35-year old righty throwing closer Joe Nathan has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow which he may need Tommy John Surgery to correct. This is a huge blow to the Twins as Nathan is a dominating closer. He pitched in 70 games (0 starts) for the Twins last season in which he was 2-2 with 47 saves, a 2.10 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Nathan has pitched in 412 games (0 starts) in his six years for the Twins and he is 22-12 with 246 saves, a 1.87 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. No matter who the Twins decide to replace Nathan with there will likely be a huge drop in production at the end of games. 31-year old righty swinging Jon Rauch appears to be the leading candidate to replace Nathan as the closer. He pitched in 75 games (0 starts) for the Twins & D-Backs last season in which he was 7-3 with 2 saves, a 3.60 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Rauch has experience closing as he has 26 career saves. 31-year old Matt Guerrier pitched in 79 games (0 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 5-1 with 1 save, a 2.36 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He has 4 career saves and he will challenge Rauch for the closer’s job for the Twins in 2010. This is a huge blow to the Twins as Nathan was as dependable as a closer can be.

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 lost starting 3B Matt Tolbert due to a strained left oblique muscle. He could return to action in the post season later if the Twins somehow advance. He played in 2 games against the Yankees in this series and he was 1 for 5 (.200 avg). Brendan Harris will likely step in at 3B. That will make the Twins a better hitting team but weaker on defense. The Twins have added Brian Buscher to the active roster to replace Tolbert.

News surfaced last week that Minnesota Twins’ 3B Joe Crede was going to be done for the year with a back injury.  Crede has now announced he will be having surgery on his back, the third back surgery of his career.  This is unfortunate, as Crede is a talented 3B with a solid bat.  You have to think Crede doesn’t have much left in his career, as he has been battling back issues for years, as well as a slew of other injuries.  Crede batted .225 with 15 HR’s and 48 RBIs in 90 games for the Twins.  Crede only had a one year deal with the Twins, so I doubt he will be back in Minnesota next year.

Joe Crede has decided to call it a season due to his barking back. Crede played in 90 games for the Twins this season and he was 75 for 333 (.225 avg, .703 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 15 homers and 48 RBIs. The Twins will likely replace Crede with a platoon of Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher. Neither of these players have Crede’s glove or random power so he will be missed. Brendan Harris has played in 116 games for the Twins this season and he is 103 for 391 (.263 avg, .675 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 6 homers and 34 RBIs. Buscher has played in 58 games for the Twins this season and he is 31 for 131 (.237 avg, .678 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs.