Helping you keep abreast of the latest movements, so that your Sunday is free for other things. Like breakfast. Or backrubs. Or flowers, for instance.
- Minnesota, Washington...and Colorado? Those are the teams who have not-so-privately acknowledged they're on the lookout for a second baseman.
- Ronnie Belliard, Adam Kennedy, Felipe Lopez, Orlando Hudson. Those are the major league free agent second basemen available. You could probably add Orlando Cabrera to that list, since apparently it's something the Twins are entertaining.
- Minnesota. That is the complete list of teams who have actively searched for a third baseman this winter and haven't yet found one. Now that Baltimore is off the list, it's a very lonely list. The Cardinals (if they don't want to hand the job to 26-year old David Freese), and the Indians (what, no Jhonny Peralta?) could also be on this list should they not like their incumbants.
- Aaron Boone, Joe Crede, Melvin Mora. Those are the major league free agent third basemen available. Slim pickin'.
- It sounds like Mark Loretta is going to retire. In MVP 2005 I traded for him (he was coming off of a career year, and was a .303/.366/.414 hitter at that point), which will be my lasting memory of him. Odd but true. At any rate, it's one fewer infield option available. Although it doesn't have much impact on the market.
- You can probably add Ty Wigginton to the list of available third basemen via trade, although it really doesn't seem like a good idea.
- Oh, and Miguel Tejada for $6 million plus incentives? No thanks.
- This whole Jim Thome thing is a surprise. Thome's still got power, and an amazing eye that can help him get on base whether he's hitting for average or not. The problem is that the Twins almost always carry a 12-man pitching staff, and having two guys on your four-man bench who are limited to one position (or half of one position in Thome's case) would handicap Ron Gardenhire. On a five-man bench you could probably get away with it, but trying to get by with one versatile backup infielder and then your fourth outfielder means few options late in games. Besides, it's not like there will be at-bats available from the designated hitter spot.