Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Travis Talks Weekly Minnesota Sports Podcast

Last night I had my best show to date as I had John Bonnes who is the Twins Geek on for 35 minutes last night. The chatroom was just blown up with so many questions from the live listeners. I really welcome you to download and listen to the show last night because we went over a lot of different topics from the Mark Mcgwire saga to the Joe Mauer negotiations. I thought it went over really well and again i welcome everyone to download the show and take a listen and see what you think. If you want to listen to the show just follow the link and let me know what you think of the show. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk/2010/01/12/travistalks-minnesota-sports-podcast

  • In another piece of news it was announced that former Rochester right fielder and at one time top prospect for the Twins, David Winfree signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. That new was brought to you by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. You can read the whole article here if you would like. http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/hardball/yank_signings_and_damon_update_dwU4h9xyVizRGsgSMXP29M I know he was not perfect, but it seemed like he was coming into his own as a hitter so it is very disappointing to lose him. Winfree hit .270 with 82 homeruns and 389 rbi's in 7 minor league seasons with the Twins. When you lose any minor leaguer it is about the next guy stepping up and picking up the slack. That gives guys like Brian Dinkelman, Dustin Martin, and Rene Tosoni the chance to show what they can do so it should be interesting.

How much cash do the Twins really have?

With the Mauer negotiations starting to take shape it makes you wonder how much the Twins really have to spend. With the talks of possibly signing Felipe Lopez or Orlando Hudson it makes you wonder if the Twins have the flexibility to sign those guys to a multiyear contract. I am basing it on the most logical figures that Joe Mauer will sign a 7 year deal worth 150 million which is 21.4 million per. I am also basing it on a 95 million dollar payroll and a 100 million dollar payroll in 2011. But really I have no idea what the Twins payroll is going to be that just seems logical so I am going to base my figures on those totals. I am going to break down on those figures how much cash they have left. Here is the 2011 salaries with some arbitration estimates so we can see if there is room left over for Lopez and Hudson to get theirs.

Joe Mauer: 21 million

Justin Morneau: 14 million

Joe Nathan: 11.25 million

Michael Cuddyer: 10.5 million

J.J. Hardy: 8 million arbitration estimate

Jason Kubel: 5.25 million

Scott Baker: 5 million

Delmon Young 4 million arbitration estimate

Clay Condrey: 900,000 arbitration estimate

Brendan Harris: 2.0 million arbitration estimate

Nick Blackburn: 1.5 million arbitration estimate

Pat Neshek 1.5 million arbitration estimate

Kevin Slowey: 1.5 million arbitration estimate

Denard Span: 750,000 arbitration estimate

Francisco Liriano 2.0 million arbitration estimate

Alexi Casilla: 750,000 arbitration estimate

Jose Mijares: 750,000 arbitration estimate

Jose Morales: 450,000 arbitration estimate

Total: 91 million

That leaves Nick Punto, Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, and Carl Pavano as free agents. With the 100 million dollar payroll that leaves 9 million dollars to sign your own free agents along with guys to finish your 25 man roster. If the payroll is around 100 million there is no way in my mind that they can pay any 2nd baseman or 3rd baseman 4-5 million in 2011. Like it or not Twins fans the starting 3rd baseman in 2011 for the Twins will be Danny Valencia. The starting 2nd baseman will be from a group of Steve Singleton, Steve Tolleson, Brian Dinkelman, Trevor Plouffe, or Nick Punto if he is willing to take a discount to return at 2nd base. If their payroll is 105-110 then that is a different story, but everything the Twins have said about not wanting to offer more than a one year contract makes it likely they will be looking around 100 million. I welcome your thoughts on this issue if you disagree on this or agree on it let me know. Also of those 5 free agents which ones would you like to see the Twins resign and which would you like to see the Twins let go. You can either leave your comments in the comment box or send me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.