Over at the Strib, LEN III believes the Twins could level an official offer this week.  Meanwhile, Kelly Theiser at MLB.com reports the organization is already in discussions with Blake's agent Jim McDowell.

This has to be just a little bit of poetic justice, right?  Although the Twins didn't actually draft Casey Blake.  And even though they already had a third baseman in place who was only one year older.  And they took a chance on Blake, twice.  Hmm...this isn't quite the "full circle" I expected.

I know that Blake spent less than three years in the Minnesota farm system, which could be construed as "we let one go" when we see how he performed for triple-A clubs Salt Lake and Edmonton:  1150 at-bats, .311/.389/.499, 41 homers, 71 doubles, 127 walks, 203 strikeouts.  But the Twins still didn't keep him around, and he landed with the Indians as a free agent at age 29.  In 2004 he had his first truly good offensive season, which happened to coincide with the last good (see:  full) offensive season for one Cordel Leonard Koskie.

Now there's a very real chance that Blake, at age 35, could return to Minnesota and, quite likey, close out his career with the team that will be charged as the one that let him get away.  In 2008, Pecota projected Blake to perform as a typical 34-year old third baseman in decline, with a .264/.333/.432 median line; instead he nearly hit their 75th percentile...or essentially, over his head.  Pecota hasn't yet released forecasts for 2009, but suffice it to say it's likely they'll still be expecting a significant drop in performance.  Bill James, who included Casey Blake in his '09 projections for the Dodgers, looked into his crystal ball and saw .259/.336/.432, with 12 homers in 336 at-bats.

Should the Twins move forward with Blake, and right now it certainly seems that they are, they're doing so with the idea that he'll be able to fill a hole at third base for at least a year or two...until someone named either Luke Hughes or Danny Valencia is ready to step in.  Hopefully.

Looking back over the last five years, Blake's played significant time at the hot corner in three of them, and while he's never been a true defensive whiz by any stretch of the imagination he's certainly reliable.  Every year he'll make a handful of great plays, make a few outs by getting to balls outside of his zone, but getting to his age as a third baseman when does mediocre start to take a turn for the worse?  I understand that it's not necessarily the glove or the arm that the Twins are looking at here, but rather the idea of an everyday third baseman who can provide decent offense from the right side of the plate.  Otherwise, the team would just be platooning Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris.

So it's not the possible dropoff in the field that cautions me against Casey Blake.  It's the offense.  Although other than being a bit more aggressive around the plate (check his percentages for swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone here), taking a glance through the numbers there's nothing that stands out too much from his recent history.

The biggest factor here for me isn't even the money, because I know the Twins aren't going to break the bank.  The biggest factor is simply age.  If we were discussing the Twins signing this exact player at age 30 or 31, it'd be a no-brainer.  But we're playing the odds on a 35-year old.

In some ways it's a perfect situation.  With the Twins in the unique position of actually having prospects in the system who could potentially take over third base in the next 12 to 24-months, they're able to look at a player that doesn't constitute a long-term committment.  They're able to look at a player who can bridge a gap to the future.  And while Casey Blake is that player, I'm still wondering if that's the best direction for the Twins to take.  It's not the player that concerns me, it's the direction.

Ultimately this direction will come down to two things:  money and performance.  Before Blake even steps up to the plate in a Minnesota jersey, his tenure with the team will be judged on his contract.  Then he'll be judged on how he actually plays.  Bizarre, but true.

Now we just have to wait and see what happens before we start complaining.  Or applauding, depending how optimistic you are.

A brief examination of the rules to help us figure out who we could possibly expect.

There's a lot of debate, in certain circles, about the merits of the September roster expansion rules.  Detractors argue it favors big-market clubs because at the root of it all, the more players you call up the more money it costs, and also that it's unfair for a contender to lose (or win, for that matter) a game that goes to extra innings due to the advantage of additional pitcher.  But for my money, I enjoy the rule.  It allows us to see some potential impact players of the future, and for teams that are out of the running that can sometimes be the only draw they have at the end of the season.

Okay, let's get to the rules.

1.  You can call up as many players as you want as long as they're on the 40-man roster.  That's right, you can technically have 40 players, although most teams top off around 31.

2.  If you want to call up someone NOT on the 40-man roster and it's already full, in order to take that spot the team will need to pass a player through waivers.

3.  Service time rolls on anyone called up, just like at any other time of the year.

Based on those basics, these are the players currently available for the Twins to call up in September:

Pitchers:  Julio DePaula, Philip Humber, Bobby Korecky, Jose Mijares, Pat Neshek*, Oswaldo Sosa
Catchers:  Jose Morales
Infielders:  Matt Macri, Sergio Santos, Matt Tolbert*
Outfielders:  Michael Cuddyer*, Jason Pridie

* = On Disabled List

For those of you who haven't counted, the Twins have 37 players on the 40-man roster.  This means that if they want to call up somebody not on the list above (like Luke Hughes, Kevin Mulvey, Bobby Kielty or Garrett Jones for example), they have a bit of room to with which to work.  What we have to keep in mind is that anyone called up will not only see their service time start to tick (a bit of a touchy subject with the Twins for certain players over recent years), but also that filling up all forty spots restricts what kinds of roster alterations Minnesota can make without being forced to pass someone through waivers.

My predictions:

Philip Humber and Bobby Korecky for pitchers--we know the Twins are looking for a little pitching depth in the bullpen, due to both the current 'pen being a bit shaky and the starters not getting through seven innings often enough.

The Twins will definitely call up a third catcher, and unless they're willing to dip into their three open slots on the 40-man roster for somebody like Ryan Jorgensen or Drew Butera, it will be Jose Morales.  If he's available...which realistically he may not be, as he's listed on Rochester's 7-day disabled list.

For infielders, both Sergio Santos and Matt Macri will likey make appearances to provide infield depth, although the Twins may just go with Macri and wait for Matt Tolbert to get healthy.

Finally, in the outfield I can see Jason Pridie getting a call if the Twins don't believe Michael Cuddyer will be ready by the end of September.

Overall, I see the Twins adding two pitchers, a catcher, two infielders and one outfielder.

How about "Relief Pitcher"?

MLB Trade Rumors tells us that Adrian Beltre's contract wouldn't be a problem, it's the players necessary to do the deal haven't come into celestial alignment.  Jayson Stark says the Twins are still in pursuit of Beltre, while Jim Moloney says the Twins are keeping their fingers in the window for Casey Blake...but they're looking at Hank Blalock.  Our own Joe Christensen says the Twins are still focused on finding someone to set the bar at the hot corner, but asking prices have generally kept things at a stand still.  In addition to the trio of names above, he mentions Garrett Atkins and Bill Hall as well, but in the end Joe C. believes the Twins won't get their third baseman.

While the organization has been predictably silent, or far more sly, as we approach the trade deadline, it has to be asked:  What is Minnesota's greatest need?  There were a flurry of moves over the winter, of all shapes and sizes, and with many of those moves being a bit more high-visibility than we're used to it's hard to blame a fan base for being a little more antsy.  We had a taste of the action and we want more.  We have a scratch, and we want it itched.

The vacancy at third base has been an issue for a few years now, that's hard to ignore.  But unless you believe Luke Hughes will be ready to step up in 2009 there isn't an answer in the system that could be ready before 2011.  At least not a long-term solution with a decent ceiling.  Danny Valencia and Diebinson Romero are both at least two years away and there definitely isn't anyone else that's closer, and although Hughes is presenting the organization with a great case for promotion this summer it's not as though his trajectory to the majors has been lit with fire.

But shifting gears to 2008, a season which hasn't been the typical "season of growth" we expected, this is a team that's poised to make a run.  Third base isn't a strength, but it isn't the greatest weakness, either.  There are two holes in the Minnesota pitching staff, and everyone knows exactly what they are.

First, Francisco Liriano belongs in the starting rotation.  This we know.  This, the Twins organization also knows.  But whether you think Genske's an idiot or not (and he is), the truth of the matter is that the Twins would be better with the young southpaw taking the mound every five days.  Sure, the process of making that happen isn't as easy as flipping a switch, but the sooner it happens the better off we'll be.

Second, the bullpen still needs help.  With Jon Rauch traded to Arizona and Damaso Marte not on the radar, my sights continue to look to the west coast.  The San Diego Padres dealt starter Randy Wolf this week, putting themselves into sell mode.  If that's accurate, Heath Bell would be a superior addition to the 'pen.

Last, in my mind, is third base.  With Brian Buscher's hot play and Matt Macri in Rochester, they've filled their roles adequately.  For the long term there will be a need for a better solution, and even for 2008 an upgrade would mean a great deal, but I'm of the opinion that improvements of sub-par performances would serve this team better in the short run.

Nevertheless, it certainly appears that Minnesota's number one priority is for third base; at least that's the front they're playing.  As a result, keep checking back here over the weekend, as one-by-one we'll run through the pros and cons of each of the third basemen on the Twins' wish list:

Garrett Atkins
Adrian Beltre
Casey Blake
Hank Blalock
Bill Hall

[Note by Jesse, 07/25/08 11:34 AM CDT ]  Hey all, be sure to swing by Josh's Thoughts.  I just saw he has a fairly comprehensive list of bullpen arms that could be good fits with the Twins, including a couple of names listed above:  Damaso Marte and Heath Bell.