Span put up a line of .311/.392/.415, which was good for a .359 wOBA and a 3.9 WAR. He is one of the premier leadoff men in baseball and the Twins got him signed to a reasonable contract. He should be an upgrade over Carlos Gomez in center field even though he is not quite the defensive player in center that Gomez was. He will make up the difference in defense with his bat. Him moving to center allows Ron Gardenhire the option to put Jason Kubel in left, which would be an improvement over Delmon Young.

If the Twins are able to re-sign catcher Joe Mauer to go along with Justin Morneau and Span they could have a good core offensively and that should make them contenders in the AL Central for the next few years.

I think it’s about time the Minnesota Twins have started re-signing their own players. They have let a lot of players walk in the past and it’s good for the Twins and their fans that the team is starting to spend money to keep their own players. It’s also a smart move because it locks Span up through 2014 without the risk of going to arbitration.

He’s the essential “scrappy” kind of guy; Announcers surely gab about his “passion for the game”, or how he’s a true “grinder” (Whatever that means).

This brings me to the main story. There is a battle going on this year in the Twins Spring Training camp, and it’s a fight for the starting job at third base. When I heard that Nick Punto was their best option, I wasn’t very excited.

Never confuse Punto for being a meaningful or even decent producer, offensively that is. Punto doesn’t really do much at the plate, but his greatest asset is his patience. For his issues with contact and complete lack of power, one cannot ignore his ability to work the count and draw pitches.

Although it is of only slight importance, Punto is also an bonus on the base-paths; The man can swipe bags just into the double digits while also being a smart and nimble runner.

With his obvious offensive deficiencies, one can still see how Punto offers a little more than expected. You see though, when a player is as fantastic defensively as Nick is, you don’t need to do much at the plate.

According to Fangraphs.com, Nick Punto has been a very good (and even great) defensive player, anywhere on the diamond. Nick would have a chance to be one of the elite defenders at third base in 2010, and could save more runs than any infielder in baseball.

This brings me to Brendan Harris, Punto’s competition for the starting job at Third base. To sum it up quick, Brendan Harris is a slightly better offensive player than Punto, but remains a noticeable defensive liability.

Whoever wins the third base job will almost assuredly be hitting 9th in the batting order. In a lineup that owns names like Mauer, Morneau, and Thome in the middle, you can take a guy like Punto batting last.

When it comes down to it, Punto is not and never will be a viable top-of-the-order hitter, but the Twins don’t need him to be. With the up-and-coming star lead-off hitter Denard Span and the veteran Orlando Hudson manning the 2-spot in the order, Punto doesn’t need to be held to much of anything at the plate.

Brendan Harris’ slight offensive upgrade is made completely negligible when defense is factored in. It’s about “total value”, and it’s obvious to anyone that Punto adds much more to the team. The Twins are plainly better with Nick Punto starting over Brendan Harris, and I don’t even see why this is a debate.

This is coming from someone who is frustrated with many things Punto stands for. In summary, I would never celebrate “Nick Punto Day” (It exists…Google it).

I may never like Punto’s lackluster offensive game, but I can appreciate any player who makes his team noticeably better, and he most certainly does it with his defensive play.

Hudson is a league-average offensive second basemen and middle-of-the-road defensive player. Don’t let his Gold Glove in 2009 fool you, Orlando has been mediocre or worse in the field for 4 straight seasons now. Back on the Blue Jays he was elite in the field, but at age 32, the man has lost a large amount of range. UZR (or Ultimate Zone Rating) is an effective method for calculating how many runs above or below average a player is on defense. This statistic factors the range of the infielder along with his arm accuracy and strength. In 2009, Hudson was 3.3 runs below average in the field. He’s not going to save the Twins many runs in 2010, but he won’t be hurting them too badly either.

You might wonder why anyone would care about a team signing a simply adequate 32-year-old second baseman. Well, you have to look at who Hudson will be replacing, in Nick Punto. Last season, the incumbent second basemen hit a paltry .228 with an unbelievably poor .284 slugging percentage. Although Punto has been an above average defender in his career, Hudson’s gigantic offensive upgrade more than makes up for the defensive difference.

Hudson will undoubtedly be batting second in the Twins batting order that is beginning to look top-notch. A little way into the season, they could see this projected line-up (Once they insert Thome into the DH-role and call up prospect Danny Valencia):

1. Denard Span – CF

2. Orlando Hudson – 2B

3. Joe Mauer – C

4. Justin Morneau – 1B

5. Jason Kubel – LF

6.  Jim Thome – DH

7. Michael Cuddyer – RF

8. J.J. Hardy -SS

9. Brendan Harris/Danny Valencia – 3B

Honestly, with those players performing to their highest abilities, the Twins lineup could be in the running for the best in Major League Baseball.

Things are looking up for the Twin cities in 2010.

If they didn’t pick up the option- Cuddyer would have received a 1 million dollar buyout- and it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that the class-act Cuddyer would have given the Piranhas er Twins a home town discount?

Yes I do understand Cuddyer had an extremely solid campaign while picking up the slack for part time injured superstars Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer, but for a team that really isn’t considered a big market team- I have to question this move. Apparently, they believe they’re going to find extra revenue next year while opening Target Field in the spring, but 10.5 million is a big chunk of a change going to someone who really hasn’t shown over the course of his career he can stay healthy consistently.

I can also understand that Cuddyer is a home grown first overall pick, but wouldn’t it be more wise to save that 10.5 million and give it to I don’t know….the soon to be free agent Joe Mauer? Isn’t Joe Mauer more important to the franchise than Michael Cuddyer? Do they really think Mauer is going to ignore a New York Yankee 7 year offer worth around 200 million and settle for a 150 million from Minnesota? I don’t care who you are- It’s virtually impossible to turn down the pinstripes and that cash to stay with a team that will likely be financially crippled paying the salaries of Mauer and Morny.

Questionable financial move from an otherwise extremely intelligent organization.