Payroll: Contracted Players

by Jesse on Nov 17, 2005 11:15 PM EST in News

            2006            2007                2008
Torii Hunter        10.75MM    12MM (2MM)
Mike Redmond    900K
Juan Castro        1MM            1MM (50K)
Shannon Stewart    6.5MM
Juan Rincon        900K
Carlos Silva        3.2MM        4MM (100K)
Johan Santana        9MM            12MM                13.12MM
Brad Radke        9MM
J.C. Romero        2.2MM        2.75MM (250K)
Joe Mays        (500K)
Joe Nathan        3.75MM        5.25MM            6MM (1MM)
SUBTOTAL        47,700,000

This is just a glance at what the numbers look like for Twins under contract. Some of these numbers will grow with incentives, but before you even get to the serf-level players (I'll get to an entire squad overview of payroll soon) the Twins are already dishing out nearly $48 million for the 10 guys under contract and the one guy we bought out.

News from at least a couple of sources (Star Tribune, Terry Ryan specifically) could imply that Minnesota may be looking to up their payroll ceiling. For the Twins to remain competetive, and for the offense to be able to deliver any punch, it may be a necessity and not a "wouldn't that be great!" style luxury.

Over the coming days I'll be examining potential trades and free agents, including Mike Piazza, Lyle Overbay, Alfonso Soriano, Tony Graffanino, and more. Stay tuned as Twinkie Town comes alive...

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the right moves

I'm starting to warm to the idea of Tony Graffanino manning second base next year. If we go in that direction, and make a serious run at Nomar Garciaparra to play third, then Cuddyer could help fill the outfield void that losing Jones would cause, along with Ford, a rehabbing Kubel, and other guys like that. But to get both... could be a stretch, to say the least, I guess. I think a Rondell White or Reggie Sanders to play DH would make a lot of sense too.

LF: Stewart
CF: Hunter
RF: Ford/Cuddyer/Kubel/Others
1B: Morneau
2B: Graffanino
3B: Nomar (or, since we haven't talked trades yet, a Mike Lowell move, or a Bill Mueller signing. I'd love to take a chance on Nomar, though)
SS: Bartlett
DH: White/Sanders

Wouldn't that be fun?

by aodshark on Nov 18, 2005 1:58 AM EST reply actions

Nomar

What makes you think Nomar can stay healthy and more importantly, stay good? He seemed solid but unspectacular the last time he was on the field, and for what he's asking I'd really hope the Twins don't make a run at him.

Well, if they do it to drive up price I'd chuckle over that ;)

Anyhow, if you know different please let me know.

by MNPundit on Nov 18, 2005 10:53 AM EST up reply actions

No idea

I don't know how much money he wants, but if we could do some kind of incentive-based deal, I'd love to take a shot and see if he has anything left in his tank.

by aodshark on Nov 18, 2005 11:50 AM EST up reply actions

Okay, now that makes sense

An incentive laden deal I could live with. Still I think Cuddyer (who had an average year) shouldn't be moved from 3rd base so I think I'd have to see something before I would move him.

I really hope he isn't moved to the outfield.

by MNPundit on Nov 18, 2005 1:01 PM EST up reply actions

Cuddyer and 3B

Is going to be moved from thrid base. Rightly or wrongly, TR and Gardy feel that he brought a better total game when he was in the OF or at 2B.

Just looking at the numbers he put up while at a certain position will not always tell the whole story.

A good, veteran glove at 3B would shore up the Twins D in a big way. I have always thought 3B is the most underrated defensive position and the toughest one to fill.

by snuessle on Nov 18, 2005 1:29 PM EST up reply actions

Why?

Why would you want to see Cuddyer at 3B? 3B makes him a liability on both sides of the ball. He has a great arm, but it's better suited for Right Field. He never had good accuracy throwing to first base at 3rd.

by TheMattWilke on Nov 18, 2005 6:09 PM EST up reply actions

A theory

This has never been mentioned anywhere, but I find it interesting that Michael Cuddyer is deaf in his left ear, and defensively he plays better on the right side of the field. RF, 2B.

Standing at 3b, his functioning ear is toward the crowd. Not the field. Standing at 2b or RF, his good ear is toward the field.

To my knowledge, the deaf or clinically deaf men who have played MLB were outfielders, if you don't count William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy's one game at second base. While a hearing deficiency certainly robs an outfielder of a vital tool in getting a jump, it's still the outfield.

Of all the infield positions, the ball comes to third base faster and more regularly than any other. Being able to hear bat on ball sure as hell helps, if you ever played third. There's no way Cuddyer has the same auditory edge as a person of normal hearing when he plays third.

That might not be why he's a faulty third basemen. It could be a factor.

However, if a player is "a liabilty on both sides of the ball" he should not be in the major leagues.

-- People can't stand much reality, and they can't even stand the reality of being told so.

by Firpo Marberry on Nov 19, 2005 2:37 AM EST up reply actions

I did not know this...

..but it sounds plausible. Certainly, being deaf in one ear isn't going to help his defense.

I think the Twins management completely messed up with Cuddyer. A couple seasons ago he was a top prospect tearing it up at AAA. But we were jammed up in the outfield (ah, the good old days...) so he had no place to play. Then they decided to try and convert him to second base, and he played about as well as you can expect a right fielder to play at second. So they moved him to third to cover for the perpetually injured Corey Koskie.

The kid didn't get a real shot to play regularly until he was 25 years old, which is too long to keep a talented prospect in the minors. And when he did play, he was ramrodded into a role for which he was ill-suited. Management basically took a promising outfielder and made an average utility infielder out of him.

by hornbakr on Nov 22, 2005 9:49 AM EST up reply actions

Not true

He played 3B in then minors up until AAA (he was drafted as a SS). He moved to OF when it was clear that Koskie was going to block him and then moved back when Koskie was let go.

by snuessle on Nov 22, 2005 12:02 PM EST up reply actions

Cuddyer dug his own hole

None of this is accurate. If people would get their background staright on Cuddyer first, there would be less misconception about where the problem lies.

Cuddyer debuted as a SS in the pro ranks, where he led all of pro ball with 61 errors. That was 1998. He became a third baseman in '99, and was named the FSL's best defensive third basemen. Many people like to blame Cuddyer's failure at third last season on "inexperience." Nothing could be further from the truth. He was playing there six seasons ago at the age of 20.

By all scouting accounts, he was "advanced" as a hitter and expected to be on the big-league scene as early as 2000. The Twins did not have to rush him, so he enjoyed a slow track in the minors, yet he faltered each time he was promoted to the majors to get his feet wet.

This is a clinical, by-the-book way to advance a rookie. Cuddyer just couldn't handled it any time he was promoted.

You can nursemaid a guy. You can't make him a major-league star if he's not that good. The man is a lunger at the plate. His swing was supposedly "short" in the minors. If that was indeed true, I don't know what happened, but it wasn't Scott Ullger's fault.

People love to blame Cuddyer's MLB performance on switching positions, but in the minors he switched positions and showed no effect on his performance at the plate. On top of that, I don't buy that crap anyway.

Minor-league pitching is not major-league pitching. In the minors, Cuddyer had not been separated in the men-from-boys gold-mining pan, but AAA to the bigs is the big test, and this kid never hacked it despite the Twins nursing him carefully.

In 2001, he played first and third in the minors because of Koskie blocking him at the ML level. He played fewer than 20 games in the OF that season.

As 2002 dawned, he was already 23, and had enjoyed a sniff of big-league meal money.

He was moved to the OF full time in 2002, and at the time the Twins were thinking of him making it to the bigs in a corner OF position. He had more big-league experience in '02, including post-season play. The stage was set. He was suppoed to come into the league in '03 and make an impact after years of slow-tracking, piling up minor-league ABs.

He moved in as the Twins' starting RF earli in '03, but faltered again. Now, this is a kid who had been given lots of slow movement through the system, was 24 with big-league post-season experience. The only reason the Twins were spending any more time with him at that point is he was a No. 1 pick, and teams don't like to give up on No. 1 picks.

He was injured after returning to the minors in '03.

Skipping ahead to '05, he was awful. Just terrible. For a guy who had been coddled through the system and handled as well as any ballplayer could be expected to, he just failed.

2006=Last chance for Michael Cuddyer.

In his favor: He will be so much older and so much more experienced than about half of the pitchers he faces in 2006 that this alone will give him a boost.

He'll never be much at this point. If he has his moments, some folks will say this and that, blame the Twins, blah, blah, blah.

The Twins bent over backward for him. This is what teams do with No. 1 choices. He just didn't live up to the scouts expectations.

-- People can't stand much reality, and they can't even stand the reality of being told so.

by Firpo Marberry on Nov 26, 2005 12:48 AM EST up reply actions

Fitness program

After Nomar splashed to prominence in '97 at age 23, SI did a story on his remarkable training program, which involved no small amount of work, according to the story.

Whether the gym was the key, or something else, is part of the Nomar equation. He's been hurt. Maybe he would have been hurt anyway. Maybe it was all that working out. Maybe it was pixie dust.

He's still young enough to be an effective player, the only question is what made him effective in the first place.

-- People can't stand much reality, and they can't even stand the reality of being told so.

by Firpo Marberry on Nov 19, 2005 2:27 AM EST up reply actions

Salaries

The Twins will operate with a tight budget whether it is increased close to $60mm or a bit over. To make room for any type of serious offensive improvement, TRyan will need to make room by trading JC Romero. The Twins cannot afford his $2.2mm.

by roger @ Twinkie Town on Nov 18, 2005 7:48 AM EST reply actions

Now is a good time to trade Romero...

Romero's value isn't likely to get much higher than it is, and you know with his inconsistent performance it's likely to get worse. Plus, with the silly contract the Cubs gave to Scott Eyre, the market value of left-handed relief pitchers has gone up!

by hornbakr on Nov 22, 2005 9:55 AM EST up reply actions

Good call

Hooray for silly contracts boosting our players' value!

by ubelmann on Nov 22, 2005 1:51 PM EST up reply actions

Even Better!

Reports have the Blue Jays about to announce a 5-yr $47 million dollar deal with lefty closer B.J. Ryan. Romero's 2-yr $5 million contract is looking like an absolute bargain by market standards. While Romero has some value as an above average lefty reliever, I think his perceived value is far greater than his actual value. It's not often that you can get something of value in return for a middle reliever, but if there was ever a time to trade Romero it's now...

by hornbakr on Nov 26, 2005 11:35 AM EST up reply actions