Minnesota Twins Digest

Mackey: Bad year gets worse for Nishioka, but Twins offer clean slate

pmackey@1500espn.com — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:20:09 +0000

It's pretty safe to say Minnesota Twins infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka will never experience a 12-month period quite like the one he had in 2011.

The year began with Nishioka commanding more media attention, by far, than any player on the Twins' roster during spring training -- a contingent that included 10-15 Japanese reporters, plus a handful of American media members following him daily and analyzing his every motion, even during simple stretching drills.

But after suffering through a broken leg, a strained oblique, a .226/.278/.249 batting line, and some of the worst...

Mackey: Twins’ brass selling some hope, but will it backfire?

pmackey@1500espn.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:17:25 +0000

Every year at the end of January, TwinsFest signals the end of the offseason for the Minnesota Twins and the beginning of their road to Fort Myers.

This year, judging by the comments of Twins executives and decision-makers, TwinsFest felt more like the end of an offseason exorcism for the team to rid itself of 2011 demons.

"We're going to push past last year," manager Ron Gardenhire said in an interview on 1500 ESPN on Saturday. "I want to get that out of our system, and that'll be a good thing once we get the baseballs popping in the gloves and get to spring training, get...

Pat Neshek signs deal with Baltimore Orioles; wants to limit the walks

pmackey@1500espn.com — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:21:49 +0000

Former Minnesota Twins right-hander Pat Neshek is back in the American League.

The 31-year-old sidewinder signed a one-year minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

"I loved just about everything about San Diego and it was hard not being in their plans," Neshek said via email, adding he's equally optimistic about his new opportunity in Baltimore.

"I really like the O's deal because I will have to pitch well to get called up. If not I can get consistent work in Triple-A. ... I really haven't had much consistent work over the past four...

Zulgad’s Roundup: Twins GM expects big things from starting rotation

jzulgad@1500espn.com — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:06:21 +0000

Terry Ryan has said since the November day he moved into the general manager's office at Target Field that he doesn't feel he is overseeing a rebuilding project with the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins, however, are coming off a 99-loss season and seem to have done little this offseason that points to an immediate turnaround.

But Ryan reiterated during a recent appearance on "Judd & Phunn" on 1500 ESPN that he is confident 2012 can be a success.

"If we're healthy, we're going to be able to turn this thing around rather quickly," Ryan said. "Just...

Joe Mauer says ‘this is the best I’ve felt in a long time’

pmackey@1500espn.com — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:18:40 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS -- At this time last season, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer -- less than two months removed from knee surgery -- had serious doubts about whether he'd be ready for opening day.

Mauer never made those doubts known publicly, possibly even ignoring them himself, and instead pushed as hard as he could during spring training to make it back for the Twins' opening series in Toronto.

It was an arbitrary deadline he says, in retrospect, probably wasn't realistic.

Mauer met the deadline and started opening day behind the plate in Toronto, but everything fell...

AL Central Links: Indians, Fielder, Span, Thome

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:27:09 +0000

Happy birthday to right-hander Gavin Floyd, who is 29 years old today. With the number of Floyd trade rumors we've heard this winter, you wonder if this could be Floyd's last birthday as a member of the White Sox. Here's the latest from the AL Central...

Indians manager Manny Acta told reporters at a Town Hall event today (including MLB.com's Jordan Bastian) that he wants the team to pick up another bat. "I do hope that something happens," Acta said. "Chris [Antonetti] has worked really hard...about trying to acquire a hitter or two. It's not a secret, we need some help offensively." For his part, Antonetti said he was "hopeful that we'll be able to improve the team between now and the start of Spring Training," (all Twitter links).
The Tigers' nine-year, $214MM contract with Prince Fielder "was an ownership-driven, impulsive deal, which is why the Tigers will contend for a World Series and why the contract makes poor baseball sense," writes Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci.
John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press recounts the history between Tigers owner Mike Illitch and agent Scott Boras.
The Tigers apparently have no plans to move Brandon Inge, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck. The team sees Inge as a fallback option if Miguel Cabrera can't handle playing third base.
Denard Span told media (including MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger) he's feeling better after suffering a concussion last July and offered to play a different position if it helps the Twins. Manager Ron Gardenhire, however, said he plans to use Span in his usual center field spot.
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf tells Chuck Garfien of CSNChicago.com that he and Jim Thome have a handshake deal in place for Thome to work for the Sox in some capacity after he retires.
White Sox GM Kenny Williams said his club is "maxed out" of money for the Major League roster, reports Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Williams "played coy" when discussing Cuban free agents, however --- the Sox are known to be one of Yoenis Cespedes' suitors.

Notebook: Pavano to start opening day; bullpen ‘the biggest question’

pmackey@1500espn.com — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:33:54 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS -- During a media luncheon at Target Field on Friday, Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire confirmed Carl Pavano will start opening day against the Baltimore Orioles on April 6.

"He's going to start opening day on the road, and then we should have Scott Baker, and this is if it all goes according to plan, if they all get through spring training," Gardenhire said.

Pavano's ERA dipped from 3.75 in 2010 to 4.30 in 2011, but much of that was likely due to poor infield defense behind him. In both seasons, Pavano has pitched 220+ innings while inducing more than 50%...

Former pitcher Camilo Pascual elected to Twins Hall of Fame

jzulgad@1500espn.com — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:59:06 +0000

The Minnesota Twins' first pitching ace will be honored by the club this summer.

Camilo Pascual, who moved from Washington with the Senators in 1961 to pitch for the Twins, has been elected to the team's Hall of Fame. Team president Dave St. Peter made the announcement on Friday afternoon during the Twins' media luncheon.

The five-time All-Star will become the 24th member of the Twins Hall when he is inducted during a pregame ceremony on July 14 before a game against Oakland at Target Field.

Pascual, now 78, made his...

Twins’ Denard Span feeling good, and Ron Gardenhire wants him in CF

tpelissero@1500espn.com — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:34:22 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS -- Denard Span says he feels the best he has in two years and will be ready to go when the Minnesota Twins open spring training next month.

If he's right, there's no doubt in manager Ron Gardenhire's mind about Span's role.

"He's going to lead off and be my center fielder," Gardenhire said at the Twins' annual media luncheon on Friday afternoon at Target Field.

"That's my expectation. If someone were to tell me he's not able to do that, then we'd have to adlib. But if Denard comes in healthy, he's my center fielder. There's no questions to me about...

Minor Moves: Sweeney, Tuiasosopo, Redding, Cabrera

Ben Nicholson-Smith — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

The latest minor league deals...

The Mariners signed former MLB reliever Brian Sweeney to a minor league contract, MLB.com's Greg Johns reports. Sweeney spent the 2011 season with the Mets' top affiliate and last appeared in the Majors with the 2010 Mariners.
The Twins signed left-hander Luke French, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports (Twitter links). French owns a 4.99 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 155 Major League innings.
The Mets signed infielder Matt Tuiasosopo, who picked up MLB experience with the Mariners from 2008-10, Eddy reports.
The Blue Jays signed right-hander Tim Redding and left-hander Bill Murphy, according to Eddy. Redding has substantial MLB experience as a starter for the Astros, Nationals and Mets.
Eddy reports that four catchers signed minor league deals: Mitch Canham joined the Rockies, Orlando Mercado agreed to terms with the Marlins, Kyle Phillips caught on with the Blue Jays and Max St. Pierre signed with the Red Sox. Phillips appeared in 36 games for the 2011 Padres and St. Pierre made his debut with the 2010 Tigers after 14 minor league seasons.
Former MLB starter Daniel Cabrera signed a minor league deal with the Pirates, Mario Rojas of CandelaDeportiva reports. Cabrera, 30, was a fixture in Baltimore's rotation from 2004-08, but hasn't pitched in MLB since 2009.
The Cubs re-signed infielder Bobby Scales, who started the 2011 season in Chicago before going to Japan, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets.
The Phillies re-signed former Tigers outfielder Brent Clevlen, Goldstein tweets.
The Orioles signed 18-year-old outfielder Andres Aguilar, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. The speedy Guatemala native has a strong throwing arm.