The Minnesota Twins have had a rough calendar year. The 2011 season was a flop with the Twins finishing 32 games behind the first place Detroit Tigers. The frequent injuries to franchise cornerstones Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, who will make a combined $37 million in 2012, likely cost former General Manager Bill Smith his job.

Terry Ryan, the once former Twins GM, who took over for Smith last month made his first major acquisition of the offseason when he signed outfielder Josh Willingham to a three year $21 million contract. Willingham established himself as a quality hitter during his time with the Marlins and Nationals. Washington traded Willingham to Oakland last offseason after signing Jayson Werth to a massive free agent deal. Willingham struggled initially to adjust to the change in leagues, and playing his home games in the cavernous O.co Coliseum, but rebounded as the summer progressed. He finished with a respectable .810 OPS with 29 home runs.

Willingham should provide a much needed power injection to the Minnesota lineup. His 29 home runs easily outpaced Michael Cuddyer’s team leading 20 round trippers in 2011. Target Field is a tough place to hit so Willingham may not reach 29 home runs in 2012, but he should provide lineup protection for Mauer and Morneau, assuming the duo is healthy.

Willingham is a very solid signing for the Twins. He effectively replaces Michael Cuddyer in the lineup. Cuddyer signed a three year $31.5 million contract last week with the Colorado Rockies. Cuddyer and Willingham are both 32 years old. Willingham has been the more effective offensive player with a career .836 OPS. Cuddyer, who has a career .794 OPS, is more versatile having started games in the outfield, first base, second base and third base during his Twins career. Given the relative age and productivity of the two players Terry Ryan did well to sign Willingham for an average of $7 million per season. The Rockies will pay Cuddyer over $3 million more for each of the next three seasons for similar production.

* Information gathered from http://www.baseball-reference.com/

Dan Soderberg is a freelance writer, blogger, and lifelong baseball fanatic. You can read some of Dan’s other work at http://mudville9.blogspot.com Follow Dan on Twitter @dan_soderberg

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It was hardly a surprise to see Michael Cuddyer leave the Minnesota Twins and head to the Colorado Rockies, but it’s still sad to see one of my favorite players of the past decade leave the team.

So in tribute to Cuddyer, I’ve compiled my five favorite memories of his time spent in Minnesota:

5. Taking the Mound (July 25, 2011)

This game went about as poorly for the Twins as it possibly could have, as they would lose 6-20 to the Texas Rangers. However, it gave Cuddyer, a player known for his versatility, his first career chance to pitch. Although Cuddyer loaded the bases, no runs were allowed in his inning of relief. It also set his career ERA at 0.00—not bad!

4. Somersault (May 1, 2007)

For an immensely gifted athlete, Cuddyer can be a bit of a klutz. For instance, in a 2007 game against Tampa Bay, he produced a moment worthy for the Blooper Hall of Fame; Cuddyer was rounding second base when he lost his balance, and wound up falling into a somersault. Despite being tagged out and experiencing a minor injury, Cuddyer was able to laugh at the moment, quipping, “Even the Russian judge has to give me a ’10′ on that one.”

3. Finally an All-Star (2011 Season)

Cuddyer was one of the few bright spots in a 2011 season that most Twins fans would prefer to forget. Even though it took until his 11th year, Cuddyer finally made an All-Star game, and in fact was the team’s lone representative.

2. Hitting for the Cycle (May 22, 2009)

Hitting for the cycle is a rare accomplishment, though it only took Cuddyer six innings to pull it off in a 9-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. He started the game off with a bang, hitting a three-run home run in the first, a double in the third, and a single in the fourth. Cuddyer finished off his feat by driving the ball down the third-base line in the sixth, and easily made it safe into third.

1. Two Home Runs in One Inning (Aug. 23, 2009)

It’s not easy to hit two homers in a game, let alone two in an inning. Cuddyer hit a solo shot to give the Twins a 2-1 lead against Kansas City in the top of the seventh. By his next at bat in the frame, the game wasn’t close, and Cuddyer made it 9-1 after hitting a historic two-run homer. This made him the first player in team history to achieve this difficult task.

Floyd Saunders is a native of Minnesota and a lifelong Minnesota Twins fan.

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins have traditionally been one of the most stable and loyal franchises in Major League Baseball, so the decision by former general manager Bill Smith to stay after being fired was hardly surprising.

Even the longest of tenures with the Twins, though, don’t last forever. Versatile veteran Michael Cuddyer, voted by local beat writers as the team’s most valuable player in 2011, is gone. He will be with the Colorado Rockies next season.

The Twins? They have free agent outfielder Josh Willingham under contract for three years and $21 million.

“I think everybody knows we’re still looking for pitching as well,” general manager Terry Ryan said Friday during a conference call with reporters to introduce Willingham.

The Twins were interested in bringing back Cuddyer and outfielder Jason Kubel, another homegrown player, but they chose to move on with Willingham once the 32-year-old accepted their offer to leave the Oakland Athletics and take his powerful bat to Target Field.

“Ultimately it started to get to the point of no return, and we didn’t want to be left without,” Ryan said of the delicate balance of pursuing all three players.

Smith’s situation was sensitive, too. He was dismissed last month after four seasons on the job as Ryan’s replacement, part of the fallout from the team’s 63-99 record in 2011. Ryan returned to his previous role, and after taking several weeks to regroup Smith told Twins President Dave St. Peter he was willing to serve as an assistant to St. Peter and Ryan.

Smith, who has been with the organization for more than 25 years, will work on upgrading the team’s spring training facilities in Fort Myers, Fla., assessing international player development and maintaining relationships with minor league affiliates among other projects.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to have him on board with hopes of maximizing his many talents,” St. Peter said in an email.

Said Ryan: “His strengths are most of my weaknesses. … It is an excellent fit.”

That’s the way the Twins feel about Willingham, too. The Alabama native, whose statistics over the past six seasons are similar to Cuddyer’s, has primarily been a left fielder and acknowledged some discomfort about playing right field. But he said he can make it work with practice in spring training, and Ryan said the team believes he’s athletic enough with a competent throwing arm to play there.

The advantage to the Twins of putting Willingham in right is being able to use speedy Ben Revere in left and keep Denard Span in center.

Adding a powerful right-handed hitter to a lefty-heavy lineup was more important. Willingham said he had serious offers from three other teams, but he liked what he’s seen of and heard about the Twins. Last year was his first in the American League, but a career-high 29 home runs and 98 RBIs suggest he made the adjustment just fine. He said he’d like to bring his on-base percentage back up. His career mark is .361, but last year it dipped to .332.

“I think I’m at my best as an overall player offensively when I’m going deep in some counts and working some walks,” Willingham said.

He will make $7 million per season for each of the next three years. If he reaches 525 plate appearances in 2013, his 2014 salary would increase to $8 million. Last season was the only time in the last four years he’s reached that mark.

Cuddyer has topped that in each of the last three seasons, one reason why he was also named the winner of the team’s Bob Allison Award given to the player who exemplifies determination, competitive spirit and leadership. Willingham and his agent, Matt Sosnick, said they respected the strong ties Cuddyer, their first-round draft pick in 1997, had to the Twins.

“It was tough for us because we knew particularly Terry had a lot of loyalty to Michael,” Sosnick said. “He was going to give Michael every chance to come back, and that’s what the Twins did. Part of it was the fact that they set themselves up as a family. They’re very loyal to their own.”

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—The Minnesota Twins have traditionally been one of the
most stable and loyal franchises in Major League Baseball, so the decision by
former general manager Bill Smith to stay after being fired was hardly
surprising.

Even the longest of tenures with the Twins, though, don’t last forever.
Versatile veteran Michael Cuddyer, voted by local beat writers as the team’s
most valuable player in 2011, is gone. He will be with the Colorado Rockies next
season.

The Twins? They have free agent outfielder Josh Willingham under contract
for three years and $21 million.

“I think everybody knows we’re still looking for pitching as well,”
general manager Terry Ryan said Friday during a conference call with reporters
to introduce Willingham.

The Twins were interested in bringing back Cuddyer and outfielder Jason
Kubel, another homegrown player, but they chose to move on with Willingham once
the 32-year-old accepted their offer to leave the Oakland Athletics and take his
powerful bat to Target Field.

“Ultimately it started to get to the point of no return, and we didn’t want
to be left without,” Ryan said of the delicate balance of pursuing all three
players.

Smith’s situation was sensitive, too. He was dismissed last month after four
seasons on the job as Ryan’s replacement, part of the fallout from the team’s
63-99 record in 2011. Ryan returned to his previous role, and after taking
several weeks to regroup Smith told Twins President Dave St. Peter he was
willing to serve as an assistant to St. Peter and Ryan.

Smith, who has been with the organization for more than 25 years, will work
on upgrading the team’s spring training facilities in Fort Myers, Fla.,
assessing international player development and maintaining relationships with
minor league affiliates among other projects.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to have him on board with hopes of
maximizing his many talents,” St. Peter said in an email.

Said Ryan: “His strengths are most of my weaknesses. … It is an excellent
fit.”

That’s the way the Twins feel about Willingham, too. The Alabama native,
whose statistics over the past six seasons are similar to Cuddyer’s, has
primarily been a left fielder and acknowledged some discomfort about playing
right field. But he said he can make it work with practice in spring training,
and Ryan said the team believes he’s athletic enough with a competent throwing
arm to play there.

The advantage to the Twins of putting Willingham in right is being able to
use speedy Ben Revere in left and keep Denard Span in center.

Adding a powerful right-handed hitter to a lefty-heavy lineup was more
important. Willingham said he had serious offers from three other teams, but he
liked what he’s seen of and heard about the Twins. Last year was his first in
the American League, but a career-high 29 home runs and 98 RBIs suggest he made
the adjustment just fine. He said he’d like to bring his on-base percentage back
up. His career mark is .361, but last year it dipped to .332.

“I think I’m at my best as an overall player offensively when I’m going
deep in some counts and working some walks,” Willingham said.

He will make $7 million per season for each of the next three years. If he
reaches 525 plate appearances in 2013, his 2014 salary would increase to $8
million. Last season was the only time in the last four years he’s reached that
mark.

Cuddyer has topped that in each of the last three seasons, one reason why he
was also named the winner of the team’s Bob Allison Award given to the player
who exemplifies determination, competitive spirit and leadership. Willingham and
his agent, Matt Sosnick, said they respected the strong ties Cuddyer, their
first-round draft pick in 1997, had to the Twins.

“It was tough for us because we knew particularly Terry had a lot of
loyalty to Michael,” Sosnick said. “He was going to give Michael every chance
to come back, and that’s what the Twins did. Part of it was the fact that they
set themselves up as a family. They’re very loyal to their own.”

———

Follow Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP