How much do you want Kubs?

Up to 3 years

7M for 1yr or
11M for 2yr with a 3yr for 7M if he meets incentives; AB’s, BA, and some power stat.

$14M on 2 years,

somewhere along those lines. And that’s not just him in a vacuum; for instance, I would have paid Kubel more than we paid Willingham before we signed him. But now, based on team needs and the pick, we shouldn’t pay TOO much since we have a lot of OF options coming. Plus, the #43 pick in the draft (that’s my projection) is nothing to sneeze at. And there are other options (Lee, etc.) that won’t require the 2-3 year commitments.

http://aarongleeman.com/2011/12/19/reassessing-the-twins-roster-and-payroll/

If the payroll does remain steady at $115M or so (I still think it could), that puts us at $96M today (including Nathan’s $2M buyout), needing to upgrade one offensive spot (essentially swapping out Butera for Doumit on the bench), one starting spot (at least) and 1 RH spot, at least. That’s $19M to play with if payroll is at around $115M. If so, I’d:
Sign Kubel for $7M/yr deal if possible (or Lee/Beltran/other options for similar money) $12M left.
Sign Edwin Jackson for 3 year/$30M deal if possible. $2M left.
Trade Blackburn for a decent NL reliever; may have to pick up some salary; save $2M. $4M left.
Sign another starter (Pineiro/Harden/Maholm, etc.) to a $4M deal. $0 balance.

Team set:
Span-CF, Carroll-SS, Mauer-C, Morneau-1b, Willingham-RF, Kubel-DH, Valencia-3b, Casilla-2b, Revere-LF Bench: Doumit, Plouffe, Hughes, Nishioka
(I’d play Doumit instead of Revere as much as possible)
Rotation: Liriano, Baker, Jackson, Pavano, Harden/Francis/Maholm
Bullpen: Capps, Perkins, Duensing, new NL reliever from Blackburn deal, Swarzak, Doyle, Burnett
Depth at AAA; Offense: Benson, Parmelee, Tosoni, Dinkelman
Offensive (to us fans): Butera
Pitching: Gutierrez, Guerra, Waldrop, Gray, Burton, Oliveros, Manship, Hendriks, Malone, Vasquez, Diamond

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/12/diamondbacks-to-sign-jason-kubel.html

2/15.

I still project the Twins to receive the #43 pick in the draft as compensation for Kubel.

Their compensation would currently sit at #40, but I still expect both Madson and Fielder to sign elsewhere (and not within the top 10) so that would push our slot down 3 spots.

I like the Gleeman proposal/scenario.

I wish you were the Twins GM

Now that he’s gone, I’d make a run at Cody Ross. He’s not a sexy name by any means, but he’s a solid player.