southsider2k5 Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 SWEET!!! hopefully they piss these guys off and they all leave for the NL! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16659515/ By JON KRAWCZYNSKI Associated Press Sports Updated: 4:41 p.m. CT Jan 16, 2007 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -The Minnesota Twins swapped offers with several of their young stars on Tuesday, including AL MVP Justin Morneau and batting champ Joe Mauer, in what will be the start of an expensive offseason for the small-market club. The Twins offered Morneau $4 million, Mauer $3.3 million and cleanup hitter Michael Cuddyer $3 million. Morneau, who hit .321 with 34 homers and 130 RBIs to edge the Yankees' Derek Jeter in a tight MVP race last year, asked for $5 million, a hefty raise from his $385,000 salary last season. After helping the Twins to their fourth AL Central title in five seasons, Morneau said he'd love to stay in Minnesota for the long haul. General manager Terry Ryan has said he will be discussing a multiyear deal with many of his arbitration-eligible players, including Morneau. "I love Minnesota. I'd love to play my whole career here. We have a great young team,'' the 25-year-old Morneau said after winning the MVP. "We're all around the same age. We had a pretty decent year last year and we have a chance to do it again next year and for a lot of years to come, especially with that new stadium coming. This is a great place to play. I love the people here.'' If that is going to happen, the Twins are going to have to pay up. "He's going to be rewarded. There's no doubt,'' Ryan said in November. The same can be said for Mauer, who hit .347 to become the first catcher to win an AL batting title. The smooth-swinging lefty made just $400,000 last season, but asked for $4.5 million next year. Cuddyer avoided arbitration last season when he agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.35 million, then went out and had the best season of his career. Playing every day in right field, Cuddyer hit .284 with 24 homers and 109 RBIs. He asked for $4.25 million. Reliever Juan Rincon asked for $2.4 million after earning $900,000 as the primary setup man to Joe Nathan. The Twins offered $1.6 million each to Rincon and third baseman Nick Punto, who provided strong defense and a spark at the top of the lineup while hitting .290. Punto asked for $2.1 million after making $720,000 last season. Lew Ford, a reserve outfielder who struggled with injuries last season, was the final player to exchange numbers, asking for $1.3 million and being offered $800,000. The players and the team can continue to negotiate contracts until their arbitration hearings begin to try to avoid the process. Hearings will be held next month, during which a panel of three arbitrators will select from one of the two numbers presented, but negotiations rarely get that far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 More on the Twins financial situation... they really could be facing a short window of competitiveness... Plus even better news for Sox fans is that the Twins seem to be the front runners to sign Ramon Ortiz to pitch. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6384340 The Twins are dealing with six potential arbitration cases, more than any club. The rising stature of the middle of their batting order — Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau — underscores the difficulty that the team eventually will face in trying to keep left-handed ace Johan Santana and closer Joe Nathan beyond 2008. Santana, 27, is eligible for free agency after that season; Nathan, 32, will be on the same timetable if the Twins exercise his club-friendly $6 million team option for '08. Barring an unforeseen market correction, the Twins easily could lose both pitchers. Santana, in particular, will be virtually impossible to retain — and replace. True, the Twins would gain more than $25 million in payroll flexibility by shedding five players after this season — center fielder Torii Hunter, right-hander Carlos Silva, second baseman Luis Castillo, outfielder Rondell White and infielder Jeff Cirillo. However, they would need to replace those players — not all of the newcomers would be minimum-salary rookies — while contending with increases for their holdovers. Mauer and Morneau have two more years of arbitration remaining, Cuddyer, one. Together, the Twins' six arbitration-eligible players are requesting $5.25 million more than the club offered, a sizable total for a team that had a $63 million payroll last season. Settlements would help shrink that difference, as might contract extensions. But the dance always will be delicate for the Twins, even after their new ballpark opens in 2010. It could turn out that the Twins are forced to choose between Santana and Nathan — and eventually, between Mauer and Morneau. The good news is, they keep drafting and developing superior young talent. The bad news is, they have no choice. NEXT FOR TWINS: RAMON ORTIZ? The Twins are believed to be the front-runner for free-agent right-hander Ramon Ortiz, offering a one-year deal for more than $3 million, according to a major-league source. Ortiz, 33, would join a rotation that includes only two veterans, Santana and Silva. Righties Boof Bonser, Matt Garza and Scott Baker likely would compete for the other two spots. Ortiz should provide innings — he has pitched 171 or more in five of the past six seasons, the exception being 2004, when the Angels dropped him from their rotation. His innings, however, are not always quality innings. Ortiz has posted a 5.47 ERA the past two seasons with the Reds and Nationals, and that average might only rise if he returned to the American League. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 God, I remember how big of a Ramon Ortiz fan I was when he came up with the Angels. He had some dominant stuff and had some unbelievable performances (one of which was an absolute duel with Pedro that was one of the best games I've ever witnessed). Than all of a sudden the Angels found out he got older and he lost the velocity and snap on his breaking pitches and became mediorce and since than terrible. I really don't get what happened to him to cause his stuff to dissapear so much (cause he didn't look like a guy getting help from a particular substance). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan101 Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Those are some lowball offers considering those 3 guys were their entire offense last year run production wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 22, 2007 -> 04:33 PM) Twins signed Nationals cast off Ramon Ortiz to a one year, 3.1 million dollar deal. This is a Nationals rotation that currently has Tim Redding as the #3, yet they let Ortiz go. At some point, the magic has to start running out. Doesn't it? He'll probably make a quick visit to Rincon's locker and say hi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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