The Offseason Kicks Off: Orlando Cabrera?
The offseason starts early this year for the Twins, and the rumors have already started swirling. With shortstop a major weakness for the Twins, and the White Sox predictably being handled by the Rays, the first Twins rumor is that we’re targeting Orlando Cabrera.
My initial reaction: Good idea, and in fact I’d been thinking about this for a while; Cabrera dislikes the White Sox and has been outspoken about how the Twins are a team and clubhouse that are the model for teams everywhere. Unsurprisingly, this has not improved his standing in Ozzie’s eyes, and he almost certainly won’t be extended in Chicago. And he’d definitely be an upgrade over what we’re currently getting out of our shortstops!
After letting it sink in for a bit: Cabrera turns 34 in November and only hit .281/.334/.371 this season. Edgar Renteria showed us that shortstops can hit the wall really fast in their mid-thirties, and given that a multi-year big-money contract would be required, it’s kind of a big risk. Also, while I appreciate the fact that he doesn’t fit in the White Sox clubhouse, he has a history of being a disruptive element in every clubhouse and has rarely been liked by his fellow players. Guys with that kind of reputation aren’t exactly who you want to target — and OC’s was built over the last 15 years in professional baseball, unlike Delmon Young’s which happened in a brief couple of years when he should have been hidden away in college.
Nick Punto hit .284/.344/.382 this season. Seriously. If we go after Cabrera, we could be looking at signing a guy who hits worse than Punto and is at best marginally better in the field to a 3 year, $30 million contract.
Wild Bill would be wise to look elsewhere for a shortstop. Perhaps Rafael Furcal, if the bidding doesn’t go too crazy.
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MLBTradeRumors.com’s Offseason Outlook: Minnesota Twins — I find it hard to disagree with the assessment. I like the pitching, OF, DH, C, 2B and 1B.
Do we honestly believe the Twins will upgrade both third and shortstop? Do we also believe that Punto gets offered a spot on the bench as a coach? Do we really think that the Twins will trade someone to get a high-end guy like Atkins? Assuming we upgrade one spot and we keep Punto — do we keep Harris? Tolbert? Buscher?
No. No. No. No clue, I’m not that smart. Buscher?
I like Furcal. I’d take a shot with Blalock. I wish they would upgrade the left side of the infield, but I just don’t see it happening.
Furcal would be a good pickup, but I still think he’ll be too expensive — he’s the top of the SS class. Also, his offensive production isn’t great; he’s barely an upgrade over Punto also.
Blalock is right out. He’s another Mike Lamb, except with the defense of Tony Batista.
I think Beltre is the best option for 3B, as long as the Mariners don’t think he’s super-valuable. They’ll expect Baker/Liriano/Gomez, and we’ll want to send them Bonser/Buscher. If we can meet somewhere in the middle that keeps our core in place, I can see a deal coming together to get us a solid right handed third baseman.
I don’t know. It’s still pretty early for this.
Is Blalock that bad now? He’ll be 5 years removed from being a two-time All-Star in ‘09.
Has Seattle’s management changed yet?
He played in 65 games this year and 58 games last year. His defense has slipped to the point where he’s no longer a viable 3B and is instead a 1B. In 2005 and 2006 he played in almost all the games, but had a sub-100 OPS+ both years. 5 years ago he was an All Star, but he’s been crappy and hurt ever since. (So basically, he’s a typical over-the-hill bottom-scraping signing the Twins would make. And it won’t work.)
Seattle’s management hasn’t changed yet.
I believe Cabrera is unsigned so far…price dropping? Cabrera and Punto/Harris/Buscher on the left-side?
Sigh…I feel like getting shot down today. Would you sign Cristian Guzman to a 1-year deal?
Maybe I’ll just slink away and think about what it would be like to have a power-hitting third baseman on the team…
Cabrera is older than Punto and doesn’t hit as well. And he’s pretty overvalued, money-wise. And given his age, he’s a big downside risk. I don’t think we should keep chasing him.
Christian Guzman … interesting. He’ll still be only 31, and he had a pretty good season. But he was injured for most of last year, and before that he had OPS+ seasons of: 79, 77, 78, 53. That is … awful. Really awful. I don’t know if it’s clear that he’s established a new level at 104 at age 30. I kind of doubt it. Unless he offers himself to us on a 1-2 year deal at under $5M per season, I say we don’t consider it.
Don’t mean to shoot you down or anything. I just don’t think either of those options are very good.
I know. I just can’t get over that Punto will be our starting SS as of right now.
Punto’s not the greatest option in the world, but I think he was actually the best available SS on the market short of Furcal.
And I’m pretty glad we didn’t get involved with Furcal, given what he did to Atlanta.