Twins pick up Cuddyer’s 2011 option
Posted on November 7th, 2009 – 10:59 AMBy Joe Christensen
The Twins announced today that they’ve picked up Michael Cuddyer’s $10.5 million option for 2011, which means the right fielder will be under contract for at least two more years.
Cuddyer, 30, batted .276 with 32 home runs and 94 RBI this past season.
88 Responses to "Twins pick up Cuddyer’s 2011 option"
I am surprised this morning to say he earned this option. I did not anticipate he would turn it around last year like he did. Excellent year and congrats to Cuddy.
I think that decision was made with the Gomez-Hardy trade yesterday.
Cuddyer became indispensible, when Gomez was shipped out.
cuddyer is probably even more valuable than those numbers indicate — somebody oughta add up his extra-base hits with the bases empty in late innings of close games over the last two seasons.
This was the only appropriate outcome.
Good for Cuddy…stand up guy, he deserves it….
November 7th, 2009 at 11:20 am
nice move by the twins, and best wishes to go-go…i hope he does well, and we could just as well find a deal for lexi -now that gomez is gone….but this is what i would like to see come spring…
span cf
polanco/punto 2b
mauer c
morneau 1b
cuddyer rf
kubel dh
young lf
hardy ss
crede/punto 3b
this of course is only if crede is announced to be 100% and proves it in spring training, other wise please sign beltre or figgins….but that lineup with an improved starting staff and a healthy neshek back in the pen, things could look awfully good for the start of a new twins era….btw ..mike cameron would make a nice 4th or j. dye to help dh etc and play a bit of of…all good possibilities…and what about trading nathan for a stud starter and some relief help….could be a very interesting winter and i hope it helps to shorten the winter by having alot of baseball to discuss….nice start today….
congrats to cuddy…what a late season he had…lets hope he stays healthy and continues to play at that level….what a team this could turn into….
only if crede is healthy thhen sign Beltre or Figgins??? It is clear that Beltre and Figgins are better than Crede even when he is healthy and Beltre may only require about 5 mill… Another option of Course is Troy Glaus for Crede money, and I would rather have Glaus who has huge power potential when healthy
I wish we could ban “predicted line-ups” for 2010, or 2011. They are meaningless. On the Soucheray Reusse show today, Reusse said if they sign Mauer, dont expect any other good add ons. I see that from one point, but on the other hand, isnt part of being able to sign Mauer is showing him he will be on a team that does more than maybe compete for a division title? Doesnt Mauer want to be on some teams that have a chance to win it all?
Original: I feel that Mauer will ask the team to sign a quality 3rd baseman or trade for one and do the same for an ace on the staff. I feel that Mauer will take as much of a pay cut over what he would get as he needs to get these 2 or 3 things done….
Damn, I hate magicians.
Why would Mauer take a paycut so the team could sign a third baseman and an ace pitcher? He could just wait and sign a big deal with the Yankees and Red Sox and not have to worry about taking a cut so the team could afford those extra players. Make no mistake, while it won’t take what he would get on the open market to resign him this offseason, he ain’t giving the Twins that big of a cut.
damn, i hate clowns.
Matt and Buffalo, I agree with you both one one hand. I think if Mauer could be assured he would be on a competitive (read: not all star at every position, but solid team) he would be willing to take a slight pay cut to stay in Minnesota. And a third baseman and an ace is where to start. Sure, he could go to the Yanks and get top money and a top supporting cast, and he must might do that. But I DONT agree with Reusse. Why would he sign here, only to be on a mediocre team for the prime years of his career?
mauer is and will be a twin for a very long time….there is no chance of him leaving this org period….. end of story…love him or hate him, he is going to be a twin for many years to come, and to even think otherwise is, i think nuts….now lets worry about who is going to play 3b and pitch and also close games, as i am not sold on nathan any longer and maybe a good time to part ways, while his value is still tops…..
“i am not sold on nathan any longer and maybe a good time to part ways, while his value is still tops…”
maybe the twins could trade nathan, even up, for broxton or papelbon or lidge or fuentes or jenks or wood or rodney or …
Guess Gardy is showing his clout in the front office again…”good-guyism” trumps sound baseball decisions. Think you could find a cuddy-like outfielder for $11M in 2011? Maybe a dozen.
“Think you could find a cuddy-like outfielder for $11M in 2011? Maybe a dozen.”
but wouldn’t that dozen include cuddyer?
I know his “aw-shucks” persona plays well here, but he is a run of the mill major league player who is master of the solo home run and the bases loaded strikeout
well, wade, like i’ve often said before — many of those solo home runs (and bases-empty doubles) have come in very big situations.
as for the strikeouts? abreu struck out 113 times last season; 118 for cuddyer.
Guess the status quo is enough for many
“Guess the status quo is enough for many”
more like: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Say - I’ve been seeing the “Beltre will only cost about $5 mil” thrown out a lot here & in other blogs - can anyone substantiate that, or is it just wishful thinking that’s propegating through the blogosphere?
“Cuddyer, 30, batted .276 with 32 home runs and 94 RBI this past season.”
“but he is a run of the mill major league player”
The Twins could use another “run of the mill major league player” (or five), whose numbers are better than anyone on the roster except M&M&K.
Cuddyer had his share of big hits in the late season. His numbers in September/October were huge. They transformed his season from satisfactory to being on a par with his breakout season in 2006.
Wade,
Cuddy was 10th in the AL in HR and 18th in RBI. I would hardly classify anyone who was on the leader board with him as run of the mill. He had a very impressive season. Are you really T98?
Cuddyer is just a mediocre player, but he provided good leadership last season when there was a huge void. He rose to the occassion.
Hardy is awful. The Twins have lots of infielders better than him. Gomez at least had potential. This guy has none.
I heard Reusse’s comments this morning too. He cited that the White Sox stated that after the Teahan trade they were done making moves because of financial concerns. Reusse then went on to conclude that baseball GM’s and Owners in mass are very concerned about MLB in todays economy. Therefore the Twins will likely attempt to sign Mauer and if successful that would be it. Although I understand that position, I hope he’s wrong.
“Cuddyer is just a mediocre player”.
I do not trust anyone to judge Hardy’s ability if this is his assessment of Cuddyer. Enough stats have been offered on this blog today to clearly define Cuddyer as more than mediocre.
“Owners in mass are very concerned about MLB in todays economy.”
That sounds like the owners agreement to stop high-priced FA signings several years ago.
The owners, one-by-one, kept ignoring that “agreement” by signing “their exceptions” and that “agreement” eventually circled the bowl.
Getting owners to honor agreements is similar to herding cats.
But only $5M for Beltre?
Please oh please……..
“I do not trust anyone to judge Hardy’s ability if this is his assessment of Cuddyer.”
“Bunting Twins” has posted enough nonsensical assessments and opinions on this blog to make us think that he often bunted with his forehead.
I could not agree with you more jon. I hope I live long enough to see MLB get it’s house in order with regards to revenue sharing a salary cap or something that allows markets of all sizes to compete.
I like Cuddyer, but he has his limitations. He runs poor routes, gets a poor jump on the ball, and falls down way too often. He hits .265 and strikes out too much. He’s okay, but far from a superstar. I like him best at first base.
Some of you people are hilarious. Defending your position in a crumbling forthouse; no matter what the reality is. You scream for right handed power. Yet put down the notion that your own guy gives you what you scream for. Cuddy works in every way, give it a rest. geez.
if that is the case werbellik, then the team should be able to afford someone in FA due to the ‘concern’ of other owners. honestly, this team can splurge a bit, especially if they are willing to pick up a near 11 millino dollar option on someone they coul dhave signed to an extension at less per year (ie the Abreu deal).
my guess is they look at veterans on the market at positions of need (2B or 3B and a SP) and make reasonable 1-3 year offers. I could see Polanco at 2B as a possibility.
Bunting Twin, I share your opinion that Cuddyer is not a superstar, but you referred to him as mediocre. Below are one dictionary’s definitions of mediocre. Cuddyer is not that. Although he’s not a superstar, he is far better than mediocre.
1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2. rather poor or inferior.
see here is why I am not a fan of this option (from twinkie town)
“This decision raises Minnesota’s 2011 committments to roughly $42.6 million dollars: Justin Morneau ($15 MM), Joe Nathan ($11.25 MM), Cuddyer ($10.5 MM) and Scott Baker ($5.00 MM), as well as a $500K buyout for Nick Punto and a $350K buyout for Jason Kubel.”
the guy would have signed an extension for less money per year. now this team is on the hook for a ton of money to a handful of players, and this is without a mauer extension.
Binting Twin, you referred to Cuddyer as mediocre. Below is one dictionary’s definitions of mediocre. Although I agree with you that Cuddy is not a superstar, he is far better than mediocre.
1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2. rather poor or inferior.
Sorry, meant Bunting Twin…
“if that is the case werbellik, then the team should be able to afford someone in FA due to the ‘concern’ of other owners.”
medschool, I hope you’re right. Trust me, I am not advocating for Reusse’s position.
also, some folks forget that Punto (the super utility man) can actually play CF as well if needed. he did so in a game a long time ago (2008), and he didn’t look terrible (made a couple nice catches). he could fill in there for a game here and there if needed.
mickey mental says:
November 7th, 2009 at 11:13 am
cuddyer is probably even more valuable than those numbers indicate — somebody oughta add up his extra-base hits with the bases empty in late innings of close games over the last two seasons.
HAHAHAHAHA how late did you stay up thinking that one up. MORON!
Bunting Twins says:
November 7th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I like Cuddyer, but he has his limitations. He runs poor routes, gets a poor jump on the ball, and falls down way too often. He hits .265 and strikes out too much. He’s okay, but far from a superstar. I like him best at first base.
ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE!!! Cuddy is a solid OF, don’t know what games your watching.
Tom,
With no original thoughts, you had to resort to name-calling, the last resort of …………..
Caught myself just in time.
tom,
you need to pay closer attention. and look in the mirror before calling people names.
here’s from just the last three games of the 2009 season:
triple, bottom of the tenth, game 163.
home run, bottom of the eighth, game 161.
and a bonus from 2008:
double, top of fifth, game 163, 2008.
dig deeper and you’ll find many, many more. have a nice day.
Just posted on Rob Neyers blog over at espn:
Twins overspend on veteran, again
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/1278/twins-overspend-on-veteran-again
Well I question anyones credibility if they randomly assign Cuddyer the lable of a below average outfielder. Watch the games number crunchers.
Rob needs to look at the bigger market teams and lambast them for overspending before he goes after the Twins.
honestly - cuddy is only 30 right now, and 32 during the option year. if he stays healthy, he can continue to produce at his current level. Abreu is getting 18 mill guaratneed over 2 years at the age of 35 (he’ll be 37 during Cuddy’s supposed ‘down year’ at the ripe age of 32).
Basically, Abreu has slightly better range but a worse arm; he offers more OBP and SB’s, but half as many home runs and a SLG% almost 100 points lower. Cuddy hits left handed which is a team need (rob neglects that too) whereas Abreu hits lefty - an advantage for him. and he certainly can’t do the things Cuddy does for this clubhouse.
Like I said earlier, I wish BS had done alittle more work during the WS and figure out an extension instead of picking up this option (I am sure Cuddy would have considered the deal Abreu got). but its not a bad deal by any stretch.
besides, brining up Monroe I could go after him as well. Monroe was a solid player on both sides of the ball, with .300 potential and solid defense; he was signed for at the time a very good deal. and he came here and stunk it up - is that our fault? no its not. And Livan offered innings eating and veteran leadership. 5 mill isn’t so bad for what he gave us…besides, does he even mention the countless terrible signings by the yankees or red sox?
So far so good on the moves the Front office is making for the Twins. Still some holes in the infield and pitching. I have a feeling everything will be set in 2-3 weeks. Go Twins!!!
er cuddy hits right handed obviously…
Who’s the numbnutz who thinks that punto will ever be more than the no. 9 rally-killing out. he’s the pride of Joe vavra. A spare who whiffs or popsup to shallow infield. The only thing that would make me happy about punto is if he lived in Wisconsin.
It kills me that the two guys who turned in on the last month and a half of the season to help a team without their cleanup hitter make it to the playoffs are always ridiculed on here. Baseball fans really are fickle
Are you dummies really suprised.
I’m never really surprised, but always really delighted — not to be dumfounded….thanks to the contributions of the ilk.
Anytime you like, back to school, fools.
I think this is a sign the Twins are in “win now” mode.
Look for the Twins to sign an aging stud pitcher this off season.
I think the “win now” direction also figured in the Gomez trade. Carlos has a lot of future upside, but is not a “win now” player.
The Hardy trade and now Cuddy’s extensions are also good signs from the Twins to Mauer.
“We want to keep you long term, and if you look around, these are the guys we hope you will be playing with.”
Mauer knows his starting OF will be Young/Span/Cuddyer for the forseeable future. He knows the Twins hope to have Hardy around at SS for a long time. And he knows that his buddy Morneau will man first as long as he can.
From the perspective of the lineup, Mauer knows all but 3B and 2B for at least 2-3 years. And with the amount of youth on the team, hopefully guys like Span, Young, and now Hardy will be around for a long time.
Wanting a starting pitcher is one thing, but they need to be careful how much they invest in who they get. putting that kind of money into a guy who pitches every fifth day when plenty of the roster is going to get paid soon is a risk.
“damn, i hate clowns.”
Lucky for you, Gomez is gone.
“Cuddyer does not produce w/ men on base — only with the bases empty. Therefore, he is a mediocre player.”
This seems to be the main complaint of Cuddyer’s critics. I had thought that looking at overall numbers was the best, most-objective way to really assess a player’s offensive production. Apparently I was wrong.
I would have guessed that, if a player has impressive overall numbers, but less-than-impressive numbers in a particular situation, that would imply that his numbers in all other situations are just that much more impressive. Maybe I was wrong about that. Or maybe I was mistaken to this that extra-base hits with no runners on base have plenty of value to a team’s offense. Maybe baseball teams don’t even need guys who can hit with no one on base. Let’s get rid of all our guys who waste good at bats when there are no runners on. If we sign an entire team of players who save all their hits for when there are runners in scoring position, THEN we will truly be a World Series caliber team. I have seen the light. Enough messing around with players who hit when there’s no one on base, I say!
I have a question. Did Cuddyer’s contract require the team to decide on the 2011 option year prior to the start of the 2010 season? ‘Cuz I’m confused why they wouldn’t wait until the end of 2010 to make this decision.
Also, about the whole Cuddyer not hitting with men on base claim — can anyone provide actual numbers on that?
yes it was due on Monday. some weird clasue in the contract was part of it.
and yes Adam, he was pretty inept in big situations. for example in 2009:
.142 average with bases loaded
.192 with RISP and 2 outs
an ok .267 with RISP
he’s definitely at his best with .314 with no one on. also, 22 of his home runs were solo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHleGen4leU
that right there is worth a good chunk of that 10.5 mill tho. WOW
I like Cuddyer. I am indifferent as to whether the Twins picked up his extension. There was no room for a Joe Mauer contract in 2011 even if they had not.
The young pitchers will all soon demand big raises. They aren’t going to play for minimum salary their whole careers. Players like Span, Young and Kubel will soon be looking for better money.
Mauer is WAAAAAAAAAY outside the budget after next season. They have some good young catchers in the minors just about ready to step in.
2009 - So long to the Metrodome season
2010 - So long to Joe Mauer season
“Did Cuddyer’s contract require the team to decide on the 2011 option year prior to the start of the 2010 season?”
Yes. By a specific date after the 2009 season, the Twins had contractually agreed to decide.
Cuddyer is okay, but he can’t hit the slider away. Never could. Never will. When the team is way ahead, or way behind, and no one is on base, Cuddyer gets the fastball, which he can mash. Otherwise, he gets the slider.
one thing that has annoyed me is the accountability with Vavra. has anyone seen any positive influence from him in the seasons he’s been here? he doesn’t seem to be able to break any habits that the hitters have.
For all you people expecting big free agent signings…I really doubt it. I’m guessing Mauer gets his extension, we resign Pavano, Mahay gets a one year deal, and MAYBE we give crede another one year deal. Otherwise we he hit spring training with what we’ve got currently, plus some minor leaguers. With how tolbert/punto/young/duensing did at the end of the year, I think they’ll try and see if they can get some consistent early season production out of those guys. We won’t really know until spring training anyways how slowy, neshek, bonser and most importantly Morneau are doing, so they probably want to hold back a little bit of money just in case. Imagine they go sign a big time 2b or 3b guy, then we get to spring training and mourneau is hurt much worse than they though and can’t play every day, and we have no payroll left to pick up an extra 1b or of/DH (if cuddy plays 1st).
Mike
true, if morneausy isn’t ready, that could be an issue. But…
Huber can DH and play 1B. if you go with Cuddy at 1B again, you roll Kubel at a corner (my preferecne would be him in left and DY in right) then have morales or that ‘big time 2B or 3B’ or Huber DH. plus they may tender Harris and he can play a decent 1B as well.
back to my Vavra rant for a sec -
the guy has been here since 2006, and I have yet to see any major improvements in any of the players short of Morneau. Cuddy still looks silly against outside sliders, Punto is still Punto, Gomez was Gomez, Kubel still has never even touched left-handed pitching, DY actually has declined since he’s been here, etc etc.
…and I have yet to see any major improvements in any of the players short of Morneau.
Yeah. It’s not like Mauer actually found a way to hit better in the last two years, while Span went from “Who?” to “Much Needed Leadoff Hitter”.
Not to mention both Kubel and Cuddy having career years this year.
Yeah, Vavra’s DEFINATELY not helped anything.
Glad to see Cuddy’s option picked up. Now, let’s just hope he stays on the ‘roids and keeps producing!
The Twins had the 3rd highest B.A. in MLB, behind only the Yankees and the Angels, who both have loaded lineups.
And you want to criticize Vavra?
Give Vavra the lineup of Jeter, Damon, A-Rod, Teixeira, Matsui, Cano, Posada, Swisher and Cabrera and then make a comparison.
ok ok, I understand the Twins hitters did quite well. but what is a hitting coach for? I always thought they were there to help fix weaknesses of players hitting.
you say Cuddy and Kubel had career years. basically, Cuddy’s year this year was about the same as it was in 2006, with a few more homers at the end. Kubel has a career year because he sits pretty much every game there is a lefty starter. and with him, he was always rated a top-hitting prospect in this organization. he was just always hampered by injuries.
with Mauer, he is a special player. I put as much of his improvement on his sheer talent and work ethic as I do on a hitting coach.
and I will give you Span. although Span showed in the minors all the same qualities he has here - plate discipline, speed and contact hitting.
I love some of the things he has done, don’t get me wrong. I just would like to see him work on the same weaknesses we’ve seen from our hitters for ages.
Well our chance at a decent healthy defense 3b with pop just opened up. Pedro Feliz whose option wasnt picked up from the phillies. .266, 12 hr, 82 rbis and a uzr/150 of 5.0, would be a decent 1 yr stopgap and would cost around a crede cost, with a much better health chance.
3b possibilities:
Pedro Feliz
Garret Atkins (if non-tendered)
Adrian Beltre
Joe Crede
Kevin Kouzmanoff (via trade)
I only list those that would be realistic, and would be upgrades.
Id say my first choice would be Beltre, then Feliz, Kouz tops all if affordable via trade, and Atkins over Crede. Only bring Crede back if no other options pan out.
According to medschoolmatt:
“in 2009:
.142 average with bases loaded
.192 with RISP and 2 outs
an ok .267 with RISP”
In an attempt to provide some perspective, allow me to point out the obvious.
First, a player always comes to the plate with either 0, 1, or 2 outs. I will therefore, for the sake of argument, assume that 1/3 of his ABs with RISP came with 2 outs. This would mean 2/3 of ABs with RISP came with less than 2 outs (so twice as many). Also note that batting with RISP and 2 outs is a subset of batting with RISP generally. So based on these numbers (and my assumption) we can determine his batting average with RISP and less than 2 outs must have been .305 in order to offset that average with RISP and 2 outs in order to make it a .267 average with RISP overall. Should we or should we not call batting with RISP and less than 2 outs a “big situation”? I don’t know, but I think a hit in any of these situations is a big contribution to a team’s offensive production.
All this is a looooong way of saying that my contention is that overall numbers are what we should go on when assessing offensive value. And batting average aside, Cuddyer’s overall 2009 numbers that I like are these: .342 OBP (decent), .520 SLG (superb).
So is he overpaid? Eh, I suppose, but established, quality, big league players past their arbitration years are always overpaid.
interesting concept adam
according to espn, I subtracted his 2 out RISP at bats (78) from his total RISP at bats (161) and the same with his hits and got 28/83 or about .334 in RISP with less than 2 outs. that is darn good on one hand, but on the other hand half of his at bats with RISP were not good at all.
Not that it means a whole lot, but MLB Rumors is predicting that Beltre will sign with the Twins.
The Twins scored the 5th most runs in all of baseball last year. It’s pretty hard to rip the hitting coach at this point.
Here’s a question:
If the Twins season starts TODAY (ignoring injury):
The OF is Young/Span/Cuddyer
The IF is Harris/Hardy/Punto (Casilla?)/Morneau/Mauer.
If the Twins only sign one more position player, would it be better to track down a fix for 3B and go with Punto at 2B or sign a 2B and go with Harris (or Valencia) at 3B?
but MLB Rumors is predicting that Beltre will sign with the Twins.
That would be most interesting. The Twins were on his NTC last season, meaning it would’ve taken a LOT of money to get him. But now that he’s a FA…it won’t be a factor.
And with how hard the Twins worked to get Crede last year, you gotta think Boras sees a potential deal if Beltre wants to go there.
the problem with Beltre is then who is your #2 hitter? try and roll with Hardy there even though he’s coming from an off year or do you try Punto? Polanco would make more sense, and then you let Punto and Harris fight over 3B until Valencia is ready.
From Sid’s column this morning:
“I would like to have Cabrera back, and I told Billy that. He’s one guy that I would like to still make an effort to sign. You need good players, and Cabrera’s one of them.”
Gardenhire said he could put Cabrera at second and Nick Punto at third: “If we get enough good players that can hit a bit we can do some damage.”
Interesting.
T:
If they did nothing more with the non pitching roster, I’d be ok with that. I wouldn’t love it, but this team can score plenty of runs at this point. Now I want D and pitching.
Unrelated side note and plug for another column… this is just one more example of why I love Joe Posnanski’s columns. Tell it like it is, JoeP!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/11/05/yankees.payroll/index.html
“the problem with Beltre is then who is your #2 hitter?”
That’s a problem I’d like to have…
If Punto delivers his typical even year numbers he can be the guy. (They should think about tethering his bat to his lead shoe to counter his tendency to upercut.)
I’d rather see Hardy there though.
thanks for the link, jimcrikket. sad story but good reading.
