32-year old righty swinging Orlando Hudson will be the starting 2B for the Twins in 2010. He played in 149 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 156 for 551 (.283 avg, .774 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 9 homers, 62 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. What he did last season mirrors his career numbers so look for similar offensive numbers out of him in 2010. Hudson made 8 errors in 145 games at 2B last season while showing above average range. He is a Gold Glove type defender and he is a solid hitter so I really like this addition for the Twins as he should fit right in.

25-year old switch-hitting Alexi Casilla really tanked last season following up his solid 2008 for the Twins. He played in 80 games for the Twins last season and he was 46 for 228 (.202 avg, .539 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 17 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Casilla played o.k. in the field last season as he made 5 errors in 72 games while showing good range. Casilla will have to hold off Matt Tolbert this spring for a spot on the Twins’ bench in 2010.

27-year old switch-hitting Matt Tolbert also saw his performance drop for the Twins in 2009. He played in 71 games for the Twins last season and he was 46 for 198 (.232 avg, .611 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 2 homers, 19 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Tolbert made only 2 errors in 36 games at 2B last season for the Twins while showing out of this world range. He probably has an edge on Casilla for a bench job in 2010 because he’s more versatile in the field.

32-year old switch-hitting Nick Punto and 29-year old righty swinging Brendan Harris can both play 2B but they will probably be platooning at 3B in 2010. Punto played in 63 error-free games at 2B for the Twins last season while showing slightly below average range. Brendan Harris played in 11 error-free games at 2B last season for the Twins while showing below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: B

The Twins have signed 32-year old switch-hitting 2B Orlando Hudson. He played in 149 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 156 for 551 (.283 avg, .774 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 9 homers, 62 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hudson has now played in 1,014 games in his major league career and he is 1,035 for 3,670 (.282 avg, .778 OPS) with 493 runs scored, 77 homers, 434 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. Hudson has 4 Gold Gloves and he is a two time All-Star. Hudson will fit right in with the Twins as he is a solid hitter who plays outstanding defense.

Lefty starting pitcher Frank Viola was a very solid pitcher in his career with the Twins. He pitched in 260 games (259 starts) in his 8 years with the Twins and he was 112-93 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He is #7 all-time in strikeouts in Twins’ history with 1,214 and he is #9 all-time with 112 wins. But, Viola was never better for the Twins than he was in 1998 when he won the Cy Young Award in the A.L. He pitched in 35 games (all starts) for the Twins in 1998 and he was 24-7 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. It’s too bad the Twins couldn’t keep him just a little bit longer.

The Twins have signed 39-year old lefty swinging DH Jim Thome to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal with another $700,000 in possible incentives. Thome played in 124 games with the White Sox and Dodgers last season and he was 90 for 362 (.249 avg, .847 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 23 homers and 77 RBIs. He has now played in 2,284 games in which he is 2,138 for 7,706 (.277 avg, .961 OPS) with 1,486 runs scored, 564 homers and 1,565 RBIs. Thome is #12 all-time in the majors in homers (564), he’s #39 in RBIs (1,565) and he is #70 in runs scored (1,486). I like this signing for the Twins who are likely going to try to push Delmon Young into either being more productive or he will start sitting on the pine.

28-year old lefty swinging Justin Morneau was in line to be the MVP of the American League when he went down to injury missing the last month of the year. He played in 135 games for the Twins last season and he was 139 for 508 (.274 avg, .879 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 30 homers and 100 RBIs. Morneau is averaging 90.8 runs scored, 29.5 homers and 117.5 RBIs the last four years for the Twins and they are hoping for numbers like that out of him again in 2010. Morneau is a very underrated defensive player also as he only made 3 errors in 123 games at 1B last season. He makes all of the other infielders on the Twins better.

30-year old righty swinging Michael Cuddyer is the starting RF for the Twins but he also backs up Morneau. He played in 34 games at 1B last season for the Twins and he made 4 errors so he’s not so slick with the leather.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: A+