The Twins have signed 30-year old righty reliever Brad Hennessey to a minor league deal. He did not pitch last season in the majors or the minors. Hennessey has pitched in 148 games (44 starts) in his major league career and he is 17-23 with 20 saves, a 4.69 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He recorded 19 saves in 2007 with the Giants although I’m quite sure that he won’t be in the running to replace Joe Nathan as the closer.

The Twins have signed 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Charlton Jimerson to a minor league deal. Jimerson played in 103 games in the Atlantic League (Independent ball) last season and he was 133 for 397 (.335 avg, .953 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 21 homers, 62 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. Before you get too excited about him though his career minor league numbers are not that impressive. Jimerson has played in 914 games in his minor league career and he is 878 for 3,403 (.258 avg, .767 OPS) with 530 runs scored, 144 homers, 459 RBIs and 261 stolen bases. Jimerson last played in the majors in 2008 with the Mariners. He has played in 31 games in his major league career and he is 4 for 9 (.444 avg, 1.556 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 2 RBIs. It never hurts to give a player like Jimerson a chance in spring training as he was once one of the more highly thought of prospects in the minors.

The Twins have lost 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jason Pridie on waivers to the Mets. They put Pridie on waivers to make room on the roster for Orlando Hudson. Pridie played in 1 game for the Twins last season but he didn’t get any at bats. He also played in 121 games in AAA-ball for the Twins last season and he was 136 for 513 (.265 avg, .677 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 9 homers, 53 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Pridie finishes his career with the Twins having played in 11 games in which he was 0 for 4 (.000 avg, .200 OPS) with 3 runs scored. The Twins won’t miss Pridie that much as they are deep in the outfield plus they needed to get rid of someone to sign Hudson.

The Twins have signed 34-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jacque Jones to a minor league deal. He took last season off. Jones last played in the majors in 2008 when he appeared in 42 games for the Marlins and Tigers in which he was 17 for 116 (.147 avg, .446 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. Jones played seven seasons for the Twins early in his career in which he appeared in 976 games and was 974 for 3,492 (.279 avg, .782 OPS) with 492 runs scored, 132 homers, 476 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. Jones has now played in 1,302 games in his major league career and he is 1,272 of 4,989 (.277 avg, .775 OPS) with 632 runs scored, 165 homers, 630 RBIs and 82 stolen bases. The Twins are deep in the outfield so it will be hard to Jones to make the opening day roster. But, he has indicated that he is willing to start the season in the minors if need be. In that case I really like this signing as it gives the Twins good organizational depth in the outfield.

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.