catching. The Twins haven’t been able to develop or acquire a No.1 starting pitcher, and the bullpen is an adventure almost every night, particularly with 33-year-old All-Star closer Glen Perkins injured and out indefinitely. As for catching, the near future for the position appears dismal with 32-year-old Kurt Suzuki failing at the plate again this year and no prospects in the organization looking like they can become the regular guy.
But the Twins, who have made a lot of bad moves in recent years, don’t need to make another poor one by giving away Plouffe who is no star but is productive at bat and in the field. Twins owner Jim Pohlad must decide whether he wants general manager Terry Ryan to lead an aggressive strategy regarding trades now or wait until the season is over. The Twins might be better served doing their best due diligence in the off-season.
Then, too, there could be new leadership in the baseball department by next fall. If that is the direction Pohlad leans, then it’s wiser to do nothing now in this wasted season and let the new baseball bosses decide on Plouffe and any other players the team may choose to move.
Worth Noting
Among players exciting Twins fans is Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy who is the subject of trade rumors. The 29-year-old would solve the Twins’ catching problems for years but has said he wants to play for a contender—and that’s not Minnesota with an MLB worst record of 15-37.
Orlando Arcia, younger brother of Twins right fielder Oswaldo Arcia, is a shortstop in the Brewers organization playing for Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Outfielder Adam Walker, who is with the Twins’ Triple-A Rochester farm club, is tied for second in home runs among International League players with 10, but has struck out 76 times in 157 at bats.
Logan Shore, the Coon Rapids native at the University of Florida, is one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award honoring college baseball’s best player, according to Floridagators.com. Shore is the SEC Pitcher of the Year for 2016.
Former Gophers baseball player Mike Handel is now an account executive with Minnetonka-based Signature Concepts. The company’s clients include the University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin.
Dick Jonckowski, the Gophers’ basketball and baseball public announcer, emceed banquets recently that helped raise over $650,000 for youth sports and health care. Jonckowski was in the Baltimore area last week for the Horsey Foundation’s banquet and golf outing that generated over $250,000. A week earlier, Jonckowski was in St. Louis at the request of national sportscaster Joe Buck. He emceed Buck’s banquet and also welcomed golfers at hole No. 5 as part of activities to raise over $400,000 for St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Jonckowski, who for years has emceed events in various parts of the country, just finished his 28th season as the Gophers’ baseball public address announcer. This fall will be his 31st season handling P.A. work for men’s basketball.
Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph expects his team to keep its blue-collar work ethic after last season’s success in winning the NFC North for the first time since 2009. “That’s how we are. That’s how we’re going to play,” Rudolph told Sports Headliners. “I feel like a lot of teams try to get away from their identity based on what’s popular in the NFL, and we know that’s our identity and we have to stick to it.”
The Vikings are practicing now at Winter Park as they prepare for training camp and the 2016 season. Will next season’s team have a collective chip on its shoulder after last January’s blown opportunity to defeat the Seahawks in the playoffs?
Rudolph expects the Vikings to play with an edge, but not because of that first round loss. “…If you don’t play with a chip on your shoulder, you’re not going to fit in here because that’s a style that we play with. We play with that blue-collar, hard-working attitude, and that’s just a mindset that we have to bring each and every day.”
Vikings rookie wide receiver Moritz Boehringer will meet the public from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Fan HQ store located in the Eden Prairie Center. Twins relief pitcher Trevor May will be at the Fan HQ location at Ridgedale from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday. More specifics about both appearances including costs are available at Fanhqstore.com.
Boehringer is the first player ever drafted directly from Europe by an NFL team. He was selected by the Vikings this spring in the sixth round (180th overall). As a middle innings reliever, May is 0-2 with a 5.13 ERA but has struck out 40 batters in 26.1 innings.
WCCO TV’s David McCoy and ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling recently reported on a horse racing ownership group that has Vikings connections with offensive guard Brandon Fusco, offensive coordinator Norv Turner, quarterbacks coach Scott Turner and radio play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. The group bought Tiger D for $16,000 earlier this year and watched the five-year-old finish fourth in its debut race at Canterbury Park last Friday night, according to Goessling’s story posted yesterday.
Happy birthday to ex-North Stars player and executive Lou Nanne who turns 75 today.