The Twins are confident they can absorb the loss of a $48 million pitcher. That says something about Minnesota’s pitching depth, the market value of .500 starters, or both.
Carlos Silva, who went 47-45 over four seasons in Minnesota and 13-14 last season, walked away from the Twins on Thursday by signing a four-year contract with the Seattle Mariners that will average $12 million per season.
“Good for Carlos. He’s a really good guy,” said Twins general manager Bill Smith, whose own offer, reportedly around $18 million over three seasons, would have paid half per season what the Venezuelan right-hander, the beneficiary of a thin crop of free-agent pitchers, will receive from the Mariners. “We went into the winter hoping we could keep him, but it quickly became apparent he would have some good offers.”
And the Twins quickly determined that they could save those millions by parceling out the 202 innings the sinkerballer pitched last season to their class of young pitchers coming up from their minor-league system.
“It’s the one area we’ve got some depth in,” Smith said. “Carlos provided us some innings here, which was good. But we hope we are able to cover those innings with (Scott) Baker and (Boof) Bonser and (Francisco) Liriano and (Kevin) Slowey. We’ve got (Nick) Blackburn, (Glen) Perkins, (Brian) Bass. We really like this group, and now they have that much more of an opportunity.”
Silva’s 47 wins over the past four seasons for Minnesota were second only to Johan Santana’s 70. It’s also 17 more victories than Eric Milton (30-33) has collected since the pitchers were exchanged for each other in a trade with Philadelphia (which also included Nick Punto coming to the Twins) in December 2002.
“This was a great fit here for Carlos,” Smith said. “We took a guy who was stuck in a relief role and gave him a chance. He performed well for us, and I’m happy for him.”
-- Phil Miller
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Twins Add 3B Lamb
The Twins’ infield is suddenly coming together.
One day after adding former Astros shortstop Adam Everett, the Twins signed free agent Mike Lamb, the Houston third baseman who has played alongside Everett for four seasons, to a two-year contract (with an option for 2010).
The 32-year-old Lamb, who also played four seasons with Texas, has batted .288 or better in three of his four seasons with the Astros, and averaged 12.2 home runs over that span.
The presence of Lamb, who will compete for playing time with Brian Buscher, and Everett likely makes Brendan Harris, acquired last month from Tampa Bay, the favorite to start at second base.
-- Phil Miller
One day after adding former Astros shortstop Adam Everett, the Twins signed free agent Mike Lamb, the Houston third baseman who has played alongside Everett for four seasons, to a two-year contract (with an option for 2010).
The 32-year-old Lamb, who also played four seasons with Texas, has batted .288 or better in three of his four seasons with the Astros, and averaged 12.2 home runs over that span.
The presence of Lamb, who will compete for playing time with Brian Buscher, and Everett likely makes Brendan Harris, acquired last month from Tampa Bay, the favorite to start at second base.
-- Phil Miller
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Twins Let Tyner Go
With Craig Monroe added to the roster and the strong possibility that another outfielder will be obtained this winter, the Twins have chosen not to offer a contract to Jason Tyner next season, the team announced Wednesday.
Tyner appeared in 114 games last season and hit .286, including his first career home run. But the Twins decided to release him rather than offer him the chance to go to salary arbitration. Tyner earned $400,000 last season, now becomes a free agent and can negotiate with any team (including, under a recent change to baseball rules, the Twins).
The move could clear the way for Jason Pridie, acquired along with Delmon Young and Brendan Harris from Tampa Bay last month, to make the team as a reserve outfielder.
The other five arbitration-eligible Twins -- Juan Rincon, Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, Matt Guerrier and Jason Kubel -- were all offered contracts for 2008.
-- Phil Miller
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Monroe Signs for '08
Craig Monroe apparently decided the Twins' offer -- by rule, it couldn't go below roughly $3.8 million -- was more than he would receive as a free agent. So Monroe signed a one-year contract with Minnesota on Tuesday, one day before the Twins would likely have cut him loose had he refused.
Monroe, acquired last month from the Cubs for a player to be named (likely a low-grade prospect), adds depth to the Twins' outfield and gives them a right-handed hitter who can potentially get some at-bats at designated hitter.
Monroe is a six-year veteran who suffered a dreadful year last season, hitting just .212 overall. The Tigers dumped him in August to Chicago, and things didn't get much better there. But he's a lifetime .256 hitter who has hit 18 or more home runs in four different seasons. And remember, even his down-year total of 12 homers last season would have ranked fourth on the Twins.
-- Phil Miller
Monroe, acquired last month from the Cubs for a player to be named (likely a low-grade prospect), adds depth to the Twins' outfield and gives them a right-handed hitter who can potentially get some at-bats at designated hitter.
Monroe is a six-year veteran who suffered a dreadful year last season, hitting just .212 overall. The Tigers dumped him in August to Chicago, and things didn't get much better there. But he's a lifetime .256 hitter who has hit 18 or more home runs in four different seasons. And remember, even his down-year total of 12 homers last season would have ranked fourth on the Twins.
-- Phil Miller
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Winding Down
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Opryland Hotel is quickly turning into a ghost town. Bill Smith and most of the Twins’ staff is staying until Friday, but there might be only one or two other teams still here.
Smith just spoke about his week, and the gathering with reporters could best be described as “drowsy.” Everybody is exhausted after four straight 18-hour days.
Smith didn’t sound disappointed, exactly, that no transactions had been completed this week, but I think he was a little surprised that all the momentum from last weekend dissipated so quickly. The new GM said this week was helpful, that it's much easier to talk in person than on the phone or via email, but that didn't change the outcome. He also said progress was made on more than just the Johan Santana negotiations.
His phone is still on, he said, so things could change. But it's clear there isn't much talking going on now. If something is going to happen on the Santana front, it doesn’t look like it’ll be this week.
-- Phil Miller
Smith just spoke about his week, and the gathering with reporters could best be described as “drowsy.” Everybody is exhausted after four straight 18-hour days.
Smith didn’t sound disappointed, exactly, that no transactions had been completed this week, but I think he was a little surprised that all the momentum from last weekend dissipated so quickly. The new GM said this week was helpful, that it's much easier to talk in person than on the phone or via email, but that didn't change the outcome. He also said progress was made on more than just the Johan Santana negotiations.
His phone is still on, he said, so things could change. But it's clear there isn't much talking going on now. If something is going to happen on the Santana front, it doesn’t look like it’ll be this week.
-- Phil Miller
Rule 5: Minus 6
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Right from the start, the Rule 5 draft was an unusual one for the Twins. Tampa Bay selected Rochester pitcher Tim Lahey with the first pick, and the scavenging of Minnesota’s organization had begun.
By the time the draft -- actually drafts, since Triple-A and Double-A drafts are held immediately after the major-league portion -- ended a half-hour later, the Twins had lost six players out of their system, more than any other team, while adding nobody. Minnesota ended up with the 11th pick (teams had to have fewer than 40 players on their major-league roster), but when the player they had intended to select was taken ahead of them, the Twins ended up being the first team to pass.
But teams couldn’t pass up the Twins’ eligible players. After Lahey, who went 8-4 with 13 saves in Class AA New Britain’s bullpen before being called up to Rochester in August, was taken by the Rays (and immediatelyl sold to the Cubs), the Twins watched as Seattle chose pitcher R.A. Dickey and Washington took outfielder Garrett Guzman. Dickey, a veteran knuckleballer who was Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year last season for Nashville, had just been signed by the Twins last week. Guzman batted .314 for New Britain.
In the Triple-A phase, the first two players picked were both Twins prospects, outfielder Rashad Eldridge by Tampa Bay and right-handed pitcher Joshua Hill by Pittsburgh. Both played for New Britain in 2007. In the Double-A phase, Fort Myers right-hander Jonathan Martinez was selected by Baltimore. The Twins passed again in both rounds.
“It’s a glass-half-full sort of thing,” said Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff. “We’re disappointed to lose players we’ve invested in, but it means we have talent in our organization.”
Six-year veterans who are not on major-league rosters are eligible to be drafted.
In other news -- well, there's no news, not on Johan Santana's status. But it's early.
-- Phil Miller
By the time the draft -- actually drafts, since Triple-A and Double-A drafts are held immediately after the major-league portion -- ended a half-hour later, the Twins had lost six players out of their system, more than any other team, while adding nobody. Minnesota ended up with the 11th pick (teams had to have fewer than 40 players on their major-league roster), but when the player they had intended to select was taken ahead of them, the Twins ended up being the first team to pass.
But teams couldn’t pass up the Twins’ eligible players. After Lahey, who went 8-4 with 13 saves in Class AA New Britain’s bullpen before being called up to Rochester in August, was taken by the Rays (and immediatelyl sold to the Cubs), the Twins watched as Seattle chose pitcher R.A. Dickey and Washington took outfielder Garrett Guzman. Dickey, a veteran knuckleballer who was Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year last season for Nashville, had just been signed by the Twins last week. Guzman batted .314 for New Britain.
In the Triple-A phase, the first two players picked were both Twins prospects, outfielder Rashad Eldridge by Tampa Bay and right-handed pitcher Joshua Hill by Pittsburgh. Both played for New Britain in 2007. In the Double-A phase, Fort Myers right-hander Jonathan Martinez was selected by Baltimore. The Twins passed again in both rounds.
“It’s a glass-half-full sort of thing,” said Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff. “We’re disappointed to lose players we’ve invested in, but it means we have talent in our organization.”
Six-year veterans who are not on major-league rosters are eligible to be drafted.
In other news -- well, there's no news, not on Johan Santana's status. But it's early.
-- Phil Miller
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Biding Their Time
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After talking to Bill Smith, I’m more convinced than ever that Johan Santana will be traded next week, or next month, but not today or tomorrow. It just appears he believes that competition will pick up again at some point, and the offers will improve.
Here’s one way it might happen: It’s now being reported by several publications that the Mets are interested again. Anything that rachets up the pressure on a certain owner’s son in New York – say, the prospect of the “other” team in town making a splash – has to be a good thing for the Twins’ chances of getting their asking price. Same with the growing consensus (not sure I buy it) that the Tigers might be Boston’s top competition next year, not the Yankees.
Until then, some of the rumors going around are getting fairly far-fetched. One of them that caused a few chuckles in the press room involved a three-way deal that supposedly sends Santana and Bobby Crosby to the Mets, Dan Haren to the Twins, and Jose Reyes to the A’s, with a few minor prospects sprinkled around, too. Can you imagine the reaction in the Twin Cities if Smith traded Santana, and all he got back was a starting pitcher who isn’t as good? Yikes.
-- Phil Miller
Here’s one way it might happen: It’s now being reported by several publications that the Mets are interested again. Anything that rachets up the pressure on a certain owner’s son in New York – say, the prospect of the “other” team in town making a splash – has to be a good thing for the Twins’ chances of getting their asking price. Same with the growing consensus (not sure I buy it) that the Tigers might be Boston’s top competition next year, not the Yankees.
Until then, some of the rumors going around are getting fairly far-fetched. One of them that caused a few chuckles in the press room involved a three-way deal that supposedly sends Santana and Bobby Crosby to the Mets, Dan Haren to the Twins, and Jose Reyes to the A’s, with a few minor prospects sprinkled around, too. Can you imagine the reaction in the Twin Cities if Smith traded Santana, and all he got back was a starting pitcher who isn’t as good? Yikes.
-- Phil Miller
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