The Twins will likely be on the hunt for a 3B and possibly a shorstop in free agency. Casey Blake is the top target at 3B but he will be pretty expensive. Fallback options could include steady vets like Rich Aurilia or Aaron Boone. At shortstop it just depends on what the Twins are willing to spend. If they want to throw some cash around then Rafael Furcal or Orlando Cabrera make sense. If they want to go the cheaper route than Ramon Vazquez, Juan Uribe, Felipe Lopez, Cesar Izturis or Omar Vizquel make sense. The Twins can definately also use righty relief hep in the bullpen. Luis Ayala, Brandon Lyon or David Weathers make sense for the Twins. They could also take a flier on Chad Cordero who was injured most of last season.

The Twins will be without 28-year old righty reliever Pat Neshek in 2009 as he recovers from Tommy John Surgery. This is a big blow to the Twins’ bullpen as Neshek has been a very effective set-up man in his major league career. He pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In three years with the Twins, Neshek has pitched in 121 games (0 starts) in which he is 11-5 with a 2.91 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. In 120.2 career innings in the majors, Neshek has only allowed 79 hits while whiffing 142 batters showing how nasty his stuff really is.