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+

Projected back-up catcher Jose Morales might not be ready for the start of the 2010 season for the Twins. He will undergo surgery on his right wrist next Friday which will cause him to miss 6-8 weeks. Unless the Twins sign someone (unlikely) then they will let Drew Butera and Wilson Ramos battle in spring training for the right to back up Joe Mauer until Morales is ready to return to action. 26-year old righty swinging Butera had a rough time in AAA-ball last season as he played in 99 games in which he was 63 for 298 (.211 avg, .560 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers and 25 RBIs. 22-year old righty swinging Wilson Ramos appears to have a much better bat than Butera does. He played in 59 games in Rookie+AA-ball in which he was 71 for 224 (.317 avg, .835 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 7 homers and 35 RBIs. The Twins hope that Morales is ready to go for opening day because they probably don’t want to rush Ramos or force Butera into a no-win situation.

The Twins have signed 29-year old lefty reliever/starter Mark McLemore to a minor league deal. He pitched in 18 games (all starts) last season in AAA-ball and he was 5-10 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. The Twins are likely looking at McLemore with the idea of using him out of the pen. In 2007, McLemore pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Astros in which he was 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He also whiffed 35 batters in 35 innings that year showing that he does have the stuff to get the job done as long as he is throwing strikes.