Minnesota Twins: Non-Tenders Provide New Free Agent Targets

Minnesota Twins general manager Bill Smith just got a reprieve.

After sitting idly by and watching a number of the club’s offseason targets sign elsewhere in the past two weeks, Smith now has a second chance at making some major moves this offseason.

Smith’s reprieve comes as the free agent pool just received an infusion of new talent.

This infusion came as a result of the non-tender deadline, which passed at 11:59 p.m. ET Saturday.

Teams had the option to not tender a contract to any player with less than six years of service time, rather than enduring the arbitration process.

In doing so, those players are then released by the club and become free agents.

In total, 39 players were non-tendered last night, including some very big names.

Of those non-tendered, many could be good fits for the Twins’ roster next season.

Making them all the more attractive is that most of these players should be willing to sign one-year, make-good contracts to re-establish their market value and/or build for a solid raise via arbitration next winter.

Obviously signing a non-tendered player wouldn’t inspire the inhabitants of Twins Territory in the same way signing Adrian Beltre, Felipe Lopez, or even Joe Crede would.

These players, despite the lack of fanfare, could still provide a major boost to the Twins’ championship hopes next season and at a fraction of the cost that their heavily-acclaimed counterparts will no doubt require.

With that in mind, here’s a look at five newly-minted free agents that should be of significant interest to general manager Bill Smith in the coming weeks.

Jonny Gomes—OF/DH—Cincinnati Reds

One of the more surprising non-tender decisions came from Cincinnati. The Reds’ decision to let Jonny Gomes—and his huge power potential—walk was unexpected given his impressive debut season in Cincinnati.

Gomes, 29, hit .267/.338/.541 with 20 home runs and 51 RBI in just 281 at-bats.

That type of power is nothing new for Gomes who has shown that, if given consistent at-bats, he can be an absolute force at the plate.

Gomes does, however, suffer from two serious inhibitors that have kept him from garnering consistent at-bats.

First and foremost, he is an absolutely dreadful defender in either corner of the outfield and his strong throwing arm doesn’t do enough to make up for his complete lack of range.

Secondly, he can’t hit righties to save his life. He has a .224/.311/.448 career line against righties and that level or production puts him right on par with the Brendan Harrises and Nick Puntos of the world.

Despite those two large detractors, Gomes would still make sense for the Twins as right-handed power option off the bench.

He ran rake against lefties and could be slotted in at designated hitter against particularly tough lefties, against whom Jason Kubel’s struggles are legendary.

Additionally, after making less than $1 million last season and appearing in less than 100 games, Gomes figures to be available at a very reasonable cost next season.

Ryan Church—OF—Atlanta Braves

Ryan Church had already been designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster after Rafael Soriano accepted arbitration. As such, it wasn’t a shock when the club non-tendered him before Saturday’s deadline.

Church, 31, was traded from the New York Mets to the Atlanta Braves last season in a “change of scenery” move. For his part, Church had a solid season that fell very close his career averages.

He hit .273/.338/.384 on the year, but his power numbers took a huge hit as he only mustered four home runs and 40 RBI.

Church is a career .272/.345/.441 hitter who—despite being in the big leagues with regularity since 2004—has rarely received ample playing time.

He has only received 400+ at-bats once in his career and that was during his 2007 campaign with the Washington Nationals.

Church made the most of the opportunity by posting a .272/.349/.464 batting line with 15 home runs, 70 RBI, and 43 doubles. He did so while appearing in a career-high 144 games and receiving 470 at-bats.

In addition to a solid offensive prowess, Church is a Gold Glove caliber right fielder and can also play an above average left field if the need arises.

Church makes plenty of sense for the Twins as a fourth outfielder and potential successor to the left field job if Minnesota learns that Delmon Young cannot replicate his success from late last season.

Additionally, Church earned just shy of $3 million last season, thus making him a perfect fit for Smith’s 2010 budget.

Chien-Ming Wang—SP—New York Yankees

New York’s decision to non-tender Chien-Ming Wang wasn’t a real big surprise to anyone, Wang included. He was due to earn at least $5 million via arbitration and isn’t expected to be available to pitch at the big league level until mid-season at the earliest.

Wang, 29, started 2009 in a tailspin and never recovered.

He gave up 23 hits and 23 earned runs in just six innings pitched over his first three outings of the season. The Yankees placed him on the disabled list believing that his ineffectiveness was lingering effects of a foot injury from the previous season.

Wang returned in a bullpen role and then eventually the rotation, but continued to struggle. His season ended for good on July 4 when doctors discovered a capsule tear in his shoulder, he underwent surgery at the end of July.

Wang finished the 2009 campaign with a brutal 1-6 record and an abysmal 9.64 ERA in just twelve appearances, nine of them starts.

Prior to his foot injury in June 2008, Wang had a career record of 54-20 with a 3.79 ERA. He’d finished second in the 2006 Cy Young voting and had won 19 games twice.

The ability to be a top-flight pitcher is still there, but will require a serious leap of faith on the part of some team to try and recapture that ability. It is largely believed that Wang hurt his shoulder by changing his arm motion to reduce stress on his foot.

It may take a Dave Duncan style of reprogramming to fix Wang or it could just require an opportunity and time.

Wang makes sense for the Twins as they have a top-flight pitching coach of their own in Rich Anderson and, given the club’s depth at the position, can afford to give Wang time to get back into form.

Wang would provide the club with a front line starter who was among baseball’s best pitchers prior to his foot injury. He should also be willing to sign a minor league deal loaded with incentives to push the value up to or beyond the $5 million he made last season.

Kelly Johnson—2B/OF—Atlanta Braves

The Braves’ decision to non-tender Johnson didn’t come as a large surprise after a wrist injury hampered his performance in 2009 and eventually cost him his starting job.

Johnson, 27, came up in Atlanta’s system as a shortstop and was eventually shifted to third base and then to the outfield. He finally proved to be a capable defender in the outfield, but was asked to convert to second base prior to the 2007 season to help the big league club.

His defense at the keystone corner can politely be described as “less than stellar,” but he has proven plenty capable at the plate.

In 2007 and 2008 Johnson hit a combined .282/.362/.451 and averaged 14 home runs, 68 RBI, 32 doubles, and ten stolen bases.

Johnson started 2009 in a slump that he never seemed able to shake. He finished the year hitting a paltry .224/.303/.389 with eight home runs and 29 RBI in 303 at-bats.

He landed on the disabled list in July with a wrist injury, but is expected to be fully healed and ready to go by Spring Training.

Johnson would be an intriguing sign for the Twins. He could take over the second base job or he could serve as the club’s fourth outfielder, a position which is currently held by Jason Pridie.

Johnson made just shy of $3 million last season and is still under club control for two more seasons, so he could have plenty of value going forward.

Garrett Atkins—1B/3B—Colorado Rockies

Not many were surprised to learn that the Rockies had non-tendered Atkins prior to Saturday’s deadline. The writing was on the wall for months that he was on borrowed time in Colorado.

Atkins, 30, has seen his value plummet in recent years, while his salary has gone the other direction.

He earned $7 million last season while putting up a paltry .226/.308/.342 batting line with nine home runs and 48 RBI. By midseason, he’d become a backup infielder after losing his job to rising star Ian Stewart.

His numbers have been in steady decline since his breakout campaign in 2006, when he posted an astounding.329/.409/.556 line with 29 home runs, 120 RBI, 117 runs scored, and 48 doubles.

His below-average defense at third could be put up with when he was posting mammoth power numbers, but a no-hit, no-field third baseman simply won’t do. At this point he projects as a first baseman rather than a third sacker.

The Twins could still feasibly attempt to use Atkins as a short-term solution at third base, if the club believes top prospect Danny Valencia will be ready for the role by mid-season.

Atkins could also provide some right-handed power from the bench while serving time at third, first, and perhaps designated hitter against tough lefties.

The Twins may not be willing to offer him the playing time he covets, but Smith has shown interest in Atkins before and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him acquire the fallen slugger on the cheap.