How can Ramos make the roster?

In today's spring training game, Wilson Ramos hit another home run. A long home run. He is nearly hitting .400 this spring (a VERY small sample size). He has done a very good job behind the plate. The players want him on the big league roster. Ron Gardenhire has loudly said that he wants Ramos on the roster. But it isn't his decision. That decision ultimately will be made by Bill Smith, who has to factor in what is best for the Twins organization in the short-term and in the long-term.

It will not be an easy decision. But we all need to remember that spring training stats are such a small sample size. What did we really learn this spring? We learned that Drew Butera can't hit but is very good defensively. We learned that Wilson Ramos can hit, can hit for power and can be a very good defensive catcher. In that light, we learned absolutely nothing because we already knew those things. I have gone on record all offseason saying that Wilson Ramos should not make the Twins roster if he is not going to play more than once a week. I would update that to say that he should play at least 50% of the time to justify a spot on their roster. Drew Butera is a backup, and we all know that. He knows that. If he plays just once a week, that is fine. People can talk about Ramos and his arbitration clock starting. I don't care about that. I care that such a tremendous prospect gets playing time. It's hard to justify a great prospect being solely a pinch hitter. So, let's take just a minute to think about how Wilson Ramos can make this roster. How can Ron Gardenhire get him into the lineup at least 50% of the time? How does this scenario sound to you: Catching · Joe Mauer catches four out of five games. · Wilson Ramos catches one out of five games. Designated Hitter · Jason Kubel DHs three out of five games. · Wilson Ramos DHs two out of five games. Left Field · Delmon Young plays LF three out of five games. · Jason Kubel plays LF two out of five games. In this scenario, Ramos will play in three out of five games, 60% of the time, and if that happens, I am comfortable with him being with the Twins. However, will Ron Gardenhire feel comfortable with his backup catcher being the DH? He never had been before. Would he still need to have Butera on the roster? In the above scenario, Jim Thome would get very little playing time. Delmon Young would not get to enough playing time. Joe Mauer could also DH which takes time away from Kubel, Young or Thome. Kubel can also play in right field and give Michael Cuddyer a day off. Or Cuddyer can play 1B and give Justin Morneau occasional time off. Cuddyer and Morneau could also occasionally DH. The Twins roster appears to be about set, with the exception of the backup catcher. I still believe that the right thing to do is bring Drew Butera north with the club unless they can get Wilson Ramos into the lineup over 50% of the time. But in order to get Ramos over 50% of the playing time, the rest of the roster may have to be affected as well. Could there be a trade in the works? With Kubel playing well in the outfield, could Delmon Young be on the block? Glen Perkins? Alexi Casilla? And if the Twins want Ramos to DH a reasonable amount of the time, would they still want a third catcher, Butera, on the roster? That means someone else must be off the roster. And, if you believe that Ramos should make the roster over Butera, do you also believe that he should make it over Jose Morales? What happens when Morales comes back, because Ramos is also probably better than him. I apologize for the stream of consciousness form of blogging today, but one little question (How can we get Wilson Ramos on the big league roster?) simply can't be answered without looking at many scenarios. In the end, what is the best thing for the 2010 Minnesota Twins? What is best for the Minnesota Twins organization? (Those are not necessarily the same answer!) And what is best for Wilson Ramos? What do you think the Twins should do? What do you think the Twins will do?