The Minnesota Twins’ pursuit of Josh Willingham makes sense for them, but does it make sense for him? The Twins need a left fielder to plug into the lineup to replace Delmon Young, and they need right-handed power to replace Young and Michael Cuddyer.

Part of this is a function of their lineup, which rests upon the left-handed bats of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. That’s a fairly fragile proposition at this point, just like the two stars themselves, assuming Morneau ever completes his comeback from post-concussion symptoms. The Twins finished next to last in the AL in runs scored, finishing ahead of only the Mariners. They also finished last in the AL and 29th in the major leagues in Isolated Power — even with the advantage of a DH.

That in turn is a function of their ballpark. The one team that finished behind the Twins in ISO, the Padres, play in Petco Park, the best pitchers’ venue in the major leagues. But using the 2012 edition of the irreplaceable “Bill James Handbook,” you’ll see that the Twins’ Target Field indexes worse than any other in park factor for home runs across the past two years (76, when 100 is average). However, with just two years in existence, Target Field’s numbers have already bounced around a bit; last year, it rated 104 for right-handed hitters’ homers. That’s far from the biggest boosts via park power: The Yankees’ short-porch in right field indexes at 143 across three years and the White Sox’s equally short porch in left indexes at 138. But in a park that slightly favors pitchers (95 over two years), that looks like an exploitable advantage for a Twins team that needs power.

Hence, the addition of Willingham on top of initially signing Ryan Doumit to help provide power at DH, catcher, first base and/or the outfield corners. Coming off a 29-homer season for the A’s in equally pitcher-friendly, power-strangling Oakland Coliseum, Willingham should be an outstanding third wheel and right-handed foil to Mauer and Morneau. But does signing with the Twins make sense for Willingham? We’ll see what the terms will be on what’s already reported to be a multiyear deal — it’s hard to beat handsome compensation, certainly, especially as a free agent heading into your age-33 season.

But beyond cash, is Minnesota where you want to wind up? Can the Twins contend? Signing Willingham is the latest move in GM Terry Ryan’s speedy bit of retooling. First, he added Jamey Carroll to provide an OBP boost at the top of the order and to play shortstop, then he added Doumit’s flexibility and bat. If this aging crew can complement Mauer and Morneau, with Ben Revere and Denard Span in the outfield, the Twins have what looks to be a contending lineup in a potentially expanded playoff format and a weak division. That’s if everyone stays healthy; if the Tigers come back to the pack, that would also help, but that’s obviously outside of Ryan’s control.

The downside of signing Willingham is what it means for the Twins’ already-ragged defense. After rating negatively as a left fielder in four of the past five years via Total Zone (and three of five via Baseball Info Solutions’ Plus/Minus) putting him in left field doesn’t figure to do Twins pitchers any favors. Adding him on top of the DH-worthy Doumit and Carroll (with his weak range at short) makes it especially hard to sustain the faith in fundamentals that’s supposed to be a Minnesota mantra. But the Twins already rated last in Defensive Efficiency and Baseball Prospectus’ Park-Adjusted Defensive Efficiency last year, so it wasn’t like they could rank any lower. But they could get worse.

In the end, adding Willingham should help power a much-improved Twins offense — how could he not? You can appreciate the problem from Ryan’s perspective, because he was already tasked with shoring up an offense. The new problem is whether or not Willingham’s the latest poor addition to what might be a particularly bad defense lined up behind a pitching staff already well known for its pitch-to-contact tendencies. Come the season, it could be a summer of slugfests in the twin cities.

Read More: Kevin Slowey (P – COL), Daniel Turpen (P – MIN), Drew Pomeranz (P – COL), Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants

According to the official Twitter account of the Colorado Rockies, the Minnesota Twins will receive minor league reliever Daniel Turpen in return for RHP Kevin Slowey. As such, Turpen becomes the player to be named later (PTBNL) in Tuesday’s Slowey trade.

Turpen pitched 59 and 2/3 innings with the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate, sporting a worse-than-average 4.98 ERA and 5.04 FIP. Turpen, who spent time in the minors for both the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants during the 2010 season, turned 25 this past August.

Slowey, a former second round draft pick in the 2005 amateur draft, has played his entire career with the Minnesota Twins. As Brandon Warne of Fangraphs noted, Slowey is a fly ball pitcher who seems unlikely to flourish in the Rockies’ high-elevation home grounds, partly explaining why the Rockies were able to acquire him so cheaply:

To me, the move would have made sense for Seattle, St. Louis, or maybe even San Diego to make. In parks that suppress home runs/offense — and Target Field also does its share — Slowey has a chance to be a palpable third or fourth starter. In Denver, Slowey shouldn’t be expected to do more than to hold Drew Pomeranz’ place for a little while.

For more coverage of all things Denver sports, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Rockies, visit Purple Row. For more updates on the MLB Hot Stove, check out Baseball Nation.

DALLAS – The Minnesota Twins have finalized some business at the Winter Meetings, signing closer Matt Capps and adding infield depth through the waiver wire. But they could well leave Thursday without achieving their top objective, signing Michael Cuddyer.

With three days down and only the Rule 5 draft remaining, the Twins still don’t know whether Cuddyer, the team’s top draft pick in 1997, wants to return. General manager Terry Ryan did not meet with Cuddyer’s agent, Casey Close, today, mostly because short of an answer, there was no point.

“We know where each other stands,” Ryan said.

The Twins have an offer out to their longest tenured player, reportedly a three-year deal worth roughly $25 million, who would fill right field and a power spot in the lineup. Because Cuddyer would require the largest chunk of money for any free agent expenditure, the team is somewhat hamstrung until Cuddyer says yes or no, though Ryan said today the team has offers out to other players.

“I don’t know how they can possibly accept at the same minute,” he said.

The Winter Meetings end at the conclusion of Thursday’s Rule 5 draft. The Twins pick No. 2 and will undoubtedly fill the one remaining spot on their 40-man roster with a selection, hoping to catch the same lightning in a bottle that got them Johan Santana and Shane Mack. Add Capps and shortstop Pedro Florimon, claimed off waivers from Baltimore on Monday, and the Twins will leave Texas with three new players on the

40-man roster.

But Cuddyer is the lynchpin. He was the team’s lone all-star last season, has 66 homers the past three seasons and can play infield and outfield. Plus, until he gives them an answer, the Twins won’t know how much money they have left to spend, or whether to seriously pursue another outfielder through free agency (Jason Kubel, Josh Willingham) or trade.

The Twins are talking with Kubel’s agent, Joe Wolf, but Ryan acknowledged today re-signing Kubel and Cuddyer is impossible.

“It’s

not realistic to think we’re going to be able to bring back both,” he said. “I know that.”

Ryan said he anticipated resuming talks today “or the near future.” So, yes, the Twins are willing to wait a little longer, but only a little longer.

“They know where we stand, and in essence, I think they’d like to get something done here sooner rather than later, as well,” Ryan said about Cuddyer. “There is a point where everybody would like to have some finality about whether they’re coming back here.

“There’s no guarantee one way or the other; you could go into this thing all the way into February. There will be players that sign in February. That isn’t going to work in this situation.”

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Twins plan to add another bronze statue of a former player outside Target Field next year.

Twins spokesman Kevin Smith says the player has yet to be named. He would join statues of Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and the late Twins owner Carl Pohlad and his wife Eloise.

Smith says the Twins hope to unveil the new statue at the April 9th home opener against the Los Angeles Angels.

Smith also says TwinsFest is moving back to the Metrodome in January. The team’s annual fan festival was moved to the National Sports Center in Blaine this year after a heavy snowstorm crashed the Metrodome roof.