Twins Rumors

Largest Contracts By Position

By Mike Axisa | April 10, 2010 at 10:56am CDT

We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time, so now let's break it down by position…

Catcher
Joe Mauer: Eight years, $184MM

First Base
Mark Teixeira: Eight years, $180MM

Second Base
Chase Utley: Seven years, $85MM

Shortstop
Alex Rodriguez: Ten years, $252MM

Third Base
Alex Rodriguez: Ten years, $275MM

Outfield
Alfonso Soriano: Eight years, $136MM
Vernon Wells: Seven years, $126MM
Matt Holliday: Seven years, $120MM

Starting Pitcher
CC Sabathia: Seven years, $161MM
Johan Santana: Six years, $137.5MM
Barry Zito: Seven years, $126MM
Mike Hampton: Eight years, $121MM
Kevin Brown: Seven years, $105MM

Relief Pitcher
Joe Nathan: Four years, $47MM
Mariano Rivera: Three years, $45MM

Some thoughts…

If you want to count DH as a position, which I guess it technically is, then Travis Hafner's four year, $57MM deal would top the list.
Joe Mauer's contract is more than three and a half times larger than Jorge Posada's four year, $52.4MM deal, the second largest among active catchers. Mike Piazza's seven year, $91MM deal is the second largest for a catcher all-time.
A-Rod only spent three years of his $252MM at the shortstop position before sliding over to third. The next largest contract ever given to a shortstop belongs to his teammate, Derek Jeter, who signed a ten year, $189MM deal in 2001.
The Twins are the only team besides the Yankees to employ two of the largest contracts at their respective positions.
The Soriano, Wells, Zito, and Hampton deals are all ones ownership wish they could take back. Brown spent a lot of time on the disabled list, but he did post a 3.23 ERA in close to 1,100 innings during the life of his deal.
The Utley and Rivera deals are ones the teams would happily do again, but the jury is still out on the rest.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Twins Sign Jason Repko

By Zachary Links | April 6, 2010 at 7:13pm CDT

The Twins have signed Jason Repko to play center field for their Triple-A affiliate, according to Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. The 29-year-old was cut loose by the Dodgers on Wednesday, a move that saved the club $375K of his $500K salary.

In 2009 the oft-injured Repko hit .277/.329/.471 with 16 HRs for the Dodgers' Triple-A squad while making just 7 plate appearances in the majors.

Pedro Will Start Throwing, Plans To Pitch

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 6, 2010 at 7:06pm CDT

TUESDAY, 7:06pm: Martinez has been linked to the Mariners, Twins, and Dodgers in recent days, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo notes that Martinez still harbors bad feelings towards the Dodgers organization.

MONDAY, 2:30pm: Pedro Martinez plans to pitch in 2010 and will start throwing this week, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Pedro will work towards a midseason signing like the one the Phillies added him on last summer. He says he can be ready soon.

“I’m in good shape, real good – it doesn’t take me that long to get ready,’’ he said.

He would prefer to pitch for a contender, on or near the East coast in the National League. Right now, the Phillies sound like a fit, given their interest in pitching. A few days ago, I wrote that Pedro could help somebody in 2010. He pitched well last year, but it wasn't until a month after he signed that Pedro appeared in the majors.

Odds & Ends: Beckett, Lind, Cardinals

By Tim Dierkes | April 6, 2010 at 5:54pm CDT

Why isn't there more baseball today? Links for Tuesday…

BoSox manager Terry Francona is glad that the organization hammered out Josh Beckett's extension before it became a media circus, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
I'll be joining Jeff & Jeff on KFNS St. Louis today at 1:25pm CST. Click here to listen live.
SI's Jon Heyman wonders if the Diamondbacks and Rockies will get in on free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn.
Josh Beckett initially wanted to top Carlos Zambrano's five-year, $91.5MM deal, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford. The market has changed since that deal was signed in August of '07, and the Red Sox secured Beckett for four years and $68MM.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says rival agents are exasperated by Adam Lind's four-year, $18MM extension, given the three club options. Frustrated agents – always a good sign for the team.
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch analyzes changes in the Cardinals' Opening Day payroll compared to '09.
Steve Sommer of FanGraphs finds the best one-year deals at $2MM guaranteed or less for 2009, with Carl Pavano's Indians contract leading the way.
The Twins look at seven factors when considering signing a young player to a long-term extension, learned Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Baseball America's Will Lingo puts together a list of lesser-known future GM candidates in the latest Ask BA.

Blocked Prospects: Wilson Ramos

By Tim Dierkes | April 6, 2010 at 4:28pm CDT

Twins catching prospect Wilson Ramos, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, became "one of the better trade chips in baseball" when Joe Mauer signed his eight-year extension. Goldstein ranked Ramos #65 overall among prospects. Baseball America put him at #58, while ESPN's Keith Law has him at #42.

In their 2010 Handbook, Baseball America wrote that Ramos is "almost big league-ready and has significant upside." All three outlets consider him an aggressive but above-average hitter with a cannon for an arm. Though Ramos missed almost three months with injuries in '09, he hit .317/.341/.454 at Double A and played well in winter ball.

Asked what the Twins should do with Ramos, Law recently said, "Trade him. And I don't mean for Heath Bell." Austin Jackson, Tim Alderson, Carlos Carrasco, and Jason Donald, Chris Perez, and Aaron Poreda are examples of prospects ranked in the #40-60 range on 2009 prospect lists who were recently traded for veterans. Each deal had its own nuances and additional parts, but the prospects named were typically headliners. They were used to acquire Curtis Granderson, Freddy Sanchez, Cliff Lee, Mark DeRosa, and Jake Peavy, veterans with varying contract situations.

Clearly Ramos can help bring in a major piece for the Twins. As Law indicates, it's not worth spending that chip on a reliever. A third baseman or an ace starting pitcher would make more sense, but at this point I can't find an appropriate name for the Twins to pursue. They may choose to let Ramos spend all of 2010 at Triple A and evaluate their needs in the offseason.

Odds & Ends: Rule 5, Jones, Hechevarria, Brewers

By Steve Adams | April 4, 2010 at 4:28pm CDT

Links for Easter Sunday…

Baseball America's John Manuel provides updates on five Rule 5 picks: Carlos Monasterios with the Dodgers, John Raynor with the Pirates, Zachary Kroenke, who was optioned to the minors by the D'Backs, Kanekoa Texeira with the Mariners, and David Herndon with the Phillies.
Peter Gammons previews storylines for the 2010 season, such as emerging stars, prospects of the future, a slew of contenders, and the ever-present unpredictability of baseball.
Dave Campbell of the AP looks at Jacque Jones and how Minnesota's late-season surge in 2009 inspired a comeback attempt for 2010 when he was on the verge of retirement. Jones is reporting to Triple-A Rochester after hitting .366/.409/.585 with the Twins this spring.
In an interview with Mike Wilner of the FAN 590 in Toronto, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said while the team hasn't officially said anything about Adeiny Hechevarria, international cases like his are often slowed by visa issues and other approval processes.
Tom Haudricourt tweets that there will be no last-minute changes to the Brewers 25-man roster.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser spoke with recently-DFA'ed Jack Cust, who is shocked and offended by the move. Cust says he will accept a minor league assignment if he clears waivers, but won't let Oakland "walk all over" him. The 31-year-old slugger has led the A's in home runs the past three seasons. Slusser takes a deeper look at the Cust move in a separate piece.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times looks at what the Cubs' performance in 2010 means to Jim Hendry's job, and talks to several players about their positive relationships with the Chicago GM.
Elliot Johnson cleared waivers and will report to Triple-A Durham, according to Marc Topkin. He adds that the Rays have set their roster and are waiting to hear from Hank Blalock on whether or not he'll accept a minor league assignment.

Looking At The Needs Of Some Contenders

By Mike Axisa | April 3, 2010 at 8:33pm CDT

With Spring Training wrapping up around the country, teams are finalizing their rosters and picking the 25 players they'll start the season with. There's always room for improvement, but some contenders have some very obvious weak spots on their rosters. Here's a look at some of them, which may need to be addressed during the season…

Angels, third base: Brandon Wood and Maicer Izturis will get the first cracks at replacing Chone Figgins, but if neither is up to par, the Halos might be looking for a fill-in at the hot corner.
Braves, outfielder: Superstar in training Jason Heyward will start the year in right, but incumbent centerfielder Nate McLouth had a brutal spring (6-for-51), which may push Melky Cabrera into full-time duty.
Rays, setup man: With J.P. Howell on the shelf due to a bum shoulder, the team has no obvious candidate to hand the ball off to new closer Rafael Soriano. Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour represent solid options, but if Howell misses more time than expected, the Rays might be looking to add a reliever.
Twins, closer: This is the most obvious hole of them all. Joe Nathan is out for the season after having elbow surgery, and Jon Rauch will get the first chance to replace him.
Yankees, left field: The team is breaking camp with Brett Gardner, Randy Winn, and Marcus Thames set to share time in left, but we've already seen a scenario laid out in which they might need help sooner rather than later.

That doesn't include all of the clubs that could very well be looking to add a starting pitcher at some point, like the Mariners, Mets, Phillies, Cubs, and Dodgers. Some other holes aren't so obvious though. Maybe the Red Sox could use another reliever (who couldn't?), or perhaps Seattle will go looking for a big bat that fits into their extreme run prevention plan.

What other areas of need to do you see out there for contenders?

Offseason Questions For The AL Central

By Tim Dierkes | April 1, 2010 at 2:45pm CDT

All the offseason reviews are in the books, and today the AL Central takes the stand.

Do White Sox acquisitions Juan Pierre and Mark Teahen deserve starting jobs and multiyear commitments? Will the Sox suffer subpar production at traditionally offensive spots in left field, third base, and designated hitter?
With a respectable offense in place, should the Indians have signed a couple of veteran free agent starters and attempted a run?
Will the Tigers moving Curtis Granderson hurt the 2010 club? Could the Edwin Jackson–Max Scherzer component have been facilitated without the Yankees being involved? Should the Tigers have added a free agent starter, and did they make the right choice in shipping out Nate Robertson instead of Dontrelle Willis?
Could the Royals have acquired a similar veteran backstop for significantly less than the $6MM committed to Jason Kendall? Did they screw up in letting pitching prospect Juan Abreu hit the open market and sign with the Braves?
Can the Twins' bullpen get by without a Joe Nathan replacement? Should they have upgraded at third base? Though he took less money to sign with the Twins, was Joe Mauer's eight-year, $184MM extension too risky?

Odds & Ends: Paxton, Darvish, D’Backs

By Tim Dierkes | April 1, 2010 at 1:57pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Rays infielder Elliot Johnson is the latest out of options player to hit the waiver wire, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Lefty James Paxton signed with the American Association's Grand Prairie AirHogs in advance of re-entering the draft, reports Baseball America's J.J. Cooper. Cooper says the AirHogs' schedule should allow for three weeks of playing time for Paxton before the draft. The Blue Jays drafted the Scott Boras client 37th overall as an A.J. Burnett compensation pick, but were not able to sign him. Paxton was involved in some drama with the NCAA and eventually decided to withdraw from the University of Kentucky.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a clarification from Yu Darvish, who says his recent comments did not refer to moving to MLB.
Forced to make a pick, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports takes the White Sox as his World Series champions.
Rosenthal says that with Brandon Webb's return date uncertain, the Diamondbacks are trying to trade for a starter.
Aaron Gleeman suggests the Twins' new stat guy might have a hard time having his voice heard.
WEEI's Alex Speier notes that a Josh Beckett extension would give the Red Sox four pitchers with contracts of at least four years, more than any other team. Still, Jon Lester's contract is quite team-friendly.
The Red Sox are positioned as long-term contenders, writes Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe.
Baseball Prospectus' Jeff Euston looks at the concept of contract renewals for zero-to-three players. Tom Tango responds, saying "the inequity in the front-end helps to drive the salaries on the back-end in free agency."
Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press feels that Ben Revere would be the most expendable Twins' prospect if they are to go after Padres closer Heath Bell.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the Brewers released outfielder Tike Redman.

Odds & Ends: Stauffer, Twins, Tigers, Desmond

By Luke Adams 2 | March 28, 2010 at 1:25pm CDT

Links for Sunday….

More from Rosenthal, as he tweets that the Padres are not looking to move Tim Stauffer despite there being several teams interested in the pitcher. Stauffer has been rumored to be on the trade block as he is out of options.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter) that the Twins will use a closer-by-committee approach to start the season, which presumably means no trades are imminent.
Dave Dombrowski denies that the Tigers are looking for a second base upgrade, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark had reported that Detroit could be in the market for a second baseman, given Scott Sizemore's up-and-down spring, but Dombrowski says the club's lineup is set. The GM also mentions that "a lot of clubs have been calling" about the Tigers' pitching.
Ian Desmond has been named the Nationals' starting shortstop, according to the team's Twitter page. The rookie beat out Cristian Guzman, who will now earn $8MM this season as a utilityman. Guzman, for his part, will not ask for a trade, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
The Rockies had interest in Chad Gaudin last year, but don't think they have a spot for him anymore, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.
Mike Lowell is maintaining a realistic outlook on his current situation, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston. Edes adds in a tweet that Lowell took grounders at third base this morning, a good sign for the health of his knee.
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post explains the decision facing the Nationals regarding Scott Olsen. The Nats are evaluating whether or not Olsen belongs in their rotation, and will owe him his full 2010 base salary ($1MM) if he's with the team past March 31.

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