As La Velle noted, the Twins signed Matt Guerrier to a one-year, $1.475 million deal today, clearing their plate of their final pending arbitration case.

Meanwhile, I spoke to Joe Crede’s agent, Scott Boras. It sounds like the free agent third baseman is ready to sign somewhere, even if the Twins appear to be dragging their feet.

The reports I’d been getting had Crede at 75 percent, coming off his second back surgery in two years.

“Joe Crede has been cleared to play and is ready to compete every day, as any other player would be going to camp,” Boras said. “And he’ll be doing so in about 10-14 days.”

The implication was clear: Crede wants his deal signed in the next week and intends to be full-go when major league position players report to spring training. The Giants and Twins are among the teams interested.

Crede, 30, is believed to be seeking a one-year deal with a base salary of at least $5.1 million — the amount he made last year — with incentives that will pay him as an All-Star third baseman if he stays on the field.

The Twins have been hesitant to commit that much guaranteed money to Crede until they know he’s healthy. Also, there’s the concern that he’d be able to stay healthy while playing on the Metrodome’s artificial surface.

“Joe Crede is healthy,” Boras said. “The playing surface he plays on is not an issue.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 4:41 pm and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.