It’s no surprise that the Minnesota Twins game against the Chicago White Sox was postponed last night. However, the roster move made Friday evening IS a surprise.
The Minnesota Twins have optioned outfielder Ryan LaMarre to Triple-A Rochester. Lamarre had a tremendous Spring as a non-roster invite and has continued to play well to start the 2018 season.
LaMarre batted .500 (4-8) during his brief stint with Minnesota this season. He looks like he has finally put it together at the MLB level. However, he will now have to wait for another opportunity to shine in the Majors. There’s a lot to speculate about with this move, so let’s just dive right into it.
What this roster move might mean
Friday’s, and possibly this entire weekend, postponement means the Twins won’t be needing Phil Hughes to pitch any time soon. Some fans have speculated that maybe this move was to bring up another pitcher. However, there could be a much more simple explanation for this move.
One name being thrown around as a possible call-up is outfielder Jake Cave. However, why would Minnesota send down an outfielder that is performing well, for an outfielder yet to appear in the Majors this season? You’re right, it doesn’t make sense.
Cave is a competent player and has a chance to contribute in MLB. That being said, LaMarre has already been contributing for the Twins so a swap of outfielders makes little sense. Furthermore, LaMarre brings more to the table than Cave does and Minnesota doesn’t need another outfielder in the clubhouse.
Could this move be for pitching?
With all of the days off that the Twins have already had, there is no real need to bring up another pitcher. Unless of course, they’re looking to replace Trevor Hildenberger, who has struggled to begin the 2018 season. Once again, this move makes very little sense without a clear-cut option in the Minor Leagues.
Could this be related to the series being played in Puerto Rico this week?
This theory definitely makes the most sense. The Minnesota Twins will play a two-game set against the Cleveland Indians in Puerto Rico April 17-18. They’ve already taken the necessary steps to make sure Jose Berrios (a native of Puerto Rico) will start one of those two games.
It makes sense that the Twins would call-up another fellow Puerto Rican, Kennys Vargas, to participate as well. However, Vargas is not on the 40-man roster, so there would need to be another corresponding roster move to make this work.
Vargas has been personally promoting this series heavily, so it stands to reason that the Twins will bring him along. That’s a helluva story and one that gives fans something to root for. However, there really is no room for Vargas on this 25-man roster.
Sure, Logan Morrison has struggled out of the gate and looks like a bust to this point of the season. However, Morrison still brings a ton of upside to the lineup, whereas Vargas has shown what he is capable of.
Vargas owns a career .252/.311/.437 slash line with only 35 home runs through 859 career plate appearances. He’s a liability at first base defensively and putting him at DH takes a competent MLB hitter out of the lineup.
I’m all for heartwarming stories and players getting to play in front of their hometown fans. However, the Twins play the Indians during that series, and every game against the Indians is of the utmost importance.
Next: Taking a look at the Minor League system
Calling Vargas up would be a great PR move for the Minnesota Twins. However, PR moves won’t win you games and definitely won’t help you reach the postseason.