Twins fans who keep waiting for certain holes to be filled and for
certain axes to fall, and despite opening day being several months away,
I'm still getting anxious.
No word yet on Johan Santana's final resting place. He rejected $20m a
year for four years, wanting more years and more money, and he
apparently remains sure that somebody will offer both the money and the
prospects to make the Twins pull the trigger. Johan has narrowed down
his list of suitors to the Red Sox and the Yankees (and will not waive
his no-trade clause for anyone else), and the Red Sox offer to the Twins
I gather was... uninspiring. I don't know if the Yankees have anybody
to offer in a trade young enough for the Twins to want but replaceable
enough that the Yankees would part with them. Until we see what the
Twins get for Johan, it's hard to know what next year's team will look like.
But in the meantime, apparently none of the guys Twins fans were
thinking might fill the gap in center field will do so. Recent roster
cut Jason Tyner might have had the range to do so but had a horrible
year at the plate last year, and as I alluded to above last year's
back-up CF, Lew Ford, just signed a deal to play in Japan. Craig Monroe
will also not be considered as a starting center fielder, and with
Delmon Young and Michael Cuddyer in the corner infield spots, it looks
like there isn't a big right handed DH in the wings for the Twins since
one of our at least four corner infielders will be hitting in the DH
slot every game.
The Twins also signed another middle infielder who can't hit (Adam
Everett) so the ones we have wouldn't get lonely, but if Everett plays
shortstop and Brendan Harris stays at his preferred position at second
base, this puts Nick Punto, officially the worst hitter in baseball last
year, entirely off the field as a pinch runner and utility infielder
(he's fast, he just doesn't know how to get to first... or lay down a
bunt). This is good news, but I still don't know who's going to play
third, because Brian Buscher didn't blow anybody's skirt up when they
finally gave Punto the hook last year. Oh, first base is set... it
turns out Justin Morneau can really play.
So still no starting rotation, fingers crossed we still have a closer
and a left-handed reliever of some sort, no center fielder, or third
baseman, but we're still all set at catcher and first base. On the plus
side, no current Twins showed up on Senator Mitchell's long-awaited list
of players implicated in his steroid investigation, so nobody's
production is about to plummet without warning when they have to start
peeing in a cup. The one Twin rumored to be using steroids was already
slumping pretty hard, so maybe now that he dodged a bullet he'll
sacrifice his testes for the bullpen and get back on the performance
enhancing drugs.
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