Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Sunday, March 8, 2015 ➢ Twins-Red Sox: Dozier (illness) scratched from lineup. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 1 ➢ After rough start vs. Red Sox, Hughes recovers. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 2 ➢ Twins day at camp: Dozier falls ill as flu bug persists. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 2 ➢ Twins in on top international prospect; plus notes from 4-2 loss to Boston. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3 ➢ Hartman: Jim Pohlad expecting Twins turnaround in 2015. Star Tribune (Hartman) p. 4 ➢ Byron Buxton is whole again. Star Tribune (Souhan) p. 5 ➢ Tom Powers: Doug Mientkiewicz cooling down after being passed over by Twins and warming to new job. Pioneer Press (Powers) p. 6 ➢ Twins: Brian Dozier scratched due to illness. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 7 ➢ Minnesota Twins: Josmil Pinto hopes to return next week. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 8 ➢ Minnesota Twins' Ervin Santana is San Cristobal's favorite son. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 8 ➢ Twinsights: New pitching coach Neil Allen emphasizing the changeup. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 11 ➢ Hughes pleased with debut as Twins fall to Sox. MLB.com (Browne) p. 11 ➢ Pinto to give strained right quad a break. MLB.com (Roberts) p. 12 ➢ Pelfrey officially enters rotation battle with spring debut. MLB.com (Roberts) p. 12 ➢ Spring debut provides Hughes some important work. MLB.com (Roberts) p. 12 ➢ Buchholz, Red Sox get the best of Twins. Associated Press p. 13 ➢ Twins-Red Sox update: Victorino scratched. The News-Press (Rathgeber) p. 13 ➢ Spring training: behind the scenes in Fort Myers. The News-Press (Dorsey) p. 14 Twins-Red Sox: Dozier (illness) scratched from lineup La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | March 7, 2015 Greetings from Fenway South, where the Twins and Red Sox will meet this afternoon in one of the 30-something fake games before the 162 real ones begin. First, some news: Brian Dozier was in the original lineup today but has been sent home sick. Caught Dozier walking out of the clubhouse carrying three bottles of water and three bottles of Gatorade (impressive feat). Doug Bernier takes his place in the lineup. This early in the season, it's no big deal. But the Twins had a rash of illnesses last week and thought they were done with it. The last time the Twins were here, it was the final game of the 2014 spring training schedule. And Adam Brett Walker cleared the "other" Green Monster with prodigious blast. Well see if one of the Twins hitters today can connect off of Red Sox righthander Clay Buchholz. Josmil Pinto has yet to play in a spring training game because of strained right oblique. But he said he's feeling better and will play catch and hit in the cages today. No drills or catching bullpens yet. Sounds like he will miss a couple more days because he'll have to be able to get a full workout in to prove he's healthy. Alex Meyer and Trevor May both threw yesterday. Meyer "thinks" he's pitching one of the games on Monday in Bradenton against the Pirates. May "thinks" he's pitching on Wednesday against the Rays at Hammond Stadium. Phil Hughes is on the mound for the Twins and will face some big names in opposing lineup. After a rough start vs. Red Sox, Hughes recovers La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | March 7, 2015 FORT MYERS. FLA. – After a laborious first inning, Phil Hughes asked about the decision to pitch a second inning Saturday. “I had to drive all this way,” Hughes said, “So I might as well go out for a second inning.” The Twins’ Hammond Stadium is about 5 miles from Boston’s JetBlue Park, so Hughes didn’t have to go far. But he has a ways to go before he stirs memories of last season, when he went 16-10 and walked only 16 batters. Nope, Saturday’s outing was far from that as he fought command and sharpness and pretty much got a workout in as the Twins lost 4-2 to the Red Sox. The Twins were hitless for 6⅓ innings before Kennys Vargas legged out an infield hit when third baseman Sean Coyle couldn’t pull off the barehanded stab. Damage control was a running theme as Boston collected 16 hits. “Considering we gave up 16 hits, we pitched pretty good,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. Hughes gave up a single, threw a wild pitch then another single to open the first inning. But he regrouped to retire David Ortiz on a pop out, strike out Hanley Ramirez looking then get Pablo Sandoval to fly out to escape damage. “A lot of dynamics out there today,” Hughes said. “Immediate jam, first and third with nobody out in the first. Sometimes you want a nice easy outing and get your legs under you but there is something to be said about being able to work out of a jam and some high stress situations to get 2015 off to a good start. “It wasn’t exactly how I would like it to go, but it’s all a process.” Twins day at camp: Dozier falls ill as flu bug persists La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | March 7, 2015 Brian Dozier was in the original Twins starting lineup against the Red Sox on Saturday, but was seen in street clothes and carrying three bottles of water and three bottles of an energy drink. Dozier is sick, meaning the Twins aren’t quite done with the bug that swept the clubhouse during the first week of workouts that forced five players to be sent home to recover. It’s early enough in camp for any missed time to have an impact on the approaching regular season. But, after watching Oswaldo Arcia,Jordan Schafer, Trevor May, Kurt Suzuki and Trevor Plouffe miss workouts or games, the Twins thought they had survived the storm. Dozier coming down sick raises fears that another wave is coming. “I thought we were past it about two days ago,” Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. “Unfortunately we’re not. The good thing about that is you know what you are dealing with, it’s about a two- or three-day thing. “And hope it doesn’t creep up into the front office.” In every other case, players missed two to four days because of the flu, which makes Dozier doubtful to play Sunday against Baltimore. Pinto update Catcher Josmil Pinto played catch and hit in the cage Saturday as he tried to recover from a strained right quadriceps suffered during a running drill. “It feels better,” he said. But Pinto hasn’t been cleared to take part in drills or catch in the bullpen yet. Until then, Pinto will remain the only position player not to have appeared in a spring training game. And he needs to get on the field and impress the coaching staff enough to bring him north at the end of camp. 2 “He’s been set back a couple days here,” Ryan said. “But for the most part we’re just getting going. I don’t think this is going to affect him at all with the ability to make this club.” Ryan said Pinto came to camp in good shape, so to get banged up is disappointing. Twins in on top international prospect; plus notes from 4-2 loss to Boston La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | March 7, 2015 Before we get to some game highlights, some news: The Twins are preparing to spend as much as $4 million to land one of the top Latin American prospects this year. Wander Javier, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic with some power potential, is in the Twins' crosshairs, according to sources with knowledge of the interest. The international signing period doesn't begin until July 2, when teams can ink players who have turned 16 by then. If the bonus does rise to $4 million, it would set a club record for the largest bonus awarded to an international prospect, surpassing the $3.15 million the Twins signed Miguel Sano for in 2009. Signing Javier for that much would require some maneuvering. The Twins have the fifth-largest international signing bonus pool this year, but it is only $3,948,500 - $51,500 shy of the $4 million it's expected to cost to land Javier. The Twins would have to pay a 100 percent tax on the $51,500 overage but since it's less than five percent over their cap they won't face further penalties. So the Twins could simply accept the penalty to sign Javier and move on. But they also could trade for allocation money and avoid the tax. They also might decide to trade for much more than $51,500 so they can sign more players. I was told that the Twins are looking at all options on this one. And the word aggressive was used to describe their approach to this. The Twins haven't stepped out into the deep international waters since they singed Miguel Sano in 2009. Sano has yet to play in the majors, but has tantalizing power. It doesn't sound like Javier has that type of power , but you can watch him for yourself here. Keep in mind that we are four months - four - from international signing season. And all kinds of things could happen. But the Twins are definitely in on this one. Some quick game notes Hard to get fired up about the first spring outing. Phil Hughes' cut fastball looked like a slider.