Twins see decisions before deadline
12/08/2005
DALLAS -- Jacque Jones' career as a Minnesota Twin may be over, pending a decision by the club Wednesday night.
The deadline to offer arbitration to free agents passed at 11 p.m. CT and the Twins had yet to announce a decision on the 30-year-old outfielder. If arbitration is not offered to Jones, it appears that he will have seen his last game in a Twins uniform, with the club unable to sign a player until after May 1 if it does not offer arbitration.
The free agent outfielder has been receiving a lot of attention from multiple clubs and likely would sign with another team. Despite rumors of possible offers by other clubs, Twins general manger Terry Ryan has said in recent days that he believed there was a sliver of a possibility that Jones could return to Minnesota.
Jones is just one of three players to which the Twins could offer arbitration. Joe Mays and Terry Mulholland are also awaiting a decision from Minnesota. It is unlikely, though, that either Mays or Mulholland will be given arbitration.
Free agents offered arbitration by their clubs have until Dec. 19 to accept. A player who accepts is locked into his team, and the two sides can continue negotiations toward a one-year or multi-year agreement before reaching a hearing. Those declining the offer face a Jan. 8 deadline to be re-signed; thereafter, they cannot sign with their old teams until May 1, just as free agents who are not offered arbitration.
Though Jones appears to be eliminated from the Twins' free agent chase if the offer doesn't come Wednesday, there are plenty of other well-known names that are on the Twins' horizon. Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza and Nomar Garciaparra are three of the free agents that Ryan would confirm have been involved in talks with the club.
The Twins are looking at Thomas and Piazza as possible DH candidates, with Garciaparra an option to fill the third base hole. A shortstop for most of his career, Garciaparra moved to third base during the final month of the season for the Cubs when Aramis Ramirez was put on the DL. It was the first time that Garciaparra had started at third in his professional career.
Ryan acknowledged Thomas as a contender for the DH role, but it appears that the likelihood of the Big Hurt becoming a Twin is dwindling. There has been buzz around the Anatole Hotel that Oakland is close to offering Thomas a deal and it appears that an offer from Minnesota is still a long way off.
"We're not even talking about dollars or offers yet," Ryan said of his dealings with Thomas. "I don't see that happening for a few weeks."
Health remains the primary question for Ryan, who has yet to see any of the medical test results for Thomas. Those test results have been sent to the medical staff of the Twins to look at and then report back to Ryan on what they see.
Despite Ryan's inability to make any trades or signings during the first three days of the Winter Meetings, the Twins GM hasn't lost optimism that moves will be able to be made within the near future. Ryan still believes that the Twins' holes will be filled by the start of Spring Training.
"I think we should be able to do that," Ryan said. "I've got enough going on down here that I think we should be able to get some sort of fit there."
Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/
DALLAS -- Jacque Jones' career as a Minnesota Twin may be over, pending a decision by the club Wednesday night.
The deadline to offer arbitration to free agents passed at 11 p.m. CT and the Twins had yet to announce a decision on the 30-year-old outfielder. If arbitration is not offered to Jones, it appears that he will have seen his last game in a Twins uniform, with the club unable to sign a player until after May 1 if it does not offer arbitration.
The free agent outfielder has been receiving a lot of attention from multiple clubs and likely would sign with another team. Despite rumors of possible offers by other clubs, Twins general manger Terry Ryan has said in recent days that he believed there was a sliver of a possibility that Jones could return to Minnesota.
Jones is just one of three players to which the Twins could offer arbitration. Joe Mays and Terry Mulholland are also awaiting a decision from Minnesota. It is unlikely, though, that either Mays or Mulholland will be given arbitration.
Free agents offered arbitration by their clubs have until Dec. 19 to accept. A player who accepts is locked into his team, and the two sides can continue negotiations toward a one-year or multi-year agreement before reaching a hearing. Those declining the offer face a Jan. 8 deadline to be re-signed; thereafter, they cannot sign with their old teams until May 1, just as free agents who are not offered arbitration.
Though Jones appears to be eliminated from the Twins' free agent chase if the offer doesn't come Wednesday, there are plenty of other well-known names that are on the Twins' horizon. Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza and Nomar Garciaparra are three of the free agents that Ryan would confirm have been involved in talks with the club.
The Twins are looking at Thomas and Piazza as possible DH candidates, with Garciaparra an option to fill the third base hole. A shortstop for most of his career, Garciaparra moved to third base during the final month of the season for the Cubs when Aramis Ramirez was put on the DL. It was the first time that Garciaparra had started at third in his professional career.
Ryan acknowledged Thomas as a contender for the DH role, but it appears that the likelihood of the Big Hurt becoming a Twin is dwindling. There has been buzz around the Anatole Hotel that Oakland is close to offering Thomas a deal and it appears that an offer from Minnesota is still a long way off.
"We're not even talking about dollars or offers yet," Ryan said of his dealings with Thomas. "I don't see that happening for a few weeks."
Health remains the primary question for Ryan, who has yet to see any of the medical test results for Thomas. Those test results have been sent to the medical staff of the Twins to look at and then report back to Ryan on what they see.
Despite Ryan's inability to make any trades or signings during the first three days of the Winter Meetings, the Twins GM hasn't lost optimism that moves will be able to be made within the near future. Ryan still believes that the Twins' holes will be filled by the start of Spring Training.
"I think we should be able to do that," Ryan said. "I've got enough going on down here that I think we should be able to get some sort of fit there."
Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/
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