Must fill position, and by who?

[Scott K]

It looks as though the Twins are content in resigning Pavano for a veteran pitcher, so that fills one needed spot, he wasnt my first choice, but he will eat some innings.

I think we need to improve on the infield with one more player, I would like to see them get Adrian Beltre, and sign him for 2 years. That should give plenty of time for one of our minor leaguers to grow into a starter. If some chance one of them is ready before then, we can always use him at second base.

Besides that, we need help with middle relief, but we have so many starter options, we should be able to convert a couple of them to fill the need in middle relief.

Thoughts?

[zamboni]

Kruk said on ESPN last night to avoid signing Beltre. He is hurt alot and his numbers have been declining rapidly the past few years.

My thought is he can't be a worse signing than Crede

[Scott K]

Beltre has a good defense, and great power. Just think, if we added 30+ homeruns, and another 100rbi hitter to last years line up!

[nofishfisherman]

Beltre has a good defense, and great power. Just think, if we added 30+ homeruns, and another 100rbi hitter to last years line up!

Beltre has only one season with 30 plus home runs, and only one season with over 100 RBI's, he hit both marks in 2004 and then it has been a huge drop off since then.

Since then he's averaged 20 homers a season and 79 RBI's, that includes last year when he only hit 8 dingers and 44 RBI's while playing in 111 games.

Basically his a Cuddy type hitter but he's making $13-14 million a year. That's a lot to pay for a guy who seems to be getting worse year after year.

[Big Dave2]

Actually I think it is more of a wash between Crede and Beltre.

They are both about the same age

Almost identical #s last year

2009

Crede - 90 games

48 RBI

15 HR

Beltre - 111 games

44 RBI

8 HR

I actually think that Crede's defense is a little better at this point. In 2007, Beltre tied for the AL lead in errors for a 3rd baseman.

I guess what I am saying is that I would not pay more for Beltre than Crede at this point in their careers.

[Big Dave2]

Plus if the twins re-sign Joe Mauer, don't look for them to sign ANY big name free agents.

[zamboni]

I wouldn't compare his 8 HRs to Cuddyers 32 last year. Cuddyer can play in the OF, 1st and maybe 3rd. He has alot more upside than Beltre. Crede is the better comparison

[B. Amish]

i don't understand the fascination with beltre. it would be a terrible signing.

[Jarrod32]

Pickings at third base are a bit slim. Here are the unsigned free agents at third base as of this morning:

1. Beltre, Adrian 3B SEA --- ---

2. Boone, Aaron

3. Crede, Joe

4. DeRosa, Mark

5. Feliz, Pedro

6. Glaus, Troy 3B

7. Greene, Khalil 3B

8. Hairston, Jerry 3B

9. Loretta, Mark 3B

10. Mora, Melvin 3B

11. Ransom, Cody 3B NYY --- --- Minor league free agent

12. Richar, Danny 3B CIN --- --- Minor league free agent

13. Uribe, Juan 3B SF --- --- ---

Glaus in another injury risk. Feliz might be a reasonable option at the right price...DeRosa will probably be overpaid.

[Scott K]

It looks as though the Twins are looking to trade for Kevin Kouzmanoff, for Perkins, and another player.

[Jarrod32]

That could be a good deal...

[jigging-matt]

I could live with that deal.

[zamboni]

It looks as though the Twins are looking to trade for Kevin Kouzmanoff, for Perkins, and another player.

Delmon, maybe? They shopped him hard last year

[Big Dave2]

But they had an extra outfielder last year.

[Big Dave2]

It looks as though the Twins are looking to trade for Kevin Kouzmanoff, for Perkins, and another player.

Is Kevin Kouzmanoff a Good Fit for the Minnesota Twins? by Eric Johnson

Like many MLB rumor-mongers, I have been staring almost non-stop at my Twitter feed today (much to the chagrin of my retinas) to soak in the up-to-the-minute Twins updates.

The most recent of those updates comes courtesy of Bob Nightengale : "The Minnesota Twins are offering pitcher Glenn Perkins for Padres 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, but the Padres are seeking more." (Of course, by the time I finished typing that sentence some overweight sports writer in a Hawaiin shirt from the Podunk times probably tweeted a new rumor.)

As far as third base options go, Kouzmanoff isn't the best, but he also isn't the worst. Similar offensively to Joe Crede, and inferior with the glove, he would offer the Twins some power at the bottom of the lineup, but very little OBP. What makes him more intriguing than some 3B options, however, are his home/road splits:

Home: .220/.280/.382

Road: .287/.322/.493

Playing at home in the notoriously hitter unfriendly Petco Park, Kouzmanoff was a terrible offensive player. Playing on the road, however, he put up solid production.

Of course, citing Kouzmanoff’s solid road production, and thus claiming he will post an overall line close to his road stats is far too simplistic. There are a lot of factors for home/road splits, and you can't simply assume an overall line of .287/.322/.493.

With that said, it isn't unreasonable to expect slightly better production overall by removing Kouzmanoff from Petco.

Does this mean trading for Kouzmanoff would be a good idea?

It depends. (I know, I never just give straight answers do I?)

Much like in re-signing Pavano, the Kouzmanoff deal comes down to whether this is an "or" situation or an "and" situation.

Kouzmanoff is a solid option at third if his acquistion is coupled with, for example, Orlando Hudson at second. However, if Kouzmanoff is the only infield acquistion the Twins make, the deal is much more ho-hum.

The best case scenario for the Twins infield is acquiring both a third baseman and second baseman, thus moving Nick Punto to the bench which is an obviously weak position in and of itself. By adding Kouzmanoff and Hudson, the Twins would strengthen three positions (third, second, bench) and acquire what the lineup needs most: a number two hitter.

(By the way, to convice Gardenhire that Punto should be on the bench Bill Smith could just tell him that by making Punto a utility guy, Gardy could sit next to him every inning of every game. They could sit there talking, giggling, and doing whatever the hell it is that makes Gardy love Punto so much every single day. I'm pretty sure this could work, right?)

Depending on what the Twins have to give up in addition to Perkins, and what Smith and company do the rest of the offseason, Kouzmanoff could be a decent fit at 3B. If the asking price is a lot more than Perkins, however, or Kouzmanoff is going to be the only infield acquisition, the Twins should stay away, and continue searching for a capable two-hitter.

So my answer to whether the Twins should deal for Kouzmanoff?

The most appropriate hot stove answer of them all: It depends.

[harvey lee]

Agreed.

[Dahitman44]

That is not a bad idea.

Perkins in a whiner and the Twins don't like that. Perky is a good lefty and would be the # 3 starter in SD. Good move. Koz is an OK player - -nothing special but should hit 20-25 hrs. bat .280 and have good defense.

Kinda what Crede was supposed to do ...

They considered Koz and "batting champ" type of player with below average power, but in the majors he has hit more HRs than expected but bats closer to .270

[Big Dave2]

I just wonder, won't they have to pay Koz more money than Crede plus give up 2 players? If Koz and Crede's stats are similar wouldn't it make more sense just to sign Crede?

[zamboni]

Crede won't make it until the 4th of July. Like I said in a different thread, he gets hurt getting the newspaper off his doorstep.

[Dahitman44]

I love Crede's potential and defense BUT what good does that do u if he is hurt?

still like the Crede risk, but Koz may be worth a good long look. I think it would be better than DeRossa but u never can tell.

[TR21HP]

Latest is Twins are looking at DeRosa for third. This would be a big signing for the team and would provide a good glove with good power, something the Twins haven't had since Koskie.

[Dahitman44]

DeRosa would not be a big signing but for the Twins it might be as big as we are ever going to get.

DeRosa's numbers are a little skewed because he had a big month then was pretty quiet the rest of the year. Maybe that was just a one-time thing ....

[TR21HP]

The reason DeRosa's numbers fell off is he played hurt all year but got off seson surgery done so he should have a good year. He usually put a hurt on the Twins when he played with Cleveland so who knows. The Twins definitely need better power numbers at third and a better glove as well.

[Scott K]

I like DeRosa as well, but he would require a lot larger contract then I think the Twins would give him, and he is getting pretty old.

[B. Amish]

if i was a betting man:

perkins and casilla will be traded for a starter

they resign crede for cheap while waiting to bring up that valencia kid for 3rd

punto starts at 2nd