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Twins Extend Glen Perkins

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The Twins have signed left-hander Glen Perkins to a three-year, $10.3MM extension, the team announced. The SFX client was already under contract for $1.55MM in 2012, so the deal covers the 2013-15 seasons. It includes a club option for 2016. 

“He has been a reliable reliever for us and has helped stabilize the back end of our bullpen in the set-up role," Twins GM Terry Ryan said.

Perkins, 29, posted a 2.48 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 61 2/3 innings last year. Pitching out of the bullpen, his average fastball velocity jumped to 93.8 mph. 

Perkins' deal buys out his final season of arbitration eligibility and at least two free agent seasons. It includes incentives for games finished, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (on Twitter). Sean Marshall, a left-handed setup man with a stronger track record than Perkins, recently signed a three-year, $16.5MM extension with the Reds. MLBTR's Extension Tracker offers a complete look at recent extensions for lefty relievers.

Central Notes: Luhnow, Hart, Braun, Zumaya

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Some links from baseball's Central Divisions for your Sunday reading…

  • New Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has the right outlook, but very few pieces to work with, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. One scout told Heyman that aside from Carlos Lee, only two players in the Astros' projected lineup have a chance to be even league-average hitters: Jason Castro and Chris Johnson.
  • Corey Hart has torn cartilage in his knee that will require arthroscopic surgery and sideline him for three-to-four weeks, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said they won't rush Hart back like they did from an oblique injury that cost him his 2011 Spring Training, and that Hart will likely open the season on the disabled list.
  • MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner told Haudricourt that the leak in Ryan Braun's positive drug test was an isolated, case-specific incident and that the process doesn't have a confidentiality problem.
  • Joel Zumaya has opted for Tommy John surgery, writes MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Dr James Andrews will perform the operation at the end of March, and the Twins have yet to decide if they'll place Zumaya on the 60-day DL or release him, assistant GM Rob Antony told Bollinger.

Zumaya Has Torn UCL, Out For Season

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An MRI today reavealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament for Joel Zumaya, tweets Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN. Twins GM Terry Ryan confirmed to reporters, including Chris Girandola of MLB.com, that Zumaya will miss the 2012 season. According to Ryan, Zumaya will decide in the next couple of days whether or not he'll undergo Tommy John surgery.

The Twins signed the oft-injured flamethrower to a low-risk Major League deal that guaranteed Zumaya $850K if he broke camp with the team. Because of the injury, the Twins are only on the hook for $400K of that figure. Mackey writes that Ryan says the Twins will stay in-house to fill the void in their bullpen and that Zumaya is "distraught."

The 27-year-old Zumaya owns a career 3.05 ERA in 209 2/3 innings of work with a 9.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9. It's hard not to feel for Zumaya, who hasn't pitched since June of 2010 and was looking to revive his career as a member of the Twins.

Morneau: Concussion Symptoms May Threaten Career

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Justin Morneau has played just 69 games since being concussed July of 2010, and there's no guarantee his troubles are over with. The 30-year-old first baseman acknowledged that concussion symptoms could end his career, according to Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. 

“I don’t think there will be a career if it’s something I’m dealing with," he said. “That’s the reality of the whole thing. I’m obviously not going to continue to mess around with this if it continues to be a problem. There comes a point where you can only torture yourself for so long."

Morneau explained that he enjoys playing baseball, but finds it frustrating not to be able to contribute on the field. He's under contract for $14MM in 2012 and the same amount in 2013. Morneau is a four-time All-Star who won the 2006 American League MVP at the age of 25.

Quick Hits: Draft Pools, Young, Jurrjens, Prado, Pudge

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The city of Montreal will pay tribute to former Expos great Gary Carter by naming a street or other public place in his honor, reports Linda Gyulai of the Montreal Gazette.  City officials will consult with the Carter family to find an "appropriate" location to bear the Hall of Famer catcher's name.  Carter passed away last Thursday after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

Some news from around the majors….

  • Jim Callis of Baseball America breaks down how much each team will have to spend in the first 10 rounds of the 2012 draft. The Twins top the list, able to spend as much as $12.37MM to sign their 13 picks over the initial 10 rounds, while the Angels ($1.645MM) have the least to spend on their eight picks over the same stretch.
  • The draft pool totals will shift if Derrek Lee — the last free agent with compensation attached to him — signs a Major League deal with a new team.  As Callis notes, however, it's pretty unlikely that Lee will find such a deal at this point.
  • The Pirates and Phillies both passed on signing Dmitri Young after working him out in Florida this months, reports MLB.com's Matthew Leach. Even if Young's baseball comeback falls short, he says the real victory is his improved health, having lost over 70 pounds.
  • Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado are both pleased to still be Braves after a long winter of trade rumors surrounding both men, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
  • Ivan Rodriguez isn't prepared to retire and is keeping in shape for a possible job this season, he tells the Associated Press. "It has been a tough market for veterans," Rodriguez said. "There are a lot of guys who have won championships and have playoff experience to offer teams with no jobs. It's hard to believe.''

Antony On Cuddyer, Kubel, Young, Nathan, Span

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Twins assistant GM Rob Antony discussed the team's offseason moves, players who signed elsewhere over the winter, plans for 2012, and more in an interview with Jesse Lund of the Twinkie Town blog.  Here are some of the highlights…

  • Michael Cuddyer was the Twins' "number one priority all off-season" but moved on once it became clear that the team wouldn't be able to re-sign him.  Antony "always believed he wanted to be a Twin for his entire career" and thinks Cuddyer was "disappointed" to ultimately leave the team for Colorado.
  • Jason Kubel shared his concerns with Antony about how Target Field is a tough stadium for power hitters, and the assistant GM believes this was a factor in Kubel leaving the team.
  • The Twins dealt Delmon Young to the Tigers last season simply because the team put a priority on re-signing Cuddyer and Kubel, so they wanted to get some return for Young rather than possibly non-tender him after the season.
  • Joe Nathan didn't give the Twins a chance to match the $14.75MM contract he received from the Rangers.  Antony said there were no hard feelings about Nathan leaving, since the veteran closer was focused on playing for a contender.  We heard in November that Minnesota's best offer to Nathan was "a bit less" than Texas' offer.
  • The Nationals were "definitely interested" in Denard Span at the trade deadline last summer, but Antony doesn't "think we were ever close to doing anything."
  • Antony said that some internet rumors about players on the trade market often lead to exploratory conversations between GMs about said players.  "There are a lot of names that pop up where we do a lot of that same thing. 'Look, if you're looking to move this guy, he could be a fit over here. I don’t know what’s fact and what’s rumor, but if you are serious in trading a player we’d like to be kept in mind, we have some interest,' " Antony said.  He brought up this point in regards to a question about Martin Prado, which would seem to hint that the Twins and Braves perhaps had such a conversation about the utilityman.
  • Antony thinks Tsuyoshi Nishioka will give Alexi Casilla a strong battle for the starting second base job and that Nishioka "deserves a mulligan" for his tough 2011 season.  Nishioka suffered a broken leg in his first season in the Major Leagues.
  • "We have had more meetings with our training and medical staff this season than in the ten years prior to," Antony said in regards to how the Twins responded to last year's injury-riddled season.  Still, Antony doesn't lay blame on the training staff: "These are the guys who were in place the year before, and the year before, and the year before that, so it’s not like all of a sudden they don’t know how to do their job. And last year, it was a perfect storm of everything that could do wrong, did go wrong."

AL Central Links: Castellanos, Royals, Sabathia

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Here's a round-up of news from the AL Central…

  • With Miguel Cabrera taking over at the hot corner for the Tigers, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press looks at how the switch affects the progress of third baseman Nick Castellanos, one of the team's top prospects.  I can't see this being a major long-term issue — Castellanos is just 19 and I can't see Cabrera staying on third for very long, given his defensive limitations.  If anything, Victor Martinez could be the odd man out, with Prince Fielder locked in at first and Cabrera probably requiring a move to DH sooner rather than later. 
  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star covered a number of Royals topics as part of a live chat with fans earlier today.
  • The players the Indians acquired for C.C. Sabathia in 2008 have produced -0.6 WAR in the three-plus seasons since the trade, writes Fangraphs' J.P. Breen.  "The Indians still have nine years of control between [Matt] LaPorta and [Michael] Brantley, but neither appear destined for full-time roles at the big league level," Breen writes.
  • Twins starter Francisco Liriano has worked on his mechanics and better locating his fastball this winter in preparation for what could be a make-or-break season for the southpaw, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities Radio.
  • Dick Allen's arrival in 1972 didn't just make the White Sox better on the field, but his presence might have also helped keep the team in Chicago, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

AL Central Notes: Inge, Royals, Hernandez, Twins

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Happy birthday to former White Sox farmhand Michael Jordan, who turns 49 years old today.  Jordan played one season of Double-A ball with the Birmingham Barons in 1994, hitting .202/.289/.266 in 497 plate appearances.  On the strength of those numbers, Jordan was named ESPN's greatest athlete of the 20th century.  In hindsight, it's possible ESPN may have also taken Jordan's basketball career into consideration, but you'd have to take that argument up with the gang at MLBTR's new sister site Hoops Rumors. 

Here's the latest from around the AL Central…

  • Brandon Inge will be given a chance at the Tigers' second base job during Spring Training, manager Jim Leyland told reporters (including John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press).  Inge joins Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago in battling for playing time at second.  With Miguel Cabrera now playing third, Inge finds himself without a position.  Inge has been a strong defensive third baseman throughout his career (a +5.6 UZR/150) but he has never played second during his 14-year professional career.
  • Rany Jazayerli thinks the Royals should have acquired at least one more proven starting pitcher this offseason, arguing that such a move could have possibly given Kansas City a shot at the division title.
  • Roberto Hernandez (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) is visiting baseball camps in the Dominican Republic to teach young players not to lie about their identity or true age, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Jorge Brito, Hernandez's agent, didn't say whether these visits were necessary for Hernandez to regain his ability to leave the Dominican and rejoin the Indians.
  • MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger gives his thoughts about what the Twins' Opening Day roster could look like.

Twins Avoid Arbitration With Alexi Casilla

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The Twins avoided arbitration with infielder Alexi Casilla, agreeing to a one-year, $1.3825MM contract, tweets director of baseball communications Mike Herman.  The Proformance client settled $25K below the midpoint, avoiding an arbitration hearing.  Casilla received a $517,500 raise his second time through arbitration.  MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at some possible comparables last week.

As MLBTR's arbitration tracker shows, the Twins are now finished with their arbitration eligible players.  They committed a total of $8.432MM to Casilla, Francisco Liriano, and Glen Perkins for 2012.

Two arbitration eligible players remain unsigned overall: Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee of the Pirates.

Central Notes: Gimenez, Young Twins, Cardinals

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Passing along a few notes from the Central divisions, where there was plenty of news earlier today. Kosuke Fukudome found a new home, the Brewers won an arbitration case, and the Royals picked up their manager's option. On with the links …

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