Hello Everyone,
Sorry I've been absent for a few days. There really wasn't that much to report or discuss. However, that has changed in the last 24 or so hours as the annual Winter Meetings are underway. First, the Twins offered pitcher Carl Pavano arbitration as I said earlier and as of last night he has accepted this offer which essentially means he will be in the Twins rotation in 2010. To make room for Pavano on the 40 man roster, the Twins designated pitcher Boof Bonser for assignment or release which means he will either be released by the Twins and be with another club for this coming season or he will start the season in the minors.
There's not much else currently cooking on the Twins front other than that they could possibly look to trade starter Glen Perkins now that Pavano is most assuredly back. The reason they could do this is because one, there doesn't seem to currently be a spot for him, unless he earns it in Spring Training, and two, he is not on managements greatest side after last season when he did not come forth with the fact that he'd been pitching with an injured shoulder until he had a really rough outing. Then, when he was ready to return, he was sent to the minors, which upset him, because it meant that he does not have enough service time to qualify for arbitration himself. He filed a grievance against the club to try and obtain some or all of his service time back, which he did get some, but not enough to qualify for arbitration.
Also, look for the Twins to look into the market for third baseman to see if they can come up with anything. Former Angel Chone Figgins is apparently off the market already as he has agreed to a four year contract with the Seattle Mariners, however, I'm not sure that this really affects the Twins because he was probably too expensive for the Twins likes. However, be on the look out for names such as Adrian Beltre, Pedro Feliz or last year's starter Joe Crede, as well as prospect Danny Valencia as possibilities for the hot corner.
Final bit of news, it appears that the rich get richer again. The "cough" Yankees "cough" appear to have landed Tigers centerfielder Curtis Granderson in a trade between them, Detroit and the Arizona Diamondbacks with Arizona receiving pitcher Edwin Jackson from Detroit. On the surface, Twins fans should be happy because it does weaken the Tigers who are in the Twins division but it upsets me because I hate the Yankees with a passion and because it seems that the Yankees have become the one and only team the Twins cannot beat and to me this will not help that happen. Anyway, enough of my whining for today. Take it easy all.
Joe
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