Should Twins fans start to panic?
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.
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