Minnesota Twins: A Major Roster Shake-Up Is Imminent
The Minnesota Twins have the worst record in baseball. Their $112 million payroll ranks ninth among the 30 major league teams.
This is an oxymoron.
As the Twins continue to stumble along, losing more than six out of every 10 games, this is not the change that was expected when the team opened their second season at Target Field.
One can find any number of reasons for the collapse. The Twins have already suffered a number of key injuries; first and foremost to their main offseason acquisition, Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
Nishioka's has only played six games, with a mere 24 at-bats.
Joe Mauer, the Twins new $184 million man, has played in only nine games and was hitting only .235 before being placed on the disabled list for bilateral leg weakness.
Jim Thome has not been able to duplicate his success in 2010, when he hit a home run every 11 at-bats.
Justin Morneau has yet to return to the MVP-caliber play he demonstrated during the first half of 2010, when he was leading the Twins in home runs, RBI, batting average and slugging percentage.
On the other hand, there have been some performances that Twins fans have come to expect.
If nothing else Francisco Liriano continues to be consistently inconsistent. In 2010, he opened the season going 3-0 with a 0.98 ERA, only to follow that up going 3-10 with a 4.94 over the next 10 starts. In 2011, he opened the season going 1-4 with a 9.13 ERA only to pitch a no-hitter against the White Sox, lowering his ERA to 6.61.
If the third time's the charm, then Alexi Casilla needs to find another rabbit's foot, or four-leaf clover. Once again he has been given the chance to be an everyday starter only to fumble it away by leading the team with five errors and hitting only .184.
Something needs to give.
There's no way this team stays intact. Either general manager Bill Smith needs to make some moves to shake things up or start dumping players and begin the rebuilding process.
Here's a look at those players with the greatest chance of moving on.
Michael Cuddyer: Right Fielder/First Baseman/Second Baseman
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Michael Cuddyer has been a valuable and versatile player for the Minnesota Twins.
In his 11th year with the team, he has played six different positions.
He is making $10.5 million this season and is unsigned beyond 2011.
He currently shares the team lead in home runs with five. Cuddyer is a great complimentary player that has proven to be very reliable—but he is not the star a team would build around.
If the Twins don't turn things around soon, look for them to move the 32 year-old Cuddyer to a team in need of a solid role player, able to provide adequate defense from several positions around the diamond with some occasional power.
It's a good bet that Cuddyer's days with the Twins are limited. If he makes it to the end of the season, it will be his last in Minnesota.
Jason Kubel: Right Fielder/Designated Hitter
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The only bright spot in the Twins batting order this season has been Jason Kubel.
Coming off a disappointing 2010 when he only hit .249, Kubel is not signed beyond the 2011 season.
Kubel has taken advantage of the opportunity being in the lineup everyday and currently leads the team with five home runs and is second on the team in RBI. He is currently hitting about 45 points higher than his .274 career average.
If it comes downs to choosing between Kubel and Michael Cuddyer, Kubel has a few things working in his favor.
He is three years younger than Cuddyer, and his $5.25 million salary is half that of Cuddyer's.
The downside is he is not as versatile as Cuddyer and with left-handed hitters Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau on the roster, the Twins may want to trade the seven-year veteran before losing him to free agency.
There's an outside chance that Kubel could be dealt by the trading deadline, but that would only occur if Jim Thome is able to comeback strong and provide the same kind of power he demonstrated in 2010.
Kubel will be re-signed by the Twins for next season.
Delmon Young: Left Fielder
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In 2010, Delmon Young was getting MVP consideration when he batted close to .300 and led the Twins with 112 RBI.
So far in 2011, Young's performance has been a disappointment. He is only batting .218 in 25 games this season. The good news is Young finally hit his first home run in Arizona on Sunday.
Young is the last of six players remaining in a deal that brought him from Tampa Bay to Minnesota in November of 2007 along with Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie for Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza and Eddie Morlan.
With a career .978 fielding percentage, no one is ever going to mistake Young for a Gold Glove outfielder, but he seemed to be showing some promise with career highs in home runs and RBI in 2010.
Young, who will only turn 26 this September, has yet to reach his baseball prime, and until this season has been relatively healthy, averaging 144 games per season over the past four years.
The problem is Young is not the prototypical Twins player. He has a tendency to strikeout too much and does not play the greatest defense that Minnesota has been known for—at least until this season.
Once Young starts to produce like he did last season, the Twins will find a way to sign him for at least another year.
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Francisco Liriano: Starting Pitcher
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The Minnesota Twins continue to hold out hope that Francisco Liriano can return to the form he showed in 2006 when he went 12-3 in 16 starts with a 2.16 ERA and averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Liriano missed the entire 2007 season after having Tommy John surgery in November of 2006.
Since then, it seems every odd year he has pitched poorly. After not pitching in 2007, he would return in 2008 and go 6-4 with a 3.91 ERA in 14 starts.
In 2009, he would struggle again, finishing the season with a 5-13 record and a 5.80 ERA.
Last season it looked like he had turned his career around, opening the season as the April Pitcher of the Month with a 3-0 record and a 0.93 ERA. He finished with a 14-10 record and a 3.62 ERA.
Now in 2011, he has been as inconsistent as ever, going 3-5 with a 5.73 ERA, along with his first complete game shutout when he no-hit the White Sox on May 3rd in Chicago.
The Twins were looking to move Liriano earlier this year. If they continue to struggle, don't be surprised if Liriano is the first of perhaps a couple of starting pitchers dealt before the trading deadline this summer.
Joe Nathan: Closer/Setup Man
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After returning from Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2010 season, this year started out pretty well for Joe Nathan. Named the closer out of spring training, Nathan was three for three in save opportunities with a 3.00 ERA after seven games.
Since then he has struggled and is currently 1-1 in 16 games with only 15 innings pitched and a 7.20 ERA.
Nathan is making $11.25 million this year and the team has the option to pay him $12.5 million for 2012.
At 36 years old, it's unlikely the Twins will pick up that option, and unless he signs for less money, his days in Minnesota are over after the season.
There's a chance that if he can recover some of his effectiveness by the trading deadline, he would be moved, but I don't see that happening.
Jim Thome: Designated Hitter
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There's no doubt that this will be Jim Thome's last season with the Twins. The only question is how long will it last?
In 2010, Thome was hitting a home run every 11 at bats. So far this season he has only two home runs in 56 at bats. Thome has been limited to only 20 games this season due to an oblique strain.
There was some optimism that at some point in June he would join the 600 home run club.
With his two home runs in his return to the lineup on Monday against the Mariners, he needs only another seven home runs to reach that milestone.
There is a high probability that he will be traded at the trading deadline, just as the White Sox dealt him to Los Angeles in 2009.
One possibility could be a return to Cleveland where he started his career if they continue to make a push for the division title.
Carl Pavano: Starting Pitcher
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It was supposed to be a big deal, the re-signing of Carl Pavano for two years for $16.5 million.
After leading the team with a 17-11 record and seven complete games, Pavano was supposed to the be veteran presence that would continue to settle the Twins rotation.
After pitching an average of 6.9 innings per start in 2010, he has yet to complete a game in nine starts and has averaged only six innings per start.
Currently sitting at 2-4 with a 5.30 ERA Pavano could be traded in order to reduce the payroll and look to retool the pitching staff.
Kyle Gibson will be making his debut at some point in 2011, and it will most likely come in July.
Alexi Casilla: Shortstop/Second Baseman
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Like Francisco Liriano, Alexi Casilla seems to have problems in odd years. In 2008, Casilla had his best season as a Twin, hitting .281 in 98 games with seven home runs. That performance gave him the chance to start at second base in 2009.
After a slow start to the season, he was optioned to Rochester after hitting only .167. Casilla would finish the season with the only 80 games with the Twins and a .202 average.
In 2010, Casilla would play in 69 games and hit .276, once again convincing Ron Gardenhire that he was ready for a spot in the starting rotation. Again it would seem that Casilla cannot take the pressure of being a starter. Currently hitting .188, he has been relegated to the bench again.
Currently out of options, there is no way Casilla will be with the Twins next season.
Luke Hughes: Second Baseman
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When the Minnesota Twins finished spring training and headed North, I thought Luke Hughes should have made the team.
After all, in his major league debut in 2010 he hit a home run in his first plate appearance. Yet, Ron Gardenhire and the Twins must have seen something they did not like, and he was sent back to Rochester after only two games and seven at bats.
One of the first players called up from Triple-A in 2011, when the Twins started to experience the injury bug, he has not taken advantage of this opportunity to impress.
In 65 spring training at-bats, he led the team with seven home runs and 19 RBI. So far during the regular season, he has only one home run and six RBI in 71 at bats.
His uninspiring performance reminds me of a right-handed hitting version of Brian Buscher who played in 164 games from 2007 to 2009 for the Twins.
Hughes was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to make room for Jim Thome on Monday. This could be the last we see of Luke Hughes in a Twins uniform.
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