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 |
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