Bleacher Report - Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins: Jason Kubel's Long Road Back Leads To the Top

Jeremiah Graves — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:32:00 -0500

Jason Kubel is finally where he belongs, at the top.

After a career-best season in 2009, Kubel, 27, proved to be one of baseball’s premier designated hitters, while working at a considerably lower rate than many of his contemporaries.

At this point, however, Kubel isn’t worried about getting a big payday.

That will come in time. He’s still young and has plenty of time to earn David Ortiz or Travis Hafner money.

For now, he seems content to be healthy and guaranteed a spot on the roster.

That may seem odd, but it hasn’t always been this way for Kubel.

In 2004 he was named the Twins Minor League Player of the Year after posting an impressive .352/.414/.590 line with 22 home runs, 100 RBIs, 42 doubles, and 16 stolen bases.

He destroyed minor league pitching all-year long, working his way up from Double-A to Triple-A, and eventually earning a September call-up.

In the majors he put up an impressive .300/.358/.433 line in 23 games and continued to establish himself as one of baseball’s most promising young hitters.

Kubel was so highly-regarded within the organization that he was placed on Minnesota’s postseason roster for the club’s first-round clash with the New York Yankees.

Kubel saw limited action in the postseason, but showed the poise and demeanor of a player who belonged in the big leagues.

After the Twins were eliminated, Kubel went to play in the Arizona Fall League to prepare for Spring Training where it was believed he would compete for the right field job.

It was during an AFL game that an outfield collision with AFL teammate Ryan Raburn changed Kubel’s career trajectory forever.

The collision caused severe ligament damage , including a torn ACL and meniscus. It was described in some reports that Kubel’s knee had “exploded” in the collision.

Then-general manager Terry Ryan didn’t try to cut any corners when describing the injury to the media.

“It's a bad deal,” Ryan said. “It's going to be a long ordeal.”

Those pointed comments led many to question whether or not Kubel would ever make it back from the injury, let alone play at anywhere near the level he had before.

Kubel underwent major reconstructive surgery on his knee and missed all of the 2005 season while recovering from the career-threatening injury.

He showed some improvement by Spring Training and was named the club’s Opening Day right fielder in 2006, but struggles relegated him Triple-A by mid-April.

Back in the minors he put up good—but not great—numbers and appeared to regain his once-vaunted stroke at the plate.

Kubel returned re-joined the Twins in May and put up solid numbers, hitting .291/.324/.485 in the first-half. It appeared as though he’d taken the express lane on the road to recovery.

Unfortunately, his surgically-repaired knee proved it couldn’t handle the strain in the second-half as his numbers slipped badly, to .163/.209/.233

In the end he was limited to just 235 at-bats, as a result of lingering knee pain.

He finished the season with a disappointing .241/.279/.386 line and just eight home runs and 26 RBIs.

Kubel knew as well as anyone that 2007 would be an important year.

After fading down the stretch the year before, he showed up with the intention of proving himself healthy and capable of playing every day.

Early in the 2007 season, his performance, or lack thereof, left many wondering if the knee injury had completely destroyed his career.

After his weak finish in 2006, Kubel hit just .237/.287/.301 through his first 100 at-bats in 2007, however, he seemed to finally get things on track in mid-May and hit an astounding .283/.349/.492 over his final 100 games.

By season’s end, Kubel had appeared in 128 games and garnered 418 at-bats, bouncing between designated hitter and left field.

Despite the shaky start to the year, he put up a solid .273/.335/.450 line with 13 home runs, 65 RBI, 31 doubles, and even managed to swipe five bases.

It appeared that he was well on his way back to the top.

In 2008, Kubel became the club’s permanent DH after Minnesota acquired left fielder Delmon Young from Tampa Bay in the offseason.

It was in that role that Kubel began to thrive. With less pressure on his knee from not playing the field he appeared in 141 games and received 463 at-bats.

Kubel made the most of those at-bats by posted a career-best .272/.335/.471 line with 20 home runs and 78 RBIs.

His big 2008, prompted the club to sign him to a two-year, $7.2 million deal that bought out his remaining arbitration years and contains a $5.25 million option for the 2011 campaign.

Kubel showed his gratitude for the investment by busting out in a big way in last season.

He set career-highs across the board by appearing in 146 games, tallying 578 at-bats and posting an imposing .300/.369/.539 line with 28 home runs, 35 doubles, and 103 runs batted in.

He was ranked among the top designated hitters in all of baseball last year. In fact, he was statistically neck-and-neck with Toronto’s Adam Lind for the best in all of baseball.

Kubel finished third in total runs behind Lind and Boston’s David Ortiz. He finished just behind Lind in nearly every other category including home runs, RBIs, doubles, total bases, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

Five years ago, it looked like Jason Kubel’s career was over before it had ever really begun.

Today, he’s finally reached the end of the long road back and can look forward.

And rumor has it the view is pretty good from the top.

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Minnesota Twins News Links

Josh Johnson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0500

• Here's a great article about Brendan Harris visiting a middle school. It's hard not to respect a guy like Harris after reading that. He definitely went up a few notches in my book.

• Mark DeRosa and Jarrod Washburn are reportedly being linked to the Twins.

• The Twins unveiled new uniforms, patches, hats, and logos on Monday. I personally like the changes and can't wait to buy a new away jersey. Here are some more thoughts:

• Ron Gardenhire came in second to Angels manager Mike Scocia in voting for A.L. Manager of the Year . Brian Pietrzak believes Gardenhirew was snubbed . I personally thought Rangers manager Ron Washington was snubbed or at the very least deserved more votes than he got. But I'm not surprised, being that the Rangers failed to make the playoffs.

• For some great pictures of Target Field, check out both the walking tour from NPR and Phil Mackey's pictures.

• The Twins have until Friday to put players on their 40-man rosters which would protect them from potentially being taken in next month's Rule V Draft. The Twins have eight minor league free agents. Here's a look at who the Twins may or may not protect. Also, here's Seth Stohs ' thoughts on the manner.

• On Stohs' latest podcast , Danny Valencia and Steve Singleton were guests and it was a great listen. Both are intelligent players with plenty of potential. It's definitely worth a listen if you're interested in Twins prospects.

• Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times and author of Evaulation Baseball's Managers: A History and Analysis of Performance in the Major Leagues, 1876-2008 posted an excerpt of his book regarding former Twins manager Billy Martin. It's a great read and a book that every Twins fan should check out.

• As mentioned this past weekend , Justin Huber has indeed signed a contract to play in Japan next season. But Twins fans found out later that he won't be the only Rochester Red Wing heading across the Pacific. Juan Morillo has also signed a contract with a Japanese team and will be pitching overseas next season. Tough break for the Twins and Rochester Red Wings.

And finally, here's what's going on around the Twins Blogosphere...

Aaron Gleeman answers some questions from his Twitter Mailbag .
John Bonnes writes about how finding pitching is a crapshoot .
Nick Nelson offers his views on Joe Crede.
Parker Hageman writes about why we should care about pitching, independent of fielding .
Andrew Kneeland writes about future Twins outfielder Rene Tosoni.
Josh Taylor writes about some of the recent transactions .
Neckrolls is currently writing his offseason blueprint. Here's part 1 and part 2 .

Read more Minnesota Twins news on BleacherReport.com

No Love for Ron Gardenhire

Doug Gausepohl — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:19:30 -0500

Voting for the AL and NL Managers of the Year might be one of the toughest categories in baseball to fill out a ballot for. Not neccesarily because of overwhelming competition, but because no one's exactly sure how to vote.

Do you vote for the manager who led a juggernaut team, such as Joe Girardi of the New York Yankees? Or do you vote for the manager who led a less talented roster to over-achievement, such as Don Wakamatsu of the Seattle Mariners?

When casting my own ballot (that doesn't count anyway), I look at the teams that in my opinion overachieved, and ask myself, "If they had a different manager, would the outcome have been any different?"

Which is how I came up with Ron Gardenhire of the Minnesota Twins as my AL Manager of the Year.

We're talking about leading a team that was six games off the pace of the Tigers with three weeks to play. A team that lost their cleanup hitter Justin Morneau for the season at the worst possible time, when they were already starving for offense already.

Not to mention a team, that on paper, just wasn't that good.

So imagine my surprise when I look online and see Mike Scioscia had taken the AL honors.

No surprise. None whatsoever.

It was expected. Scioscia led a team that was absolutely rocked in mid-April, when pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver on his way home from the ballpark after pitching the best game of his young career, throwing six shutout innings. Just by reading the opinions of some other baseball writers, you could tell they were all leaning towards the Angels skipper, most of them pointing to the April tragedy.

Expected, yes. Deserved? Eh. Call me uncompassionate, but Scioscia's roster was stacked. When you have a lineup that includes Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Kendry Morales, Bobby Abreu, and Juan Rivera, you should probably be winning about 90-95 games (the Angels won 97). I understand the reasoning some of these writers had for voting for Scioscia. Doesn't mean I agree with it.

Ron Gardenhire, on the other hand, didn't exactly have a Hall of Fame caliber roster to throw out there everyday. Nick Punto was very often his starting second baseman, rocking a .228 batting average.

Brendan Harris, who shared part of the third base duties when Joe Crede went down for the season, hit 6 home runs in over 400 plate apperances, with just 37 RBI. But as Gardenhire said, they played the game the right way. They hustled, they threw to the right base, and played sound defense.

Looking at the lineup, they're not exactly the '27 Yankees. How Gardenhire got this team to the AL Central Championship is still beyond me. I just don't get it. Just like Jim Tracy (who won the NL Award by the way), who made everyone say, "How the HELL did he do that with that team?", that's what Gardenhire did. Those are the managers that should win these awards.

No one's saying that about Scioscia. I greatly commend him on keeping his team together and making Nick a rallying point for the season. He handled the death of a player about as well as a manager could. But all he did was lead a talented roster to somewhere it should have been in the first place.

Gardenhire pulled a Scott Bombay (cue the Mighty Ducks reference) and led this team of grinders and hustlers to an AL Central banner that was about as far out of his reach as you could imagine.

Congrats to Mike Scioscia—your Manager of the Year—but don't worry Ron, you'll always be my 2009 AL Manager of the Year.

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Ron Gardenhire, Runner-Up for AL Manager of the Year Again

Tom Froemming — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:07:06 -0500

At first glance, Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire hasn't accomplished anything too extraordinary over his eight-year career.

Sure, he has led the Twins to five American League Central championships and has a career record well above .500 (709-588), but the Twins have won just a single playoff series under Gardenhire and have a dismal 6-18 postseason record.

From the outside looking in, it may appear as though it's time for the organization to move on from a coach who can't seem to take his team over the hump. When you look deeper into what Gardenhire has accomplished in his tenure with Minnesota, however, it becomes clear that he has been a magic worker, taking teams that have no business competing and pushing them to the next level.

It was announced today that Mike Scioscia of the Angels won the 2009 AL Manager of the Year, with Gardenhire taking second for the fifth time. Scioscia had a tough job ahead of him from Day One, with ace John Lackey, as well as other key contributors, opening the season on the disabled list.

Just three days into the season, the Angels lost Nick Adenhart to a fatal car accident, adding adversity that no coach is trained to handle. The Angels rallied, finishing the season with 97 wins, 10 games up on second place Texas in the AL West.

That's tough to beat.

In 2008, Gardenhire was runner-up to Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon, who led the Rays to one of the most unpredictable seasons in baseball history.

That's tough to beat.

In 2006, Gardenhire finished second to Detroit's Jim Leyland, who took a Tigers team that lost at least 90 games the past five seasons to a 95-win season in his first campaign with the club.

That's tough to beat.

In 2004, Gardenhire finished second to Buck Showalter, who performed a similar, yet less impressive, turnaround with the Texas Rangers and in 2003 he finished second to Tony Pena who took Kansas City from 100 losses to a winning record.

That's tough to beat.

Gardenhire and the Twins have been the quietly consistent team in the American League since he took over for Tom Kelly in 2002. They've had just one losing season under Gardenhire, posting a 79-83 record in 2007.

They've been in the hunt year in and year out, despite losing the likes of Johan Santana, Torii Hunter, Brad Radke, David Ortiz, and Matt Garza while getting little or nothing in return. They stay in contention with the big boys of baseball despite never being a factor in free agency.

While Gardenhire's resume doesn't feature anything extraordinary like a World Series ring (or even an American League championship), he has certainly been amongst the best managers in baseball for a while now.

He helped lead a franchise from the brink of contraction to being serious competitors year after year. Now, a club that wasn't even sure if it would be in existence much longer around the time Gardenhire was hired is opening a brand new stadium in 2010.

That's tough to beat.

While there is an argument for Ron Gardenhire as the 2009 AL Manager of the Year, I do believe Mike Scioscia is a deserving recipient. Just like Maddon was. And just like Leyland, Showalter and Pena were.

Sooner or later, it'll be Ron Gardenhire's turn. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.

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Is the Minnesota Twins' Ron Gardenhire AL Manager of the Year?

Jeremiah Graves — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:43:01 -0500

Ron Gardenhire has long been considered one of baseball’s best managers.

In 2009, he proved his mettle once again by leading the Minnesota Twins to yet another division title in the American League Central.

The pennant marked his fifth division title in eight seasons as the Twins’ skipper.

It very well could have been the sixth, but Minnesota lost to the Chicago White Sox in a one-game playoff to determine the division champion after the 2008 regular season ended with both clubs in a tie for first place.

In addition to the five pennants, Gardy has also amassed a record of 709-558, ranking him 79th all-time on the career wins list and 11th among active managers.

With Gardenhire at the helm, Minnesota has never finished lower than third in the AL Central and the club has only finished with a sub-.500 record once, in 2007 when the team finished a mere four games below the mark.

He has also led the club to six seasons with 87-plus wins and four seasons with 90-plus wins.

At this point, I think you get the idea.

Gardenhire is a pretty good manager.

He often gets credited for “doing the most with the least.” And let’s be honest, anyone who can win with Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, and Matt Tolbert receiving regular playing time deserves all the credit he gets.

Yet, despite all his success and obvious skills as a field general, he’s yet to win the coveted Manager of the Year Award.

In 2002, his first season as manager after eleven years as the club’s third base coach, he finished third in the voting. Since then he’s finished as the runner-up four times, in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2008.

Gardenhire’s four runner-up finishes are second only to Tony LaRussa, who has finished second five times. For LaRussa, the sting of finishing in second-place is lessened by the fact that he’s brought home the hardware four times.

This season, however, Gardenhire may finally get his due.

In mid-September the Twins were on the skids. The club had lost seven of ten and sat two games below .500 with just 20 left to play. To make matters worse, an already injury-riddled squad lost All-Star first baseman Justin Morneau to a back injury.

The Twins could have folded and simply played out the stretch, and blamed the lost season on injuries and bad luck, but Gardenhire wouldn’t let that happen.

He took the same fiery energy and passion that’s gotten him ejected nearly 50 times in his career and led the club on a torrid stretch, winning 16 of the their final 20 games and forcing a historic one-game playoff with the Detroit Tigers for the division crown.

That final month alone could win him the award, but when you realize what he dealt with all year long, the mere fact that the club was within striking distance that late in the season is a miracle.

Here’s a quick rundown of the mess Gardenhire had to muddle through during the season:

MVP candidate Joe Mauer missed the first month of the season with lower back inflammation.

Free agent signee Joe Crede was limited to just 90 games with back issues before undergoing season-ending surgery in August.

When Alexi Casilla flaked as the full-time second baseman, the club was forced to use a rotating crew of benchwarmers at three infield positions.

The club saw three-fifths of its Opening Day rotation rendered useless by injury or ineffectiveness, and had to rely on Carl Pavano as a rotation anchor down the stretch.

And that was all before Morneau’s season-ending injury in September.

Yeah, I’d say Gardy is pretty good at what he does.

Perhaps this will be the year that the Baseball Writers Association of America finally gets it right.

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Miguel Tejada: Plan D for the Minnesota Twins

Jeremiah Graves — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:18:52 -0500

“Miguel Tejada signs with the Minnesota Twins.”

Reading that headline now wouldn’t elicit the excitement it would have five years ago, but it’s still an intriguing proposition.

Five years ago, Tejada was one of baseball’s best players and had recently signed a massive six-year, $72 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

In the five years since, he has suffered through multiple steroid allegations at the hands of former teammates, inclusion in the Mitchell Report, a perjury charge, and it was revealed that he is two years older than he had claimed.

Those off the field controversies have taken their toll, and along with Father Time, have led to the slow and steady erosion of Tejada’s on field production.

The former American League Most Valuable Player has lost most of his power, having gone from 34 home runs in 2004 to a meager 14 last season.

Additionally, his defense at shortstop has gone from below average to downright ugly.

As a result, Tejada’s next starting gig figures to be as a corner infielder, with third base making the most sense given his strong throwing arm.

No doubt, Tejada is far removed from his glory days with Oakland and Baltimore, but he can still be a valuable asset to a ballclub. He’s certainly no team’s first, or even second, choice this offseason, but he makes a lot of sense as Plan-D for the Minnesota Twins.

Tejada, a six-time All Star, can still hit and knows how to get on base at a good clip, despite not drawing many walks. His ability to get on base would make him an ideal No. 2 hitter for the Twins. He would also serve to break up lefties Denard Span and Joe Mauer.

His .313/.340/.455 line in 2009 was roughly in line with his career averages and, at 35 years old (or so we’re told), he figures to still have a few good years ahead of him before he's relegated to bench duty or retirement.

With that in mind, it makes sense for the Twins to at least consider signing Tejada to man the hot corner for next season.

Tejada, despite his age, has an incredible track-record for durability.

Since 1999, he’s played in 158 games or more every year, except for 2007 when a fractured wrist limited him to 133 games. He also had an incredible six-year run from 2001 to 2006, where he appeared in all 162 games every year.

Given the durability, or lack thereof, shown by last year’s third baseman, Joe Crede, Tejada would be a breath of fresh air.

After years of flip-flopping players in and out at third base, there’s no doubt that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire would relish having a name he could consistently pencil in at third on his lineup card.

Durability notwithstanding, Tejada—much like the aforementioned Crede—only makes sense for the Twins if they can sign him to a one-year deal.

Unlike other third base options (i.e. Adrian Beltre), Tejada can only be viewed as a short-term placeholder for eventual successors, Danny Valencia or Luke Hughes.

At his age and with his skill set declining, Tejada shouldn’t be expecting many offers greater than one year, especially in a deflated market that is overrun with younger, more talented third basemen.

Tejada could seemingly be had on a one-year deal in the $5-7 million base salary range, with reachable incentives that could push the total value up to $10-12 million.

Tejada certainly won’t play for pennies, but someone as durable and steady as he is shouldn’t be worried about playing for incentives that he would figure to reach if he remains his usual healthy self for an entire season.

Obviously, Tejada is not the best option on the market and, in all honesty, is probably not even a top five option, but he is still an option.

If nothing else, he’s certainly a more appealing alternative to seeing Matt Tolbert or Brendan Harris in the starting lineup every day.

No one knows what the free agent market will look like when it opens on Friday and it is entirely possible the Twins will miss out on other, far more attractive, options.

If that’s the case, Tejada would make a solid Plan-D.

“Miguel Tejada signs with the Minnesota Twins.”

It may not be nearly as exciting as it once was, but it sure does have a nice ring to it.

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Third Time's the Charm: Minnesota Twins Should Keep Chasing Adrian Beltre

Jeremiah Graves — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:24:18 -0500

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

This famous saying serves not only as a motivational tool, but also as a solid offseason philosophy for small-market general managers.

Twins general manager Bill Smith has made overtures for current free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre on two previous occasions and—if he’s smart—will be making one final effort this winter.

The Twins were linked to Beltre at the 2008 trade deadline and again last offseason. No deal was ever worked out, however, and Beltre finished out his five-year, $64 million contract with the Seattle Mariners.

Now Beltre is a free agent, and the Twins would be wise to make one last ditch attempt to land him. Beltre makes even more sense now that he won’t cost the club any prospects in a trade or an outrageous extension to get him to waive a no-trade clause.

To that same effect, he is also a Type B free agent, so he wouldn’t cost the Twins a draft pick if the Mariners were to offer him arbitration.

And coming off a season in which he missed 50 games and hit just .265/.304/.379 with just eight home runs and 44 RBI, his value is lower than ever. Thus he is potentially affordable for the Twins, figuring he would command much less than the $12 million he made in 2009.

Beltre does have some lingering health concerns after missing time in recent seasons with injuries to his shoulders, thumb, wrist, hamstring, and—worst of all—his right testicle. In the last year, Beltre underwent two shoulder surgeries and ligament-replacement surgery on his left thumb.

Despite being banged up for the past few years, this season marked the first time since 2001 that he failed to play at least 140 games.

Making Beltre even more attractive to the Twins is his age. Although he has seemingly been in the league forever, Beltre won’t turn 31 until April and, if healthy, could have a nice bounce-back year hitting in a lineup that offers much more protection than he’s had in his time with Seattle.

For his part, Beltre would provide the Twins with some much-needed right-handed pop to balance out the lefty-heavy heart of the lineup.

Although he’ll certainly never repeat the monster 2004 campaign that earned him his last deal, he can be counted on for a solid .270/.325/.453 line with 20 to 25 home runs, 80 to 90 RBI, and even 10 to 15 stolen bases.

The prospect of adding Beltre to the lineup is made even more interesting when one accounts for the fact that his numbers have largely been suppressed by playing the majority of his game at Safeco Field the past five seasons.

Safeco is notoriously tough on right-handed sluggers like Beltre.

Outside of Seattle, one could expect Beltre to thrive. He's a career .287/.338/.488 hitter in road games as opposed to the .253/.311/.416 career line he’s posted at home.

Perhaps more important than his offensive contributions is his stellar defense. Beltre is a two-time Gold Glove winner and consistently ranks among the best third basemen in the game.

In essence, he is a healthier version of Joe Crede: decent pop, great glove, and a penchant for swinging at bad pitches. His health, as opposed to Crede’s, makes him the smarter investment going forward.

Many reports indicate that Twins management isn’t sold on the idea of handing top-prospect Danny Valencia the starting third-base job out of spring training, if at all, next season.

It is believed by many in the organization that Valencia still needs more time in Triple-A Rochester to mature as a player and person and to improve his defense at the hot corner.

With that in mind, the Twins may be looking for more than a short-term solution.

It is entirely possible that Beltre—in a market flooded with third basemen—could settle for a two-year deal with an option, thus making him the perfect choice for the Twins.

It is, however, also entirely possible that, despite last season’s injuries and poor production, Beltre may still be out of the Twins' price range.

One thing is certain, Beltre is the exact type of player the Twins should be looking for at third base.

If his market is slow to develop, the Twins must try, try again.

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Looking Ahead: The Twins' 12 Reasons for Optimism in 2010 and Beyond

Malcolm Hamilton — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:53:19 -0500

After a charmed season in which they seemed to be able to beat every team in the American League except the Yankees, the Twins now enter the offseason filled with hope and a hunger for more success.

Here are 12reasons why Twins fans should be optimistic for the future.

1. Joe Mauer

I don't really think I need to explain why he comes in first on this list. Short of Albert Pujols, Mauer could be the most important player for his respective team in baseball. Mauer is entering the final year of his contract, and Twins management is clamoring to lock him down for a multi-year deal. Look for the Mauer contract negotiations to be a hot button issue for the Twins this offseason.

2. Justin Morneau's back

Many people forget that the Twins were able to pull off their remarkable comeback in September without the services of 2006 MVP Justin Morneau. Morneau should be healthy and ready for spring training, adding another dangerous bat to the middle of the Twins' lineup.

3. Kevin Slowey

While Morneau's injury certainly gained more attention, one could argue that it was not the most significant injury for the Twins last season. Slowey went out for the season on July 3, and the Twins sorely missed his arm in their rotation. After a breakout year in 2008 when he posted a 3.99 ERA, a healthy Slowey will be a big boost for the Twins next season.

4. Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel

No one was more clutch down the stretch for the Twins than these two guys. They definitely rank as two of the most underrated players in the game today. The Twins just picked up Cuddyer's option for 2011, so look forward to seeing these two in the middle of the Twins' lineup for the near future.

5. Joe Nathan

Forget the playoffs blowup—Nathan is still one of the best closers in the game. The Twins won't hesitate to give him the ball in pressure situations.

6. Newly acquired young talent

The Twins seriously upgraded their farm system this season, adding two high-profile players. The Twins were ecstatic when Kyle Gibson, a right-handed pitcher out of Missouri, fell to them at pick 22. Gibson was considered to be a first round talent, but concerns about injuries caused him to fall out of the top 20.

The Twins were also very aggressive in their dealings with Latin American players, signing 16-year-old shortstop Miguel Angel Sano with a $3.15 million signing bonus.

These two moves certainly up the star potential for a previously thin farm system. Don't expect to see either of these guys in 2010 or 2011, but they are definitely important names to keep in mind for the future.

7. Outfield prospects

The Twins' farm system is rife with outfield depth. In fact, their best two prospects are high-ceiling outfielders in the upper levels of the system. Ben Revere was a first round pick in 2007, and Aaron Hicks was a first round pick in 2008.

While you shouldn't expect either of these guys to have a big influence on the Twins next season, there's no reason that they won't get a cup of coffee in September, with a chance to really start contributing in 2011. If you don't know anything about Revere, he could be a batting champion one day.

8. Francisco Liriano's potential

There is no way this guy is as bad as the last two seasons would indicate. He was so good in 2006 that the Twins will continue to give him opportunities to succeed. The best approach for the Twins to take with Liriano is to expect nothing and possibly be pleasantly surprised. The potential is such that he could finally get over his health issues and return to his 2006 form.

9. Old faithful

Scott Baker is possibly the least exciting and least sexy ace in baseball, but he consistently performs and comes through in important moments. I'm sure the Twins will trot Baker out again on opening day in 2010.

10. Wilson Ramos

Ramos will present the Twins with an interesting predicament as he gets closer to the majors. Mauer is obviously firmly entrenched as the catcher for Twins, and if they are able to sign him to an extension, there will be no room for Ramos.

Ramos is far too talented to merely be a backup and pinch hitter. He would be a perfect trade chip for the Twins to go out and add someone at the trade deadline as they try to get back to the postseason.

11. Improving youngsters

A few of the Twins' younger players made huge strides in 2009 and will look to continue that success next season.

Delmon Young finally began to silence his critics with solid play, especially down the stretch and in the playoffs. Nick Blackburn established himself as a reliable starting pitcher with the potential to be an ace someday. Denard Span played great defense in center field and provided the team with a dynamic leadoff hitter.

12. J.J. Hardy

The Twins finally admitted that Carlos Gomez was not the player they thought he would be when they dealt him to the Brewers this offseason for shortstop J.J. Hardy. While 2009 could be considered a disaster for Hardy, he is still an offensive upgrade over light-hitting Nick Punto and Brendan Harris.

Also, the Hardy acquisition means that the Twins have even more middle infield depth if they are unable to re-sign Orlando Cabrera.

Conclusion: The Twins will be good in 2010. Profound, huh?

Read more Minnesota Twins news on BleacherReport.com

Rene Tosoni: The Future Of The Minnesota Twins Outfield

Andrew Kneeland — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:55:16 -0500

With the departure of Carlos Gomez , the role of most scrutinized player in the outfield has unequivocally been awarded to Delmon Young . His status as a below-average defender has been well-documented, and 2010 will be a do-or-die season for him. If he can't find some success at the plate, there will be little reason for the Twins to hang onto him.

The emergence of Rene Tosoni , 23, certainly isn't helping Young's cause. Should Young struggle in 2010, Tosoni could be a candidate for an early or mid-season promotion.

Tosoni is currently playing with the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Winter League in Phoenix. Although his stats through the first 19 games aren't entirely impressive, what he did in the batter's box during the regular season for the New Britain Rock Cats should not go unrecognized. Hitting .271/.360/.454 with 15 home runs, Tosoni displayed marginal power while getting on base at an above-average clip.

Although Gomez—one of the best defensive center-fielders in the league—is no longer with the Twins, Tosoni could potentially step in at some point next season, shifting Denard Span to left field and bumping Young to the bench. While not an above-average defender in the outfield, Tosoni could more than make up with his bat the handful of runs he gives up defensively every season.

Before Tosoni can even think about a major-league promotion, though, the left-hander will have to resolve his struggles against left-handed pitchers.

This past season, Tosoni was atrocious against southpaws, hitting just .183/.285/.302 with an OPS of 587. The awful 2009 left-handed splits, though, are much worse than his career splits against left-handed pitchers. (Which, admittedly, are still awful. In his career as a professional baseball player, Tosoni has hit just three home runs against left-handed pitching while batting at a .231/.346/.343 clip.)

Despite this obvious struggle, Tosoni had a BABIP of just .253 against southpaws this past season—indicating no small amount of poor luck—so expecting a progression to his mean shouldn't be unreasonable.

Tosoni took a huge step forward with regard to his power this past season, hitting 15 home runs as a Rock Cat.

This quintupled his previous high, but it should be noted that 2009 was Tosoni's first full season. Although the power is good to see, Tosoni took a huge hit in his strikeout/walk ratio, and in turn, his on-base-percentage, which is still well above-average.

Even considering his numerous flaws, Tosoni is a solid outfield prospect who could see major-league playing time as a fourth outfielder/pinch hitter as soon as next season. If the Twins find themselves in another pennant race, Tosoni's ability to smash right-handed pitching may come in handy.

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Is Felipe Lopez a Perfect Fit for the Minnesota Twins?

Jeremiah Graves — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:06:23 -0500

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times.

The Twins need another infielder and they need a legitimate hitter to handle the two-hole in the lineup.

Both of these facts have been beaten to death by Twins fans this offseason, and for good reason.

If the season were to start today, Matt Tolbert or Brendan Harris would be a starter at either second or third base.

Yikes!

Call me crazy, but that’s not exactly an ideal scenario.

On the offensive side of things, the Twins need to make a serious effort to upgrade the two-hole in the lineup.

In the last decade, the average on-base-percentage out of the two-hole in the American League is .338, a figure which the Twins consistently fail to meet.

Last time I checked, leaving a black hole in the lineup between Denard Span and Joe Mauer isn’t exactly an optimal situation for long-term success.

Numerous names have been tossed around already for players who could fill one or both of the voids in the lineup and/or defense.

Names such as: Joe Crede , Placido Polanco , Brandon Phillips , Orlando Hudson , Akinori Iwamura , Dan Uggla , and a host of others have all been thrown out as possibilities.

Today I’m adding yet another name to the list, one who just might be the perfect fit, Felipe Lopez.

Lopez, 29, is coming off an incredible season in which he split time between Arizona and Milwaukee.

On the whole Lopez hit his way to an impressive line of .310/.383/.427 with nine homers and a career-best 38 doubles.

Although the numbers were better than his career averages of .269/.338/.400, it isn’t hard to believe that Lopez can continue to post good numbers going forward.

Since becoming a full-time player in 2005, the former first-round draft pick has put up a solid .281/.349/.407 line with five different clubs.

Those numbers get even better if you remove his abysmal 2007 campaign which was marred by constant shuffling in both the Washington Nationals lineup and defensive alignment.

For the same time period, with 2007 removed, his line is an even more remarkable .290/.359/.420.

Needless to say, when he is given a full-time job and a consistent spot in the lineup, he handles himself pretty well with the stick.

On the flipside of the coin is his defense.

While he’s not going to be confused for Placido Polanco or Chase Utley with the leather, he can certainly hold his own. Most statistical metrics ranked him as a top five defender at the keystone corner last season, despite his penchant for piling up errors.

Overall, Lopez makes plenty of sense for the Twins.

Acquiring the switch-hitter would give the Twins a viable number two hitter to slot between Span and Mauer in the lineup and a solid, but not great, defensive second baseman.

He may not be the popular addition that many people—myself included—were hoping for when names like Phillips and Hudson were thrown around, but he would fill the two major vacancies in the Twins’ lineup, presumably at a much cheaper cost.

He made $3.5 million last season after signing as a free agent with Arizona. He figures to earn closer to $5 million in 2010, and that would put him right on par with many of the other options the Twins are rumored to be contemplating.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Lopez is a Type B free agent. As such, it wouldn’t cost the Twins a draft pick to sign him.

He may not be the popular choice, but it is entirely possible that he is the perfect fit.

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