Saturday, February 21, 2009
Belief in Crede? Let’s See!
It’s Saturday, but it kind of
feels necessary to write something today. Anything going on
with the Twins? Hmmm…
Well, we spent about four
months waiting, waiting, waiting for something to
happen. There were a lot of rumors, but in the end, the only addition to the
team was Luis Ayala, and he just
basically replaces Dennys Reyes on the roster. The other move
(or non-move) made was re-signing Nick Punto.
After it was first
reported by SI.com’s Jon Heyman
that the Twins and Joe Crede were close to an agreement, today LaVelle is calling it a done deal. He is saying
that the Twins will announce this afternoon that they have signed 3B Joe Crede.
The deal appears to have a base salary of $2.5 million with incentives that
could make the deal go as high as $7 million. Remember when it came out that Crede and his agent Scott
Boras were looking for $7 million as the base with incentives to go beyond
that?
Before going any further, I
want to take people back to my
Thursday night live chat and this exchange:
|
9:27 |
[Comment
From JC] |
|
9:29 |
Honestly,
I don't think that Crede would give much depth,
just different depth. I probably wouldn't. In fact, I would probably make him
an offer tonight... I'd offer him a base of $2.5 million, with incentives
($2.5 million for 450 plate appearances, another million for 550 PAs, and
another million for 650 PAs)... I would give him until Friday at 6:00 Eastern
time to accept it. If he does, great. If not, you just begin full camp on
Saturday with what you got and move forward. |
I believe if you add up that
contract, it starts with a base salary of $2.5 million and includes incentives
that could bring the total 2009 compensation to $7 million. The difference, as noted in LaVelle’s
posting, is that the incentives will start at 250 plate appearances, not
450. Not a big deal, just means that Crede starts
making more with few at bats.
I think there was confusion
from people. Many seemed to think that I didn’t think Crede
was a good player. But I think I have been pretty consistent in my stance on Crede. I think he is a good player. He was an All-Star
after a very strong first half of 2008. But then soon after, he hurt his back
and had his second major back surgery in about a 14 month time frame. I have
said all along that he was probably worth picking up if the Twins truly believe
that he will be able to play 120 or more games. I am completely comfortable
with the contract they have agreed to. The risk is eliminated. The Twins will
still have Harris and Buscher in the system (most
likely) in case there is an injury. And if he is healthy, Crede
provides right-handed power behind Justin
Morneau while playing excellent 3B defense. A
back injury playing on the Dome’s surface is a risk. I don’t think anyone
claims it isn’t.
A couple of other questions this
brings up:
1.
Who will be
dropped from the Twins 40 man roster to make room for Crede?
a.
That would seem
to be another very easy choice. With Crede, Buscher, Harris, Tolbert able to play 3B at the big league
level, and Deibinson Romero simply having too much upside,
and Trevor Plouffe,
Danny Valencia and Luke Hughes strongly in the picture, it
is obvious that Matt Macri
should be removed from the 40 man roster.
2.
Who will likely
not make the initial 25 man roster?
a.
This is maybe the
more important question, but in my mind, it really isn’t as easy as you would
think. I think that we can easily narrow it down to Brian Buscher, Brendan Harris and Matt
Tolbert. Buscher provides a left-handed 3B
option, and a lefty bat on the bench, but he can’t play the middle infield. Brendan Harris can play three infield
positions, and could be a right-handed bat off the bench. Tolbert is probably the
best of the three at all three defensive positions, and he’s a switch hitter. I
guess my thought would be that Buscher would be the
first to be sent down, then Tolbert, then Harris.
3.
Will the people
who complain about the Twins lack of payroll be happy?
a.
Maybe a little,
but many of them may have preferred the Twins just give him the $7 million,
instead of $2.5 million, to make them feel better about the Twins payroll
numbers.
4.
What could a
potential Twins lineup be? (This is kind of exciting!) How about:
a.
Denard Span – CF
b.
Alexi Casilla – 2B
c.
Joe Mauer – C
d.
Justin Morneau – 1B
e.
Joe Crede – 3B
f.
Jason Kubel – DH
g.
Michael Cuddyer – RF
h.
Delmon Young – LF
i.
Nick Punto - SS
There are a couple of other Twins
topics that I will be covering as well, but want to do so in separate postings
to allow for discussion. If you have any questions or comments, please feel
free to e-mail me or leave Comments
Here.