The new closers
March 30, 2010
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire stated that the club will start the season with closer-by-committee approach in the bullpen. He named Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain and Jose Morales as potential members of the group. The closer de jour will be selected after looking at availability, matchup and who is hot at particular moment.
The bullpen has a huge hole after the loss of All-Star closer Joe Nathan and Gardenhire hopes that one of the committee members steps up and becomes the everyday closer, but that may take some time to sort out. Gardenhire made it clear, though, that Francisco Liriano is not being considered for the role as he is the leading candidate for the fifth starting role.
“It’s going to be an experience trying to mix and match as best we can. But I’ve got some capable arms that we’re going to rely on,” said Gardenhire about the decision.
Nathan undergoes Tommy John surgery
March 28, 2010
Joe Nathan has had successful Tommy John surgery this past Friday to repair his torn ulnar collateral ligament. The procedure removed a tendon from his left wrist and placed into his right elbow. The surgery has put All-Star closer on the shelf for the 2010 season.
Twins general manager, Bill Smith, is optimistic about Nathan’s surgery. He also added that Nathan will begin rehab shortly, first in Fort Myers, FL, then in Minnesota once the baseball season begins as the club now has the proper facilities at Target Field.
“The report I got was everything went great,” Smith said. “There was nothing else in there of any concern. The doctor was very pleased.”
We wish Joe Nathan the best of luck and hope that he has a speedy recovery.
Twins sign Mahay to minor league deal
March 24, 2010
The Twins have signed lefty reliever, Ron Mahay, to a minor league deal this morning. Mahay was picked up by the Twins late last August after being released by the Kansas City Royals. Mahay made 16 appearances with the Twins and posted a 2.00 ERA in nine innings of work.
The Twins opted not to sign Mahay in the offseason and let him become a free agent. A few teams, such as the Phillies and Mets, showed interest in Mahay, but no deals were made for the reliever. As part of his minor league deal with the Twins, Mahay will be invited to Spring Training.
With some of the relievers, such as Clay Condrey and Glen Perkins, struggling in Spring Training, one has to think that Mahay has a shot at getting one of the bullpen spots once the season starts.
Twins camp down to 38
March 22, 2010
The Minnesota Twins have narrowed their camp down a little further. On Sunday the Twins optioned Jeff Manship, Brian Dinkelman, Chris Parmalee and Toby Gardenhire to the minors.
The Twins now have 38 players in camp with 17 of those players being pitchers.
A day of high and lows
March 21, 2010
Sunday morning didn’t start off too well as I awoke to read the news that Joe Nathan would be out for the season. The news wasn’t really surprising as it seemed to heading in that direction, it’s just that you do not want to hear something like that happen to the All-Star closer for the team you root for.
When Nathan’s injury was announced, and especially after the news broke that he would be out for 2010, it seemed that Twins fans suddenly became pessimistic about the season. Can one pitcher, a closer at that, mean so much to a team? Well, looking at the numbers, Nathan picked up 47 saves last season which accounted for more than half of the Twins victories and had a high 11.9 SO/9 average.
For the most part, Nathan is irreplaceable in such a short notice, but to say an entire season will be lost without him is a bit much. The Twins always seem to find the right people to put into situations like this, whether it is someone stepping up like Jon Rauch, someone sent over in a trade like Heath Bell, or from their farm system like Anthony Slama, the Twins should be able to at least find a serviceable fix in Nathan’s absence.
The loss of Joe Nathan is great but the Twins made huge strides in other areas to make up for it. The Twins upgraded their middle infield in the offseason with Orlando Hudson and JJ Hardy and added some potential power on the bench in Jim Thome. Plus, being in the AL Central, only two other teams stand out as potential threats – Chicago and Detroit.
My main concern with Nathan, though, is if he can come back after surgery. Nathan made a point to say that he doesn’t feel his age (35) and has used his arm a lot less than a regular pitcher, but it still worries me after seeing people like Francisco Liriano struggle after having Tommy John surgery. As a fan, all we can do is sit back and hope for the best when it comes to things like that.
Thankfully, the blow that came from losing Joe Nathan for the entire season was softened by another Joe, that being Joe Mauer, who signed an 8-year $184MM deal with the Twins.
Signing Joe Mauer to a long term deal was the top priority in the minds of almost every Twins fan this offseason. Fans sat back as the team signed and traded for several new players, and signed some current players to contract extensions, but the news on a deal for Mauer was light.
After seeing what the deal was for and the years that come with it, the only question I can ask is – what took so long?
I figured if the Twins signed Mauer to a deal it would be for $200 or more, and was surprised to see the deal below that figure. In all seriousness, though, I’m sure that a deal of this magnitude will take time to hammer out, but I am glad that the deal is done. In five years or so my outlook may change due to injuries or the like, but right now I am sharing in the feelings that are shared throughout most of Twins Nation, and that is of pure elation.
The Twins have signed a future Hall of Famer to a long term deal, and with a full no trade clause in his contract, Joe Mauer will most likely be a Minnesota Twin for his entire career. Not getting this deal done and seeing Mauer head to a larger market, especially ones in the east coast, could have been devastating to the club.
Sure, there will be naysayers who will overanalyze the fact that Mauer will make 25% of the payroll, but on the flipside, where would the payroll be without him? Would the Twins suddenly find themselves in fire sale mode like the Cleveland Indians or in perpetual rebuilding mode like the Kansas City Royals? Would the Twins sell out most of their tickets to Target Field to help keep the payroll at or near these record levels?
It may be a little premature to say so, but barring any major injury, Mauer could surpass the likes of Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Kent Hrbek, and yes, even Kirby Puckett as the greatest player to ever play for the club. The Twins aren’t throwing money at some washed up player or at a young unproven star that had one great season. This is Joe Mauer we are talking about, the best catcher in baseball today and a player that has put up consistent league leading numbers year after year.
A lot has happened today as we are nearing the start of the regular season, but I feel the good has outweighed the bad. It is a great time to be a Twins fan.
Mauer agrees to 8 year extension with the Twins
March 21, 2010
It took a lot longer then most expected, but the Twins have finally come to terms with Joe Mauer and his agent and Mauer will be extending his contract with the Twins for the next eight years.
The All-Star catcher agreed today to an eight-year, $184 million contract, that should keep him a Twin until 2018. The deal reportedly includes a full no-trade clause for Mauer.
The often stingy Twins organization has just agreed to the fourth largest deal in Major League history. The deal falls just short of the two Alex Rodriguez agreements and the Derek Jeter contract.
Mauer will be playing the 2010 season for $12.5MM which is the final season of his original $33MM four-year deal from the Twins.
Without the extension, Mauer would have become a free agent after the 2010 season.
At age 26, Mauer was named the 2009 American League MVP after winning the league batting title with 28 home runs and 96 RBI’s. He did all this in a year that saw him miss the entire first month of baseball because of an off season surgery.
J. Mauer
Mauer is a three-time All-Star, three-time league batting champion,two-time Gold Glove winner and the American League MVP.
Mauer was the number one overall pick for the Twins in the 2001 player draft. He is a native of St. Paul, MN. Since joining the Major Leagues, Mauer has kept a .327 career batting average, ranking him third behind Ichiro Suzuki (.335) and Albert Pujols (.334).
Both Mauer and the Twins have agreed not to comment further on the deal until the press conference on Monday evening.
A press conference, which can be seen live on MLB.TV, will be held to announce the deal on Monday night at 6 p.m. CT at the Twins Conference Center at the Lee County Sports Complex.
Source: http://twinsbaseball.com
Nathan out for season
March 21, 2010
After a throwing a short 10-minute session on Sunday morning, Joe Nathan has opted to have Tommy John surgery within the next two weeks. The surgery will put the Twins closer on the shelf for the 2010 season.
Nathan stated that he elbow tightened up on him after playing catch with pitching coach Rick Anderson. Nathan felt that his elbow was fine but it became harder to play catch as time wore on. He said it was an easy decision to make once he knew he wouldn’t be able to pitch without having surgery.
Recovery time after Tommy John surgery is usually 12 months. Nathan, though, is confident that he will be ready for the start of the 2011 season. The biggest disappointment for Nathan, however, is missing out on this year.
“Any time you are going to be out for a season — especially the timing of this with this ballclub, the new stadium, the excitement — it’s definitely tough, but right now I have to take care of myself and get myself ready for next year.” Nathan said.
It seems that the inevitable has happened and the Twins will have to find a suitable replacement for one of the best closers in the game. The Twins have 15 days until opening day to fill the role from within or look to the outside for possible trade candidates.
Twins send four to Rochester
March 20, 2010
The Minnesota Twins have sent four players down to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday.
Twins optioned infielders Danny Valencia, Trevor Plouffe and Luke Hughes and right handed pitcher Anthony Swarzak.
Both Valencia and Hughes had a great spring with the Twins. Valencia was .273/.292/.636 in 22 at bats. Valencia recorded 4 RBI, 2 HR and 6 SO. Hughes offensive numbers were even better, with .333/.333/.619 with 21 at bats. Hughes was credited with 2 RBI, 1 HR and 7 SO.
Plouffe didn’t get as many at bats with only 12, but was successful going .333/.385/.667.
Swarzak struggled in the preseason with a 11.57 ERA, giving up 6 runs on 6 hits in 4.2 innings pitched. Swarzak gave also gave up 2 BB and recorded 7 SO.
Valencia came into the season with big expectations which may have rubbed some of the veteran players the wrong way. Reports from those in the organization were a subtle message was sent to the young prospect with his locker being filled with diapers, pacifiers and other baby paraphernalia. Valencia left spring training on a good note though, a he belted a home run against Johan Santana and was 2-for-4 against the Mets on Friday.
Former Twin Bonser likely moving
March 20, 2010
Former Twins pitcher Boof Bonser has at least two teams interested in him according to sources of Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. It seems both the Cubs and the Diamondbacks are interested in the current Red Sox pitcher. The right hander is out of options, so in order for the Red Sox to keep the pitcher, they would need to put him through waivers to make it down to the minors.
Boof Bonser
Bonser was part of the A.J. Pierzynski trade in 2003 and was a favorite of many fans. Bonser has a 5.12 ERA in 391 major league innings striking out 7.3 on average per game and walking 2.9 on average per game.
Twins scouting Heath Bell
March 19, 2010
Bob Nightengale of USA Today posted on Twitter that the Twins are extensively scouting Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres for a possible trade. Bell, who led the National League last year with 42 saves, would suit the need of a strong closer if Joe Nathan needs to have Tommy John surgery.
Nathan would like to test out his arm first before making a decision that could affect the season and will likely throw a session in the coming days. If Nathan opts to have surgery to repair a torn ligament, a trade for Bell could be a viable option as Bell is due to make $4MM this season.
In the past, the Padres trade demands for Bell have been steep, so the Twins would more than likely have to give up some top prospects to get Bell for potentially one season of work. Bell’s performance last season with the Padres, though, may seem too tough to pass up with 79 strike outs and a 2.71 ERA in 69 innings of relief. Those numbers are comparable to Nathan’s season with 89 strike outs and a 2.10 ERA in 68.2 innings of relief.
Of course, all of this resides on the severity of Nathan’s elbow injury, but I would say the chances of Nathan pitching in 2010 are very slim.
