The Minnesota Twins are in good shape at 2B for 2010
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 don’t have any options on Alexi Casilla, so unless they can trade him, you can look for the Twins to protect him and send Matt Tolbert to AAA Rochester in the spring.
Casilla is young and has a lot of upside, so if the Twins can get some good prospects for him, it wouldn’t surprise us to see the Twins trade him.
If they keep Casilla, he is really only your back up 2nd baseman. Punto is your true utility guy, as he has the ability to play 2nd, short and 3rd well. Harris can fill all those spots as well, but his strengths so far have been 2nd and 3rd.
I’m not as high on Casilla as you are. I think they will trade him as long as Hudson gets through spring training healthy. I think Punto and Harris are going to be needed at 3B so Casilla might have to learn how to play shortstop this spring if he wants to make the Twins.