It's been a long season for the Minnesota Twins, who've suffered through injuries to essentially every key member of their team - and ineffectiveness even when healthy. But with the return of second baseman/shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and reliever Glen Perkins yesterday, the team put itself on a path to health that should continue for the next couple of weeks.
While those two returned yesterday, the Twins will get their best player back today as Joe Mauer makes his much awaited return to the Twins lineup. Since leaving the team with what was initially diagnosed as bi-lateral leg weakness, a neurological condition in which weakness in the legs is caused by misfirings in the brain, spinal cord, or nerves - there has been a massive amount of hand wringing, speculation, and misinformation - and a notable lack of information coming from either the organization or Mauer himself. Whatever the problems Mauer was having were, they were most certainly exacerbated by a prolonged bout with the flu which left Mauer (along with other members of the team) hospitalized and taking fluids.
Showing posts with label Justin Morneau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justin Morneau. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Twins Power Outage
The Twins slow start is among the more surprising storylines to the start of the season. This is a club that has won the AL Central six times in the last ten years and never finished lower than third place (2005 and 2007) during that same period. To put it mildly, the Twins have been about as wildly successful as any club can be (excluding the post season). However, the Twins find themselves in an unusual position, last place.
It is still very early in the season, so normally I would feel it is too early to panic. On the other hand, everything seems to be going wrong for the club. Franchise player, superstar catcher Joe Mauer is on the disabled list with “leg weakness”, an absolutely terrifying “condition” given he had knee surgery in the offseason and is signed to a hefty 184 million dollar deal that runs until 2018. Francisco Liriano is having a completely perplexing year pitching with 18 strike outs to 18 walks, 4 home runs and a downright awful ERA of 9.13. Finally Justin Morneau has started very slowly in April after having serious problems with a concussion last season. It just seems like a year where everything that can go wrong will go wrong for this organization.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
AL Central Injury Updates
It seems like yesterday, but I haven't done an Injury Update since the 27th. Apologies for that.
- Grady Sizemore (Knee): Still no closer to returning from off season microfracture surgery at this point. It seems highly unlikely he opens the season.
- Trevor Crowe (Shoulder): Has been taking cortisone shots, but also remains doubtful for the start of the season.
- Michael Brantley (legs): Has been experiencing fatigue and pain in legs. Will take a few games off.
- Shin-Soo Choo: (Elbow) He's been experiencing some discomfort but as of now isn't expected to miss time.
- Jared Goedert (Oblique): Is expected to miss at least two weeks. Was a long-shot candidate for a backup infield position. Will open the season in AAA.
- Jason Donald (Hand): He was hit in the hand by a pitch. X-Rays negative. Should be back playing within a week.
- Anthony Reyes (Elbow): Threw a 36-pitch bullpen without any reported issues.
Indians:
- Grady Sizemore (Knee): Still no closer to returning from off season microfracture surgery at this point. It seems highly unlikely he opens the season.
- Trevor Crowe (Shoulder): Has been taking cortisone shots, but also remains doubtful for the start of the season.
- Michael Brantley (legs): Has been experiencing fatigue and pain in legs. Will take a few games off.
- Shin-Soo Choo: (Elbow) He's been experiencing some discomfort but as of now isn't expected to miss time.
- Jared Goedert (Oblique): Is expected to miss at least two weeks. Was a long-shot candidate for a backup infield position. Will open the season in AAA.
- Jason Donald (Hand): He was hit in the hand by a pitch. X-Rays negative. Should be back playing within a week.
- Anthony Reyes (Elbow): Threw a 36-pitch bullpen without any reported issues.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Twins Bring Back Jim Thome for 2011
Regardless of the lens through which you choose to view the game of baseball, or how you chose to evaluate performance, Jim Thome's production in 2010 was big. All by itself with no perspective given, a .283 average, with 25 home runs would be good - and if you're someone who prefers your baseball analysis as simple as possible, you're going to like that production. Indeed just 20 players other players posted an average as good with as many home runs.
Prefer your statistics to be more advanced? His 1.039 OPS would've been third to just Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera. His .437 wOBA third to Hamilton and Joey Votto. How about player value? Thome's 3.6 WAR was the best of any designated hitter, while former Twin David Ortiz (3.3) came in second.
The kicker to all that of course is that the Twins were able to sign him for the heinous base salary of 1.6m - but don't worry, he earned another 200k in incentives for reaching 300 plate appearances - for a grand total of 1.8m
If the voices in your head are saying something along the lines of, "Hold on... what?" you're not alone.
How exactly did we get to a point where Thome, a near certain Hall Of Famer, and one of baseball's most beloved characters could barely get 1.5m guaranteed? I mean, the White Sox gave Mark Teahan (yeah, the Mark Teahan who was supposed to replace Thome) three years and 14m. But picking on the White Sox alone isn't fair. This isn't the case of one team making a bad decision, this is a situation where 29 other teams legitimately sat down and said, "no, we're not interested in Jim Thome even at just two million."
The Royals, who dug up 2.75m for Rick Ankiel and another 1.7m for Willie Bloomquist apparently couldn't dig enough change out of the couch for Thome. I guess paying Jose Guillen 12m to clog up the DH spot was a better play. Neither could the Indians, who instead signed Russell Branyan for 1.5m to be a left handed option off the bench before trading him to the Mariners where he replaced their other DH, perennial Citizen Of The Year Award Winner Milton Bradley.
He'd have been the best hitter on any of those teams - by a vast margin - and could've been had for the baseball equivalent of loose change. How the hell did this happen?
The most likely explanation is that executives saw his declining performance - his OPS in 2009 was JUST .847, combined it with his advancing age and thought he was done for. I guess that makes some sense. Not nearly enough sense mind you, but some. Even when you consider that his market was limited to the 14 AL teams where he could serve as a DH, there are a lot of teams (all of them) that could've used Thome's bat in a bench role - which is precisely the roll for which the Twins signed Thome.
I say all of that to say this: how the hell did we wind up back at the EXACT SAME PLACE????
It's now 2010 instead of 2009 and still no one could make an offer that topped the reported 4m the Rangers offered? Really? It would appear that Thome considered more things than just money - there is speculation he chose the Twins slightly smaller 3m + incentives deal to be closer to his family in Chiacgo, and obviously the Twins are a more competitive club than, say, the Mariners. But... seriously?
Perhaps the only thing more criminal than the Twins being able to sign Thome for 1.5m in 2010 off his .847 OPS in the year before is them signing him for 3.0m in 2011 off his 1.037 OPS.
But let's add some important perspective - I'm not by any means under the impression that Thome is going to repeat his 2010 season, not by a long shot. Other than Albert Pujols, I don't expect anyone to post back-to-back 1.000 OPS seasons. But as Thome showed in 2010 he can still demolish right-handed pitching, and while it's unlikely that he'll do so to the same extent in 2011, I'm guessing he'll still hit them plenty hard. Certainly projecting him to a .850 OPS isn't exactly going out on any kind of a limb.
Further, Thome doesn't fill an obvious hole. Jason Kubel came into 2010 as the Twins every-day designated hitter and he'll likely enter 2011 with the same role. What the Twins really could've used was a right-handed hitter to platoon with Kubel who, like Thome, struggles mightily with left-handed pitching. Personally, I think they'd have been better served by signing either Manny Ramirez or Vlad Guerrero who could platoon in the DH role and provide the Twins with some desperately needed pop from the right side. Clearly the Twins felt otherwise.
Beyond what Thome brings on the field, and beyond the immeasurable intangibles he brings to the clubhouse - he provides something else to the Twins - insurance on Justin Morneau's concussion.
Free agency is a mixed bag. Sometimes you know from the start that a deal is going to implode. Sometimes you know it'll work out. And yes, sometimes there are steals. But they should never be this obvious.
Prefer your statistics to be more advanced? His 1.039 OPS would've been third to just Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera. His .437 wOBA third to Hamilton and Joey Votto. How about player value? Thome's 3.6 WAR was the best of any designated hitter, while former Twin David Ortiz (3.3) came in second.
The kicker to all that of course is that the Twins were able to sign him for the heinous base salary of 1.6m - but don't worry, he earned another 200k in incentives for reaching 300 plate appearances - for a grand total of 1.8m
If the voices in your head are saying something along the lines of, "Hold on... what?" you're not alone.
How exactly did we get to a point where Thome, a near certain Hall Of Famer, and one of baseball's most beloved characters could barely get 1.5m guaranteed? I mean, the White Sox gave Mark Teahan (yeah, the Mark Teahan who was supposed to replace Thome) three years and 14m. But picking on the White Sox alone isn't fair. This isn't the case of one team making a bad decision, this is a situation where 29 other teams legitimately sat down and said, "no, we're not interested in Jim Thome even at just two million."
The Royals, who dug up 2.75m for Rick Ankiel and another 1.7m for Willie Bloomquist apparently couldn't dig enough change out of the couch for Thome. I guess paying Jose Guillen 12m to clog up the DH spot was a better play. Neither could the Indians, who instead signed Russell Branyan for 1.5m to be a left handed option off the bench before trading him to the Mariners where he replaced their other DH, perennial Citizen Of The Year Award Winner Milton Bradley.
He'd have been the best hitter on any of those teams - by a vast margin - and could've been had for the baseball equivalent of loose change. How the hell did this happen?
The most likely explanation is that executives saw his declining performance - his OPS in 2009 was JUST .847, combined it with his advancing age and thought he was done for. I guess that makes some sense. Not nearly enough sense mind you, but some. Even when you consider that his market was limited to the 14 AL teams where he could serve as a DH, there are a lot of teams (all of them) that could've used Thome's bat in a bench role - which is precisely the roll for which the Twins signed Thome.
I say all of that to say this: how the hell did we wind up back at the EXACT SAME PLACE????
It's now 2010 instead of 2009 and still no one could make an offer that topped the reported 4m the Rangers offered? Really? It would appear that Thome considered more things than just money - there is speculation he chose the Twins slightly smaller 3m + incentives deal to be closer to his family in Chiacgo, and obviously the Twins are a more competitive club than, say, the Mariners. But... seriously?
Perhaps the only thing more criminal than the Twins being able to sign Thome for 1.5m in 2010 off his .847 OPS in the year before is them signing him for 3.0m in 2011 off his 1.037 OPS.
But let's add some important perspective - I'm not by any means under the impression that Thome is going to repeat his 2010 season, not by a long shot. Other than Albert Pujols, I don't expect anyone to post back-to-back 1.000 OPS seasons. But as Thome showed in 2010 he can still demolish right-handed pitching, and while it's unlikely that he'll do so to the same extent in 2011, I'm guessing he'll still hit them plenty hard. Certainly projecting him to a .850 OPS isn't exactly going out on any kind of a limb.
Further, Thome doesn't fill an obvious hole. Jason Kubel came into 2010 as the Twins every-day designated hitter and he'll likely enter 2011 with the same role. What the Twins really could've used was a right-handed hitter to platoon with Kubel who, like Thome, struggles mightily with left-handed pitching. Personally, I think they'd have been better served by signing either Manny Ramirez or Vlad Guerrero who could platoon in the DH role and provide the Twins with some desperately needed pop from the right side. Clearly the Twins felt otherwise.
Beyond what Thome brings on the field, and beyond the immeasurable intangibles he brings to the clubhouse - he provides something else to the Twins - insurance on Justin Morneau's concussion.
Free agency is a mixed bag. Sometimes you know from the start that a deal is going to implode. Sometimes you know it'll work out. And yes, sometimes there are steals. But they should never be this obvious.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Twins Notes
Justin Morneau remains out of the Twins lineup and there is still no evidence that he's going to return any time soon. Though I suppose this can be taken as a positive. Morneau has pretty much reached the point where it's become unlikely that he'll have enough time to rehab and find his swing prior to the playoffs. That said, it's good to see that the Twins front office realizes that Morneau's long-term health and ability to contribute is vastly more important than his ability to do so now. Always nice to know that not every team is run like the Mets.
That's unfortunate for the Twins. So is this...
The Twins will likely be Mauerless in Minnesota for at least the next few games after Joe Mauer strained his knee. Thankfully for the Twins this seems like a minimal issue. They're going to simply give Mauer all the time he needs to rest. Of course, this makes last weeks sweep in Chicago all the more important as it affords the team the luxury of playing this as safe as they like.
Should make for some interesting lineups however with center fielder Denard Span battling a hurt shoulder, and regular DH Jason Kubel out with a sore wrist. The Twins will be without their opening day leadoff man, #3/4/5 hitters. Can anyone imagine the outcry if the Yankees were without Jeter, Tiexiera, A-Rod, and Posada? Oh the humanity!
That's unfortunate for the Twins. So is this...
The Twins will likely be Mauerless in Minnesota for at least the next few games after Joe Mauer strained his knee. Thankfully for the Twins this seems like a minimal issue. They're going to simply give Mauer all the time he needs to rest. Of course, this makes last weeks sweep in Chicago all the more important as it affords the team the luxury of playing this as safe as they like.
Should make for some interesting lineups however with center fielder Denard Span battling a hurt shoulder, and regular DH Jason Kubel out with a sore wrist. The Twins will be without their opening day leadoff man, #3/4/5 hitters. Can anyone imagine the outcry if the Yankees were without Jeter, Tiexiera, A-Rod, and Posada? Oh the humanity!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Twins Surge In Spite Of Cuddyer
Last year when the Twins lost Justin Morneau to a stress fracture in his lower back on September 12th, they stood 5.5 games out of first place. But, bouyed by a late season hot streak from Morneau's replacement at first, Michael Cuddyer, they managed to come back to claim the division in a dramatic game 163. In Morneau's absence, Cuddyer hit .325 with a 1.073 OPS, slugging eight homeruns in 83 at-bats and driving in 24 runs in just 21 games. Or more simply put, he was a monster.
This year the Twins have again been without Morneau's services - this time since Mid July - and again they have surged in his absence. Hopefully no one is foolish enough to presume that Morneau being out of the Twins lineup is a good thing. We are after all talking about a guy who could've very well won his second MVP award this season had he not gone down with his concussion. Morneau was in the midst of his greatest offensive season ever with an OPS of 1.055 (best in the league at that time) that dwarfed his output from his 2006 campaign. Also important was that Morneau, once criticized by the organization as a defensive liability had developed into an elite defensive first baseman with a 18.0 UZR/150 before he went down.
That the Twins have played so well - they own baseball's best record since the all-star break and have won eleven of their past thirteen - however is the result not of Morneau's replacement, but in spite of him. Indeed, it's a testament to how much deeper and how much better the 2010 iteration of the Minnesota Twins is in comparison to the 2009 version.
After posting perhaps his best offensive season ever last year with a .862 OPS, 124 OPS+, and 3.0 oWAR, Cuddyer has struggled for most of 2010. More notably, since Morneau went down on July 7th, Cuddyer has posted an OPS of just .771, about 20 points below his career average. His bat has been particularly bad of late, with an OPS of just .680 since the beginning of August.
In addition, he's played a questionable first base, allowing multiple matchable balls to sail past while botching far more plays than anyone would like to see en route to a -4.4 UZR in just 62 games. Cuddyer's defensive struggles at first are forgivable - it's difficult after all to credibly criticize a player who is playing out of position because he's the only capable option. But it doesn't make the struggles any less glaring.
The Twins have been without Morneau's services for over two months now - far longer than anyone could've anticipated from a play that looked so benign. While they've fared far better than I think most would've anticipated without their best offensive player, any notion that they don't miss him terribly would be incorrect.
Michael Cuddyer deserves plenty of praise for he unselfish play he's displayed throughout his career, playing essentially anywhere and everywhere he's been asked. But the Twins need Morneau back. Not only for his bat, but for his defense. While Cuddyer is a capable player, the Twins will have a much easier time making a deep run into the playoffs with their regular first baseman than they would with his replacement.
This year the Twins have again been without Morneau's services - this time since Mid July - and again they have surged in his absence. Hopefully no one is foolish enough to presume that Morneau being out of the Twins lineup is a good thing. We are after all talking about a guy who could've very well won his second MVP award this season had he not gone down with his concussion. Morneau was in the midst of his greatest offensive season ever with an OPS of 1.055 (best in the league at that time) that dwarfed his output from his 2006 campaign. Also important was that Morneau, once criticized by the organization as a defensive liability had developed into an elite defensive first baseman with a 18.0 UZR/150 before he went down.
That the Twins have played so well - they own baseball's best record since the all-star break and have won eleven of their past thirteen - however is the result not of Morneau's replacement, but in spite of him. Indeed, it's a testament to how much deeper and how much better the 2010 iteration of the Minnesota Twins is in comparison to the 2009 version.
After posting perhaps his best offensive season ever last year with a .862 OPS, 124 OPS+, and 3.0 oWAR, Cuddyer has struggled for most of 2010. More notably, since Morneau went down on July 7th, Cuddyer has posted an OPS of just .771, about 20 points below his career average. His bat has been particularly bad of late, with an OPS of just .680 since the beginning of August.
In addition, he's played a questionable first base, allowing multiple matchable balls to sail past while botching far more plays than anyone would like to see en route to a -4.4 UZR in just 62 games. Cuddyer's defensive struggles at first are forgivable - it's difficult after all to credibly criticize a player who is playing out of position because he's the only capable option. But it doesn't make the struggles any less glaring.
The Twins have been without Morneau's services for over two months now - far longer than anyone could've anticipated from a play that looked so benign. While they've fared far better than I think most would've anticipated without their best offensive player, any notion that they don't miss him terribly would be incorrect.
Michael Cuddyer deserves plenty of praise for he unselfish play he's displayed throughout his career, playing essentially anywhere and everywhere he's been asked. But the Twins need Morneau back. Not only for his bat, but for his defense. While Cuddyer is a capable player, the Twins will have a much easier time making a deep run into the playoffs with their regular first baseman than they would with his replacement.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Twins Nearly Traded For Heath Bell?
But were scared off by character issues?
So says Scott Miller of CBS.
"The Twins, according to sources, had what they viewed as a workable deal to acquire Padres closer Heath Bell after Joe Nathan was hurt this spring but veered away because they were nervous over character issues. Bell's outspoken manner at times can grate on teammates."
First of all, what is a 'workable deal?' And if those character issues are enough to steer them away from Bell, what made them so intent on trading for Delmon Young who didn't exactly come with a sterling reputation? I know Matt Garza had his own issues, and I believe that Delmon gets an overly bad rap for his bat throwing incident. But at the same time, the guy threw a bat at an ump. There is also the issue of Torii Hunter, who's vocal style occasionally grated his teammates the wrong way.
No, the Twins aren't big on bringing in "character issue" guys, but who is? The Twins have/had a serious need at a position that most people (yours truly not included) view as awfully important and difficult to fill. How bad must Bell's issues have been to keep the Twins from pulling the trigger? My guess would be significant.
But despite Bell's vocal style, I can't recall ever once hearing his teammates grouse about his style. He certainly never threw a punch at anyone in the clubhouse as far as I know. And I know he hasn't pulled one of these.
I guess the whole idea of a deal falling apart on makeup just doesn't strike me as very believable.
So says Scott Miller of CBS.
"The Twins, according to sources, had what they viewed as a workable deal to acquire Padres closer Heath Bell after Joe Nathan was hurt this spring but veered away because they were nervous over character issues. Bell's outspoken manner at times can grate on teammates."
First of all, what is a 'workable deal?' And if those character issues are enough to steer them away from Bell, what made them so intent on trading for Delmon Young who didn't exactly come with a sterling reputation? I know Matt Garza had his own issues, and I believe that Delmon gets an overly bad rap for his bat throwing incident. But at the same time, the guy threw a bat at an ump. There is also the issue of Torii Hunter, who's vocal style occasionally grated his teammates the wrong way.
No, the Twins aren't big on bringing in "character issue" guys, but who is? The Twins have/had a serious need at a position that most people (yours truly not included) view as awfully important and difficult to fill. How bad must Bell's issues have been to keep the Twins from pulling the trigger? My guess would be significant.
But despite Bell's vocal style, I can't recall ever once hearing his teammates grouse about his style. He certainly never threw a punch at anyone in the clubhouse as far as I know. And I know he hasn't pulled one of these.
I guess the whole idea of a deal falling apart on makeup just doesn't strike me as very believable.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Russell Branyan Joins Indians, Michael Brantley to AAA
This off season the Indians made a savvy play to pick up Russell Branyan late in the game to help shore up their rotation at first base and designated hitter. The Indians got Branyan, who led the Mariners in home runs in 2009 with 31, and OPS with .867 for the bargain basement price of two million. Considering that the Twins will be paying Justin Morneau, who provided similar production 14.0m for the next four years, that's an incredible deal.
Branyan missed most of spring training with a herniated disk and was placed on the 15-day disabled list to open the season. The Indians have struggled mightily for offense, and the presence of Branyan in the middle of the lineup should go a long way to fixing that.
To make room on the roster for Branyan, the Indians will be sending top prospect Michael Brantley who was acquired in the C.C. Sabathia trade back to AAA. Brantley struggled mightily with the big club, posting an OPS under .416 in 36 plate appearances while striking out in 28.1% of his at-bats. At 23 Brantley is still young even for AAA, so he's got plenty of time to iron out his offensive game, and being at AAA should help.
To make room on the playing field, Matt LaPorta will be moving from first base into left field, where he'll be taking the spot that Brantley vacated. Like Brantley, LaPorta has struggled greatly on offense so far in 2010. However, given his production on offense in 2009 (.750 OPS) and his fantastic minor league numbers, I'd imagine LaPorta will be just fine long-term.
Branyan missed most of spring training with a herniated disk and was placed on the 15-day disabled list to open the season. The Indians have struggled mightily for offense, and the presence of Branyan in the middle of the lineup should go a long way to fixing that.
To make room on the roster for Branyan, the Indians will be sending top prospect Michael Brantley who was acquired in the C.C. Sabathia trade back to AAA. Brantley struggled mightily with the big club, posting an OPS under .416 in 36 plate appearances while striking out in 28.1% of his at-bats. At 23 Brantley is still young even for AAA, so he's got plenty of time to iron out his offensive game, and being at AAA should help.
To make room on the playing field, Matt LaPorta will be moving from first base into left field, where he'll be taking the spot that Brantley vacated. Like Brantley, LaPorta has struggled greatly on offense so far in 2010. However, given his production on offense in 2009 (.750 OPS) and his fantastic minor league numbers, I'd imagine LaPorta will be just fine long-term.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Up and Coming Catchers, Pt. 3
Wilson Ramos
The Twins are blessed with a pretty good catcher already, you might have heard of him, he's the reigning AL MVP and just came off an absurdly good season where he hit .365 with 28 home runs and won a Gold Glove. The fact that they have ultra toolsy prospect Wilson Ramos nipping at his heels at a position where most teams can't find one good catcher almost seems unfair.
Behind the plate Ramos boasts a strong arm, consistently throwing out over 40% of runners throughout his minor league career. Though during spring training Twins coaches noted that they'd like to have the youngster work on his overall receiving skills. That's not terribly surprising given Ramos' age, he's just 22, but Gardenhire has also praised his strong work ethic and ability to make corrections on the fly.
Offensively Ramos' ceiling is much higher than his minor league track record might suggest. Ramos has consistently hit for solid average, posting a .317 mark last year at AA (as a 21 year old) with a career .294 average. While his power hasn't really manifested itself yet - his ISO last year was just .137 - everyone is in agreement that he can hit the ball a long ways. To that end, he's impressed the organization this spring by hitting .400 in 30 at-bats with four doubles (two off the very top of the wall) and two annihilated home runs, the last of which was hit well OVER the batters eye at the Twins spring training facility in Ft. Myers.
If his arm and his power are his two greatest strengths, Ramos still has some holes to his game. Besides needing to improve some facets of his defensive game, he also struggles as most kids his age do, with command of the strike zone. While Ramos took a major leap forward last year by slashing his K rate in half from the year before, and all the way down to a very good 11.2%, his walk rate also tumbled to a nearly non-existent 2.8%. While the low walk rate wont keep him from being a very good Major Leaguer as long as his average continues to stay where it is and he can develop his power some more, it can't hurt. He's also not the fleetest of foot, though that's hardly uncommon at the position.
Ramos' spring had Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire pleading with GM Bill Smith to let him take the kid north. Smith wisely declined, likely realizing that he still needed plenty of work at AAA to polish off his game. As it stands the Twins will open the season with Drew Butera as Mauer's backup until Mauer's regular caddy, Jose Morales (another solid young catcher for the Twins) returns from off-season wrist surgery. Morales should be back by the time the calendar turns over at the end of April.
The problem for the Twins - if this can really be described as a problem - is that they don't really have anywhere to put Ramos once he is ready. They're pretty set at catcher with Mauer who just re-upped for another eight years in his hometown, and they have a pretty good first baseman as well in Justin Morneau, and at DH they have Jason Kubel. All three are very good hitters who have long-term contracts.
So the question Twins fans are asking is, "where does Ramos fit in?" It's a tough question. Clearly there is no spot for him right now, and despite the main stream media pushing the 'move Mauer to a different position,' meme, there are few ideas that could be more absurd than that, and the Twins front office agrees. Mauer isn't moving anywhere for a long time.
So with the Twins roster as currently constructed, one must believe that a trade will eventually happen. But when and to where and for what kind of return? I can't say for certain where, but generally speaking, players of Ramos' caliber are the kind that can headline all-star trades. There has been some speculation that the Twins might trade him for a closer - Heath Bell is the most common name bandied about - but I believe the Twins would be foolish to trade a prospect of Ramos' caliber for just a closer.
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