| Newsbreakers |
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| Pitcher Brian Duensing has been added to the Twins' roster, according to the Star Tribune. The team also added Drew Butera, Luke Hughes, Trevor Plouffe, Wilson Ramos, Deibinson Romero, Anthony Swarzak and Steve Tolleson.
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Our View: Duensing was a 2008 Olympian and was added to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Among the listed players, Duensing holds the highest profile, while catcher Ramos may have the most upside. |
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| Twins right-handed reliever Pat Neshek can now begin his long road to recovery after undergoing Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery on Tuesday morning, according MLB.com. |
Our View: Neshek only appeared in 15 games for the Twins in 2008 and now will be out for at least nine months. |
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| Justin Morneau finished second in the balloting for the AL MVP award, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Morneau received seven first-place votes and finished with a total of 257 points. Dustin Pedroia of Boston claimed 317 points to finish first. Morneau was aiming for his second MVP award over the last three seasons, as he won the honor in 2006. |
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| The Twins did not re-sign infielder Alejandro Machado to a minor league deal, according to the Star Tribune. |
Our View: The 26-year-old shortstop has been plagued by shoulder injuries, but is still expected to be in spring training camp with the Twins. |
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| Jeffrey Manship will start in the Arizona Fall League championship game, according to the Star Tribune. |
Our View: He is 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA in seven starts. Nick Blackburn started in the same game last season and had a successful season with the Twins in 2008. |
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| Pat Neshek will undergo Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, according to the Star Tribune. |
Our View: Neshek tore the ligament earlier this month while throwing at the Twins’ headquarters in Fort Myers. Fla., and is expected to miss the entire 2009 season. |
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| Justin Morneau won his second career Silver Slugger award on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Morneau won his first Silver Slugger award in 2006, when he was also the AL MVP. His average and home run totals were both down from that year, but his RBI total was just one under that showing that he was still very productive, even if in came in other ways in 2008. |
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| Joe Mauer won his second Silver Slugger on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Mauer continued to be one the best hitting catchers in the majors in 2008 and it doesn't look like he's going to slow down any time soon. Mauer won the AL batting title again in 2008 with a .328 mark, giving him two batting titles in three seasons. This is unheard of for a catcher. |
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| The Minnesota Twins have given manager Ron Gardenhire a two-year contract extension, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. |
Our View: The deal means he is under contract until the year 2011. His coaching staff was also given two-year deals to remain with the team. |
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| Pat Neshek will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2009 season, according to sethspeaks.net. The surgery will likely take place next week. |
Our View: Neshek partially tore a ligament in May and missed the rest of the season. That part of the ligament is fine now, however, he apparently tore the other side of the ligament off the bone. He'll be ready for spring training in 2010. |
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| The Star-Tribune reports that Twins reliever Pat Neshek will undergo an MRI exam on his right elbow Tuesday after experiencing discomfort during his throwing program last week. He injured the elbow May 9 in Chicago and missed the rest of the season. Neshek began his throwing program in September and had hoped to be back to 100 percent by spring training. |
Our View: Neshek is 11-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 121 career appearances with the Twins and has held opposing hitters to a .188 batting average. He is a nice reliever when healthy. We will keep you updated on his status. |
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| There is a rumor that Nick Punto could land in St. Louis, according to MLBTradeRumors.com. |
Our View: He is a free agent and would shore up the Cardinals' middle infield, which is among their top priorities for the off-season. He would also add speed, as he stole 15 bases over 99 games in 2008. |
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| Steven Tolleson continues to hit well in the AFL, but his three errors in Friday's game gives him 11 in 21 games. |
Our View: Despite hitting .413, his lack of defense figures to keep him from joining the Twins out of Spring Training even though they are in need of infielders. |
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| The Minnesota Twins have not offered shortstop Nick Punto a contract, but they are still talking with him, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. |
Our View: Minnesota is looking to pay Punto like a utility man instead of the going rate for a starting shortstop, even though that was the role he played much of the year. His fantasy value is limited because of his lack of pop, but he did steal 15 bases in 99 games last year. |
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| Michael Cuddyer is drawing interest from the Colorado Rockies, according to the Rocky Mountain News. According to reports, Cuddyer could end up going to the Rockies in package deal in exchange for Garrett Atkins. |
Our View: If Cuddyer were to move to Colorado his value would obviously increase, but the real deciding factor on just how much fantasy value he possesses revolves mostly around his health as he was limited to just 249 AB this season in Minnesoata. |
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| Jeffrey Manship of the Phoenix Desert Dogs has been named the Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Week, according to MLB.com. He won both his starts last week, allowing only four earned runs over 10 innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks.
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Our View: Overall, Manship is 2-1 with a 5.14 earned-run average over 21 innings, with 17 strikeouts. The 23-year-old hurler split his 2008 season between Class-A Advanced Fort Myers (7-3, 2.86 ERA over 13 games) and Double-A New Britain (3-6, 4.46 ERA, 14 games).
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| The Minnesota Twins have added reliever Armando Gabino to their 40-man roster, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. |
Our View: Gabino had solid numbers with the team's Double-A affiliate. He threw 81.1 innings and went 6-5 with a 3.10 ERA and three saves. |
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