Torii's Future

Over at SBG today, I saw this link to a Jonah Keri article on espn.com. I encourage you to head over there and check it out, because Keri is a member of the national media who understands why the Twins have been great this decade - and he's the only person I've seen associated with ESPN who isn't enamored with Torii Hunter.

A link in Keri's article sent me here, where Jason Williams points out that the contracts of Hunter, Luis Castillo, Carlos Silva, and Ramon Ortiz coming off the books next year will free up $25.2 million for the Twins. I've been optimistic so far on the Twins ability to keep Johan Santana around, and having that much more cash to play with in the offseason gives me even more hope. As Keri writes, the Twins have much bigger fish to fry, in Santana and Justin Morneau, than to pay Hunter (and in my opinion, regrettably, Joe Nathan as well) into his (their) declining years and risk losing an MVP or Cy Young.

Random Thoughts

• Ramon Ortiz is the only player not to have reported to Twins training camp on time, but this is fairly common for players traveling from Latin America. Personally, I think it would be best for the team if he didn't show up at all. I still think J.D. Durbin will be a good #3 starter for a major league team - but it is unlikely the Twins will have room for him, as the starting rotation is likely to be Santana-Bonser-Silva-Ortiz-Garza (I figure the Twins have conceded the first four spots already, and only the fifth is up for grabs). Durbin could still make the team out of the bullpen, and I'd like to see it if only to keep him in the organization. Many forget (or didn't know) that he likely would have been called up instead of Garza last August had he not gone down with nerve damage in his elbow.


• The Twins appear to have re-entered negotiations with Justin Morneau. I'd love to see them come to an agreement soon, but I can't see Morneau's value being much higher a year from now than it currently is. In short, I'd love to see them lock him up long-term, but I won't lose any sleep over it if a deal doesn't happen this summer.


• Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves continue to be consistently mediocre. A loss at Washington tonight dropped them to 25-28, though they still hold the 8th seed in the Western Conference. It is nice to see Randy Foye starting, but still frustrating to see the other rookie, Craig Smith, continue to get declining minutes in favor of Mark Madsen and Marko Jaric. I'd love to see the team cut some of the dead weight by Thursday's trade deadline, but it seems incredibly unlikely to me that any team would be willing to take it on.


• The Wild, on the other hand, continue to impress me. I caught most of the game versus Dallas tonight, and once I started watching I couldn't look away. The Wild play an exciting brand of hockey. I'm definitely not a hockey expert, but it is the most exciting game out there when the games are close. The Wild lead the league with 20 overtime games (in which they are 15-5), so they are a lot of fun to watch. The team has been on a roll since star winger Marian Gaborik's return in January, and goalie Niklas Backstrom has been filling in admirably for the injured Manny Fernandez. In fact, I think Backstrom has played better than Fernandez. Tonight, Mikko Koivu provided the game-winner in the third frame of a shootout as Backstrom stopped all three Dallas attempts - moving the Wild into 7th in the Western Conference and just one point behind Vancouver for the division lead. As long as Gaborik stays healthy, this team can hang with anyone, and can potentially make a run deep into the playoffs.

Twins Ink Cuddyer

The Twins signed right fielder Michael Cuddyer to a one-year, $3.575 million deal today, locking up the last of their arbitration-eligible players. The deal carries a $50,000 bonus if Cuddyer reaches 650 plate appearances. Cuddyer, like Justin Morneau, is not eligible for free agency until 2009, so the Twins have plenty of time to sign him to a long-term deal.

While the Twins stated their priorities this offseason as signing the heart of their order - Mauer, Cuddyer, and Morneau - to long-term deals, I think that a one-year deal for Cuddyer is the best option at this point. Cuddyer certainly had a great season last year, but I'm not entirely convinced he won't regress a little this year. I'd like to see more than one solid season from Cuddyer before making a long-term commitment to him. With Johan Santana's free agency rapidly approaching, the Twins have to be careful with their payroll. I'd hate to see them make a commitment to a guy like Cuddyer and then see him regress to his 2005 form. I do think Cuddyer will continue to do well, but I have no problem at all with the wait-and-see approach the Twins are taking.

Twins, Mauer Reach 4-year Deal

According to espn.com and the Twins official website, Joe Mauer has signed a 4-year deal, which will keep him in Minnesota through 2010. The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

I'll have more to say once we hear how much the deal is worth, but I'll be very happy if it's in the ballpark of the previously rumored $33 million.

UPDATE: The deal is worth $33 million over 4 years. According to espn.com, the deal pays Mauer $3.75 million in 2007, $6.25 million in 2008, $10.5 million in 2009, and $12.5 million in 2010. Mauer can also earn award and performance bonuses.

Now that Mauer is signed, I expect Morneau to sign a very similar deal in the near future. I'd like to see his contract last a year longer than Mauer's, for reasons explained here.

My only concern is the money this locks up for 2009 and 2010, the first years of a potential Santana contract. Pohlad has been more willing to open his wallet lately, and I think they'll still make a run at Santana - but if Morneau's contract is structured similarly to Mauer's, it can't help their chances.

We Could Have Done Better

The Mets are reportedly close to a deal with right handed starter Chan Ho Park. The deal is worth $600,000 and could earn Park up to $3 million with incentives.

Given the Twins recent fascination with signing washed-up, once-brilliant starters, I'm amazed we didn't hear any rumors of Park heading to the Twin Cities.

Now, I'm not going to argue that the Twins should have signed Park, because I wouldn't want to see him in the way of guys like Matt Garza, Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey, J.D. Durbin, and Scott Baker. However, I will argue that Park would have been a much more positive signing than Ramon Ortiz. Park posted a 4.81 ERA with a 1.39 WHIP last season for San Diego, while Ortiz had a 5.57 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in Washington. On top of that, we have the obvious: Ortiz is guaranteed $3.1 million, no matter how poorly (or how well, if you're really a glass-half-full kind of person) he pitches for the Twins. Park will only make $3 million if he reaches all his performance incentives. And finally, it seems that Park would be the more likely of the two to regain his past form. Park has posted an adjusted ERA, or ERA+ of 115 or higher in three seasons, and injury contributed to his down years in Texas. Ortiz's best ERA+ was 115 in 2002.

Of course, both pitchers are far from brilliant, and I'd rather give some starts to one of the Twins' young guys than either of the two. But given the choice, I'd much rather have Park at $600,000 plus incentives than Ortiz at $3.1 million guaranteed.

Stewart to Oakland

According to Buster Olney of espn.com, the Oakland Athletics and former Twin Shannon Stewart have reached an agreement on a one-year, incentive-laden deal worth up to $2.5 million.

For an Oakland fan's take on the deal, check out Melissa Lockard's thoughts over at Most Valuable Network.

I had heard Stewart's name in connection with Baltimore and Florida this offseason, with his hometown Marlins seeming like a good fit.

At first glance, the A's don't seem to have much room for Stewart in their outfield (with Nick Swisher, Mark Kotsay, Milton Bradley, and Bobby Kielty) or at designated hitter (Mike Piazza). Of course, if Dan Johnson struggles or gets hurt again, Swisher would likely move to first base, making Stewart the primary backup in the outfield.

I'd guess that around half of the $2.5 million is guaranteed money, the other half based mostly on plate appearance incentives. While I wasn't too high on Stewart in his last two seasons with the Twins, it seems like a reasonable, low-risk deal for Oakland. As long as Stewart stays off the DL (which might be asking a lot), he'll provide a decent bat as insurance if any starters go down.

Morneau (and others) Reach Deals With Twins

A lot has happened since I last posted.

We had some real baseball news, which I've been craving for the last few weeks. The Twins reached a 1-year, $4.5 million deal with the AL MVP, Justin Morneau. Nick Punto was signed for 2-years, $4.2 million; Juan Rincon for 1 year, $2 million; and Lew Ford for 1 year, $985,000. Also, the word is that the Twins and Joe Mauer are nearing an agreement in the ballpark of 4-years, $33 million, which I think is a steal. That deal would lock up Mauer past his first year of free agency.

I can't argue with any of those. I'm guessing Morneau will be signed to a long-term deal sometime before the season is over, a contract structured very similar to Mauer's. Ideally, I'd give Morneau one year more than Mauer, for two reasons: A) I wouldn't want to have to worry about re-signing both of those guys to massive contracts in the same off-season. B) Morneau seems to want to stay with Mauer. If Mauer re-signs in 2011, Morneau may be more likely to re-sign in 2012.

I like the Punto deal as well. I would have liked to have given him a little less money, but two years is the perfect length for a player like Punto. If he proves that 2006 wasn't a fluke, the Twins have plenty of time to sign him to another extension. If he reverts to his prior form or gets hurt, they only have a two-year commitment.

The Rincon and Ford deals are likely the last they'll receive from the Twins. I'll be very surprised if either of them is in a Twins uniform in 2008.


In other news...

• Brett Favre announced his decision to return for next season. I remember being told that we'd only have to wait two weeks for that news. A month later, he reveals his intentions - and gets the media attention he craves. As far as the effect this will have on the playing field, I'm not sure what to think anymore. I can't stand the guy, but he doesn't strike fear in anyone anymore. Favre will not go out on top - a playoff berth is possible (though unlikely) and I wouldn't expect anything more than that.
• The Indianapolis Colts are the champions of Super Bowl XLI. My pick (which I forgot to post here) was Colts 23, Bears 13. The Colts won, 29-17, so I wasn't too far off. Peyton Manning was named the game's MVP. While Manning was solid, I would've gone with Dominic Rhodes.

4/14/06 - Twins 5, Yankees 1

The countdown rolls on. 17 days until pitchers and catchers report, 27 until the spring opener.

Since there isn't much new to report on, I'll take a (quick) look back at the first game I attended last season, the April 14 showdown with the Yankees. I sat in the cheap seats ($10, premium game and Pro Shop convenience fee) with Pete, a friend of mine who goes to UW-Madison. Scott Baker took the mound for the Twins, who were facing Mike Mussina. New York entered the game at 5-4, the Twins at 4-5 (coming off a sweep of Oakland).

The boxscore and play-by-play are available here. A recap is available here.

Items of note:

• Juan Castro's batting average of .346 - it was only ten games in, but surprising nonetheless.
• Scott Baker pitched a great game, giving up three hits over seven innings. At this point, it looked like he'd have a great year in the bigs.
• Another note on Baker - some may remember his "wardrobe malfunction" in this game. Up in the cheap seats, I worried he was hurt when he came off the mound. A guy with a radio gave us the news rather quickly - Baker's protective cup fell down his pant leg - and had a few good laughs.
• Lew Ford made an impressive assist from right field. I think we've got a much more reliable guy out there now, though.
• I saw what I believe is the only Tony Batista double I have ever seen in person. It plated Justin Morneau (who went 2-4 to raise his batting average to .237), and finished the scoring for the Twins.
• Mike Mussina lost his third consecutive decision against the Twins, after starting his career 20-3 against them.