The Twins have signed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Ben Hendrickson to a minor league deal. Hendrickson pitched in 29 games (27 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 10-8 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has also pitched in 14 games (12 starts) in his major league career in which he is 1-10 with a 7.41 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Hendrickson will likely join Sean Henn and R.A. Dickey in AAA ball in 2009. Cross your fingers and hope the Twins never need any one of those guys.

The Twins have signed 30-year old righty swinging 3B Joe Crede to a 1-year, $2.5 million dollar contract with $4.5 million dollars in possible incentive bonuses. Crede played in 97 games for the White Sox last season and he was 83 for 335 (.248 avg, .774 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 17 homers and 55 RBIs. Crede has now played in 798 games as a major leaguer and he is 712 for 2,768 (.257 avg, .753 OPS) with 350 runs scored, 125 homers and 422 RBIs. The only thing that has kept Crede back from turning into a superstar is his back which often causes him to miss time. Brian Buscher is the Twins’ player getting the big shaft here as he finally earned a starting job until Crede was signed. Still, this was a good move for the Twins.

27-year old lefty swinging 1B Justin Morneau is the rock of the lineup for the Twins. He played in 163 games for the Twins last season and he was 187 for 623 (.300 avg, .873 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 23 homers and 129 RBIs. Morneau has played in 477 games the last three seasons in which he has averaged 92.7 runs scored, 26 homers and 123.3 RBIs per year. His bat is his strength but he is also a good defender making only four errors in 155 games in 2008. Look for Morneau to battle again for the MVP Award in the American League this season especially if he has some protection in the batting order.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: A

The Twins have lost 29-year old righty reliever Bobby Korecky on waivers to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Korecky pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 2-0 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He also pitched in 53 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 6-5 with 26 saves, a 2.91 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. This might come back to haunt the Twins down the road as Korecky did flash some ability last season.

The Twins have three solid catchers set up for the 2009 season. Of course, it all starts with 25-year old lefty swinging Joe Mauer who is the star of this group. He had a kidney problem taken care of over the winter and the Twins hope he will be ready to go on opening day. Mauer played in 146 games for the Twins last season and he was 176 for 536 (.328 avg, .864 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 9 homers and 85 RBIs. He also is a solid defender as he threw out 18 of 69 (26%) basestealers while Twins’ pitchers had a 4.22 ERA with him behind the dish. Mauer is probably the best all-around catcher in the major leagues right now and he will be a force for the Twins again in 2009.

37-year old righty swining Mike Redmond is one of the most underrated backup catchers in all of baseball. He played in 38 games for the Twins last season and he was 37 for 129 (.287 avg, .653 OPS) with 14 runs scored and 12 RBIs. Twins’ pitchers had a 4.02 ERA with Redmond catching, but, he only threw out 3 of 21 (14%) potential basestealers. Redmond’s weaknesses get exposed when he forced into a lot of playing time but he’s still a good backup catcher.

25-year old switch hitting Jose Morales will probably start the season in AAA-ball unless Mauer or Redmond gets injured in spring training. He played in 54 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 62 for 197 (.315 avg, .774 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 4 homers and 15 RBIs. Morales did play in one game for the Twins in 2007 and he was 3 for 3 with a run scored and a double. It was his only major league game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: A