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Minnesota fattens Rochester Red Wings roster
By Shawn Krest
Rochester Red Wings’ general manager Dan Mason was asked what he liked best about the new parent club. He grinned like an eight-year-old who’s asked what’s best about Christmas morning.
"The best part," said Mason, "was when I saw (Twins GM) Terry Ryan this offseason. He shook my hand and said, ‘Dan, I think you can put away the tent for good.’"
Mason pitched a tent in the Red Wings bullpen last season, refusing to go home until the team broke a long losing streak. It was the latest in a string of zany promotions, including a "Man against Beast Night" pitting outfielders against racehorses, that gained Mason and the team national attention. Unfortunately, in the latter years of the Red Wings’ 40-year relationship with former parent club, the Baltimore Orioles, the product on the field paled in comparison.
Last offseason, fed up with a lack of support from the Orioles, Rochester filed for free agency and hit the jackpot. The Red Wings cut loose a franchise whose major and minor league teams have been consistently ranked near the bottom, replacing it with the AL Central champion Minnesota Twins.
Many of this year’s Red Wings players come to Frontier Field sporting championship rings. Last year’s Twins AAA affiliate, the Edmonton Trappers, won the Pacific Coast League with a minor league high 202 home runs. With the Twins’ success limiting big league job opportunities, the team returns to Rochester pretty much intact.
Leading the charge is perhaps the best outfield in AAA. Michael Restovich and Michael Ryan combined for 60 home runs and 199 RBI in Edmonton last season. Both earned late season call-ups to Minnesota, with Restovich notching his first big league home run. They are joined by Lew Ford and Chad Green. Ford was last season’s Robertson Award winner for top Twins prospect (an honor previously bestowed on Restovich). Green merely has a 1996 Olympic bronze medal.
The infield features three players that spent time in the majors last season. Former Expo and Red Sox third baseman Shane Andrews was brought in as a free agent. He joins Todd Sears, whose 20 homers and PCL Defensive First Baseman of the Year award earned a September call-up to Minnesota. Alex Prieto, Luis Rodriguez, Jeff Deardorff and former Wing David Lamb round out the infield.
Should a spot become available, first baseman Justin Morneau is tearing up AA pitching. The catcher position has a similar embarrassment of riches, where hot prospect Brandon Marsters is holding down the fort until the highly-touted Joe Maurer is ready.
Pitching may be the team’s weak spot. While talented, it doesn’t match the performance or experience of the offense. Brad Thomas is ranked in Baseball America’s top 25 southpaw minor league prospects. Fellow starters Adam Johnson (currently on the disabled list) and Juan Rincon (called up to Minnesota) were among the PCL’s league leaders last season. Both are expected to see significant time in Rochester’s rotation. In the bullpen, setup-man Grant Balfour was third in the PCL in games pitched, and closer Juan Padilla led the AA Eastern League in saves.
"It’s exciting," says Todd Sears of the new look Red Wings. "New league, new stadiums, new pitchers. We’re looking forward to winning this one, too."
Dan Mason is looking forward to sleeping indoors.
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