Curious move as Twins sign Everett

About 30 minutes ago the Twins announced their signing of free agent SS Adam Everett. Everett became expendable from the Houston Astros lineup as they acquired SS Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade.

This signing is very peculiar to me. The terms of deal have not yet been released and I'm sure Everett comes at a bargain cost. To his credit he is one of the best defensive shortstops in the Major Leagues; however, I would call Everett a poor hitter (and that is being kind). Last year, Everett hit .232 with 2 homeruns and 15 RBIs in an injury shortened season that limited to 66 games. He is career .248 hitter with only 35 lifetime homeruns and 214 RBIs.

Clearly, we know the Twins value defensive skills and it is true that Everett will be a defensive upgrade over Bartlett who is a good defensive player himself. The Twins now have four infielders in Everett, Nick Punto, Alexi Casilla, and Brendan Harris who can play 2B, SS, and 3B. It will be unknown which player will field which position until the end of spring training in March. Each player has either a defensive, offensive, or baserunning strength coupled with a significant weakness. I would like to think that Twins will still go out and acquire a thirdbaseman who can defend, but more importantly, can hit.

Here's a link to the Everett news.

Let me know how you feel about Adam Everett? I'm off to watch the Mitchell report!

Around the MLB and the mighty Tyner

A few big pieces of information on this cold winter day across the Majors. The Baltimore Orioles traded former MVP Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros for a handful of 5 young players. The Orioles save a lot of money and get much younger and the Astros acquire an All-Star who is definitely on the decline. It will remain to be seen whether the Astros keep Tejada at shortstop or move him over to the hot corner. Tejada should benefit to feasting on National League pitching and moving into a hitter's ballpark in Houston.

The San Francisco Giants added a very needed bat to their weak offense by signing free agent CF Aaron Rowand to a 5-year $60 million deal. Rowand's name was thrown around by the Twins but never reached serious discussion given the contract he was looking for. This was a large deal for Rowand given he had a surprise breakout season last year.

Lastly, tomorrow is a big day for Major League Baseball. At 2 pm ET, former Senate majority leader, George Mitchell, will be conducting a news conference to announce the results of his 20-month investigation into baseball's drug problem. It is expected that many player's names will be mentioned and there will be some revealing information about what was going on during the "Steroid Era." This could get ugly, here's more information.

In the Twins news department, the mighty Jason Tyner (who hit his first career homerun this year after 1,220 at-bats) was let go today by the Twins. It appears the Twins' outfield was a little too full.

Twins, Monroe agree to one year contract

Twins breaking news fresh off the (cyberspace) press, no it does not have to do with Johan Santana. The Twins have agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder Craig Monroe worth an estimated $3.82 million plus incentives based on plate appearance.

Monroe, who split time with the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs last season, was acquired by the Twins for a player to be named later on November 13 from the Cubs. Twins had to either sign or non-tender Monroe by the Wednesday deadline tomorrow.

With the recent trade for Delmon Young, and Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel already slated for a bulk of the at bats in the corner outfield and designated hitter spots, it appeared the Twins would let Monroe go. However, it appears the Twins believe Monroe could be a big part of the team this year. Last year Monroe, 30, had a below average year batting .219 with 12 homeruns and 59 RBIs. But in 2006 he hit 28 homers and drove in 92 RBIs. This type of production would be a welcomed surprise for the anemic Twins offense. Monroe has always been a Twins killer in the Metrodome, so I figure if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

In recent Santana news, it has been reported that of the Red Sox offers, the Twins prefer the deal that included OF Jacoby Ellsbury. This makes the Monroe signing even more peculiar as the Twins outfield would look like Young in LF, Ellsbury in CF, and Cuddyer in RF with a possible platoon of Kubel/Monroe at DH. A very young, but dangerous outfield, but hopefully there will be enough at bats to go around. I don't think you can ever have too much talent.

Buster Olney of ESPN, previews a potential Red Sox rotation with Santana and a Twins' lineup with Ellsbury.

MVB readers, what are your thoughts/feelings on the signing of OF Craig Monroe?

Show Morneau the Money

With news from the Santana front appearing relatively still (could change any day now), I wanted to focus my attention on a different Twins star: Justin Morneau.

I think with Torii's departure to the Angels and the high likelihood of Santana still being traded away, the Twins stand to learn a lesson this offseason. SIGN YOUR STARS TO LONG TERM CONTRACTS AS SOON AS YOU CAN!


In the past, the Twins have maintained the philosophy of not signing long-term deals for fear of the signed player suffering a significant injury or turning out to be a fluke after a career year. I understand this is wise as the small market Twins cannot afford to get bogged down by bad long term contracts; however, there is something to be said for rewarding your star players and locking them up while you can still afford to do so.

During 2006 season when Johan Santana was revving up his campaign for his second AL Cy Young award the Twins could have locked up Santana to long term deal of roughly $15 million a season. This was the market value at the time for frontline pitchers. It was clear Santana was no fluke. He had already won one Cy Young award (should have won two) and had proven his durability over multiple seasons. Instead, Santana is set to change the market for star pitchers as he may possibly command a salary of nearly $25 million a year.

In that same 2006 season while Justin Morneau was putting up his MVP winning numbers, the New York Mets signed their young stars, David Wright and Jose Reyes, to long-term deals of 6 years $55 million and 4 years $23 million respectively. These may appear like heavy contracts, but these two players were emerging stars and now have very affordable contracts. It's ok that the Twins wanted to make sure that Morneau's MVP season wasn't just a fluke, but this past season he clearly showed he is a major league star. Granted, Morneau's 2007 season was a down year from the year before but he is one of baseball's best young players and an integral part of the Twins' future.

Joe Mauer was signed to a 4 year $33 million deal before the 2007 season to ensure he will be playing when the new ballpark opens in 2010. Now Justin Morneau MUST be signed to a long-term deal while we still can.

Consider the loss of Torii Hunter and the probable loss of Johan Santana a lesson. I don't think Twins fans could take much more.

Santana Status Quo

The winter meetings are officially over and GM Bill Smith and his entourage have headed home to the Twin Cities. Most notably, Johan Santana is still wearing a Twins uniform.

Smith had many conversations, lot of players were discussed, and the media made a frenzy of the Santana sweepstakes, but in the end Smith and the Twins were not satisfied with their offers. Does this mean Santana will be a Twin when the 2008 season starts? Not so fast...talks have stalled for now, but expect many more rumors in the next couple weeks.

ESPN's Buster Olney says the Santana discussions are far from over. Of all the potential suitors, Olney still feels the Red Sox are the favorite to acquire the All-Star pitcher.

The New York Mets have joined the Santana fray along with the Red Sox and many people still believe the New York Yankees are in on the talk although they claim they are done discussing Santana. Reports also claim the Seattle Mariners have explored deals for the Twins' pitcher while both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels seems to be on the outside looking in. Fox Sport's Dayn Perry breaks down all the possible Santana deals.

Meanwhile... PIC OF THE DAY!


What do you think of Torii's new digs?

Twins patient with Santana

It's day 3 of the Winter Meetings and as you all know the Twins haven't been in the headlines for anything but rumors. Santana is still wearing number 57 for the Twins and personally, I'm ok with that. The only headlines so far at the meeting go to AL Central rivals, the Detroit Tigers, for their blockbuster trade acquiring Florida Marlin All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis for the prices of six prospects. One of baseball's toughest divisions continues to get tougher. Not good news for the Twins.

The Yankees claim they are "99.9% out of it (the Santana sweepstakes," but after they were "done negotiating" with Alex Rodriguez earlier this offseason we never quite trust the Yankee's word. It does seem that the Bronx Bombers have moved on to other needs, but we can never count them out. The Red Sox are patiently waiting with two different proposals offered to the Twins.

The proposals: 1) headlined by P Jon Lester, along with OF Coco Crisp, SS Jed Lowrie, and minor league P Justin Masterson. 2) centered on OF Jacoby Ellsbury, along with SS Lowrie, and probably P Masterson.

I credit new Twins GM Bill Smith for his patience and determination throughout this entire Santana madness. Johan is the biggest asset to the Twins franchise and although Smith is in between a rock and a hard place to trade Santana, the GM knows what he wants in return and will wait until he gets it. AND IF HE DOESN'T... then maybe we will see Santana on the mound after all come opening day. To get Santana, Smith wants two players that will step into the opening day lineup and be major league contributors. They asked the Yankees to throw in young pitcher Ian Kennedy along with Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera, and win the Yanks said no the Twins said ok then. I'm not sure if the Twins are holding out until the Red Sox put both Lester and Ellsbury in a deal or not. I think they should wait until they are able to get both players, but given that the Sox don't actually NEED Santana, they too may be content with keeping their young stars.

Hall of Fame Baseball Analyst and the man who is always on the inside of baseball news, Peter Gammons, said this today about the Twins at the winter meetings.

"Don't expect to see a Twins-Red Sox or Twins-Yankees whopper. The sense is that Minnesota will hold onto Johan Santana."

ESPN columnist Buster Olney gives a good review of the position that GM Bill Smith is in and breaks down the Twins current situation.

In other Twins news...

Santana isn't the only topic concerning the Twins at the meetings. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports the Twins are looking for middle-infield help and are potentially targeting free agent SS David Eckstein. Manager Ron Gardenhire said about Eckstein, "I've always had a lot of respect for him. He catches the ball. He knows how to play. He's a proven winner."

Eckstein does play the game hard and with a lot of character, but to me he seems like another player on our roster who plays great defense and can't hit... his name is Nick Punto. This report is simply in the rumor stage right now, but it makes me ask the readers...

Who would you rather have starting the 2008 season at shortstop? Nick Punto or David Eckstein?

Ready, set, trade!

Tomorrow marks the start of the annual Winter Meetings for baseball general managers. The four day event held in Nashville, Tennessee this year appears to be full of talk, rumors, and even trades.

Here's the latest on the Santana trade front. It seems that the two teams that have emerged as probable trade partners for the Twins are hated rivals the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Two events occurred over the weekend that significantly impact the scope of the Santana talk.

Friday the Yankees announced that they would be willing to trade young pitcher Phil Hughes in any deal for the Twins' ace. After a week of trying to avoid putting Hughes in any deal for Santana, the Yankees have changed their stance and are now offering a young pitcher who could in the future become the force that Santana is on the mound today.

Sunday the Red Sox stated they would add young outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury in any deal for Santana. This announcement comes after repeatedly calling Ellsbury "untouchable" in any deal. This option would fill the Twins large void left in centerfield by the departure of CF, Torii Hunter. Ellsbury made a quick name for himself across Sox Nation batting .353 with three home runs, 18 RBIs, and nine stolen bases in just 33 games in August and September for the Boston club. Ellsbury also became a hero taking over the starting centerfield position in the playoffs and responding with a terrific World Series performance.


If you're the Minnesota Twins the question becomes, do I trade my star player, and if so, do I rebuild with a young star pitcher or a young start outfielder? Hughes or Ellsbury?

One thing is for sure, the flurry of rumors surrounding Santana's name in the last week are close to an end. The Yankees announced today that their offer will soon be off the table. This means the Twins must make their decision soon, like in the next 24 hours soon. By tomorrow night we may know the future outlook of the Minnesota Twins franchise.

If you acquire Hughes you replace Santana in the rotation. Losing a current start for a future star. If you acquire Ellsbury you receive a stud young outfielder capable of replacing the beloved Torii Hunter who would excel batting at the top of an order with Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Delmon Young hitting behind him. BUT... what if the Twins decide that neither of these offers are good enough. What if the Twins instead trade some of their younger prospects and open up their wallet to sign a free agent or two and in doing so will their holes in CF, 3B, and DH. If Liriano comes back as good as he was in 2006 and the rotation is lead by Santana and Liriano, Delmon Young develops into a star while the rest of the lineup bounces back from a subpar year, I would label the Twins as a legitimate World Series contender. BUT... are they still good enough to tackle the defending champion, Boston Red Sox?

Think if the Twins decide to trade Santana to Boston, you now have a team that is not only the favorite to win the 2008 World Series but also a team that is developing into a dynasty for the next three to four years. A 2008 rotation of Santana, Beckett, Dice-K, Schilling, and whoever else feels like pitching (doesn't really matter) with the Red Sox offense is the closest thing to a sure thing in the baseball world.

So I wish I had a crystal ball to tell you what will happen, but at least it appears that we won't have to wait long to discover the outcome. As a fan, I'm not even sure yet what move is best for the Twins. I think the thought of having Ellsbury patrolling the outfield is at first glance more appealing to me, but Hughes too is a potential dominator on the pound. And all this being said, I'd be completely happy seeing Santana take the hill on opening day still in a Twins uniform.

The Star Tribune asks you... will Santana stay or go?

I ask you, considering the more likely option that Santana WILL be traded, will it be the Red Sox or the Yankees? Let's hear your opinion.