Hunter, Cuddyer, Hawkins in the the front office

The Twins announced on Monday the hirings of Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer and LaTroy Hawkins as special assistants.

The trio will be in uniform at spring training and be involved in minor league instruction and scouting. Cherry-picking some intriguing tweets from Mike Berandino of Pioneer Press about their intended roles:

Hawkins: "I'm going to be doing whatever Derek and Thad ask me to  do. I want to learn everything about the organization from bottom to top"

— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) November 28, 2016

Falvey plans to use all three in draft preparations, from pick one all the way through.

— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) November 28, 2016

Falvey: "Diversity is important to us. This is one step in that direction. It won't be the last step."

— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) November 28, 2016

Falvey, of course, is Derek Falvey, the new head of baseball operations and in a sense an example of the lack of diversity, racial and otherwise, on major league front offices. Increasingly, the men at the top -- and they are and have been all men -- have similar backgrounds, rooted in academics. The selection of Falvey to run the Twins operation may have been the last straw for consultant/headhunting firm Korn Ferry, which was bounced by the commissioners office shortly afterwards.

Hawkins, Hunter and Cuddyer are not of the Falvey-Thad Levine mold. They played 55 years in the majors, and any college they've had came in the offseasons. Hunter in particular has spoken of wanting to become a general manager; that kind of ambition is hardly out of place, but unlikely to be met without some form of apprenticeship even if the pendulum swings back toward the ex-jock at the head of the organization.

From all appearances, Falvey and Levine intend to give these three real jobs with real responsibilities, not just ceremonial appearances. And we'll see what they do with those chores.

Cuddyer hangs 'em up

Michael Cuddyer turns a double play for the
Twins in one of his stints at second base.

Michael Cuddyer announced his retirement as a player during the weekend with this piece on the Players Tribune website.

Cuddy is walking away from the final year of the two-year contract he signed with the New York Mets and giving up some $12 million, which probably should tell us how much his body hurts. He hasn't had a season without a DL visit since 2010, and he was obviously struggling in the postseason last October for the Mets.

Fifteen seasons major league seasons, seven trips to the playoffs, two All-Star teams, one batting title (with the Rockies), one 100-RBI season (2006), one 30-homer season (2009), seven positions (all but shortstop and catcher). Not a bad run at all.

He gave the Twins -- once they gave the former first-rounder a shot at regular playing time in the last half of the 2000s -- some right-handed thump to counterbalance a very left-handed lineup. He played at seven positions, none of them at a high level, but well enough not to be a significant hindrance.

One of the great "what ifs" of the Ron Gardenhire era: What if Gardy had followed through on making Cuddyer a second baseman? When Gardy experimented with him there, it was easy to imagine a new Jeff Kent -- lacking in range but making up for it in other ways.

My guess is that Gardenhire shied away from the idea because Cuddyer didn't fit the stereotype for the keystone. And perhaps the manager was right. But second base was pretty much a revolving door for the Twins during the years of Cuddyer in right field.

What next for him? I have long believed that he can/will be a major league manager -- if he wants that kind of job. Broadcasting is also a possibility. But he's made some $80 million playing ball, according to Baseball Reference, and if he just wants to hang with his family he can do that too.

Notes, quotes and comment

Because three colors aren't enough.

Word leaked out almost a week ago that the Twins were going to change the home uniform -- most notably, dropping the pinstripes, adding gold as a drop shadow to the letters and numbers and reversing the name from red with blue outline to blue with red outline.

The new look was officially released Monday, and I'm no more impressed with the result than I expected to be, which was not much at all.

My take on this stuff is: Simple is better. The uniforms I think look best -- the Tigers, the Royals, the Yankees, the White Sox  -- are two-color schemes, white and something. The more colors you're working with, the busier the design becomes.

Which might be why they dropped the pinstripes. to clean up the design some. I prefer the pinstripes to the gold.

The gold is supposed to mimic the Kasota stone of Target Field, and I suppose that, as one who has now lived in Mankato more than half my life (and spent most of my career here) I should like that. But the stone is good enough. They don't have to put it on the uniform too.

Ah well. There are worse changes coming. Someday MLB is going to start putting ads on uniforms. I expect they'll let the NBA go first with that, but it's coming. That will be a monstrosity. This is not.

---

Francisco Liriano, of whom I wrote in Monday's post, declined the qualifying offer Monday. So did the other 11 free agents who received QOs.

Another ex-Twin, Michael Cuddyer, not only declined his one-year $15.3 million QO from the Colorado Rockies, he signed a two-year deal with the New York Mets for $21 million.

Nothing with Cuddyer this offseason has made any sense to me. I was surprised the Rox made the qualifying offer to begin with. I figured Cuddy was pretty much a lock to accept it. I could not imagine the Mets giving up the 15th pick in June's draft to sign him. Wrong once, twice, thrice.

So discount this next prediction as much as you wish: The Mets will sign at least one more of these QO free agents, onthe basis that it's easier to swallow giving up a second-round pick for Cuddyer.

The Rockies clearly read the market better than I, or most outsider observers did. They're getting a compensation pick. We'll see if the Mets have the better read on Cuddyer's next two years.

Financially, it's an ... interesting decision by Cuddyer. Subtract the Rockies' qualifying offer from his Mets deal, and he's effectively playing in 2016 for $5.7 million. This leads me to surmise that he's leaving some money on the table, that he'd make more if he went year-to-year.

But I suppose that if he has another 49-game season in 2015 he might get Jason-Kubel'd and find that he didn't have a 2016 season.

Plus there's this: The Mets believe they're on the cusp of contention. Cuddyer has, with this contract added in, made roughly $100 million in his career. He can afford to chase a ring.

Take the money and run

Michael Cuddyer
was limited to 205
plate appearances
in 2014, but he got
a qualifying offer.

Monday was the deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers to their free agents. This was only a theoretical issue for the Twins, as their only free agent at this point is Jared Burton, and he's a free agent because the Twins declined to pick up his option, which was a fraction of the $15.3 million price tag for a QO.

In all, 12 players were extended qualifying offers, which is a tick above average (a total of 22 offers in the first two years of this system). No player accepted the qualifying offer the past two winters, but I expect at least one will this year.

Old friend Michael Cuddyer should. Emphatically so. That the Rockies made the offer astounded many outside observers. Cuddyer will turn 36 before Opening Day, he's started to have some injury issues, his defensive abilities have declined ... and the qualifying offer means a team will have to surrender a high draft pick to sign him.

I don't think that's happening. Cuddy should learn from the experience of Kendrys Morales, Nelson Cruz and Stephen Drew last year and take the QO. The down side: He's guaranteed $15.3 million. I wish I had a bad choice that would be that rewarding.

Who else would be well advised to take the money and run? In my view:

• Cruz got burned last year; he turned down Texas' QO and wound up with a one year deal in Baltimore for a bit more than half the Texas offer. He led the majors in homers, true, but he's still the same player who couldn't find a market last winter. 
• David Robertson is a closer. Yeah, he had a good season for the Yankees. Few teams are eager to commit that much money to a ninth-inning guy, much less surrender a draft pick for the privilege. 
• Francisco Liriano is an interesting case. He's had two good years for Pittsburgh. But has that erased his reputation for inconsistency? Are teams willing to commit dollars and years to him -- and give up that draft pick to boot? And even if there is a market, Liriano might be better off sticking in a place he's been successful. This is a more difficult call, frankly, than Cuddyer, Cruz and Robertson. 

The other eight ... well, I don't think any of them are likely to accept, although I suspect that some will find the market less welcoming than they expect. 

Ex-Twins watch: Michael Cuddyer

Michael Cuddyer is hitting .339.394/.573 so far this year.

Colorado is a great place to hit, so it's not necessarily a surprise that Michael Cuddyer is putting up good numbers this year.

But his OPS+ — a stat that aims to remove park effects from a hitter's production — is still far above anything he's put up in the past. Even on the road, Cuddyer's slash line is .314/.364/.500. That's better than any full season he's ever had.

Cuddyer's 2012 was a bit of a disappointment. He missed a third of the season, and he had his lowest batting average for any 100-game season — and when you factor in Coors Field, it's even worse. Contrasted to Josh Willingham's career year, the Twins definitely got the advantage in swapping out Cuddy for the Hammer as their right-handed middle-of-the-order hitter.

This year is a different story. Cuddyer is riding a 21-game hitting streak. Even better, he's reached base in 40 straight games. Willingham, doubtless hampered by a troublesome knee (even if he insists otherwise), is having his worst season as a major league regular.

The Rockies are slightly above .500 at this point, and while that may not last, they've been better than almost anyone expected. Cuddyer's been a significant part of that.

Pic of the Week

Our old friend Michael Cuddyer and a vivid Denver
sky. I assume the various wildfires in Colorado have
something to do with the coloring.

I don't suppose Michael Cuddyer expected things to be worse on his new team than on his old one, but the Rockies entered the weekend four games behind the Twins.

When you're 31-51, it seems unlikely that anyone can (or should) claim to be having a good season. Cuddyer came into the weekend with 12 homers and a slash line of .266/.317/.483 —which is a lower on-base percentage and higher slugging percentage than we're used to seeing from the long-time Twin, but a OPS (on-base plus slugging) five points from his career OPS.

But this season he's in Coors Field, and that matters.

• Cuddyer 2012 at home: .283/.351/.520
• Cuddyer 2012 on the road: .246/.278/.440

The Twins essentially "traded," via free agency, Cuddyer for Josh Willingham. Willingham has been the better hitter just off the raw numbers, even without accounting for the distortions created by the difference between Coors Field and Target Field. Willingham is also less expensive. And the Twins landed an extra draft pick out of it, which translated into J.O. Berrios. It's far too soon to say what Berrios will amount to, but on the whole, it was a good move by the Twins.

Which doesn't make me less fond of Cuddyer. I hope he's happy with the choice he made, and I hope he does well. And I still expect that if he so desires, he will someday be a major league manager.

Contemplating the 2002 Twins

Michael Cuddyer: Will the Rockies outfielder
be the last man standing from the 2002
Minnesota Twins?

A few members of the 2002 Twins gathered at Monday's home opener for the first-pitch ceremony and general accolades.

It wasn't close to a full turnout, of course; for one thing, there are at least nine players still active from that team, and that's not counting two guys (Cristian Guzman and Casey Blake) released during spring training.

Which raises the question, at least in my mind: Who will be the last of the 2002 Twins to play in the majors?

My guess, in reverse order:

9) Juan Rincon, pitching for the Angels Triple A team, hasn't actually been in the majors since 2010. He has a better chance at pitching in the majors than I do, but he's not likely to last long if he does.

8) LaTroy Hawkins, Anaheim. He's 39 and no longer a late-inning guy. There's still tread on the tires, and he could out last ...

7) J.C. Romero, St. Louis. Left-handed One-Out GuYs (LOOGYs) tend to last forever, and Romero is four years younger than the Hawk, but he's been limited to fractional innings for a couple years now.

6) David Ortiz, Boston. The final six are all lineup fixtures or rotation anchors, and they all could have years left. I put Ortiz here because (a) he's 36; (b) all of his value is in his bat; (c) he's been up-and-down in recent seasons and (d) his days of multi-year contracts are past.

5) Johan Santana, Mets. I put him here because he's recovering from a significant shoulder injury. While he fared well in the opener against the Braves, his velocity is down, and it's clear that he is being monitored closely. As he should; the Mets owe him $50 million over the next two years and would like something for the money. The question once past the current deal may be how difficult it is for him to continue to pitch. 

4) Torii Hunter, Anaheim. Last year of his contract. Last won a Gold Glove in 2009 and no longer a center fielder. Power numbers well down in recent years. Has a bigger reputation as a leader than I suspect he deserves. I wonder how much demand there'll be for his services this winter, and how willing he'll be to take a steep cut. Pride has ended some careers.

3) Kyle Lohse, St. Louis. Started (and well) on Opening Day for the defending champions. Led the Cards in wins and starter ERA last season. Not an ace, but a good mid-rotation guy.

2) A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox. A remarkably durable catcher. Now 35, he is essentially the same hitter he was a decade ago, which is almost unheard of in regular backstops. Doesn't throw well, but even after his bat declines he can still stick around a few years as a backup. If he wants to.

1) Michael Cuddyer, Colorado. A similar player now to Hunter – right-handed hitting right fielders with bigger contracts and reputations than their current production warrant — but younger and with two more years on his contract. 

A quick comment

I plan to post for Tuesday morning about Jason Kubel's time with the Twins and his departure, but first, a quick comment on something LaVelle Neal said in his blog today about the Twins offseason:

Kubel, Cuddyer and Joe Nathan are gone and the team hasn't come close to replacing them.

As the late, lamented Henry Morgan said in the guise of Col. Sherman T. Potter, "Horse hockey!"

At least in terms of the outfielders. The Twins have replaced Michael Cuddyer with Josh Willingham and Kubel with Ryan Doumit.

Willingham is a better hitter than Cuddyer, if a bit more limited defensively. The talents have slightly different shapes, but they are equivalent. Doumit and Kubel are very similar hitters: .271/.334/.442 career slash stats for Doumit, .271/.335/.359 for Kubel. Both are better hitters against right-handed pitchers. And while the Twins lost positional flexibility in the Willingham/Cuddyer exchange, they gained it in the Doumit/Kubel switchout.

True, the Twins haven't imported bullpen help. Yet. But Neal said "them," and he is just plain wrong.

Fare-thee-well, Michael Cuddyer

Michael Cuddyer in his career: 141 homers,  140 double
plays grounded into, one shutout inning of pitching.

And so much for the "there's still room for Cuddyer" talk. One day after the Twins confirmed the signing of Josh Willingham, Michael Cuddyer reached agreement with Colorado -- reportedly three years, $31.5 million, which is $7.5 million more than the Twins were said to be offering.

Logically, I have no real doubt that the Twins are better off with this "exchange." Willingham and Cuddyer are roughly equivalent players -- both right-handed, both 33 by opening day. Cuddyer has more value as a defensive player, Willingham more value as a hitter. But Willingham will be paid almost $10 million less than Cuddyer over the next three years, and the Twins gain two high-round draft picks next summer. Logic says this is to the Twins advantage.

Emotionally is another matter. Cuddyer had, over the past 11 years, worked his way into the very fabric of the Twins persona. We Twins fans have watched him grow up as a major leaguer. That matters; fans of any team are more attached to the guys who start there and stay there for years than to the wandering mercenary types. Willingham will never match Cuddyer for popularity here. And Cuddyer will not be as vital to the fans in Denver as he was here.

For all Cuddyer accomplished on the field for the Twins over the years -- and he is in or near the franchise top 10 in a variety of career numbers -- the one thing that remains top of my mind is how he stepped forward after the 2007 season.

The Twins had lost Torii Hunter as a free agent. They had traded away Johan Santana. They had finished third in the AL Central with those two stars with a sub-.500 record. And when the team assembled in Fort Myers for spring training 2008, he distributed T-shirts bearing the message: "162+." One hundred sixty-two, of course, is the number of regular season games on the schedule. The plus meant the Twins were going to play beyond that number.

Which they did -- 163, to be precise. They didn't win the division title, but they came as close as you can without doing so. And it started with that spring training message -- we don't have Torii, we don't have Johan, and we're still good enough. 


The Twins may miss Cuddyer on the field. They are likely to miss him off the field more.

Official: Willingham a Twin

I'll write more later. As noted previously, this probably closes the door on Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel.

While we were waiting ...

The Twins continue at this writing to grind with painful slowness to a conclusion to their right field free agent drama.

For public consumption, as in the Associated Press story we're running in this morning's paper, Terry Ryan is not closing any doors on Michael Cuddyer. But if Josh Willingham's in town for his pre-signing physical (as reported by the Strib's Joe Christensen) the train has left the station and Cuddy's not on it. If Cuddyer calls Ryan today and says OK, I'll take last week's offer, is Ryan really going to pull the Willingham deal? I can't see it.

Which leaves the question of why Ryan's putting up the pretense that nothing's settled. Joe C. blogged last night that his sources have been particularly "cautious" about this signing, and he doesn't know why. My guess is that it's a sign of genuine respect for Cuddyer and a reluctance to cut the ties.

Meanwhile, the Twins on Wednesday did announce three minor league signings of guys who played some in the majors in 2011 and who figure to be minor-league depth.

P.J. Walters, right handed pitcher, has 51 major league innings without much success. His strikeout rates in the minors (and even in the majors) have been better than those of most starters in the Twins system, but his walk rates are a bit higher than the Twins prefer, and he really hasn't translated his ability to miss bats into low ERAs.

Rene Rivera: Back
for more.

Rene Rivera is a familiar figure; he spent much of 2010 with the Twins as one of the not-Mauer catchers. He will again be a non-roster invite to spring training and organizational depth at Rochester. There are three catchers on the 40 who rank ahead of him (Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit and Drew Butera), and a couple coming up from behind (Chris Herrmann and Danny Lehmann), so Rivera's chances of picking up more service time aren't as good as last season.

Sean Burroughs is an odd signing, but then he's had an odd career/life. Son of an MVP, Little League World Series hero, Olympic gold medal winner, flameout prospect, derelict, reborn major leaguer ...

He's 31 now, and why he'd pick the Twins as his next stop is baffling. He hasn't the power to be a major league regular, at least not at third base, and he's no middle infielder defensively. If he's going to carve out a career in his 30s, it's going to be as a pinch-hit specialist. Those jobs are rare in this era of 12-man pitching staffs, and where they do exist, they're with National League teams.

Willingham or not?

Michael Cuddyer has been a Swiss Army knife of
a defensive player over the years for Minnesota.

Last week, I thought the Twins' reported offer to Michael Cuddyer -- three years, $24 million -- would be sufficient to retain him.

Apparently not.

There were conflicting reports Tuesday night that the Twins had (or had not) reached agreement with Josh Willingham, like Cuddyer a right-handed hitting corner outfielder. The Twins typically don't acknowledge a signing until all details are complete, including a player physical, but this one was particularly touchy because it is generally believed that signing Willingham means not signing Cuddyer.

Willingham offers advantages and disadvantages to Cuddyer. He's a better hitter than Cuddyer (although his superiority has been masked over his career by the difficult environments he's had for home parks). He's less flexible defensively. And he's an unfamiliar personality in the clubhouse.

I'm wary of Willingham's lack of experience in right field or first base, the two positions at which Cuddyer was most often deployed. I don't know what Plan B at first base will be if Cuddyer's not on the roster, and Justin Morneau has needed a Plan B for significant parts of the past three seasons.

Willingham has spent much of his career in left field, and he's not particularly good there. He would figure to play right in Minnesota, and that sounds like an invitation to triples. But it has to be acknowledged that right field was something of a hidden defensive disaster for the Twins last season; neither Cuddyer nor fellow free agent Jason Kubel covered much ground. Their problems got less attention than those in the infield, but they were real nevertheless.

The Twins may not be making themselves much worse defensively by putting Willingham in right. But improvement ought to be the goal.

Albert Pujols, Michael Cuddyer and the desire for more

John Mozeliak, general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals,
contemplates life without Albert Pujols. He might also have
the same expression thinking about the possibility of
paying the slugger $20 million-plus when he's in his 40s.

Before the Beatles told us I don't care too much for money/Money can't buy me love, they sang: Give me money/That's what I want.

Albert Pujols had the love and admiration of the St. Louis area, and tossed it aside this week for an extra $40 million or so. You and I probably would have done the same. Forty million? I don't know that I could spend that much in a lifetime, but I might like to try.

Pujols was, in truth, underpaid during his 11 seasons in a Cardinals uniform; while it may seem ridiculous to say that someone who made $104 million in 11 years was underpaid, he provided his team with well over $330 million in production. As wealthy as Pujols was before he signed his deal with Anaheim, he knew he has been underpaid in St. Louis, and it's a safe bet that bugged him. "Hometown discount"? He's given that already.

The Cardinals, to use a metaphor Bill James deployed in the late '80s, ate the heart of the watermelon that is Pujols' career. The Angels are paying for the rind.

It's been said that there's no such thing as a bad one-year contract. By the same token, there's no such thing as a good 10-year contract. The Angels jumped eagerly into the deep end of that pool this week, and nobody's standing by with a life preserver for them.

(It will be an interesting race to watch. Which deal goes bad for Anaheim first: $254 million/10 years for Pujols, or $77.5 million/five years for C.J. Wilson? My guess is the Wilson deal goes sour first.)

Then there's Michael Cuddyer. Cuddyer is no Pujols, of course. The money is lower, the talent is lower, the stakes are lower. But again, Cuddyer has made more money playing baseball than you and I have made doing what we do (I say that assuming Glen Taylor isn't reading this), and there has grown, I believe, a genuine affection between player, community and franchise.

And yet there is a standoff now between player and team. He wants more; the team is reluctant to oblige. In my view, the three-year, $24 million offer reportedly made this week pushes the envelope of Cuddyer's value to the Twins. It's justifiable, but I don't think they should add years or money to it.

He wants more. We all want more. Money can't buy me love -- but it can rent it for a while.

Winter meetings, Day Three

Cuddyer cuddle: Michael Cuddyer and
his newborn daughters on Tuesday. Twins for a Twin?

Wednesday was a waiting day for the Twins.

Waiting for an answer from Michael Cuddyer. Waiting for today's Rule V draft.

There were a couple of things that did happen. The Matt Capps signing became official. Cuddyer and Jason Kubel declined arbitration, which keeps them free to sign elsewhere but also ensures that if either (or both) do, the Twins will get compensatory draft picks.

My expectation is that Cuddyer will re-sign with the Twins. He may be a bit preoccupied with his new daughters, and his agent may be trying to stir up some interest elsewhere, but I doubt there is a team as interested in him as Minnesota.

Which raises the question: Should the Twins be that interested in him?

Nobody knows Cuddyer as well as the Twins. He's got his flaws as a player, and he has his strengths -- and those strengths are almost exactly a match for what the Twins need. If he leaves, they will have almost no right-handed power, and they'll be shy an experienced alternative at first base if Justin Morneau has to become a DH.

That the Twins are hot to retain Cuddy not only speaks to the high regard in which they hold him, but to the belief that 2011 was a fluke season, that they have a genuine chance to win in 2012. If Terry Ryan were committed to rebuilding, he should have more interest in the draft choices than in a non-star who'll be 33 before Opening Day.

A rough draft of the position players

It's still relatively early in the offseason, but the Winter Meetings are next week, and that's probably the high point for the hot stove league.

The Twins have made a fair number of roster changes, mainly focused on the position players. Let's see if we can compile an approximation of who'll be playing here come April from the players on hand:

Ryan Doumit is
one of two free
agents signed so
far by the Twins.

C: Joe Mauer
1B/DH: Justin Morneau
2B: Alexi Casilla
3B: Danny Valencia
SS: Jamey Carroll
LF: Ben Revere
CF: Denard Span
RF: Rene Tosoni
DH/1B: Ryan Doumit

Bench:
IF: Tsuyoshi Nishioka
IF: Luke Hughes
OF: Trevor Plouffe
C: Drew Butera

That's 13, which leaves 12 spots for pitchers. Now, let me emphasize again: This is based on players on hand. I expect more activity between now and April. But this array may help us see where Terry Ryan will try to go.

What most grabs my attention at the moment is the C/1B/RF/DH nexus:

• It's entirely possible that Morneau's concussion history will make him a DH.
• Both the Twins and Doumit have already downplayed the notion that he would see significant time at first base. Catcher, yes; DH, yes; right field, yes. First base, not so much.
• If Morneau's a DH and Doumit isn't a first baseman, there's a significant hole in what is normally an important offensive position. Luke Hughes ain't the answer.
• If Morneau can play first and Doumit spends most of his time as a designated hitter, I have right field as a Plouffe-Tosoni platoon, which also probably isn't optimal.
• And, of course, all this assumes that Mauer is indeed going to catch 130 games.

The word from the metro writers is that the Twins still hold out hope that they can retain Michael Cuddyer, and certainly he would be a good fit in the right field-first base-designated hitter mix. The outside interest in Cuddyer doesn't seem as high as anticipated. But I still doubt that the Twins want to give him a raise, and I would think they'd be tempted by two compensatory draft picks to decline to put up a fight.

Terry Ryan and Co. face two questions here. First, are the Twins close enough to contending to justify keeping Cuddyer, or are they better off with the picks? Second, can Morneau play in the field?

They have no way of confidently answering Question No. 2 now. And that makes it difficult to answer Question No. 1.

Arbitration domination

As a "modified Type B" free agent, Matt Capps
does not have to be offered arbitration to bring the
Twins a compensatory draft pick if he signs elsewhere.

Wednesday was the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their ranked free agents.

The Twins have three ranked free agents: Michael Cuddyer, a "modified" Type A; Jason Kubel, Type B; and Matt Capps, "modified" Type B. These designations, as I understand it, are useful for this offseason only.

A straight Type A -- Albert Pujols, for example -- offered arbitration will cost a signing team draft picks. Six of the free agents originally listed as Type A -- including Cuddyer -- are now in a new category. If they are offered arbitration and sign elsewhere, the jilted team gets two picks, but the signing team doesn't lose picks.

This figures to greatly enhance interest in Cuddyer. Under last winter's rules, a team signing Cuddyer was essentially trading a high draft pick to the Twins. Now the Twins would still get the picks, but the new team isn't losing anything.

The Twins continue to voice interest in retaining Cuddyer, but this development makes it more likely that he'll sign elsewhere.

The Capps situation is better for the Twins. Capps was originally a Type A, and as with Matt Guerrier last winter, the Twins would probably have declined to offer him arbitration rather than risk having him accept. But the new labor deal decouples arbitration from the five modified Type Bs. The Twins will collect a compensatory pick if Capps signs elsewhere without risking arbitration. (Capps is one of five in the new category.)

Bottom line for the Twins: They offered arbitration to Cuddyer and Kubel, did not to Capps. If all three sign elsewhere, the Twins will reap four extra draft picks in June, giving them six of the first 40 or so picks in the draft.

---

The Ryan Doumit signing became official Wednesday.

Contemplating Michael Cuddyer

Michael Cuddyer : 680 games
in the outfield, 210 at first
base, 171 at third base, 79
at second and one as a
pitcher in the major leagues.

Reports out of Philadelphia have the Phillies hot on the trail of Michael Cuddyer. Cuddyer, whose wife is pregnant with Twins, reportedly would like to get his free agency stuff out of the way before the little Cuddys come.

We've known all along that there would be suitors for Cuddyer. Other teams that have been linked to him include the Red Sox, the Cubs, the Rockies, the Giants. Some of them make more sense than others, but the Twins were not looking at a buyers market for him.

And I've reconciled myself to the notion of a Cuddyer-less 2012 Twins. Sure, there's a place for him on the roster -- but he'll turn 33 before the next season begins, and a three-year contract for him doesn't make long-term sense. On a one-year deal, he blocks nobody; beyond that, he gets in the way of youngsters like Joe Benson and Chris Parmelee.

Cuddyer is a Type A free agent. Assuming that the current system of draft pick compensation for rated free agents remains in place this winter, he's worth a couple of draft picks for the Twins if he leaves, for the Twins would certainly offer arbitration. (If he's intent on signing before his wife gives birth, he'll sign before the deadline to decide and the question will become moot.)

Let's say Cuddyer signs with somebody else. I would expect Trevor Plouffe to be first in line for the "right-handed stick who plays multiple positions, none of them particularly well" job. (If Cuddy leaving takes Plouffe finally and officially out of the shortstop mix, it's a bonus.)

Right field might be, for a year or so, filled by a platoon of Rene Tosoni and Plouffe (although Ron Gardenhire typically avoids straight platoons, it makes sense with that pair), or the Twins could use a one-year stopgap while they wait for Benson. (I come back, again, to Ryan Doumit.)

Who takes on the "vocal clubhouse leader" job ... that's another question.

The Twins' Cuddyer conundrum

Michael Cuddyer has played quite a bit of first base
the past three seasons, but Chris Parmelee's September
showing suggests Cuddy isn't needed as Plan B there.

Bill Smith, the Twins general manager, has said repeatedly in recent weeks: The Twins value Michael Cuddyer and want to re-sign him.

They should be careful what they wish for.

Cuddyer's impending free agency is a sharp challenge for the Twins front office.

One can easily draw up a list of reasons — good reasons — for the Twins to want to keep Cuddyer:

• In a lineup that figures to remain heavily left-handed for several seasons to come, he is their best right-handed hitter -- and one who mashes left-handers.
• As the longest-tenured Twins player, he provides an experienced clubhouse voice to the younger players -- and, unlike some of the previous "leaders," his voice buys into the organizational philosophy.
• He is willing, even eager, to step out of his comfort zone to play out of position.

On the other hand:

• He'll turn 33 before the 2012 season begins. A multi-year deal with him is buying into a declining market.
• While he'll play multiple positions willingly, he's not really good at any of them. His value is strictly in his bat.
• He doesn't hit right-handers well at all.

There have been Internet reports that some bigger-payroll operations — specifically Boston and the Cubs — are interested in bidding for Cuddyer, with the Rockies and Giants also linked to him.

I have my doubts, frankly, that the sabermetric-oriented operations are going to go high on Cuddyer. The Red Sox may be losing Theo Epstein, but they will remain one of the game's more statistically astute operations, and Epstein is going to the Cubs, so they'll be more new school than in the past. I don't see either wanting to win a bidding war for Cuddyer.

The Twins, for their part, don't want a bidding war at all. Target Field has elevated them from the lower rungs of revenues, but Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau eat up much of that gain. The two former MVPs account for about a third of the payroll. A three- or four-year commitment to Cuddyer at $10 million a season would tighten the screws on the rest of the budget.

Cuddyer certainly fits an immediate need. The Twins don't have an obvious replacement for him on hand for 2012, either as the right fielder or as a middle-of-the-order right-handed bat. But a multi-year deal would make him a roadblock for Joe Benson, and perhaps others, in coming seasons -- seasons in which the odds are that Cuddyer's play will decline.

Chris Parmelee's September performance, and the use of Mauer as a part-time first baseman, suggests that Cuddyer's role as Plan B to Morneau at first base is less important than it has been in recent years. If the Twins are serious about fixing the middle infield defense, the temptation to play Cuddyer at second base should be resisted. And if first base and second base are out of the equation, Cuddyer's positional flexibility is largely negated.

The Twins last summer reportedly made a two-year offer to Cuddyer at $8 million a season. That was quickly declined, and I don't blame Cuddyer for doing so. It would be a very good deal for the Twins, but almost certainly well below market for the player.

Emotionally, I want the Twins to keep him. Logically, I don't think it makes sense.

Late night: Twins 11, Angels 4

Michael Cuddyer hits his fifth career grand slam.

Game story here.

Box score here.

This game pivoted on a curious decision by Anaheim manager Mike Scoscia.

Fifth inning, score tied at four. Joel Pineiro had gotten Matt Tolbert out, but then gave up singles to Denard Span and Ben Revere, then walked Joe Mauer in a fairly obvious pitch-around. That brought up Michael Cuddyer.

Pineiro threw ball one well inside -- and Scoscia pulled him for left-hander Hisanori Takahashi.

A curious decision because Cuddyer mashes lefties and really doesn't do that much against righties. It's true for his career as a whole and even more emphatically so this season. And Cuddyer lived up to his platoon splits by hammering the first pitch from Takahashi for the grand slam.

It was the first of two homers for Cuddyer on the night (he hit his second off a right-hander). Delmon Young doubled his season output for homers with round trippers in consecutive at-bats. Jason Kubel also homered (off Takahashi, a rare dinger off a lefty for Kubel). Yes, the Twins hit five home runs in one game. This is roughly 7 percent of their season total.

Give credit, also, to Anthony Swarzak, who threw five innings of shutout ball in relief of Scott Baker. Swarzak gave up one hit and one walk. Just one strikeout, but he threw strikes and kept the game moving, which Baker couldn't accomplish.

The complicated value of Michael Cuddyer

Michael Cuddyer's pitching "skill" isn't a serious factor in
his value. His willingness/eagerness to help his team by
taking on such a task is.

Question: Should the Twins trade Michael Cuddyer this week?

Honest Answer: It depends. What are they getting back?

The notion being peddled by Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune — trade Cuddyer for whatever and then re-sign him as a free agent — isn't as clear cut as he pretends to think it is. (Maybe he really DOES think it's clear-cut, but in that case I'll pretend that I think he's actually knowledgeable ...)

Facts:

• Cuddyer currently projects as a Type A free agent.
• Type A free agents aren't necessarily free; they can come with strings attached.
• If the team with a Type A free agent offers him arbitration, they get two draft picks the following summer: A "sandwich pick" between the first and second rounds, and (if the signing team finished in the top half of the standings) the signing team's first round pick OR (if the signing team finished in the bottom half of the standings) the signing team's second round pick.
• If the team doesn't offer arbitration, it gets nothing when the player jumps.

Let's run this through various scenarios, assuming that Cuddyer is a Type A at season's end:

• If the Twins retain Cuddyer for the rest of the season and offer him arbitration and he leaves, the Twins will get two picks.
• If the Twins trade Cuddyer, his new club offers arbitration and the Twins sign him back during the winter, the Twins lose a pick — under their current status, their second-round pick.

The Twins are said to want to keep Cuddyer in 2012 (and, most likely, beyond), and I believe those reports. (Whether that's a wise position depends on the contract terms.) That's a further complicating factor. If they were willing to see Cuddyer walk, the asking price now in a deal should be roughly equivalent to two high draft picks. But if they re-sign him, that take will be lessened by the loss of their second-round pick.

Think you've got all that? Good.  Now consider this:

The rules may change before winter. There was a push to eliminate free-agent compensation when the current labor deal was being negotiated, and it's not guaranteed to remain. Even if it does, the rating system is likely to change, as too many "Type A" free agents in recent years haven't really merited that status.

So ... what do the Twins do?

I say that (a) they don't actively shop him; (b) they set a high price to those teams that call — two premium prospects, plus the acquiring team picks up Cuddyer's remaining salary.

Any trade for less than that should involve a pledge not to offer Cuddyer arbitration.