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.

Just a quick post here that the Twins have traded CF Carlos Gomez to the Brewers for SS J.J. Hardy. I’ve written a quick story for StarTribune.com that will be posted momentarily, and will have more here throughout the day.

Hardy and Twins GM Bill Smith will be available in a conference call at noon. More later.

Update: Smith did not rule out pursuing a second baseman or third baseman this offseason but noted that Manager Ron Gardenhire likely will keep Nick Punto in the lineup somewhere.

Smith said the Twins definitely will tender a contract to left fielder Delmon Young.

“Absolutely, he’s going to be tendered a contract,” Smith said. “Delmon had a good year last year, he grew up a lot, I know some of the numbers aren’t where anyone — especially Delmon Young — wants them. He grew up a lot, he matured a lot, I think he became a good teammate.

“I know Ron Gardenhire’s very high on him. Joe Vavra — I had a talk with him the other day, and I think people are optimistic Delmon has a chance to blossom, hopefully in 2010 and realize some of the great skills he has.”

Asked how it affected Hardy’s trade value, knowing he’s not eligible for free agency until after 2011, Smith said, “To give up Carlos Gomez, where we’re going to give up four years of control, it’s important to get somebody we’re going to have for more than a year. So it’s a positive for us to have J.J. Hardy and the ability to keep him for a couple years. And let’s see what happens, we may keep him a lot longer than that.”

A few quotes from Hardy:

“I feel like it’s actually going to work out good for both teams, both organizations. Obviously the Twins had two center fielders, the Brewers had two shortstops, and they both needed the opposite.

“For me, I’m excited about the trade. I definitely knew I was going to get traded from the day they did send me down [to Triple-A Nashville in August]. I felt like that was their plan, I didn’t know who [he’d get traded] to, but once I got the call this morning I was pretty excited about it.

“Yeah, I think the change of scenery will be good for me.”

What happened last season?

“I don’t want to think about anymore. It’s over, I was happy when it ended. It was just kind of a nightmare year for me. Even when I was up there, I wasn’t at a level I wanted to perform at, and then when I got sent down, it just made things worse.

“I got off to a really slow start. I feel like there’s been several years now that I’ve gotten off to a slow start and be able to bounce out of it. This year was different for me, I just feel like I never could really get comfortable, and it just kind of snowballed from the first month that was not good.”

What gives him confidence looking ahead to 2010?

“I don’t think the change in the teams is going to be that big of a deal, I don’t think the change in leagues is going to be that big of a deal for me. I told myself come probably May, when I was still struggling and when I got sent down in August, that all that I needed was for the season to end and I’ll be normal again. Every year, I go about the same thing in the offseason, I come to spring training and I feel ready to go, and I feel that’s what’s going to happen next year.”

We’ll have much more on the trade for tonight’s first editions.

Twins reliever Pat Neshek updated the readers of his blog Monday with good news about his progress coming back from Tommy John surgery:

I’ve been throwing fastballs and change-ups at full speed off the mound and my arm feels better than it did before I went down during the season in 08. This week we start with sliders and I’m excited because that’s my pitch!

Following up, we sent an e-mail to see how it’s gone so far with the slider, and Neshek sent an enthusiastic response from Fort Myers, Fla.:

I had an excellent bullpen session [Thursday] throwing all three pitches. I’m throwing max effort right now and it feels great. I have about 3 weeks left then I’m technically done with rehab but I will stay down here and work out with [Twins strength and conditioning coach Perry Castellano] all winter.

[Twins rehab coordinator] Lanning Tucker and Perry noticed my arm slot was a little higher…kind of like how I was in 2006 and 07…in 08 my arm got tired and my shoulder would slope down and that’s pretty much what caused my injury.

Being on top a little more is making my slider run a lot. Also we didn’t have a radar gun out but today it felt like I was throwing harder than the start of the 08 season. I’m pretty excited this was a great day mentally.

That should be encouraging news for the Twins, especially considering Neshek posted a 2.19 ERA in 2006 and a 2.94 ERA in 2007 before posting a 4.73 ERA in an injury-shortened 2008.

By Feb. 21, when Twins pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Neshek will be 15 months removed from the reconstructive elbow surgery, and it sounds like he’ll be at full strength.

It’s always tough when the World Series ends, knowing there won’t be another meaningful major league game for five months. The Twins open April 5, in Anaheim, Calif., against the Angels, and then open Target Field on April 12 against the Red Sox. Twins pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 21, and we’ll be there as the anticipation builds in Fort Myers.

But what now?

Well, the clock already is ticking for the Twins. They have five days to decide whether to pick up Michael Cuddyer’s $10.5 million option for 2011, or pay him a $1 million buyout. Either way, Cuddyer is coming back next season, but it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Teams also have a 15-day exclusive negotiating window with their own free agents. For the Twins, that involves Orlando Cabrera, Joe Crede, Ron Mahay, Carl Pavano and Mike Redmond.

The annual General Manager meetings begin on Monday in Chicago, and that’s usually a breeding ground for trade rumors, etc. We’ll be keeping up with all of this, though it’s worth discussing a few ground rules.

On Tuesday, when the St. Petersburg Times reported that the Rays were close to dealing 2B Akinori Iwamura, Internet speculation spread that Aki was coming to the Twins, who had cut Brian Buscher from the 40-man roster earlier in the day.

As the Iwamura-to-Minnesota speculation spread, we checked into it and were told it wasn’t the Twins. I got a tip that it would be Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t from a Rays source or a Pirates source, so I refrained from blogging it or Tweeting it until I had something firm.

Hopefully, our readers will appreciate those standards in what figures to be a newsy offseason for the Twins. In the Twitter age, speculation spreads like wildfire. If you see something, and you haven’t read it here, please pass along the tip via e-mail (jchristensen@startribune.com), send an @reply on Twitter (@JoeCStrib), or comment below. But we’ll use our judgement on what and when to publish, filtering the information as best we can.

So sit back and enjoy the offseason. The on-field games might be finished, but the off-field stuff is just beginning.

The Twins have cut infielder Brian Buscher from their 40-man roster, outrighting him to Class AAA Rochester. He can become a minor-league free agent 16 days after the World Series.

Buscher, 28, batted .235 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 61 games for the Twins this season, posting a .360 on-base percentage and a .316 slugging percentage.

The Twins did not have Buscher on their original 25-man playoff roster, though he did replace Matt Tolbert after Tolbert suffered a strained oblique muscle.