The Twins look like they are finally reaching a point in the season where they will need a 5th starter. It’s only 14 games, or more to the point, nearly a month into the season. It seems pretty clear that Phil Hughes will be the choice, coming off the disabled list to join the roster later this week.
To do that, however, the Twins will need to make a move to free up a roster spot. The question then turns to the rest of the roster. What is the move to make to free up a spot for Hughes? I think there are 4 primary candidate, ranked, in my mind, from least to most likely.
4) Tyler Kinley – Kinley is a popular candidate, likely because he has only worked in 2 games, and with less than inspiring results. Since Kinley is a Rule 5 pick, however, I find it unlikely that the Twins would send him back to the Marlins simply to make a roster move that’s been anticipated since the beginning of camp. And really, Kinley wasn’t really bad in his two outings, just unlucky, with no home runs, only 1 walk and a trio of strikeouts. Not enough to really cast a judgment.
3) Alan Busenitz – Busenitz was just called up this week. I find it hard to believe the Twins would send him back down, especially after such a a strong start to his season. Molitor clearly likes Busenitz as well. He’s already been used morer than Kinley.
2) Trevor Hildenberger – No getting around it – Hildenberger has been bad this season. I know most that have watched him this season can tell you that, but even those people might not recognize just how rough the 7 innings of work have been, giving up home runs on over 40% of the fly balls he allows. And he isn’t striking anyone out, so there are a lot of fly balls. On the other hand, he was great last season (like Busenitz, really), and has a track record and likely a longer leash. I find it hard to believe that Molitor or the front office think that Hildenberger’s start is anything more than a bump on the road.
1) Gabriel Moya – Moya was a stud in the minors last year, and he strikes has been striking guys out at a steady clip. Still, he didn’t pitch above AA last year (save for his time in Minnesota), is lightly used and so far this year has struggled when batters actually make contact. It’s likely that Moya would be best served by time in Rochester. If the Twins are in the mood only to make one roster move, the name at the top of the list is Gabriel Moya, by a long shot.
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