[majesty95]

Planning for the Future

The scent of champagne still lingered in the air as Mr. Wacker began to plan for the season ahead. The Twins had won the World Series in his first season as GM. Now he had to follow that up with a successful winning season. He also needed to rebuild a depleted farm system.

Mr. Wacker knew he had a small window with his current team. Four of the team's top starters (Jim Kaat, JIm Perry, Steve Barber and Dean Chance) were all going to be at least 29 by season's end. Their top two relievers (Ron Perranoski and Bob Miller) would be 34 and 31, respectively. On offense, Harmon Killebrew (33), Tony Oliva (31), Leo Cardenas (31) and Cesar Tovar (29) were all, statistically, either approaching or on the downside of their careers.

Teams have two options when building a farm system: trades and the draft. Mr. Wacker analyzed the team and felt like he had at least one more good year out of them, collectively. He did not want to tear down a championship club to build for the future even though, internally, he struggled with that decision. So he decided to be patient with his organizational rebuild and focus on this season's draft along with adding a few key pieces to the big league club.

The Twins searched through the league looking for potential value to add to their club. They really wanted a defensive outfielder with speed to use in late game situations. Especially with their plan to move All-Star first baseman Rich Reese to left field. That would allow the Twins to move Killebrew to first base and make room for 25-year-old rookie Graig Nettles at third.

They approached numerous teams about acquiring a player or two here and there. However, the realization struck that they just did not have enough assets in the minor league system that they were willing to move. So, instead, they shifted their focus to the Rule 5 Draft.

The Rule 5 draft allows teams to draft any player who has spent at least three years in pro ball and who was not currently on a team's 40-man roster. Mr. Wacker and his team knew the quality of talent that could help at the Major League level would be slim. Their hope was to grab a player or two that had not yet played in the major leagues but was maybe was undervalued by their current organization.

The Twins, fresh off of their World Series win, would have the 23rd pick in the draft. Fortunately, not many teams were looking to the Rule 5 draft to help them and a pitcher from the Kansas City organization was there in the first round. Al Fitzmorris had spent the 1969 season at AAA and posted a 1.51 ERA and 22 saves. He had been a starter prior to that and the Twins felt he could provide relief help and maybe an emergency starter option. So Mr. Wacker made him his first official Rule 5 draft selection.

Then they waited for their pick in round two. Mr. Wacker liked a young third baseman in the Dodgers' organization named Bill Russell. Russell had spent the '69 season between A ball and AA for the Dodgers. He hit .406 in 64 at bats in Single A but struggled at AA hitting only .256. Mr. Wacker knew he probably wasn't ready for Major League Baseball but he thought, if he was still there, he would take a shot on him. Sure enough, Russell was still there when the Twins selected in the second round and they claimed him.

Neither Fitzmorris nor Russell were likely to make a huge impact for the Twins this season. However, the Twins found trading to be difficult. They had just won the World Series and teams weren't willing to give up anything they wanted without asking for a mountain in return. So Mr. Wacker and the Twins waited.

On the eve of Opening Day, with teams trying to cut down their roster and make room for players they liked in Spring Training, Mr. Wacker found an opening. Not surprisingly, it was with the two organizations they had found talent from in the Rule 5 Draft.

In his first trade as Minnesota Twins GM, Mr. Wacker sent 36-year-old catcher John Roseboro to Kansas City for 25-year-old pitcher Don O'Reilly. O'Reilly had gone 6-6 with a 2.83 ERA at AAA for the Royals before getting a cup of coffee in the big leagues at the end of the season. His numbers were good in the minors and Roseboro no longer had a place on the team with the emergence of George Mitterwald and Rick Dempsey at catcher.

Later on that day, Mr. Wacker, still in search of a utility outfielder, struck a deal with the Dodgers to acquire 23-year-old outfielder Guy Rose for promising minor league first baseman Jim Obradovich. Rose had only played two games at the big league level but showed good patience at the plate in his minor league career, was a good defensive center fielder and had great speed. Rose didn't have the experience Mr. Wacker was hoping for but he did have the skills and he hoped that would translate.

So, here they were, six months after winning their first World Series in Minnesota, ready to begin season two. Their only acquisitions were a handful of minor league guys that they hoped could contribute. But, they had a veteran laden team and every significant piece of the championship winning club returning. Could the Twins extract another magical season from their core of aging stars?