Monday Meeting Wrap Up

Posted by twinsmvb on December 8, 2008 under John | Be the First to Comment

After a whirlwind day full of names and rumors swirling the Bellagio appears to be full of a lot of smoke but not a lot of substance… yet!

It is still very early in the week and many GM’s probably just got their conversations started Monday. As far as substance goes the three transactions with the most weight all involve former Twins. The Detroit Tigers have nearly completed a deal for shorstop Adam Everett (who cares), the Milwaukee Brewers have nearly resigned Mike Lamb who joined the team after being released by Minnesota (good riddance), and the LA Dodgers are apparently very close to reaching a three year deal for free agent Casey Blake (welp, he is pretty old).

The Twins had arguably more names linked to them than any other club on day one. Names like Miguel Tejada, Jack Wilson, Ty Wigginton, Jason Donald, as well as their own players Delmon Young and Nick Punto all surfaced in various rumors. What makes the winter meetings such a circus is that Miguel Tejada and Jack Wilson have already been disputed as nothing more than gossip and dead ends. While the rumored talk between the Phillies on a Delmon Young for shorstop prospect Jason Donald would need to clear many hurdles before getting serious. La Velle Neal III said the Twins would want more than just Donald and the Phillies don’t want to move their young prospect with injuries already to Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz.

I have to admit I feel like the Twins seem a little bit lost or unsure in their pursuit of various targets. I know they are much more organized and deliberate in their approach but it feels like every avenue closes just as the Twins start down that road. As noted last Friday, the shortstop market is vastly thinning and even incumbent candidate, Nick Punto, has received interest from the Diamondbacks, Phillies, Mets, and Yankees.

It is very possible the Twins are only able to fill one gap in the infield this offseason and I am ok with that. Perhaps they see what a Brendan Harris/Brian Bushcer platoon can do at thirdbase or give Nick Punto another shot as a starting shortstop. But if this scenario unfolds the Twins must make a significant offensive upgrade at the opposite infield position.

Tuesday is another day and we will see if the smoke clears.

Around the MLB and the mighty Tyner

Posted by twinsmvb on December 12, 2007 under John | Read the First Comment

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.