Joe Mauer Archives - Page 10 of 17

What’s behind the Kendrys Morales signing?

The Twins announced yesterday morning that they have signed free agent DH/first baseman Kendrys Morales to a one year, prorated, $12 million deal. The prorated dollars come out to about $7.5 million. Since Morales who is represented by Scott Boras will not spend the full season with the Twins, they will not be able to extend him a qualifying offer next off-season. Rumors were rampant as early as Saturday that the Twins and Morales had agreed on a deal but it was not announced until after a physical was completed. Morales will wear uniform number 17 as a Minnesota Twin.

The Cuban born Morales who will be 31 in a few days has played in 620 career games, hitting .280 with 130 doubles, 102 home runs, 345 RBI, 280 runs scored and 165 walks. He was originally signed by the Los Angeles Angels as an amateur free agent in 2005. The Angels traded Morales to the Seattle Mariners in 2012 for pitcher Jason Vargas. Morales became a free agent after the 2013 season.

Morales was one of several players this offseason who struggled in the free agent market after declining a $14.5 million qualifying offer. Stephen Drew only recently signed his prorated one-year deal with the Red Sox, and outfielder Nelson Cruz ultimately took a one-year deal with the Orioles. All three players ended up with significantly less than they would have gotten if they had accepted their qualifying offers.

The Twins immediately placed the switch-hitting Kendrys Morales on their 25 man roster and to clear a roster spot the team designated outfielder Jason Kubel for assignment. Kubel was the Twins 12th round pick in 2000 and made his big league debut with the club in August 2004. Kubel left Minnesota as a free agent after the 2011 season and signed with Arizona where he played in 2012 and part of 2013 before the D-backs traded him to Cleveland for cash and a PTBNL. Kubel again tried free agency after the 2013 season and ended up resigning with his original team, the Minnesota Twins. Kubel had a strong April but fell on difficult times in May. Kubel appeared in 45 games for the Twins this season, hitting .224 (35-for-156) with one home run, six doubles and 13 RBI.

The Morales signing was kind of surreptitious as Minnesota was not linked to being in the hunt for Morales. According to the so-called experts teams like the Orioles, Rangers, and the Yankees were the front-runners to sign Morales. The timing of Terry Ryan and the Twins however; was impeccable as the Rangers just lost Mitch Moreland for at least 3 months for ankle reconstruction and they might have made a serious run at Morales and priced the Twins out of the market. Just a week or so earlier the Rangers lost their starting first baseman Prince Fielder for the season due to neck surgery.

Most Twins fans were shocked or at the very least pleasantly surprised with the Morales signing which seems to go against the grain of how the club has operated and looked at free agents in the past. With the club in last place in the AL Central, adding a player of this caliber in early June with no guarantee of signing him for the future does not seem to make a lot of sense from a baseball perspective. The Twins are 29-32 and last in the division but they are only 5 games out of the first place and a case can be made that they are in the playoff hunt but realistically you have to say that the odds are slim at best. Jumping over four teams in your division is not an easy task when each team in the division has to play each other 18 times. The wild card is a better possibility but that too is a long shot this year.

There is no doubt that the 2014 Twins are hitting challenged. The Twins have scored 266 runs this season which averages out to 4.36 runs per game, at the current pace the team will score about 706 runs. The Twins best runs per game average was 5.41 in 1996 and their worst was 3.44 in 1981. Last year the Twins scored runs at a pace of 3.79 per game, third worst in team history. This years team is hitting for a .245 batting average, sixth worst in their 54 year team history. Their RISP average this season is .228 which is the second worst RISP in team history and the only Twins team that had a lower RISP (at .225) was you guessed it, the 2013 Twins. How long has Tom Brunansky been the hitting coach? Oh yeah, two years. Maybe the Twins front office should look to make some changes there also. I know you need to have good players but maybe the hitting strategy of the hitting coach is just not a good match here.

So why else would the Twins invest $7.5 million in a player for about 100 games with the team in last place? The Twins business side has to be screaming “help me!”. Fan attendance at Target Field has been dropping like a rock since 2011 and even the fact that Minnesota is hosting the 2014 All-Star game can’t stop the attendance slide. Since 2010 when Target Field opened with a season ticket base of 25,000, the season ticket holder base has dropped to 23,000 in 2012, 19,000 in 2013, and 17,000 this season and would have dropped a lot lower had the lure of tickets to the 2014 All-Star game not caused some fans to hold on for just one more season.

The Twins appear to have bottomed out in 2013 and are on the way back towards respectability with some nice free agents signings, some trades and a strong farm system bolstered by high draft choices due to the teams poor play since 2010. The Twins may be playing better baseball but attendance is down about 4,574 fans per game this season and the Twins need to turn that around as soon as possible and the best way to do that is to put a good product on the field. You can’t make the Twins a playoff contender over night but an investment of about $7.5 million in Morales sends a message to the team and its loyal fans that it is willing to spend money to make money. There is not a business in existence today that will not tell you that it is much less expensive to retain a loyal customer then it is to try to attract a new loyal customer. That is one of the reasons that the Twins signed Kendrys Morales to play at Target Field. The Twins are not stupid, they are being proactive for a change instead of being strictly reactive and doing what they can to generate fan interest while this team is rebuilding.

I understand why the Twins need a player like Kendrys Morales from a baseball perspective and why they need him from a business perspective but I can’t help thinking that there is more here then meets the eye. I believe in my gut feelings, don’t believe in coincidences and I have said many times before that my “glass is half empty and is leaking” philosophy has served me well during my years. I have followed the Twins since 1961 and I have found that the Twins front office has on occasion been less than forthright over the years. I don’t hold that against them as most professional teams keep their information close to the vest. An injury perhaps? Maybe there is reason they don’t want to divulge on why Joe Mauer is playing so badly other than bad luck? Maybe a big trade is in the works?

I personally like the move but I don’t see it making a huge difference in the standings, I see it more as a symbolic move to the fans that says “see, we will spend money to put a winner on the field; hang with us as we get better”. So what is the real reason the Twins are willing to fork over $7.5 million dollars to Kendrys Morales for 100 games and will there gamble pay off? I guess we will just have to wait and see, time will tell.

According to Elias

Oswaldo Arcia hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning and singled in Josh Willingham in the bottom of the seventh for his four RBIs in the Twins 6-4 win over the Brewers on Wednesday night. Arcia entered the game hitting just .120 (3-for-25) with men on base this season, which was the fourth lowest such batting average for any major-league player entering Wednesday’s action (minimum: 25 at bats), ahead of only Pedro Florimon (.040), Jose Molina (.054) and J.P. Arencibia (.074).

To be fair, Arcia only has 60 total at bats in 2014 due to all the time he spent on the DL this year. Joe Mauer on the other hand has 207 at bats and his batting average with runners in scoring position is .159 this season which means that 240 major league players have a higher batting average with runners in scoring position this season then Joe does. OUCH!

2014 All-Star Peanuts Gang Statues

MLB announced that Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Twins and Peanuts Worldwide, as part of a new collaboration between the organizations, unveiled 10 life-size statues of the iconic Peanuts Gang, including Charlie Brown and Snoopy, dressed in full Twins baseball uniforms at St. Paul’s Rice Park on May 28th.

These statues are set to welcome St. Paul residents and visitors alike to the city’s downtown area for the next three weeks in advance of MLB All-Star Week. On hand for the unveiling were Twins Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim Pohlad, Team President Dave St. Peter, City of St. Paul Director of Marketing and Convention Planning Jake Spano as well as a starting lineup of St. Paul natives, including Twins first baseman and All-Star Ambassador Joe Mauer, Twins Bench Coach and All-Star Ambassador Paul Molitor and Snoopy, the World’s Most Famous Beagle and Official Peanuts All-Star Ambassador. The statue unveiling marked the start of a new multi-year marketing relationship between the league and the legendary comic strip brand that also forms a special retail program. This retail component consists of replica statuettes modeled after the life-size statues in Rice Park, as well as other related merchandise including apparel, novelties and collectibles.

The 10 life-size statues are decorated with full baseball gear to go along with their uniforms, including mitts, cleats, bats and in Schroeder’s case, catcher’s equipment. Standing between five and six feet tall and weighing between 200-300 pounds, these Twins-themed All-Star statues will reside in St. Paul’s Rice Park until June 16th at which point they will move to the Minneapolis Convention Center for MLB All-Star festivities through July 15th. This special line of commemorative statues and their replica statuettes, commissioned in conjunction with Forever Collectibles, depicts the Peanuts gang as Twins players, dressed in uniforms adjusted for each character’s style.

2014 All-Star Game Snoopy Figurine (Target Field Exclusive - June 6 game - 10,000 available) — 2014 All-Star Game Snoopy Figurine (Target Field Exclusive – June 6 game – 10,000 available)

The statuettes, which stand between five and seven inches, will be available through MLB.com and at the Majestic Twins Clubhouse Store beginning June 2nd. Photos of all 10 life-size statues and the replica variations are available at MLB.com. The Twins will also host Peanuts Day at Target Field on June 6th when the first 10,000 fans will receive a limited-edition Snoopy figure. Only fans in attendance at this Twins versus Houston Astros game will be able to complete the entire limited-edition collection. In addition to the replica statuettes, in the coming months fans can obtain a wide variety of memorabilia featuring the Peanuts Gang characters, representing all 30 MLB clubs. Items will include apparel, headwear, novelties and collectibles, among other items and will be available nationwide.

MLB All-Star Week at Target Field includes the 85^th MLB All-Star Game (July 15^th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day (July 14^th) featuring the Home Run Derby, Taco Bell All-Star Sunday (July 13^th), including the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game, and T-Mobile All-Star FanFest at the Minneapolis Convention Center (July 11^th-15^th).

Click on the figurine to see the slideshow and place your cursor on the figurine during the slide show to view the description.

[Show picture list]

The June Free Agent Draft is just around the corner

The MLB First-Year Player Draft may not be as popular as the NFL draft but is is still a fun and entertaining event that many baseball fans wait for all year. In the NFL, the players drafted will be putting on that teams colors come Fall but in baseball a draftee might spend years in the minor leagues learning his craft before he ever gets a sniff of a big league clubhouse. There are web sites devoted strictly to the MLB draft and as draft day get closer and closer you can find “mock drafts” showing who your team will draft everywhere, 99.9% of them will be wrong but never the less it is still fun to look at them.

The first draft took place in 1965, it was introduced to prevent richer teams from negotiating wealthier contracts with top-level prospects and therefore, monopolizing the player market. Originally, three drafts were held each year. The first draft took place in June and involved high-school graduates and college seniors who had just finished their seasons. The second draft took place in January for high school and college players who had graduated in December. The third draft took place in August and was for players who participated in American amateur summer leagues. The August draft was eliminated after two years, and the January draft lasted until 1986. Rick Monday became MLB’s first draft pick after being selected by the Kansas City Athletics

MLB will hold day one of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft on June 5th at MLB Network’s Studio 42 in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Draft will be aired live on the MLB Network starting at 7:00 p.m. (ET). As is the case with most events of this type, the MLB talking heads will analyze the up-coming draft in a one hour pre-draft preview show.

The selection order of the First-Year Player Draft is determined by the reverse order
of finish at the close of the previous season. The Houston Astros will have the first overall selection of the 2014 Draft, marking the third consecutive year, and the fifth time in club history, that they hold the top selection (previous: 1976, 1992, 2012, 2013). It marks the first time ever that a club has the top pick in three consecutive years. In addition, the Astros are the third club in history to hold the top selection at least five times, joining the New York Mets and San Diego Padres (five each).

Six clubs, the Toronto Blue Jays (9th and 11th), the Kansas City Royals (17th and 28th), the Cincinnati Reds (19th and 29th), the Cleveland Indians (21st and 31st), the Boston Red Sox (26th and 33rd) and the St. Louis Cardinals (27th and 34th) have two selections in the first round. The Indians, Miami Marlins and Royals each have a league high four selections within the first 68 picks during the opening day of the Draft.

The Draft will once again feature Competitive Balance rounds, which were agreed upon as a part of the 2012-2016 Basic Agreement between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The Competitive Balance rounds give clubs with the lowest revenues and in the smallest markets the opportunity to obtain additional draft picks through a lottery, which was held last July. The 10 clubs with the lowest revenues and the 10 clubs in the smallest markets were entered into a lottery for the six selections immediately following the first round of the First-Year Player Draft (picks 35-41; excluding pick 36, which Miami holds as compensation for an unsigned 2013 selection). The eligible clubs that did not receive one of the six selections after the first round, and all other payee clubs under the Revenue Sharing Plan, were entered into a second lottery for the six picks
immediately following the second round of the Draft (picks 69-74).

The Draft will have 40 rounds, and a club may pass on its selection in any round and not forfeit its right to participate in other rounds. Like each of the previous five years, the 2014 Draft will span three days. For day one on June 5th, MLB Network and MLB.com will provide live pick-by-pick coverage during the first round, Competitive Balance Round A, the second round and Competitive Balance Round B. The intervals between selections will last four and a half minutes during the first round and one minute during Competitive Balance Round A, the second round and Competitive Balance Round B. The Draft will resume at 1:05 p.m. (ET) on both June 6th and June 7th via conference call from MLB headquarters in New York City.

June 6th will cover rounds three through 10, and June 7th will cover rounds 11 through 40. Rounds three through 10 will have one minute between selections, and the remainder of the selections will be made without delays.

According to MLB, of the 853 players who were on 2014 Opening Day 25-man rosters,
disabled lists and restricted lists, a total of 650 players were selected in the MLB Draft. As ccould be expected, the earlier picks do in fact show the highest returns of Major League players, as the 143 players chosen in the top 30 selections amounted to 22.0% of the 650 Opening Day players who went through the Draft en route to the Major Leagues. Picks 31-60 generated 12.0% (78) of the players, and picks 61-90 turned out 10.0% (65), picks 91-120 generated 6.9% (46) and picks 121-159 generated 8.6% (56) players. Kansas City’s outfielder Jarrod Dyson is the latest draft pick in the Major Leagues on Opening Day rosters, he was chosen in round 50 of the 2006 Draft by the Royals.

The Twins have five picks in the top 140 owning the rights to the 5th, 46th, 79th, 110th and 140th selections.

Twins Draft History

The Minnesota Twins first selection ever (Round 1 – 9th over-all in 1965) was shortstop Eddie Leon from Arizona University but he chose not to sign with Minnesota. Leon went on to play for three big league teams but never hit it big playing in 601 games over 8 years hitting for a .236 batting average with 24 home runs.

The Twins have had the first pick over-all twice, in 1983 when they selected RHP Tim Belcher from Mount Vernon Nazarene University and again in 2001 when they selected catcher Joe Mauer from Cretin-Derham Hall High School. Tim Belcher chose not to sign with Minnesota but went on to have a long 14 year big-league career with 7 different teams putting up a 146-140 won/lost record. Joe Mauer has been with the Twins since 2004.

The current 25 man Minnesota roster has six players selected by the Twins in round one, RHP Kyle Gibson in 2009 was 21st over-all, outfielder Aaron Hicks in 2008 was 14th over-all, outfielder/Ib Chris Parmelee in 2006 was 20th over-all, 3B Trevor Plouffe in 2004 was 20th over-all, closer LHP Glen Perkins in 2004 was 22nd over-all, and 1B Joe Mauer who the Twins picked number one over-all in 2001.

A number of Twins first round picks have moved on such as outfielder Ben Revere who was 28th over-all in 2007, RHP Matt Garza who was picked in 2005 and the 25th over-all selection, outfielder Denard Span in 2002 number 20 over-all, outfielder Michael Cuddyer in 1997 was 9th over-all, and finally outfielder Torii Hunter who is still playing good ball with the Tigers was selected 20th over-all back in 1993. Hunter is playing in his 18th big league season at the age of 38. How time flies….

The first player to be drafted in the first round by Minnesota and make the Twins roster was outfielder Steve Brye who the Twins selected number one and 17th over-all in 1967. Brye debuted with Minnesota in September of 1970 and appeared in 697 games for the Twins between 1970 and 1978 hitting .258 with 30 home runs.

Five Years Ago – 2009 draft

The Twins selected Kyle Gibson number 1, catcher Chris Herrmann number 6, and 2B Brian Dozier number 8, all were picked after spending time in college. No other players drafted by Minnesota that year have made it to the big leagues.

Ten Years Ago – 2004 draft

The Twins selected Trevor Plouffe number 1-20, Glen Perkins number 1-22, RHP Kyle Waldrop 1-25, RHP Matt Fox 1s-35, RHP Anthony Swarzak in round 2, infielder Matt Tolbert in round 16, outfielder Rene Tosoni in round 34.

Travis Lee fiasco

Travis Lee was a Steve Boras client and was initially drafted as the second pick over-all in the 1996 Major League draft by the Minnesota Twins, but was declared a free agent by MLB through a loophole after the Twins failed to tender him a contract within fifteen days of the end of the draft. He then signed a four-year, $10 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Lee did not turn out to be the super-star everyone expected him to be but he did play in the big leagues from 1998 to 2006 appearing in 1,099 games hitting .256 with 115 home runs.

Will this years Minnesota Twins first round pick be stud or a dud? It could be years before we know.

So what is Joe’s problem?

The Twins have played better than expected (12-11) in 2014 and the team is ranked third in the league in runs scored with 127 runs in 23 games for an average of 5.52 runs per game. Everyone is excited about the Twins offensive display this season but so far nobody is talking about the elephant in the room, Joe Mauer and his slow start as the teams new first baseman.

The Twins $23 million first baseman in 111 plate appearances is hitting .266 with two doubles, one home run and 6 RBI. On the plus side Mauer has scored 19 runs and appeared in every Twins game this season (20 games at 1B and 3 at DH).

So what ails Joe? With the Twins offense in high gear no one is complaining about Mauer’s poor start with the bat but the Twins are going to need production from their highest paid player as the season moves along. In his 11th big league season the 31-year-old Mauer has a career batting mark of .322 and he has struck out once every 8.76 plate appearances and walked once every 8.17 plate appearances. So far this season he is striking out once every 4.27 plate appearances and walking only once every 6.53 plate appearances. What I would like to know is why Mauer’s strikeouts have jumped so dramatically the last two seasons.

Joe Mauer’s strikeout rate over his career

YEAR	Plate Appearances per KO
2014	4.27
2013	5.71
2012	7.28
2011	8.76
2010	11.02
2009	9.62
2008	12.66
2007	7.96
2006	11.26
2005	8.66
2004	8.71

So why the ever-increasing strikeout rate? Are umpires treating Mauer differently? Is age catching up with Joe? Is Mauer’s eyesight becoming an issue? Does Mauer miss catching? Does he miss getting two days a week off? Is the cold wet weather bothering Mauer? Or is it that married life has taken Mauer’s focus off baseball?

The Twins are going to be paying Mauer $23 million a year through at least 2018 and the team and we fans have a right to expect a lot more from Mr. Mauer. At the rate Mauer is hitting in 2014 he will finish the season with 6 home runs, 12 doubles and 36 RBI, these are Pedro Florimon numbers or for that matter any batter that hits 8th or 9th in the batting order not for a guy hitting as high in the line-up as Mauer hits.

Odds are that Mauer will catch fire pretty soon and put up the numbers we expect from here every year but there will come a time when that doesn’t happen and I sure hope we aren’t looking at that time here and now.

Watching the Twins lose to the Pirates 2-1

We attended our final Twins spring training game yesterday as we watched the Twins lose 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a sunny day albeit only 60 degrees at game time with a stiff wind blowing to left field. Ricky Nolasco started for the home town nine and pitched a strong 4 innings giving up just one hit while striking out three in his tune-up for opening day against the White Sox in Chicago. It was a fast paced (2 hours and 24 minutes) game with little hitting but it still had some interest when a mini bean-ball war broke out. Pirates starter Brandon Cumpton threw a pitch that catcher Kurt Suzuki was just able to get his face out of the way of and that started the ball rolling. Not too longer after that Anthony Swarzak nailed Tony Sanchez and then Oswaldo Arcia took one in the back and both benches ended up with a warning.

Swarzak’s pitching line came to an end after two innings when a line drive off the bat of Travis Snider struck him in the forearm, but Swarzak grabbed the ricochet and threw the batter out. As he walked off the field, the Pirates were yelling something at Swarzak and he stopped to yell back. Things got a bit testy before Swarzak was pulled away. The Pirates who had brought a lot of players to Hammond Stadium were all on the top step of their dugout ready to mix it up with the Twins but it never came to that.

The old saying is that if you give the team a freebie like the Pirates did when catcher Tony Sanchez dropped Arcia’s easy pop up behind the plate it will come back to bite you and it certainly held true here when Arcia hit a rocket out to right-center field that just cleared the fence for a home run and gave the Twins a short-lived 1-0 lead. The lead did not last long however, as the Pirates loaded the bases with two-out and a ground ball was hit to first baseman Joe Mauer who knocked it down and then panicked trying to pick up the ball and by the time he had it under control the Pirates runner from second base was racing home with the winning run and Mauer’s throw to the plate was too late.

Shortstop Pedro Florimon who is just coming back from an appendectomy was his normal self, he made an error on an easy play and then made a very nice play later in the game. With the bat, Florimon seemed lost but that is really nothing new for Pedro. Manager Gardenhire said after the game that maybe Florimon’s bat is not ready yet and he may not be in the opening day line-up. On the plus side the Twins did turn two nice double plays.

There were 6,585 fans at the game but we had very little to cheer about and it was so quiet for most of the game that you could hear a pin drop. There is not a lot of excitement with this Twins team this spring and with an 8-14 record which is second worst in the AL there seems to be little hope for the up-coming season.

The Twins pitching is not that bad but their hitting this spring is a whole different story. Let’s take a quick look at the batting averages for the Twins starters –

C – Suzuki – .200

1B – Mauer – .300

2B – Dozier – .255

SS – Florimon – .150

3B – Plouffe – .239

LF – Willingham – .056

CF – Hicks – .318

RF – Arcia – .256

DH – Kubel – .195

Between them the leading home run hitter has 2 (Arcia) and the RBI leader has 6 (Arcia again). Both Eduardo Escobar (9) and Chris Colabello (8) have more RBI then any of the starters and they are not assured of even making this team. I just can’t see this current line-up staying intact for very deep into the season. If this team gets off to a bad start there will be changes galore in no time. Before spring training started I thought this team had a chance to finish at .500 with the improved pitching, now I am thinking they will still be better than last year but will fall short of the .500 mark. The hitting on this team this spring is just plain appalling, where is that great hitting coach Brunansky now when they need him. I have not heard Brunansky’s name mentioned in weeks, is he still part of the coaching staff? Then again the case could certainly be made that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear….

But in the end it is still spring training and no one but the Diamondbacks has lost a game yet so there is still hope that the hit fairy will bless the Twins bats and that they will come to life in Chicago. Come on Twins, give me a reason to watch you play ball every day this summer. Please!

Twins rookies with 100 or more hits

A quick look at Twins rookies over the years and how many hits they had in their rookie season. To make the list they had to have 100 or more hits in their first season in the big leagues.

Rk	Player	H	Year	Age	G	AB	R	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA
1	Tony Oliva (RoY-1st)	217	1964	25	161	672	109	43	9	32	94	12	.323
2	Rich Rollins	186	1962	24	159	624	96	23	5	16	96	3	.298
3	Lew Ford	170	2004	27	154	569	89	31	4	15	72	20	.299
4	Kirby Puckett (RoY-3rd)	165	1984	24	128	557	63	12	5	0	31	14	.296
5	Kent Hrbek (RoY-2nd)	160	1982	22	140	532	82	21	4	23	92	3	.301
6	Chuck Knoblauch (RoY-1st)	159	1991	22	151	565	78	24	6	1	50	25	.281
7	Bernie Allen (RoY-3rd)	154	1962	23	159	573	79	27	7	12	64	0	.269
8	Luis Rivas	150	2001	21	153	563	70	21	6	7	47	31	.266
9	Rod Carew (RoY-1st)	150	1967	21	137	514	66	22	7	8	51	5	.292
10	Carlos Gomez	149	2008	22	153	577	79	24	7	7	59	33	.258
11	Tim Teufel (RoY-4th)	149	1984	25	157	568	76	30	3	14	61	1	.262
12	Joe Mauer	144	2005	22	131	489	61	26	2	9	55	13	.294
13	Zoilo Versalles	143	1961	21	129	510	65	25	5	7	53	16	.280
14	Marty Cordova (RoY-1st)	142	1995	25	137	512	81	27	4	24	84	20	.277
15	Butch Wynegar (RoY-2nd)	139	1976	20	149	534	58	21	2	10	69	0	.260
16	Bobby Darwin	137	1972	29	145	513	48	20	2	22	80	2	.267
17	Chad Allen	133	1999	24	137	481	69	21	3	10	46	14	.277
18	Jimmie Hall (RoY-3rd)	129	1963	25	156	497	88	21	5	33	80	3	.260
19	Bob Randall	127	1976	28	153	475	55	18	4	1	34	3	.267
20	Tom Brunansky	126	1982	21	127	463	77	30	1	20	46	1	.272
21	Dan Ford	123	1975	23	130	440	72	21	1	15	59	6	.280
22	Ron Washington	122	1982	30	119	451	48	17	6	5	39	3	.271
23	Cesar Tovar	121	1966	25	134	465	57	19	5	2	41	16	.260
24	Ben Revere	120	2011	23	117	450	56	9	5	0	30	34	.267
25	Gary Gaetti (RoY-5th)	117	1982	23	145	508	59	25	4	25	84	0	.230
26	Jerry Terrell	116	1973	26	124	438	43	15	2	1	32	13	.265
27	Bobby Mitchell	113	1982	27	124	454	48	11	6	2	28	8	.249
28	John Castino (RoY-1st)	112	1979	24	148	393	49	13	8	5	52	5	.285
29	A.J. Pierzynski	110	2001	24	114	381	51	33	2	7	55	1	.289
30	Willie Norwood	109	1978	27	125	428	56	22	3	8	46	25	.255
31	Mark Salas (RoY-8th)	108	1985	24	120	360	51	20	5	9	41	0	.300
32	Corey Koskie	106	1999	26	117	342	42	21	0	11	58	4	.310
33	Lyman Bostock	104	1975	24	98	369	52	21	5	0	29	2	.282
34	Dustan Mohr (RoY-8th)	103	2002	26	120	383	55	23	2	12	45	6	.269
35	Steve Lombardozzi	103	1986	26	156	453	53	20	5	8	33	3	.227
36	Rick Sofield	103	1980	23	131	417	52	18	4	9	49	4	.247
37	Denard Span (RoY-6th)	102	2008	24	93	347	70	16	7	6	47	18	.294

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/10/2014.

Who will be the next Twins rookie to join this list?

Who took the money?

Let’s take a quick look and see how much money the Minnesota Twins highest paid players over the years have taken to the bank. Strikes me as kind of odd that six names on this list are pitchers.

1. Joe Mauer has been making $23,000,000 a year from 2011-current. Joe also cashed in for $12,500,000 in 2010 and $10,500,000 in 2009.

2. Justin Morneau was paid at the rate of $15,000,000 per season from 2010-2013 but he also made $11,600,000 in 2009 and $8,400,000 in 2008.

3. Johan Santana made $13,000,000 in his final season in a Twins uniform in 2007.

4. Torii Hunter pocketed a cool $12,000,000 in his last year in a Twins uni in 2007.

4. Ricky Nolasco will make $12,000,000 this season.

6. Joe Nathan took $11,250,000 to the bank from 2009-2011 even though was injured all of 2010.

7. Brad Radke cashed for $10,750,000 in 2004.

8. Michael Cuddyer took $10,500,000 home in 2011 in his final season in Minny.

9. Carl Pavano was paid $9,000,000 in 2012 and he went 2-5 with a 6.00 ERA in the 11 games he started.

10. Rick Reed might not have liked pitching for the Twins but he had no problem taking the $8,000,000 the Twins paid him in 2003.

There were several players that had big buck contracts but their time in Minnesota was so limited they are not on this list. Phil Nevin was making $10,472,409 in 2006 when he played in 16 games as a Twin. Bret Boone was making $9,000,000 in 2005 and he appeared in just 14 Twins games. Brian Fuentes was making $9,000,000 in 2010 but he only appeared in 9 games.

Harmon Killebrew was probably the greatest Minnesota Twins player of them all and here is what Harmon earned over the years that he played. The MLB minimum salary in 1970 was $12,000 and in 2014 it is $500,000. Not a bad job if you can get it.

1954 – $6,000 plus $4,000 bonus

1955 – $6,000 plus $4,000 bonus

1956 – $6,000 plus $4,000 bonus

1957 – $7,000

1958 – $8,000

1959 – $9,000

1960 – $20,000

1961 – $27,000

1962 – $33,000

1963 – $46,000

1964 – $48,000

1965 – $54,000

1966 – $61,000

1967 – $66,000

1968 – $70,000

1969 – $80,000

1970 – $90,000

1971 – $110,000

1972 – $125,000

1973 – $105,000

1974 – $90,000

Keep what you have or do you take what is behind this door?

2013 has just about come to a close and spring training is 41 days away and the MLB free agent list still has numerous serviceable players looking for work. The plums of the free agent market have pretty much been plucked but there are still a few decent players out there. The fact that Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was dangling in the wind probably has a lot to do with some of the top rated free agent starters still on the market not signing but now that he has been posted thing may start to break free. If you look at the available free agents you can see how some positions have been stripped bare and others still have innumerable free agents still in the unemployed corner. Strangely enough with everyone looking for starting pitching there seems to be plenty of arms still on the market, sure, they are not aces but they can certainly fill a spot in many teams rotations.

I thought it would be interesting to compare some of what I deem to be top free agents still looking for work to what might be the 2014 Twins team when they head to Chicago to open play in 2014. If you compare the free agent and the corresponding Twins player, who would you rather see in a Twins uniform? Don’t forget what it might cost to sign this free agent versus the player the Twins currently have because you don’t have an unlimited checkbook. This is just a fun little exercise to help you get through these cold snowy days in Minnesota as you wait the hear that “play ball” call once again. Are any of these free agents possible Twins in your eyes?

Position	Free Agents	Twins
Catcher	John Buck	Josmil Pinto
1B	Mark Reynolds	Joe Mauer
2B	Chris Getz	Brian Dozier
SS	Stephen Drew	Pedro Florimon
3B	Michael Young	Trevor Plouffe
LF	Chris Coghlan	Josh Willingham
CF	Reed Johnson	Aaron Hicks
RF	Nelson Cruz	Oswaldo Arcia
DH	Kendrys Morales	Chris Parmelee
SP	Matt Garza	Ricky Nolasco
SP	Ervin Santana	Phil Hughes
SP	Masahiro Tanaka	Kevin Correia
SP	Ubaldo Jimenez	Mike Pelfrey
SP	Bronson Arroyo	Sam Deduno
CL	Grant Balfour	Glen Perkins

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I don’t know how much it would take to sign Stephen Drew but I wouldn’t mind seeing him play some short here in Minnesota. I also would like to see Michael Young play some 3B instead of Trevor Plouffe while waiting for Miguel Sano to slide into that 3B position. Both probably looking for more than the Twins want to spend but if I was Mr. Ryan I would open my checkbook and get Drew’s John Henry on a Twins contract, he would be a huge upgrade and there is no prospect beating down the shortstop door in Minnesota. Tanaka would be a slick addition but I can’t see him wanting to play here plus the financial risk of paying that much for an unproven MLB player is more than I would like to do. There are a few relief pitchers that I did not include on this list that would be nice in the Twins bullpen too.

I used the ESPN MLB Free Agent tracker to determine who was still available, are there players on the list you would like to see in the home dugout at Target Field that I did not mention here?

10 years is a long, long time

RF Tony Oliva played for the Twins from 1962-1976

If the reports are true, the Colorado Rockies and long-time Twins first baseman Justin Morneau have agreed on a two-year $13 million deal. After signing Morneau the Rockies will have two players on their roster that spent all or parts of 10 or more season wearing a Twins uniform. Morneau will join Michael Cuddyer in Colorado. Former Twins LaTroy Hawkins who logged nine seasons with Minnesota and has played with 10 different major league teams will also call Colorado home this season .

Now days with arbitration and free agency players don’t stay with an organization that long and to play for a team for 10 years is getting to be a tougher and tougher task. Since the Twins started here in 1961 there have been 22 players that logged 10 or more season in a Twins uniform with Tony Oliva leading the pack with 15 notches in his belt. The only active player on the list is Joe Mauer and if he stays in Minnesota through 2018 when his current contract expires, he will also wear that Minnesota across his chest for 15 years.

Players that played in Minnesota for all or parts of 10 seasons

Rk		Yrs	From	To	Age
1	Tony Oliva	15	1962	1976	23-37	Ind. Seasons
2	Kent Hrbek	14	1981	1994	21-34	Ind. Seasons
3	Harmon Killebrew	14	1961	1974	25-38	Ind. Seasons
4	Jim Kaat	13	1961	1973	22-34	Ind. Seasons
5	Brad Radke	12	1995	2006	22-33	Ind. Seasons
6	Eddie Guardado	12	1993	2008	22-37	Ind. Seasons
7	Kirby Puckett	12	1984	1995	24-35	Ind. Seasons
8	Randy Bush	12	1982	1993	23-34	Ind. Seasons
9	Rod Carew	12	1967	1978	21-32	Ind. Seasons
10	Justin Morneau	11	2003	2013	22-32	Ind. Seasons
11	Michael Cuddyer	11	2001	2011	22-32	Ind. Seasons
12	Torii Hunter	11	1997	2007	21-31	Ind. Seasons
13	Denny Hocking	11	1993	2003	23-33	Ind. Seasons
14	Rick Aguilera	11	1989	1999	27-37	Ind. Seasons
15	Bert Blyleven	11	1970	1988	19-37	Ind. Seasons
16	Joe Mauer	10	2004	2013	21-30	Ind. Seasons
17	Greg Gagne	10	1983	1992	21-30	Ind. Seasons
18	Gary Gaetti	10	1981	1990	22-31	Ind. Seasons
19	Roy Smalley	10	1976	1987	23-34	Ind. Seasons
20	Rich Reese	10	1964	1973	22-31	Ind. Seasons
21	Jim Perry	10	1963	1972	27-36	Ind. Seasons
22	Bob Allison	10	1961	1970	26-35	Ind. Seasons

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/5/2013.

Tag: Joe Mauer

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