Minnesota Twins: Willingham Signing Hurts More Than It Helps

Current reports say that the Minnesota Twins have signed outfielder Josh Willingham to a multi-year contract for an undisclosed amount of money.

If that is the case, the rumor has it Minnesota will not re-sign outfielders Michael Cuddyer or Jason Kubel since they have already put their money into Willingham.

The latter is understandable.

With Ryan Doumit signed—a guy who can play catcher, first base and in an emergency situation the corner outfield position in addition to designated hitter—there was little use for Kubel on the roster, especially since Kubel is limited as a defender, leaving his true position as a designated hitter.

But to let Cuddyer walk is a big mistake.

The 32-year-old was the heart and soul of the Minnesota squad in 2011. When catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau were out with injuries, it was Cuddyer who stepped up and provided leadership for the team.

Even when Mauer and Morneau were healthy, it was Cuddyer who many on the team looked to for leadership.  

In addition to his leadership, Cuddyer’s ability to be the utility man—a very talented utility man—benefited the Twins greatly. He could play first base, second base, third base, right field and left field. He even pitched in relief last season.

For a team that has proven itself to be prone to injury in recent years, Cuddyer was substantial to keeping Minnesota afloat. Imagine 2011 without Cuddyer’s 20 home runs, 70 RBI and .284 batting average (he led Minnesota in home runs and batting average and was second in RBI).

He’s a player who’s willing to do whatever it takes to win—a lesson Mauer could learn from.

Willingham is a nice player. His 29 home runs, 98 RBI would have done wonders for the Twins in 2011. However, Cuddyer was on what turned out to be the second-worst team in Major League Baseball—at least by record—which means some of his season statistics were driven down.

Cuddyer’s home run total isn’t dependent upon teammates, but RBI are. It’s difficult to post too many of those without anyone on base, especially when you’re the only consistent contributor.

In letting Cuddyer go, a core part of the franchise is presumably gone. This example is too extreme, but to a certain extent letting Cuddyer walk would be like if the New York Yankees let Derek Jeter walk when the two argued over his contract last offseason.

Jeter is the New York Yankees franchise. While Cuddyer isn’t the Minnesota Twins franchise, he’s the leader of the team much like Jeter is the leader of the Yankees.

If the figure Cuddyer demanded was $10 million per year then this will have been a good decision, but if the Twins gave money to Willingham that Cuddyer would have accepted, Minnesota just made a mistake.