Punto to undergo “minor” surgery on wrist
January 30, 2010
Utility Infielder Nick Punto
Punto is expected to recover in time to be back in spring training in a few weeks.
Wrist surgery seems to be the procedure of the week as both Twins players Nick Punto and catcher Jose Morales have had wrist surgery this week. Morales underwent a bit more extensive surgery then Punto and will be out anywhere from four to eight weeks according to Bill Smith.
Although the Twins believe Morales will be ready for Opening Day, Smith has not ruled out other internal options for the position if necessary. Wilson Ramos is offensively the better player, but Drew Butera has more experience in Triple A Rochester.
As for Nick Punto, the Twins will be expecting him to be ready to play when position players report late next month on Febuary 26.
Perkins opens up after five months of silence
January 29, 2010
The season that was 2009 for Glen Perkins was a long season filled with ups and downs. The young left hander emerged at the start of 2009 as a pitcher who would eat up innings, going eight innings in his first three starts. His record at the end of April was only 1-2, but anyone who saw him pitch new he was much better then that.
The 2009 season got out of hand on May 18th when Perkins went 0.2 innings against the Yankees in New York. He gave up 7 hits, 6 earned runs, and 2 home runs in a 34-pitch two-thirds of an inning. After the game, Perkins told coaches he had some pain in his elbow. He was diagnosed with left elbow inflammation and put on the disabled list.
Glen Perkins
Perkins struggles would continue three games later against the Detroit Tigers where he came out in relief in the 9th inning. August 8th in Detroit, Perkins left the game with shoulder pain and after an MRI a few days later, Perkins was placed on the disabled list again for a strained rotator cuff.
The club sent him to rehab, but instead of bringing him back up, he was assigned to triple A Rochester. This was a tough pill to swallow for Perkins who was close to qualifying for Super Two status. He and his agent along with the players union would file a grievance with the Twins that was later settled.
Joe Christensen recently sat down with Perkins and got his take on the situation. Perkins said the situation last year reminded him that playing ball in the Majors is business and he has learned from the situation. He is eager to get back into form and pitch, regardless if it is for the Twins or not.
Killebrew has gallbladder removed and Mijares held up in Venezuela
January 28, 2010
Some tidbits that showed up last night.
Harmon Killebrew
Twins president Dave Saint Peter says the 73 year old former slugger is doing very well. Killebrew is hopeful that he can make his annual trip to Twins Spring Training in Fort Myers, Florida.
Also not appearing at TwinsFest this weekend will be relief pitcher Jose Mijares. Mijares is currently in Venezuela and is unable to get back to the States because of an issue with his visa.
TwinsFest will start tomorrow at the Metrodome and end on Sunday.
Jim Thome signs with Twins
January 27, 2010
After a week of swirling rumors and negotiations, Jim Thome has agreed to sign with the Minnesota Twins for the 2010 season.
Jim Thome with White Sox
Thome agreed to the one-year contract with a guarantee of at least $1.5MM. Thome can earn an additional $750K through incentives. The incentives are broken down so that the 39 year old will receive $100K for passing 250, 300 and 350 plate appearances, respectively. That figure will increase to $150K for passing the 400, 450 and 500-plate appearances.
The contract is a far cry from the $13MM Thome earned in 2009, but with an abundance of designated hitters this year has brought prices down as distinguished hitters such as Thome look for roster spots.
Jim Thome has a career .277 BA/ .404 OBP/ .557 SLG over 19 years and 564 Home Runs (57 against the Twins) placing him 12th all time.
Weekend recap
January 26, 2010
Rumors and stories have been flying at the end of the week and we just haven’t been able to keep up.
Starting in the middle of last week came news that the Twins were interested in Jim Thome. This was some what as a surprise because with out any injury to Morneau and or Kubel, he would likely not see the plate more then a few hundred times in the season. Thome who will be forty years old this summer, was moved mid season from the White Sox to the Dodgers in 2009. The White Sox were also interested in the aging hitter, but as of yesterday, it would appear that the White Sox interest in Thome is over.
The move doesn’t make a lot of sense to most Twins fans. A player like Jermain Dye would make more sense, as he can still play in the field if needed and has equivalent power to that of Thome. Financially Dye and Thome should be close in price tags.
The Twins completed the Twins Caravan which also happened to coincide with the signing of all of the arbitration eligible players. Based on comments made during the week, it would appear that the line up for the Twins is set. Bill Smith seems content with the current roster and has said that the Twins will be open to pick up another player if it will benefit the club, the Twins are happy with the current line up.
The Twins Jose Morales underwent surgery on his right wrist and is expected to miss four to eight weeks. Bill Smith told Caravan attendees in Fargo, ND that if necessary, the Twins will bring up either Wilson Ramos or Drew Butera. Wilson Ramos is one of the Twins top prospects, and is the better hitter of the two catchers, but Drew Butera has the experience behind the plate.
There is still no word on the contract extension for Joe Mauer, but have heard some unconfirmed rumors that the Twins are going to make the big announcement this week at Twins Fest. We thought that might be a good time to make the announcement at the end of last year, but regardless of when the announcement is made, we have faith that the Twins organization is making every effort to sign Mauer to a long term extension.
With Carl Pavano inking his $7MM one-year deal, manager Ron Gardenhire has said that he would likely start Scott Baker the first game and Pavano the second. This will be a very interesting pre-season with the Twins starting pitching likely to have three quality pitchers fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation. Currently you have Baker, Pavano, Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn for the first four spots and Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins, and Brian Duensing hoping to fill the last spot in the rotation.
Finally, Twins Digest contributor Jason Graening passed along a list of what he projects as the Twins 25 man roster (bolded players are expendable). We thought it was very interesting as we agreed with all 25 players he put on the list. Of course a lot can happen between now and seventy-six days from now. If you have any comments, feel free to share them with us!
| Player | POS |
| Scott Baker | SP |
| Nick Blackburn | SP |
| Carl Pavano | SP |
| Francisco Liriano | SP |
| Kevin Slowey | SP |
| Clay Condrey | RP |
| Jesse Crain | RP |
| Matt Guerrier | RP |
| Jose Mijares | RP |
| Joe Nathan | RP |
| Jon Rauch | RP |
| Glen Perkins | RP |
| Joe Mauer | C |
| Jose Morales | C |
| Justin Morneau | 1B |
| Alexi Casilla | 2B |
| Nick Punto | U |
| Matt Tolbert | U |
| J.J. Hardy | SS |
| Brendan Harris | 3B |
| Jason Pridie | OF |
| Denard Span | CF |
| Delmon Young | LF |
| Michael Cuddyer | RF |
| Jason Kubel | DH |
Twins 2010 arbitration and terms
January 19, 2010
The Twins has agreements for all eight of their arbitration eligible players according to a twitter post by Joe Christensen of the StarTrib.
That news left Francisco Liriano, Jesse Crain, Pat Neshek, Matt Guerrier, Brendan Harris without agreements.
Kelly Thesier quickly updated that list via twitter, announcing that Delmon Young agreed to a one year deal worth $2.6 million. The deal includes incentives for plate apperances. Young will reportedly get $25K for 575 PA and $25K for 600 PA.
Thesier then gave the details of the Carl Pavano agreement via twitter. sign Carl Pavano reportedly will get $7 million for a one-year contract. It is all guaranteed money with no incentives.
Kelly Thesier then updated via Twitter that Pat Neshek has agreed to terms that would give him a reported $625K with and added $75 in incentives.
She followed that up via Twitter that Matt Guerrier also agreed to terms for a one year $3.15MM deal.
And about thirty minutes ago Kelly Thesier handed out even more good news, reporting that Brendan Harris aggreed to a two year deal. Terms were not first disclosed but she quickly added them when they became available. It is an agreement for for $3.2 million for two-years, plus up to $650,000 in incentives. The deal breaks down to $1.45 million in 2010 and $1.75 million in 2011.
According to our list this leaves only terms for Liriano and Crain to be negotiated with the Twins before arbitration.
Congrats to all of these players and to GM Bill Smith for getting the deal done!
Twins Digest visits Twins Caravan
January 19, 2010
The Northwest leg of the Twins caravan made it into Fargo this evening. The annual caravan brought with it two pitchers in Nick Blackburn and Matt Guerrier, Twins Legend Tony Oliva, Twins Announcer Kris Atteberry, Mascot T.C. and special guest Twins GM Bill Smith.
The evening started with a hot dog, soda and chips at The Venue in Fargo about 5:00 PM as people filed in. The standing room only audience was greeted by area sports director Dan Hammer. Dan Hammer thanked all of the many sponsors for their support and after promoting the sponsors, turned the microphone over to announcer Kris Atteberry.
Kris Atteberry announced the evenings program and surprise special guest Twins GM Bill Smith. The crowd was then treated to a brief video about the new stadium and the current line-up for 2010.
The video was created by Fox Sports North and included highlights from 2009, a small tribute to the MetroDome, a sneak peak at the new Target Field and a preview of the 2010 lineup as it stands today.
After the video, Atteberry brought out TC Bear who circulated through the crowd and threw out some t-shirts. After that the Twins caravan was introduced and out came Matt Guerrier, Nick Blackburn, Tony Oliva, and Bill Smith.
Atteberry started the question and answer portion of the evening by asking Bill Smith about the 2010 outlook and the current lineup as of today. Smith said he was very happy with the current lineup and his only wish would be the Twins stay healthy in 2010. He pointed out that the Twins were hit with the injury bug last year with injuries to Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey, Justin Morneau and Pat Neshek.
Tony Oliva was asked to give his expert opinion about the hitting of up and comers Denard Span and Delmon Young. The modest legend pointed out that as good as Span is, he still expects better next year as he is hitting with more power and continues improve with every appearance at the plate. Oliva added that Young should be much improved as well this year with more playing time.
Twins Caravan 2010
Nick Blackburn was asked what type of presence that veteran pitcher Carl Pavano brings to the club. Blackburn told the crowd that Pavano is a great mentor who is happy to share his knowledge of the game and batters to all the pitchers. He also pointed out that Pavano is very good at executing his game plan and is a tough competitor when he is on.
Matt Guerrier was asked about the bullpen this upcoming year and Guerrier was very optimistic with not only his role with the club, but also with the return of Pat Neshek, Jesse Crain, Jose Mijares and Joe Nathan.
Atteberry went into the audience and took questions from the crowd. The first question was in regard to the well publicized search for a third baseman. Smith answered the question that he was happy with the six players the Twins currently have for the 4 infield positions. Smith mentioned Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla as possible second basemen. If Alexi Casilla can return in 2010 looking like he did in 2008, he could get a chance to start at second base and Nick Punto could return to his utility role for the left half of the infield.
Smith also mentioned that both Matt Tolbert and Brendan Harris and fill in at third and that the Twins feel that Harris offense is good enough to go into the season and compete. Smith also said if necessary, the Twins had the much talked about minor league player Danny Valencia and another prospect in the Australian Luke Hughes.
Another question was in regard to the latest news that the Indians signed Mike Redmond and that Jose Morales would have to undergo surgery on his right wrist. Smith said that the doctors have put his recovery to be anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Smith said they were willing to evaluate the position again if they thought it was necessary. He pointed out that the Twins have Wilson Ramos (the Twins #3 prospect in 2009) and Drew Butera (son of Major league catcher Sal Butera) they could call up if needed.
Finally the question that everyone was waiting for… where were the Twins on signing Joe Mauer. Bill Smith reiterated that the Twins were committed to keeping Joe Mauer in Minnesota as long as possible. This drew cheers from the crowd and Smith continued to say that even better then that was Joe Mauer appears to want to stay in Minnesota as well.
The crowd was large, but there were not a lot of questions from the crowd, so Kris Atteberry announced that the group of Twins there would be available for autographs and the crowd dismissed.
Upon the way out, Nick Blackburn, Matt Guerrier and Tony Oliva were all signing autographs on the way out. The sight of the legend Tony Oliva, the six year veteran Matt Guerrier and the young but experienced Nick Blackburn all signing autographs for the hundreds of fans reminds you why the Minnesota Twins are the best team in baseball! And of course we all felt like kids getting the autographs from a Major League ball player.
-
- Twins Caravan 2010 Fargo
-
- Twins Caravan 2010
-
- Twins Caravan 2010
-
- Twins Caravan 2010
-
- Twins Caravan 2010
-
- Twins Caravan 2010
-
- Twins Caravan 2010
Should Twins fans start to panic?
January 15, 2010
The off-season started off strongly for the Twins who picked up JJ Hardy for Carlos Gomez in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. The trade was good for both players as it will give them a chance to play in 2010 and not ride the pine.
The Twins followed that up by offering arbitration to Carlos Pavano and after talking it over with his agent, Pavano agreed to accept arbitration.
Since early December, the Twins have quietly did little. Shortly after after Pavano accepted arbitration, the Twins announced that Boof Bonser was designated for assignment. He was quickly picked up by Boston Red Sox a few days later.
Then the rumors started to fly about the Twins trying to shore up the hot corner and the Twins seemed interested in the likes of Adrian Beltre, Mark DeRosa. Adrian Beltre and Mark DeRosa seemed like long shots as they were reportedly asking for more then the Twins were willing to spend. Beltre has since signed a 1-year $9MM deal with the Boston Red Sox and Mark DeRosa signed a 2-year $12MM deal with the San Francisco Giants. Both deals were made after the new year 2010.
Then the Twins started talking about how good Francisco Liriano has looked this off season with his fastball in the mid 90′s and his slider being nasty as ever. A few days later there were rumors that Seattle and the Twins were discussing a trade, with Liriano going to Seattle for Jose Lopez. That would be another great trade for both teams, but nothing seems to have developed after the rumor was first reported.
It was also leaked before the end of the year that the San Diego Padres were interested in pitcher Glen Perkins and dangled out Kevin Kouzmanoff as possible trade bait. The reports are that the Padres were looking for a little more then Perkins for the powerful third baseman , but the Twins wouldn’t budge. Today it was reported that the Oakland Athletics have reached an agreement with the Padres to acquire third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.
The top third base free agent prospects are gone and the one good fit for the Twins (Kevin Kouzmanoff) looks to be going north with another Padre minor leaguer for Aaron Cunningham and Scott Hairston. Unless the Padres were asking for Delmon Young, Denard Span or Michael Cuddyer, the Twins should have pulled the trigger on a Perkins-Kouzmanoff trade.
Most recently, it was reported that the Twins made an offer to Jarrod Washburn, but after confirming the offer, it was reported that Washburn declined the $5MM 1 year offer.
The Twins have also seen a bevy of minor league players exodus to Japan to play ball in 2010.
So as the 2010 pre-season rolls around in seven weeks, the early promise the Twins back office showed to Twins fans has dwindled to a trickle. The club’s options at third base continue to dwindle and there are reports now that the Orioles are taking a serious look at Joe Crede who many felt would be the emergency plan B option if the Twins were unable to sign a free agent or trade for a quality man for the hot corner.
And to top everything off, it is the middle of January and there is still no word on the Joe Mauer signing. This shouldn’t bother most people as Mauer’s agent is notorious for keeping negotiations out of the media, but it makes some Twins fans worried that Mauer is holding out on signing as he is waiting to see if the Twins are serious about competing next year and in the future.
As it stands at this point in the year, most of the “good” options for third base are gone (waiting for the better deal as the Twins often do, means often getting nothing). Currently Crede is still available, but the Orioles are looking at both Hank Blalock and Crede. Two other options would be Miguel Tejada and Felipe Lopez.
- Hank Blalock can explode offensively with the bat, but has some questions about his health. He has has problems the past few years and the Rangers ended up moving him from 3rd to 1st last year to avoid shoulder injury.
- Joe Crede did what he was expected last year, but many were hoping for the return of a healthier Crede who would return back to the form he had in 2006. Crede struggled most the season with injuries and left the team at the end of the year for yet another back surgery.
- Miguel Tejada has surprisingly remained on the market. If reports are correct, his asking price could be the number one reason. The other reason is that his offensive production seems to have been reduced in the post-steroid era.
- Felipe Lopez has the offense, but defensively he struggles. Lopez tied for the major league lead in errors by a second baseman in 2009.
Where do we go from here? Should Twins fans start to panic now? Well, probably not right now, but as the month of January slips away and the options for a solid third baseman with a bat and the options for good veteran pitching dwindling, we might need to wipe the sweat off our brows.
SIGN A VETERAN PITCHER
The Twins have the luxury of having six good young pitchers, all of which have been in the starting rotation in the last year. The bullpen is expected to get a shot in the arm with the addition of Pat Neshek and the recent signing of Clay Condrey to replace Bob Keppel. If the Twins could add another veteran pitcher for the starting rotation, it could allow for the Twins to pursue the trade of Liriano and Lopez further.
SIGN A QUALITY 3RD BASEMAN
Given the list of remaining players, there are not as many “good” options as there were in December. If the Twins think that Danny Valencia is the future at third, then they need to spend the money on a one or two year deal for someone that will bring results. A good defensive third baseman that can give you 20 or more home runs a year would be perfect until Valencia is ready.
SIGN JOE MAUER BEFORE THE END OF FEBRURARY
It is likely Joe Muaer is doing the same thing we are… waiting to see what the Twins do to improve the club. The theory is that Joe Mauer doesn’t want to play the rest of his career in Minnesota if they are not competitive and who can blame him. If the season were to start today, it is unlikely the Twins could win a series with either the Yankees or the Red Sox without improved pitching or the continued success of the offense. The Twins exploded in 2009 and the core group of that power (Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer and Kubel) will all be back in 2010. But the Twins need to have better starting pitching and could use the extra insurance of a third baseman or second baseman that could add another 20 home runs. If the Twins do either or more preferably both, the Twins will not only get Joe Mauer, but might be willing to give the Twins a hometown discount of a 10-year $180MM deal.
Redmond signs with Indians
January 15, 2010
Mike Redmond, who joined the Twins in 2005, signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Indians today. Redmond, a 12-year veteran with a World Series championship under his belt, will give the Indians a veteran presence to work with their young and inexperienced pitching staff, as well as backup their young catchers.
Redmond played in 257 games with Minnesota with a .297 batting average. His average slumped in 2009 where he hit a career-low .237 in 45 games. The highlight of his ’09 season came on August 30 against the Texas Rangers where drove an 0-2 pitch to left field and legged out a triple – the third of his career and first since 2003 when he was with the Florida Marlins. Redmond would drive in the winning run in the eighth inning knocking in Carlos Gomez to break the tie ballgame.
Although he was well liked in the clubhouse, with Joe Mauer behind the plate and Jose Morales showing what he is capable of, Redmond became expendable and was not offered arbitration this offseason. Redmond believes that he has more to offer and will get to prove that when his new team faces the Twins 18 times in 2010.
Mark Grudzielanek signs with Indians
January 12, 2010
The Cleveland Indians have signed Mark Grudzielanek to a minor league deal according to a post by Anthony Castrovince.
The 39 year old Grudzielanek went .299/.345/.399 for the Kansas City Royals in ’08, but the season was shortened due to an ankle injury in August.
After the ’08 season, the Royals in a surprise move offered Grudzielanek arbitration, but he declined. He was signed by the Twins in Julyto a minor league deal, but his stay in the oragization was short-lived.
