Thursday Night Blogging

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Hey everyone, I am going to be updating this blog throughout the night. I happened to be in a hotel room that did not provide me with internet access the last three nights, so I am certain I have fallen somewhat behind. So, I’ll be updating SethSpeaks.net throughout the night with any news, relative to the Twins or just interesting. I’ll start with a few, but be sure to check back throughout the night:

• First of all, you may have noticed last night that the TwinsCentric Offseason GM Handbook is now available in a print version. If you would like a copy, you can order it here.
• The Elias Rankings are officially out now.
  • To no one’s surprise, Orlando Cabrera is a Type A free agent. As we know, that means that the Twins can’t offer him arbitration. It does not mean that they won’t sign him though, and too many reports are indicating that the Twins are very interested in bringing him back. Again, he was a nice spark down the stretch. He is a veteran. He showed some leadership skills. But his offense does not warrant more than $4 million a year, and his defense should only drop that number down!
  • Although not really surprising, it was great to see that Carl Pavano officially is a Type B free agent. If the Twins can work a fair deal to bring back the 31 year old, OK. If not, offer him arbitration and get a free draft pick. If he accepts arbitration, you’re only out one year, and that’s bearable. If you trade Yohan Pino for 2 months of Carl Pavano and a first round pick, you have to be absolutely thrilled.
  • Mike Redmond, Joe Crede and Ron Mahay are not Type A’s or Type B’s, so they would bring back no compensation.  
• Two former Twins minor leaguers, Alex Romero and Trent Oeltjen, were taken off of the Arizona Diamondbacks roster. Now, not big news of course, but I have to admit that I would be very happy if the Twins were able to bring back Oeltjen on a minor league contract. In fact, if it meant taking Jason Pridie off of the 40 man roster to put Oeltjen on it, I would much prefer that. Oeltjen is fast, can play all three outfield positions well, and can hit to his skills, meaning but for hits, beat the ball into the ground and run and a lot of triples. To me, that is a guy that I would really like to have as a fourth outfielder. Now, Romero has the right to become a free agent. Oeltjen does not, but again, I would happily give up Jason Pridie or Brandon Roberts, and a Type D prospect for Oeltjen.  
• In an AL Central move, the Kansas City Royals traded Mark Teahen to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Josh Fields and Chris Getz. It is an interesting move. Fields had asked to be traded late in the 2009 season. Getz had lost playing time at 2B. But both of them have solid potential. Just two years ago, Fields hit 27 home runs. Teahen is a good, but certainly not great, player. You know what you’re getting with him. He can play RF, 3B, 2B, and probably wherever you put him. But if you’re a Royals fan, you have to be very happy with this deal.
• The Angels signed Bobby Abreu to a two year, $19 million contract extension. He will get $9 million in 2010 and $2011 with a $9 million option for 2012, with a $1 million buyout. What does this have to do with the Twins? Very little, and yet, a lot. Think about it. As good as Michael Cuddyer was in 2006, 2007 and 2009, Bobby Abreu has been excellent for a long time. He’s older than Cuddyer, but does have more history. Defensively, as bad as Cuddyer was in RF in 2009, he is still better out there than Abreu. The Twins have to decide in the next few days whether to pick up the 2011 option on Michael Cuddyer’s contract. Although it seems obvious that the Twins should pick up the option, last week, I wrote that the Twins could decide to decline it and work on a contract extension. Maybe Cuddyer and the Twins could work out an extension at the same dollar value as Abreu. So, after making $8.5 million in 2010, he could make $9 million in 2011 and 2012, and they could still give him an option for 2013. Cuddyer comes out fine. The Twins aren’t overpaying at all. And, I’m almost always in favor of adding an option yet.

Alright, be sure to continue to check back at www.SethSpeaks.net throughout the night for more updates. If you have any questions, comments, or topics or rumors that you think are important, send me an e-mail or leave some comments.