Tuesday,
October 27, 2009
Long-Term
Plans?
As I was reading through the
transcript of the TwinsCentric interview with Twins
GM Bill Smith, there were several
issues and topics that came up in the 30 minute, 14 page interview.
Yesterday, I wrote about the Twins aggressiveness in the
international markets. John
Bonnes wrote about what happens at
the Twins organizational meetings in Ft. Myers. Nick Nelson discussed Smith’s
comment on the Joe Mauer situation and how
comfortable Smith would be if the Twins and Mauer did
not come to an agreement. After re-reading the transcript, several times, there
was one other topic that I wanted to discuss.
The topic of Michael Cuddyer
and his 2011 club option came up, and this exchange occurred with a typically
elusive answer from Bill Smith:
TWINSCENTRIC: You have an option on
the 2011 season on Cuddyer’s contract. Have you guys
made a decision on that?
SMITH: We’ll let you know.
TWINSCENTRIC: So that hasn’t been
announced?
SMITH: No, nothing’s been
determined or announced.
TWINSCENTRIC: Does that have to be
decided soon?
Smith: After the World Series.
Five days after the conclusion
of the World Series, the Twins will have to determine whether to pick up the
2011 option on his contract. The Twins brass must decide whether to pay Cuddyer $10.5 million in 2011 or buy out that contract for
$1 million.
Is there really any question
that the Twins will pick up the options? I mean, in 2009, Cuddyer
hit .276/.344/.520 with 34 doubles, 32 home runs and 95 RBI. He made just $6.75
million. Fangraphs.com indicates that Cuddyer was
worth $9.2 million in 2009. In 2010, Cuddyer’s salary
will increase to $8.5 million. Michael Cuddyer represents Twins baseball. I realize this is cliché,
but it is also accurate. Cuddyer’s intangibles make
this an easy decision. But if you look at the FanGraphs,
Cuddyer earned $11.3 million in 2006. He earned $8.7
million. In 2008, Cuddyer was hurt. Cuddyer, when healthy, has been a consistent contributor to
the Twins. So Cuddyer’s contract should be picked up
for several reasons.
So, why not just come out and
say that? I mean, what can Cuddyer do to improve or
negate his value in the next week or two? What has he done since the Twins
season ended?
I can come up with just one
reason.
It is possible that the Twins
representatives are meeting with Cuddyer and his
representatives about the idea of extending his career as a Minnesota Twins
player. It is possible that they are working on a deal which would essentially
tear up his current contract and work on keeping him around longer, maybe even
at a lesser annual salary. Again, Cuddyer is set to
make $8.5 million in 2010 with an option at $10.5 million in 2011. He is
guaranteed, due to the one million buyout, just $9.5
million.
What if they declined the
option year at $10.5 million, but then offered him three more years beyond
2010? Maybe he could make $9 million in 2011, $9.5 million in 2012 and $10
million in 2013? If the Twins could get a deal like this signed in early
November, they could add a signing bonus ($3 million?) and pay it now. The
Twins have one of their leaders, a right-handed power bat, a
perfect representative of Twins baseball through the first several years at
Target Field. From Cuddyer’s
perspective? Well, instead of being guaranteed just $9.5 million (or
even $19 million assuming the option where picked up), he would be guaranteed
$37 million and know that he will remain with the only organization that he has
known since they drafted him in the first round in 1998.
Now that makes a ton of sense
for both sides. That sounds like a Win-Win for all.
What do you think? Does this
idea make sense, or am I completely off my rocker? Leave
your Comments here.
And, if you would like to read more of the TwinsCentric interview with Twins GM Bill Smith, it is found in the appendix of the Offseason GM Handbook, which is currently available at TwinsCentric.com. A portion of the interview is included with the free sample which you can find at the same site.
(Just an quick point
for those of you who have already purchased the pdf
of the Handbook: we are sending out the new version with the appendix attached.
And for those of you who have received the free one-third book, we’re sending
you a new version too, with a subset of the interview included. That’s also the
version available at TwinsCentric.com
right now as a FREE download. Several of you have asked about the availability
of the Handbook in a print version. We are working on that and hope to make it
available in the next couple of weeks. The Bill Smith interview will be
included in the print version.)