Twins seek third baseman at meetings
12/06/2005
DALLAS -- Despite a desire to fill the team's two significant holes this week, the Twins were left without any major moves for the second straight day at this year's Winter Meetings.
Twins general manager Terry Ryan was hoping after much talk on Monday to fill at least one of the team's two voids -- third base and designated hitter -- but instead had to speculate that a deal might soon be in the works. When asked if any deals were close to being accomplished, Ryan remained vague.
"Maybe," Ryan said.
The need to get a deal in place was the main topic of manager Ron Gardenhire's media session on Tuesday afternoon. Gardenhire addressed the need to improve his club's anemic offense. The Twins already made one move toward putting more runs on the board this offseason by trading for Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo. It was a move that gave the club another guy at the top of the order as a potential run producer.
"You put him along with Shannon [Stewart] and Joe Mauer, and you've got three great on-base guys," Gardenhire said. "Now we just have to find those big sluggers to knock them in."
The need to get more bats in the lineup was strong at the end of the season, but became even more important with the additions made by divisional rival and reigning world champion Chicago White Sox. Seeing the White Sox acquire Jim Thome from the Phillies to be their designated hitter was enough to grab Gardenhire's attention. But the news got even a little worse for the Twins skipper when the club re-signed first baseman Paul Konerko to a multi-year deal.
"That's a great pickup," Gardenhire said of Thome. "He's a great player and a great guy in the clubhouse. You put him in there along with Konerko, and sure that makes them tougher, especially along with their pitching staff, which we all saw what they can do."
Gardenhire tried to make light of the Sox big acquisition by asking the media if they had heard the big announcement the Twins made around the same time of the Thome pickup -- one for new jerseys. After a huge chuckle from the media horde around him, the skipper acknowledged that those moves by the Sox have put a little added pressure on his club.
"We've got catching up to do, that's why we are here working as hard as we can," Gardenhire said.
Fixing the team's deficiencies is the No. 1 priority for a team that could reside in one of the toughest divisions in the league. Gardenhire boasted about the strengths of the American League Central and made sure to acknowledge that it can't be looked down upon any more with a World Series champion in the mix. Along with the Sox, there are other potential threats in a young Indians squad that made a strong run in the second half of 2005 and a Tigers squad that Gardenhire said would improve offensively this season.
But even with the questions at certain positions for the Twins, Gardenhire still feels that if the season started today, his club would still be a competitive force. Strong pitching has been a staple for the Twins in the last few years, and next season looks to be no different.
Unless Kyle Lohse is part of a trade, the Twins expect to return four starters to the rotation. That would leave only one of the young prospects to fight for a spot alongside Johan Santana, Brad Radke, Carlos Silva and Lohse.
"If we can find a way to get some runs in, we're going to pitch with anybody," Gardenhire said. "I think people can't forget that the Minnesota Twins can pitch pretty darn good. That always gives you a chance to beat people, no matter how much offense they have."
Confidence in his squad's chances may still be high, but leaving too many voids like the one at third base could turn into a big problem if the Twins can't solve it by Spring Training. It's not an issue, though, that Gardenhire wants to face, as he knows that missing a third baseman is trouble for any club -- literally.
"It's going to be hard to pitch around that hole if we don't have a player out there," Gardenhire said with a slight smirk. "Really, we've just got to find one."
Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/
DALLAS -- Despite a desire to fill the team's two significant holes this week, the Twins were left without any major moves for the second straight day at this year's Winter Meetings.
Twins general manager Terry Ryan was hoping after much talk on Monday to fill at least one of the team's two voids -- third base and designated hitter -- but instead had to speculate that a deal might soon be in the works. When asked if any deals were close to being accomplished, Ryan remained vague.
"Maybe," Ryan said.
The need to get a deal in place was the main topic of manager Ron Gardenhire's media session on Tuesday afternoon. Gardenhire addressed the need to improve his club's anemic offense. The Twins already made one move toward putting more runs on the board this offseason by trading for Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo. It was a move that gave the club another guy at the top of the order as a potential run producer.
"You put him along with Shannon [Stewart] and Joe Mauer, and you've got three great on-base guys," Gardenhire said. "Now we just have to find those big sluggers to knock them in."
The need to get more bats in the lineup was strong at the end of the season, but became even more important with the additions made by divisional rival and reigning world champion Chicago White Sox. Seeing the White Sox acquire Jim Thome from the Phillies to be their designated hitter was enough to grab Gardenhire's attention. But the news got even a little worse for the Twins skipper when the club re-signed first baseman Paul Konerko to a multi-year deal.
"That's a great pickup," Gardenhire said of Thome. "He's a great player and a great guy in the clubhouse. You put him in there along with Konerko, and sure that makes them tougher, especially along with their pitching staff, which we all saw what they can do."
Gardenhire tried to make light of the Sox big acquisition by asking the media if they had heard the big announcement the Twins made around the same time of the Thome pickup -- one for new jerseys. After a huge chuckle from the media horde around him, the skipper acknowledged that those moves by the Sox have put a little added pressure on his club.
"We've got catching up to do, that's why we are here working as hard as we can," Gardenhire said.
Fixing the team's deficiencies is the No. 1 priority for a team that could reside in one of the toughest divisions in the league. Gardenhire boasted about the strengths of the American League Central and made sure to acknowledge that it can't be looked down upon any more with a World Series champion in the mix. Along with the Sox, there are other potential threats in a young Indians squad that made a strong run in the second half of 2005 and a Tigers squad that Gardenhire said would improve offensively this season.
But even with the questions at certain positions for the Twins, Gardenhire still feels that if the season started today, his club would still be a competitive force. Strong pitching has been a staple for the Twins in the last few years, and next season looks to be no different.
Unless Kyle Lohse is part of a trade, the Twins expect to return four starters to the rotation. That would leave only one of the young prospects to fight for a spot alongside Johan Santana, Brad Radke, Carlos Silva and Lohse.
"If we can find a way to get some runs in, we're going to pitch with anybody," Gardenhire said. "I think people can't forget that the Minnesota Twins can pitch pretty darn good. That always gives you a chance to beat people, no matter how much offense they have."
Confidence in his squad's chances may still be high, but leaving too many voids like the one at third base could turn into a big problem if the Twins can't solve it by Spring Training. It's not an issue, though, that Gardenhire wants to face, as he knows that missing a third baseman is trouble for any club -- literally.
"It's going to be hard to pitch around that hole if we don't have a player out there," Gardenhire said with a slight smirk. "Really, we've just got to find one."
Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/
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