Eat, Drink and Sleep Baseball

Joel Zumaya out for year with torn UCL

2012-02-26T16:16:00.001-05:00

If it weren't for bad luck, it seems as though Minnesota's Joel Zumaya wouldn't have any at all.

The hard-throwing, 27-year-old reliever threw only 13 pitches at a batting practice session on Saturday before suffering what has now turned out to be a season-ending injury.

An MRI has revealed that Zumaya has a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow and he will miss the entire 2012 season.

Zumaya, who signed a one-year deal with the Twins, is guaranteed only $400,000 since he won't be on the team's opening day roster.

“He’s distraught, as you’d expect,” [Twins general manager Terry] Ryan said (via Matt Snyder of CBS Sports). “He’s going to come in here in the next day or so and we’re going to talk about the immediate future for him.”

Having last pitched in a regular-season game in June 2010, a successful rehab from Tommy John surgery would mean that Zumaya would go nearly three calendar years in between pitching in a major league game.

Twins place Francisco Liriano on the 15-day DL

2011-05-30T18:27:00.002-04:00

Per Phil Mackey of ESPN1500.com, the Minnesota Twins have placed starter Francisco Liriano on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation.

After a horrible start to the season (1-4 record and 9.13 ERA in April), Liriano pitched well in three of his four starts in May.

Liriano, who was scratched from his start on Saturday, posted a 2-1 record with an ERA of 2.52 in his four starts in the month of May.

The move is retroactive to May 23rd since Liriano last pitched on the 22nd and the team has recalled righthander Anthony Salama from Triple-A.

Through May 29 games, the Twins have the highest ERA (4.77) while scoring the fewest runs (175) in all of baseball.

Not only do the Twins have the worst record (17-35) in the majors, but every team in the American League has at least six more wins than the Twins.

Francisco Liriano hurls no-hitter vs. White Sox

2011-05-04T07:00:00.004-04:00

There was quite a bit of pressure of Twins starter Francisco Liriano entering last night's start against the White Sox.

Before last night's game, Liriano posted a record of 1-4 with an ERA of 9.13 and 18 walks in 23 2/3 innings pitched and the team had the fewest wins (nine) in all of baseball.

Liriano's spot in the rotation was on the line as manager Ron Gardenhire had said last week, "That's kind of why we're working on [Kevin] Slowey, getting him stretched out, in case we decide after this next start whether we're going to do something or not."

And, boy, did he deliver by throwing the franchise's first no-hitter since 1999 and the fifth in team history.

"I'm pretty excited," Liriano said, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. "I can't explain myself right now. I'm very happy, very excited. I had a rough start to the season, so it's very exciting."

Liriano was helped out by some nice plays in the field and he walked six batters, but his no-no should help restore his confidence, as pitching coach Rick Anderson notes.

"I'm excited as can be about the no-hitter, but I'm even more excited the confidence is there," Anderson said. "I can't wait for the next start. And that's what he needed -- confidence. Hopefully, this is a confidence thing, and it's something we all need to get our strut and our swagger back. I think we all needed that. And that's a big step."

Francisco Liriano may only have one more chance (start) to keep spot in rotation

2011-04-29T18:00:00.002-04:00

Things haven't gone well for Twins starter Francisco Liriano (and his fantasy owners) this year.

And depending on how his next scheduled start on Tuesday goes, it could get worse, much worse.

"There's times when he looks totally dominant and he'll go an inning or two like that, but then he just kind of starts misfiring, and I think once we get ahead he just kind of backs away a little bit. So, if it's a confidence thing, then we've got to really work hard to get it there, but if not, we're going to have to make a decision and see where we go from there," manager Ron Gardenhire said, per Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.

"That's kind of why we're working on [Kevin] Slowey, getting him stretched out, in case we decide after this next start whether we're going to do something or not."

Slowey, who eligible to return from the disabled list, will make one more rehab start to help get him ready to take over Liriano's spot in the rotation, if necessary.

In his five starts, Liriano is 1-4 with an ERA of 9.13 and 18 walks in 23 2/3 innings pitched.

Matt Capps in, Joe Nathan out, as Twins closer, for now

2011-04-17T15:18:00.003-04:00

The Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays are currently in the sixth inning and the Twins have a two-run lead, 4-2.

If there's a save opportunity in the ninth inning, it will be Matt Capps -- not Joe Nathan -- on the mound to close out the game for the Twins, per Kelsie Smith of the Pioneer Press.

With last night's blown save, Nathan has done so in back-t0-back save opportunities and his ERA has increased to 8.44. In those two games, he has allowed four earned runs, three hits and three walks with no strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings.

Nathan said last night, "Coming back from Tommy John isn't easy. It's a tough process and to do it now while I'm closing games out, I think that's a tough gig when you're healthy."

Capps hasn't been much better recently.

In his past two appearances (1 1/3 innings), Capps has allowed three earned runs. And on April 14th, both Capps and Nathan blew save opportunities.

Twins place Joe Mauer on 15-day disabled list

2011-04-15T09:17:00.002-04:00

The Minnesota Twins have placed catcher Joe Mauer on the 15-day disabled list (DL) due to "bilateral leg weakness," per La Velle Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Obviously, it's bad news that Mauer has landed on the DL, but the moderately good news is that his knee, on which he had surgery in December, appears to be fine.

"He is definitely very, very sore over the last few days -- his shoulder, his elbow -- and we think it's his legs just not strong enough underneath him and he says he feels terrible," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "His knee is actually feeling OK but he's compensating for the weakness in his upper leg ... that's causing a lot of other problems."

Mauer, who came down with a bout of the flu last night, is scheduled to go to Baltimore today to visit with the same specialist that treated his sacroiliac joint in 2009.

To take Mauer's roster spot, the Twins have recalled catcher Steve Holm from Triple-A Rochester.

From a fantasy perspective, a couple of waiver-wire possibilities include Toronto's J.P. Arencibia (owned in 49.5 percent of ESPN leagues), Philadelphia's Carlos Ruiz (27.9 percent), San Diego's Nick Hundley (22.0 percent) and Detroit's Alex Avila (7.4 percent).

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 First Basemen Rankings

2011-03-26T10:47:00.012-04:00

Without question, first base is the deepest position for everyday players. The top seven or eight first basemen will likely be drafted in the first two rounds of your 12-team league.

Some players on our list played 10-19 games at first base in 2010, which means the player may or may not qualify as a first baseman in your league. For example, Yahoo! leagues require a player to appear in at least ten games at that position in the previous year. For ESPN leagues, the requirement is 20-plus games.

Based on lower eligibility requirements, first base is even deeper for participants in Yahoo! leagues than those participating in ESPN leagues.

Here are the top 20 fantasy first basemen for 2011:

1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals: Through ten seasons, Pujols has had career lows of .312 batting average (2010), 32 home runs (2007) and 103 runs batted in (2007). While that is the worst-case scenario, a typical (average) season for the career .331 hitter is 41 home runs and 123 runs batted in.

2. Joey Votto, Reds: While first base is loaded with talent, Votto finished no lower than top-five in all five standard rotisserie categories. The reigning N.L. MVP set career-highs in runs scored (106), home runs (37), runs batted in (113), steals (17) and batting average (.324) as well.

3. Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox: During his five years as a Padre, Gonzalez hit .267 and 57 home runs (one per 24.7 at bats) with 201 runs batted in at home. On the road, however, Gonzalez hit .307 and 104 home runs (one per 15.1 at bats) with 300 runs batted in. The change of scenery can only do Gonzalez some good despite finishing 2010 with an average of .298, 31 home runs and 101 runs batted in.

4. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: Over the past three seasons, only two first basemen have hit over .300 with 100 home runs and 350 runs batted in: Cabrera and Pujols. If it weren't for his alcohol problems highlighted by his run-in with the law in February, Cabrera would have been ranked ahead of all first basemen not named Albert Pujols.

5. Mark Teixeira, Yankees: Teixeira, who hit a career-low .256 in 2010, hit .280-plus every season and over .300 three times from 2004 to 2009. With seven consecutive seasons of 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs, you know what you'll get in the power department from Teixeira. But will Teixeira hit .256, .280 or .300?

6. Prince Fielder, Brewers: Last year, Fielder set a four-year low in home runs (32) and runs batted in (83) while hitting a career-worse .261. The year before, Fielder set career highs in runs batted in (141) and average (.299) while posting the second-highest homer total (46) of his career. Splitting the difference would be 39 home runs, 112 runs batted in and a .280 average. Sounds good to me.

7. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: Over the past five seasons, Youkilis has not played more than 147 games in any year. Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Youkilis could/should put up around or more than 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, 30 homers while hitting .300. His bigger value will come once he gains eligibility at the much more talent-scarce position of third base.

8. Ryan Howard, Phillies: Over the past five years, no player has more home runs (229) or runs batted in (680) than Howard. In addition, Howard leads the majors in strikeouts (922) during that span.

9. Adam Dunn, White Sox: From 2004 to 2010, Dunn has hit 38-plus home runs and driven in 100-plus runs six times (the 'off' season of 2006 was 92 RBIs). Trading in a half-season of games in Washington for U.S. Cellular Field can't hurt Dunn's power production and it wouldn't surprise me to see Dunn lead baseball in home runs. However, will he hit .260-plus for a third straight season?

10. Justin Morneau, Twins: Although he hasn't played a regular-season game since suffering a concussion in July, a full season from a healthy Morneau would make him a huge bargain at this spot. Morneau played exactly one-half of a season (81 games) last year and hit .345 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in. Before last season, Morneau drove in 100-plus runs for four straight years and hit 30-plus homers in three of those seasons.

11. Buster Posey, Giants: As one of the top three catchers in our fantasy rankings, however, you will more likely use Posey as your team's catcher despite his eligibility at first base. Manager Bruce Bochy has stated that Posey will get full days off when he's not catching, which means a season of around 135 games. That said, Posey should hit around .300 and 20 home runs in 2011.

12. Billy Butler, Royals: If there's one thing you can bank on from Butler, it's his strong batting average. Whether we see a power surge from Butler remains to be seen, but he's only 24 years old and has hit the most doubles (96) in baseball over the past two years combined. If only he could turn a few of those doubles into homers ...

13. Pablo Sandoval, Giants: With 11 games logged at first base in 2010, Sandoval may be eligible at first base in your league. He disappointed in the follow-up performance to his breakout season of 2009 (.330 average, 25 homers, 90 runs batted in). Sandoval, who is only 24 years old, could be primed for a bounce-back season after losing weight in the off-season and shortening his swing.

14. Paul Konerko, White Sox: It's unlikely that Konerko will duplicate his 2010 numbers (.312 average, 39 home runs and 111 runs batted in). Then again, only five other players hit .300-30-100 or better last season. Three of those other five were first basemen: Pujols, Cabrera and Votto.

15. Kendry Morales, Angels: Morales, who will begin the 2011 season on the disabled list, hasn't played a game since May 29th. In his only full season or close to it (152 games), Morales hit .306 with 34 home runs and 108 runs batted in.

16. Carlos Lee, Astros: Ending a four-year streak of hitting .300-plus, Lee posted a career-low batting average (.246) while hitting only 24 home runs (lowest total since 2001) with 89 runs batted in (lowest since 2002). Considering Lee also had his lowest BABIP (.238) of his career in 2010, an improvement over last season seems reasonable.

17. Aubrey Huff, Giants: Last year, Huff hit .290 with 26 home runs and 86 runs batted in. Huff, who is a career .283 hitter, should hit relatively close to .290 again although I would be surprised to see him exceed his home run total from 2010.

18. Carlos Pena, Cubs: The good news? Pena will go yard in one out of every 13.4 (or so) at bats, which was his average during his four years in Tampa. The bad news? He got a hit in less than every five at bats last season. (Take small consolation in the fact that only Aaron Hill had a lower BABIP in all of baseball than Pena last year.) The moderate news? He was tied for 11th in baseball in walks (87) last year so his on-base percentage isn't horrible if that helps you.

19. Adam Lind, Blue Jays: After a breakout season in 2009 (.305 average, 35 homers, 114 runs batted in), Lind disappointed fantasy owners in 2010 (.237-23-72). Not only did he hit .174 and .156 last May and June, respectively, but he hit only one home run in 90 at bats during June. Perhaps his better second-half performance and solid spring (hitting .341 through 16 games) bodes well for Lind.

20. Adam LaRoche, Nationals: LaRoche is a career .295 hitter that hits a homer every 18.3 at bats. In the second half, that is. LaRoche is notorious for his poor first-half performances (career .252 hitter and homer every 24.8 at bats before the All-Star break) and his (relative) strong performances (noted earlier) after the break.

As we noted above, first base is exceptionally deep. Players outside our top 20, such as Gaby Sanchez (Florida), Ike Davis (Mets), Mitch Moreland (Texas) and Brandon Belt (San Francisco) as a few examples, of players with upside that are viable fantasy options.

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Catcher Rankings

2011-03-24T21:51:00.006-04:00

Year in and year out, catcher has often been a talent-scarce position when it comes to fantasy baseball.

In 2011, that's not necessarily the case.

In my opinion, the top four fantasy catchers are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, but there are plenty of options as you go deeper into the draft that can help (or, at least, won't hurt) your team.

Here are the top 15 catchers for 2011:

1. Joe Mauer, Twins: Although Mauer is the top option at catcher in fantasy baseball, the power he exhibited two seasons ago (28 home runs) was nearly wiped out by the team's move to Target Field. Mauer, the 2009 American League MVP, hit only nine home runs -- even worse, only one in 239 at bats at home -- in 2010. That said, Mauer has won 60 percent of the A.L. Batting Titles over the past five seasons.

In our opinion, who should be the No. 2 fantasy catcher is less clear-cut, which led us to set up this poll question and this discussion thread so let your voice be heard.

2. Victor Martinez, Tigers: Martinez, who was in Boston last year, led all catchers in runs batted in (79) while hitting over .300 (.302, to be precise) in 2010. Now that V-Mart is with Detroit, he is expected to see lots of, um, action as the team's designated hitter, which should boost his number of plate appearances.

3. Buster Posey, Giants: Posey, last year's NL Rookie of the Year, hit .305 with 18 home runs and 67 runs batted in. Last season, Posey played 30 games at first base, but manager Bruce Bochy says that Posey will get a "complete day off" when he's not catching in 2011.

4. Brian McCann, Braves: During the span of the past three seasons, McCann leads all catchers in runs batted in (258) and is second in home runs (65) to Mike Napoli. That's the good news. The bad news is his batting average has slid in back-to-back seasons (.301 to .281 to .269).

5. Geovany Soto, Cubs: In the past three seasons, Soto has hit .280-plus twice with a sub-.220 season in between. During that span, Soto has averaged only 116 games per season and has hit one home run per 22.5 at bats. If he stays healthy and gets close to 500 at bats (as he did in 2008), a realistic line for Soto is .275-60-20-75.

6. Carlos Santana, Indians: A top ten prospect by Baseball America in 2010, Santana was called up in June and hit .345 with four homers and 15 runs batted in over 18 games that month. After June and before getting hurt, however, Santana hit only .207 with two home runs and seven runs batted in over 28 games. The sky's the limit for Santana, but there may be some bumps along the way for the young catcher.

7. Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks: Montero missed roughly half the season in 2010 and hit only .222 (35 for 158) from August to October. In the previous season (2009), however, Montero hit .294 with 16 home runs in 128 games.

8. Matt Wieters, Orioles: In many instances, folks overreact to the hype. While Wieters has generally disappointed since being called up, he's still under 25 years old. There is time for him to develop into an elite fantasy catcher and he might actually be somewhat under the radar heading into 2011.

9. Mike Napoli, Rangers: Over the past three seasons, no catcher has hit more home runs (66) than Napoli, who lands in Texas (via Toronto) this off-season. After a couple of seasons with a respectable batting average (.270-plus), Napoli regressed last year to .238 (his lowest average since his rookie season). Although he hit over .300 versus lefties (.305), he hit only .208 against right-handers.

10. Kurt Suzuki, Athletics: Last season, Suzuki hit a career-low .242 although he ranked fourth amongst catchers in runs batted in (71). This off-season, the A's made a few free-agent acquisitions that should help take some pressure off Suzuki and help him bounce back. The question is how much? If it's to 2009 levels (.274 average with 15 home runs and 88 RBI), he's a huge bargain at where he's being drafted.

11. Jorge Posada, Yankees: The addition of Russell Martin will help Posada, who has played only 282 games over the past three seasons, keep from wearing down in 2011 as he's expected to mostly be the team's designated hitter. I expect his batting average to bounce back closer to his career average (.275) and excluding the 2008 season when he played only 51 games, Posada has hit 18-plus homers every year since 2000.

12. Yadier Molina, Cardinals: It's not too often that you get (nor do you look for) stolen bases from your catcher, but Molina has 17 of them over the past two seasons. Molina's batting average declined to .262 last year, but his cumulative batting average over the past three seasons is .286. Molina is a guy that likely won't hurt your roster while giving you something that you would least expect from this position.

13. Chris Iannetta, Rockies: Iannetta is the anti-Mauer. He's not going to win a batting title anytime soon, but he's close to a lock to provide you with 20-plus homers from the catcher position with the full-time job, which he now has. In 154 games over the past two seasons combined, Iannetta has hit only .216 but he also hit 25 home runs (in 477 at bats). That's one home run per every 19 at bats.

14. J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays: Arencibia is another guy that will likely hurt you in batting average but help you in the power categories. Between Triple-A and a few games with the Jays last year, Arencibia hit a total of 34 home runs in 496 at bats.

15. Carlos Ruiz, Phillies: Ruiz is the Adam LaRoche of the catcher position. In other words, his splits before and after the All-Star break tell a completely different story. Over the past three years, Ruiz has hit only .237 before the break, but he has hit .285 after the break. The contrast wasn't as great in 2010 (.283 and .316 splits, respectively).

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

Francisco Liriano to start -- not close

2010-03-30T18:25:00.001-04:00

Minnesota Twins starter Francisco Liriano will be just that -- a starter.

To be specific, Liriano will be the team's fifth starter, per Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

With closer Joe Nathan out for the season after having Tommy John surgery, there was some talk about the potential for Liriano to close. Instead, the team will employ a closer-by-committee approach to save opportunities.

Liriano, who has pitched well in winter ball and spring training, threw six shutout innings today and is a guy you should target late in mixed-league drafts.

Joe Nathan to miss 2010 season

2010-03-21T19:56:00.004-04:00

As expected, Twins closer Joe Nathan will miss the entire 2010 season and have Tommy John surgery in hopes of being back and ready for the 2011 season.

"It didn't go like we hoped," Nathan said [after playing catch today]. "We knew it was a longshot, but I think this will clear my head. There definitely was no gray area. It was definitely on the dark side. We know now that we're going to need to go in and have some surgery done and get this thing taken care of."

Based on the current pitchers on the roster, Jon Rauch is the most likely replacement for Nathan. Rauch has 26 career saves, of which 17 came with the Washington Nationals in 2008.

"He's got all the closing stuff: punchout pitches, the whole package," [manager Ron] Gardenhire said [of Rauch]. "Whether he wants to do that or not or whether it's the right thing to do remains to be seen."

In addition to Rauch and other internal candidates, such as Matt Guerrier and Pat Neshek, the Twins could make a move for San Diego closer Heath Bell.

If so, that would likely move Luke Gregerson into the closer's role and obviously increase his fantasy value.

After the All-Star break, Gregerson had an ERA of 3.13, WHIP of 1.10 and struck out 53 batters in 37.1 innings.

Mauer to be a Twin until (at least) 2018

2010-03-21T18:49:00.003-04:00

Perhaps he could have earned more elsewhere.

Regardless of whether or not that's the case, Joe Mauer, a St. Paul native, will be the Minnesota Twins catcher through the 2018 season.

Mauer and the Twins agreed to an eight-year extension that will pay him $184 million and includes a no-trade clause, per ESPN. This would have been the final season of his four-year contract.

According to MLB.com, a press conference will be held at 6 p.m. central time on Monday to officially announce the deal.

Had Mauer tested the free-agency market in the fall, ESPN's Buster Olney believes that he could have commanded in the range of $250 million.

Despite being only 26 years old, Mauer is the American League's reigning MVP, has won three batting titles and two Gold Gloves.

In fantasy baseball, he's the consensus first catcher drafted and is a borderline first-round pick with an average draft position (ADP) of 12.71, according to MockDraftCentral.com.

Twins-Tigers in Tie-breaker on Tuesday

2009-10-04T21:20:00.003-04:00

Fighting for their playoff lives, the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins were tied heading into their regular-season finales against the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals, respectively.

And after both teams won today, they will face off in a tie-breaker on Tuesday. Detroit beat Chicago 5-3 and Minnesota beat Kansas City 13-4 today.

The tie-breaker will be played at the Metrodome and the Tigers will start 20-year-old Rick Porcello.

"He’s not going to be scared, I know that – and that’s a good thing," [Tigers manager Jim] Leyland said, per MLive.com. "This will be a tremendous experience for him because he’s going to pitch in the toughest place he’s ever pitched in his life with the most at stake."

Scott Baker, who finished the season 15-9 and pitched five shutout innings in Detroit on Thursday, will pitch for the Twins.

The Twins are 15-4 in their final 19 games.

The winner of Tuesday's game will face the Yankees in the American League Divisional Series on Wednesday. The other A.L. series will feature the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox.

Mid-season Awards: A.L. MVP

2009-07-12T22:29:00.000-04:00

In what was intended to be a weekend worth of mid-season picks for major MLB awards, my laziness has stretched to three weeks.

That being said, I'm ready to post my selection for the A.L. MVP as the Cubs and Cardinals play us into this year's All-Star break.

For N.L. MVP, there was no uncertainty. Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was the obvious choice. The A.L. MVP isn't nearly as obvious.

A.L. MVP: Joe Mauer, Twins - Ernie Lombardi (1942) was the last catcher to win a battle before Joe Mauer. Since Lombardi, Mauer has won two batting titles. Despite having his worst game of the season (0-for-5 with four strikeouts) today, Mauer is hitting .373 heading into the All-Star break and leading the A.L. in batting average.

What's different in 2009 for the career .324 hitter is his increase in power. Mauer has hit 15 home runs at the midway point even though he missed the first month of the season. And before this year, his career high was 13 home runs.

Mauer leads the A.L. in OBS (1.090). He and Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist are the only two A.L. players with an OBS of 1.000 or greater heading into Sunday's games.

His 49 runs scored and 49 RBIs put him on pace to surpass 100 of each.

Runner-up: Justin Morneau, Twins - Morneau has put up strong numbers across the board and you could easily make the case that Mauer and Morneau should swap positions.

At the break, Morneau is batting .311 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI. He's second in the A.L. in RBI and tied for fourth place in home runs.

Mauer and Morneau have a nearly identical AB:HR ratio. Mauer has hit one home run per 16.07 at bats while Morneau has hit one home run per 15.9 at bats.

Honorable Mention: Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle), Jason Bay (Boston), Mark Teixeira (NY Yankees), Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay), Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay), Torii Hunter (LA Angels)

See Cy Young picks: American League and National League.

Twins pound White Sox 20-1

2009-05-21T19:11:00.002-04:00

Calling the Twins' 20-1 win over the White Sox today is a gross understatement.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire decided to "mix things up a little bit" by batting catcher Joe Mauer second in the lineup. And he certainly responded with six runs batted in and a grand slam.

White Sox pitcher Bartolo Colon allowed seven hits and eight runs in two innings. However, only one of the eight runs was earned.

Today's loss matches the biggest loss in White Sox history. The White Sox lost to the Angels 19-0 on May 10th, 2002.

It's been a rough day for the White Sox as Jake Peavy also vetoed a trade today that would have sent him to Chicago.

Jason Kubel hits for the cycle

2009-04-18T00:20:00.003-04:00

Minnesota Twins outfielder Jason Kubel became the third player this week to hit for the cycle when he hit a grand slam in the eight inning against the Angels.

Dodgers 2B Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle Monday and then Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler hit for the cycle while recording six total hits on Wednesday.

Kubel is the ninth player in Twins' history to hit for the cycle.

Joe Mauer won't be ready opening day

2009-03-21T10:26:00.000-04:00

Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer won't be ready for opening day, which is April 6th, and he's not sure when he'll return.

He has inflammation in the sacroiliac joint and headed to Baltimore last week for a second opinion on the injury.

“I just have to get healthy,” Mauer said. “I don’t think I’m ready to get out there and play any games. I know it’s getting closer. I really don’t know if I’m going to be there or not.”

Last year, Mauer batted .328, which edged Boston's Dustin Pedroia for the A.L. batting crown, and drove in 85 runs.

Twins sign Joe Crede to 1-year deal

2009-02-22T09:44:00.001-05:00

The Minnesota Twins signed free agent 3B Joe Crede to a one-year contract yesterday that is worth $2.5 million. Provided Crede meets certain incentives, the deal could be worth up to $7 million.

"We've been thinking about this guy for a while, never knowing whether it was going to work out or not. But it finally has," [Twins manager Ron] Gardenhire said. "When his name was out there recommended, I said yeah, I would love to have this guy. Absolutely."

Last year, Crede was selected to the A.L. All-Star team, but only had 37 at bats after the All-Star break.

Crede finished 2008 with a .248 batting average, 17 homeruns and 55 RBIs.

In the past 2 years, he's played a total of 144 games. In 2006, Crede had the best year of his career (.283 BA, 30 HRs, 94 RBIs in 150 games).