Tagged: Infield

Two Upgrades Remain

With each passing day, the Minnesota Twins’ chances to upgrade both the infield and lineup have gone right with. Off the table are Pedro Feliz, Garrett Atkins, Chone Figgins, Troy Glaus, Mark DeRosa, Adrian Beltre and Kevin Kouzmanoff. The third base options have dried up, and if the team upgrades before spring training, it’ll need to be in the form of a second basemen.

At third base, there are no more options. Joe Crede would be much of the same; a half-season player with decent production when healthy, and Miguel Tejada has never played anywhere but short, and the Twins haven’t been connected with him all off-season.
At second base, there are two sensible options for the Twins. Due to currently high demands, both Orlando Hudson and Felipe Lopez remain on the market. There are many teams interested, and in the end it may come down to which team is willing to give the extra year or extra dollars. 
Between Denard Span and Joe Mauer, both Hudson and Lopez would fit well. While Hudson hit .283 in 149 games last season, Lopez hit .310 in 151 games, Hudson posted an on-base percentage of .357 while Lopez posted one of .383, and Hudson hit 9 homeruns and drove in 62 runners while Lopez hit 9 homeruns and drove in 57 runners. 
A recent report put Hudson’s demand at $9 million per season. No team will pay that number, and so it’ll be a waiting game. The Washington Nationals are interested, as are other teams, but if the Twins want to make one final mark and truly upgrade the infield, they have just two more obvious chances remaining.