According to the LEN III, the Twins may offer Casey Blake a contract as soon as next week, while others say that a “framework” has already been offered.
I have mixed feelings about this development. The first thing that comes to mind is disgust; I would rather do three things than be forced to sign an old, frail third baseman with some pop and horrible defense. Here are the three things that I would rather do than sign Blake…
Trade for Adrian Beltre
I’m convinced the Twins have enough to get a deal done. Beltre has one of the best gloves in the game and carries a very solid bat at the plate. He would be a huge asset to an already powerful Twins middle-of-the-order.
It wouldn’t take tons to get Beltre; but probably more than usual. The Mariners are stuck in the middle of a rebuilding mode and want to get as much fresh talent as possible. However, in the same light they might also want to get rid of Beltre and his hefty contract at all costs. Whatever the case, the Twins could probably make a deal with Seattle involving Michael Cuddyer, Glen Perkins, and a lesser prospect.
The Twins could most likely land Beltre, but the question then raised is, “do they want to?”
Trade for Garrett Atkins
This deal could also be made. The Rockies just traded for closer Huston Street, and there has been much talk about possibly turning him around and trading him again to fill other holes. The Twins have been mentioned among those who might be interested in Street, with the recent news that Neshek will miss 2009.
Joe C. disagrees. Huston Street was paid closer money, and the Twins have an elite closer in Joe Nathan already. I agree with Joe — although it would be nice to have a player of Street’s caliber in the Twins bullpen. If his ego would allow him to slide into the set-up role the 2009 Twins bullpen would be among the top in the league.
Back to Atkins, though. He would provide a great bat in the middle of the lineup. Or would he? The biggest question raised about him is his awful home/road splits. He is hitting .342/.380/.523 with a .904 OPS in Colorado, but a dismal .233/.278/.383 with an OPS of .661on the road. Some may dispute whether or not the hitter-friendly Coors Field is the only reason Atkins is even worthy of a starting spot on a major league team.
It is risky to trade for Atkins, but it could reap huge dividends. If a change of scenery is all this soon-to-be 29-year old needs, than the Twins should jump at any chance of trading Michael Cuddyer and/or Glen Perkins for him. Of course, there is no way to know whether or not he would be a trade bust.
Will strikeouts hamper Kouzmanoff's tradability?
Trade for Kevin Kouzmanoff
Kouzmanoff is my third most-wanted commodity. He has a lot of power potential, but strikes out a lot. Being 27 years old he still has some years left in the tank, and he has a very reasonable price tag — $410,000 last year. His defense isn’t the best and would be about the same as Buscher’s.
The thing the Twins most need is a power-hitting, right-handed third baseman. Kouzmanoff fills that void perfectly, but comes bundled with excessive strikeouts.
Those are the three things that I would do before I ever offered Blake a contract. On the other hand, after thinking about this latest development for a while, I have realized that I am simply glad GM Bill Smith has done something.
He has been sitting on his hands for too long. He was pushed around when dealing with Santana and settled for less than what the best pitcher in the league was worth. If he can make at least a couple of major acquisitions this off-season, he will start asserting himself as a force to be reckoned with in baseball.
Blake is a perfect example of a Minnesota Twin. Bill Smith may be attempting to make his team better through a free agent signing — which is what is expected of him. He is too new to break the mold of what the Twins believe in, however, so he may not yet feel comfortable going against countless years of small-ball.
Casey Blake may seem like a minor pick-up, but it could be a modest start to the Bill Smith era.