In what was almost a foregone conclusion as of this morning, the Twins have agreed to terms with the Oakland Athletics regarding shortstop Orlando Cabrera.

Cabrera, 34, has been one of the league’s hottest hitters this past month and should fit in to the two-hole nicely. He’ll be a decent upgrade offensively over both Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla.

Defensively, though, Cabrera hasn’t performed as well as he has in recent years. The Twins’ current defense is rock-solid and this could help Cabrera progress to his defensive mean.

One option Ron Gardenhire also has, though, is to put Cabrera in the bottom of the order and leave either Punto or Casilla in the two-hole. I don’t think very many want that to happen.

If Gardenhire replaces Brendan Harris with Cabrera and slides Punto to second base, there has been no upgrade. If Punto doesn’t have at-bats taken away from him as a result of this trade there would be virtually no visible change.

The Twins gave up Tyler Ladendorf to the A’s. Ladendorf had the 14th highest ceiling in my Top 15 Prospects list last year, but is more than three years away from the major-leagues.

The bottom line on this trade is that the Twins aren’t significantly better with Cabrera on the lineup, but wonders have most likely been done to Mauer’s desire to stay in Minnesota.

Posted in Uncategorized No Comments Tags: Alexi Casilla, Brendan Harris, Nick Punto, Orlando Cabrera, Tyler Ladendorf

Mark Grudzielanek

When the announcement that Minnesota had acquired the contract of free agent Mark Grudzeilanek rolled across the ticker, the majority of Twins Territory groaned. Were they doomed to endure another Brett Boone/Phil Nevin/Tony Batista/Mike Lamb/Craig Monroe scenario?

While I certainly hope Grudzielanek ends up performing better than the five above veteran signees, there is much more hope for this most recent addition to the Twins family.

Why, you ask? Grudzielanek is 39 years old, much older than any of the aforementioned veterans at the time the Twins picked them up. He has spent the entire 2009 season to date watching from the proverbial sidelines, unable to convince any of the thirty teams to give him a chance.

Until now.

For all we know, Grudzielanek could be fighting a typical 39-year old’s battle with simple stiffness and has trouble getting out of bed every morning. A week or two of hard workouts could cure him of that, but it might not.

Grudzielanek could turn out to be exactly like Boone was and the Twins may cut him before the month of August is out.

Should that happen, the Twins will have lost practically nothing in terms of monetary value. They will be able to move on and continue their pursuit of the playoffs. More importantly, however, is the fact that the Trade Deadline will have come and gone.

If July 31 passes without the Twins making a significant move they will be stuck with Alexi Casilla and Grudzielanek at second base, for better or worse.

Then again, though, this acquisition could be a precursor for Twins’ general manager Bill Smith. Minnesota may very well be close to landing Freddie Sanchez.

If that were the case the Twins would be in an extremely favorable situation: an All-Star starting at second base and a veteran with the ability to hit .300/.350/.400 waiting in the wings.

Sure, Grudzielanek isn’t going to be the best offensive player this side of Derek Jeter. No, he won’t have the defensive prowess of Aaron Hill. But he can come awfully close, can’t he?

The acquisition of Grudzielanek was a wise one on the Twins’ part, provided they aren’t finished making moves yet.

Posted in Opinion 3 Comments Tags: Alexi Casilla, Brett Boone, Craig Monroe, Freddie Sanchez, Mark Grudzielanek, Mike Lamb, Tony Batista

Freddy Sanchez

As the Twins’ roster currently stands, there aren’t many fans who think that the Twins have a serious shot at the World Series. Because of the mediocrity of the AL Central the Twins may be able to reach postseason play, but anything beyond that is probably wishful thinking.

Unless, of course, the Twins sign a game-changer. Freddy Sanchez could be that game-changer.

At 31 years of age there are certainly younger options on the market (Ian Kinsler, for example. But that’s for another day.) Sanchez, despite his age, remains one of the best defensive second baseman in the league. In Ultimate Zone Rating he ranks seventh in the league at his position. His Range Factor/Game is good enough for fourth in the league.

There is no doubt that this is an upgrade over who the Twins currently have occupying second base. Whether it’s Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert, or Nick Punto, it seems second base is where offense goes to die. None of those players have batting averages anywhere near .300 (two are under .200) and their on-base-averages aren’t much better. Sanchez’s .316/.355/.477/.832 would be considered other-worldly by fans who are starved for offensive production from that position.

Most Twins’ fans would love to see Sanchez in the infield every day, but are skeptical about the asking price. They’re not alone; the Twins are renowned for over-valuing their prospects and it would take a lot to convince them to move players like Kevin Mulvey or Anthony Swarzak.

It’s safe to say that Alexi Casilla will probably be the centerpiece of any trade the Twins work out, if any. He currently resides in Gardy’s doghouse and most likely won’t be with the Twins again as long as Gardy is manager; which could be forever. Casilla is loaded with talent and could be an All-Star threat were he provided with a change of scenery.

As they stand now, the Twins could manage to squeak by both the Tigers and White Sox for the division title. They may even manage to win a few games in the postseason. But a deep playoff run cannot be enjoyed without a game-changer like Freddy Sanchez. And wouldn’t you know – the Twins seem to be in talks with the Pirates right now, inquiring about Sanchez and releviers Matt Capps and John Grabow.

Just as a reminder, there will be a live blog tonight during the Twins/Tigers game here at TwinsFix.com. Please join us as we talk about the game, the division race, potential trades, and everything Twins-related! 7:00 central time is when I’ll open it up.

Posted in rumors No Comments Tags: Alexi Casilla, Anthony Swarzak, Freddy Sanchez, Kevin Mulvey, Matt Tolbert, Nick Punto

Originally posted at BleacherReport.com

Matt Tolbert, Getty Images

Everybody loves a hard worker. Just ask Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire. He is known around Twins’ Territory as one who adores players who bust their tails, even though the results may not be there.

Perhaps this is the reason Matt Tolbert still finds himself in the batting lineup every day?

Being brutally honest, Tolbert is not a good baseball player. His defense is above-average at second base, but most of that is thanks to his incredible speed. Tolbert’s defensive range is one of the best on the team, but his less-than-desirable offensive numbers have many calling for his head.

Tolbert made the team out of Spring Training last year as a utility infielder. He was the minor-league version ofMark DeRosa, playing nearly everywhere in the infield as well as both corner outfield positions.

Sir Tolbert, versatility is thy middle name.

His defensive prowess aside, Tolbert’s offensive struggles could be the only obstacle keeping him from the national spotlight.

And what an obstacle that is.

Just one game short of his 2008 total, Tolbert already has 18 more plate appearances. This is a result of his sliding—no pun intended—into the second base role on a daily basis. Alexi Casilla was just as good defensively, if not more so, than Tolbert.

However, when Casilla’s triple-slash line fell to .167/.231/.202 in May the Twins felt the need to change things up.

I’m not saying that Casilla didn’t have a demotion coming to him: he obviously did. Casilla didn’t hustle on pop outs and fans were forced to watch him trot leisurely up the first-base line on bunt attempts. The hustle that Gardenhire loves wasn’t evident in Casilla, and the result was a demotion.

The swapping of Tolbert and Casilla was welcomed with a sigh of relief among Twins fans. No longer would a bat worse than most National League pitchers’ be forced into the lineup day-in and day-out. The fact that Casilla’s defense was top-notch didn’t make up for his offensive ineptitude in the eyes of fans.

In fact, offensive ineptitude is not foreign to Twins fans.

Most Twins fans claim that Nick Punto is only kept on the team because of his defensive versatility. To manager Ron Gardenhire, the fact that Punto is consistently battling with the Mendoza line is beside the point.

Now it seems the only thing keeping Tolbert in the big-leagues is the current injury to Punto. There is no room on the roster for two utility infielders. Just as Casilla was demoted, so shall Tolbert.

Gardenhire’s supposed love affair with utility infielders who are horrendous at the plate is both well-known and well-documented in Minnesota. It seems everyone knows of this “weakness” and are quick to join in the criticizing.

Steve Tolleson

This criticism has now been directed at Tolbert. He is going down the same dark road as Casilla and Punto did before him.

This time, though, Tolbert’s days are numbered.

It seems shocking that Gardenhire continues to play these players who lack in the offensive department every day. Sure, most of the time they’re excellent defenders. But when that is balanced against the fact that they only get a hit two times out of ten makes them bad baseball players.

There are guys like 25-year-old Steve Tolleson waiting in Triple-A for their chance at the Minnesota infield. Tolleson has a triple-slash line of .330/.398/.461 in his games at Rochester this year; extremely better than the 27-year-old Tolbert at that level.

Just two years of age separate Tolleson and Tolbert, yet Gardenhire preferred the elder. This is hard to criticise, but the fact that Tolleson is nearly as versatile as Tolbert raises the question, “Where’s the love for offense?”

There is little doubt that Tolleson will play in Minnesota this year. How long that stint will be, no one knows. Whether in September when the rosters are expanded or not, the time is not yet known.

When Tolleson’s name is called, though, let’s hope he impresses Gardenhrie enough to break him of his love for offensively inept utility infielders.

Posted in Opinion No Comments Tags: Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert, Nick Punto, Steve Tolleson