2:06pm: Joe Christensen and La Velle E. Neal III from the Minneapolis Star Tribune also spoke to Thome about a potential return in 2011. Christensen and Neal remind us that Thome has repeatedly stated how much he enjoyed Minnesota, and provide this quote from the man with 589 home runs to his name:
"I love the game. I'd love to come back, I really would, and Minnesota was a great place, so we'll see how the winter goes. It would be great."
My own speculation, but Thome's potential return to Minnesota might depend on the Twins' decision on Jason Kubel's $5.25MM club option for 2011. Kubel, expected to be the regular DH in 2010, was forced into right field when Michael Cuddyer switched to first base following Justin Morneau's season-ending concussion. That lineup juggle opened the door for Thome's strong 2010. After posting such impressive numbers, he may be able to find more playing time with a different contender if Kubel returns.
Kubel's .249/.323/.427 line doesn't look nearly as impressive as Thome's, but he gives the Twins the options of playing him in the outfield (though his career -18.9 UZR/150 in the outfield doesn't inspire confidence). He did hit .300/.369/.539 with 28 home runs in 2009, so he's capable of being a highly productive DH. The Twins hold a $350K buyout on Kubel's option.
9:14am: The Twins' season came to an abrupt and disappointing end last night, but it sounds like Jim Thome won't allow his career to suffer the same fate. Thome kept it short and sweet with Kelsie Smith and Brian Murphy of The St. Paul Pioneer Press after the game, saying "Yeah, I think I'm coming back [for 2011]." Last month he admitted that retirement would have been tempting if the Twins won it all.
The 40-year-old Thome became a folk hero in Minnesota this season, something that tends to happen when you hit .283/.412/.627 with 25 homers in 340 plate appearances. He absolutely annihilated righthanded pitching, hitting .302/.445/.698 with 19 homers off pitchers of the opposite hand. At .241/.298/.471, he wasn't all that terrible against lefties either. With 589 career homers to his credit, Thome should become the eighth member of the 600 home run club next summer.
Thome signed a one-year deal worth just $1.5MM last offseason (he did earn another $200K in bonuses tied to plate appearances), the bargain signing of the year. MLBTR's Mark Polishuk looked at Thome's free agent stock two weeks ago, and you have to figure it's pretty high right now.
MLBTR's Steve Adams also contributed to this post.
he should get up to 600HR’s next season.
maybe even 610, passing Slammin sammy.
I don’t even count Sosa’s record. Likewise for McGwire, Bonds and anyone else that has been linked to PED’s.
I don’t even count Sosa’s record. Likewise for McGwire, Bonds and anyone else that has been linked to PED’s.
maybe even 610, passing Slammin sammy.
Would be kind of nice to see him pass Sosa on the all-time home run list.
would be even nicer to see pass Alex Rodriguez.
unless A-Rod goes like 100 games without a HR lol
unless A-Rod goes like 100 games without a HR lol
would be even nicer to see pass Alex Rodriguez.
id like to see him in detroit.
Lol, if he came back it’d be w/ Minny.
why?
If he’s 11 HRs away from 600, you almost have to have another year. Thome can sneeze 11 more HRs in a couple months.
Thome could sneeze 11 in one month.
Thome could sneeze 11 in one month.
He should try to play for every team in the AL Central. Only the Royals and Tigers to go.
The Yankees should sign him. :3 they need a DH after the season.
People like you give Yankee fans a bad name…
no dude has a point…thome gets on base a ton(which is what the yankees want in a dh) and he would kill the ball in their park…That jet stream to right field has made NY a left handed hitters dream park…Also putting thome towards the middle would offer a TON of protection to arod,tex and cano…thome could easily blast 30+ if Yankee Stadium was his home park..its a smart move and would give big jim the best chance to win it all it would foronce be a super smart move by the yankee and you could not at all look at it as a typical yankees move..
no dude has a point…thome gets on base a ton(which is what the yankees want in a dh) and he would kill the ball in their park…That jet stream to right field has made NY a left handed hitters dream park…Also putting thome towards the middle would offer a TON of protection to arod,tex and cano…thome could easily blast 30+ if Yankee Stadium was his home park..its a smart move and would give big jim the best chance to win it all it would foronce be a super smart move by the yankee and you could not at all look at it as a typical yankees move..
People like you give Yankee fans a bad name…
Don’t rule out the Yankees. They could use a good left-handed bat, Berkman and Johnson aren’t likely to be back, he wouldn’t be expected to start or play everyday and most importantly it give him the best opportunity to win a World Series.
Also New Yankee Stadium sets up well to his HR swing. He might be too classy for the yankees though (jokes jokes).
That’s true, in that park he could reach 600 before June.
That’s true, in that park he could reach 600 before June.
Thome can play anywhere in the AL he wants. That man has outstanding character and an unrivaled clubhouse presence a la Sean Casey. Thome will get his 600 homers and play for a solid AL contender in 2011… And I look forward to popping the proverbial champagne for him. Class act all the way.
Agreed.
I’d be completely fine with signing Thome and trading Kubel. I like Kubel, but he’s no Thome. Thome can’t play all the time and the Twins would be wise to get a RH DH to platoon. This team could definitely use a good RH bat.
Hmm, I guess it did show up…anyway.
Hmm, I guess it did show up…anyway.
Not sure why this didn’t post the first time…
Bring Thome back and trade Kubel. Pick up a RH bat who can platoon with Thome cause he can’t hit lefties.
So then why not just keep Kubel and platoon Cuddy and Thome at the DH? Kubel in RF where he has been pretty much the whole season.
Moving Kubel or declining the option would save probably $4MM or so that could be allocated elsewhere. If you sign a lefty-masher like Jonny Gomes and platoon him at DH or occasionally spell the other corner outfielders, it’d be similar, if not better production at a cheaper price.
Besides, do you think Gardy would ever take Cuddyer out of the lineup by platooning him? If it took him five years to finally bench Punto, he’s damn sure not gonna get the hint on Cuddyer.
No I meant platooning Cuddyer and Thome at DH. Meaning Cuddyer would play DH against Lefties, and against righties, Thome would DH and Cuddyer would play RF.
Ah I misread that. Either way, it’s not ideal. Kubel has shown the ability to crush right-handers more so than Cuddyer. I think the Twins are better suited to move on from Kubel, even though the fans here are pretty fond of him as a whole.
Let Thome DH and platoon with a Jonny Gomes or Marcus Thames type of hitter, with Cuddyer serving out his (hopefully) last year in right field.
Although realistically, I can’t see the Twins moving on from Cuddy until he’s ready to retire, despite how rapidly his skills may deteriorate.
Yeah, I don’t see Cuddyer going anywhere either. He said he wants to be a Twin forever and for some reason, I think the Twins will fulfill that wish.
I wish he didn’t cost so much money. He’s way too expensive at 10.5 million dollars, but that seems to be the market (or it was) for players like him. If he was half the cost, I’d be fine.
I agree about Thames, he’s exactly who I was thinking of. We can’t have two guys who can’t hit lefties: Thome & Kubel. And I would take Thome over Kubel any day. Thames likely would come at half the price of Kubel too.
I’d prefer Gomes just because he can move a little better on the bases and in the field, but he’s got a $1.75MM option with the Reds that they may very well pick up, so he might not even be an option.
Eesh, I retract my own statement about Gomes’ fielding. I remembered he posted decent LF numbers in 2009 so I thought he could be at least league average. Looks like that year was a statistical anomaly. Either way, I bet he still moves better than Thames, but Thames has more power. It’s a wash, either is a solid DH platoon candidate/emergency corner OF.
I wouldn’t mind any RH that fits, whether we keep Kubel or Thome, we need a RH bat in there.
I’d prefer Gomes just because he can move a little better on the bases and in the field, but he’s got a $1.75MM option with the Reds that they may very well pick up, so he might not even be an option.
No I meant platooning Cuddyer and Thome at DH. Meaning Cuddyer would play DH against Lefties, and against righties, Thome would DH and Cuddyer would play RF.
Moving Kubel or declining the option would save probably $4MM or so that could be allocated elsewhere. If you sign a lefty-masher like Jonny Gomes and platoon him at DH or occasionally spell the other corner outfielders, it’d be similar, if not better production at a cheaper price.
Besides, do you think Gardy would ever take Cuddyer out of the lineup by platooning him? If it took him five years to finally bench Punto, he’s damn sure not gonna get the hint on Cuddyer.
I could see Thome playing til 2012 if he wanted to (and his health permitted). If he doesn’t go back to the Twins, he’d be a great fit for the Yankees. That short porch in Yankee Stadium has his name on it, and if he stayed healthy all year, would 25-30 HR be completely out of the question?
Thome should get some MVP votes this year, regardless. He’s earned them.
Since he got 25 this year, I don’t think +30 plus in Yankee Stadium would be out of the question. Though I’d hate to see him as a Yankee.
i dont think 40+ would be out of the question, but he would have to get full time duties at DH, remember he didnt get a whole lot of at bats to begin the season, he only started to be full time with Justin went down
That’s because he can’t be a full time player anymore. He had a lot of nagging back stuff that took him out of the lineup when the Twins wanted him in. They played him perfectly to reduce injury as much as they could. Thome even admits he can’t go full time anymore.
i dont think 40+ would be out of the question, but he would have to get full time duties at DH, remember he didnt get a whole lot of at bats to begin the season, he only started to be full time with Justin went down
Since he got 25 this year, I don’t think +30 plus in Yankee Stadium would be out of the question. Though I’d hate to see him as a Yankee.
Dude!!! Oakland man!
Dude!!! Oakland man!
Seeing the type of guy thome is and depending on what the indians can do with haffner, I could see him going there to finish his career where it started…He seems like the type to do that…I would love to see him in either a yankees uni(gives him the best chance to finally freaking win one) or in a sox uni(me being a whitesox fan) I would bet if kenny williams offers him a contract he signs it seeing as he stated he wanted to be there this past year(stupid ozzie and kenny) its his home town team and closest to his family i could see kenny saying “he look jim, we screwed up last year, would you like to be our DH again?” and he could split time with vicedio as DH
Seeing the type of guy thome is and depending on what the indians can do with haffner, I could see him going there to finish his career where it started…He seems like the type to do that…I would love to see him in either a yankees uni(gives him the best chance to finally freaking win one) or in a sox uni(me being a whitesox fan) I would bet if kenny williams offers him a contract he signs it seeing as he stated he wanted to be there this past year(stupid ozzie and kenny) its his home town team and closest to his family i could see kenny saying “he look jim, we screwed up last year, would you like to be our DH again?” and he could split time with vicedio as DH
I have to agree that the best option for the Twins would be to bring back Thome and find a RH platoon option. This would mean the end of Kubel in MN, but perhaps they could still pick up his option and send him to another team. Great guy and as mentioned somewhat of a fan favorite, but not needed if Thome is back. Thames and Gomes have been mentioned as possibilites, but there are plenty of options: Troy Glaus, Andrew Jones, Jose Guillen, even Magglio Ordonez and Paul Konerko (longer shots). At least 1 or 2 of those guys would be available late in free agency similar to Thome last year.
The lineup would still be lefty heavy (Mauer, Morneau, Thome), but hopefully the addition plus Delmon Young continuing where he left off would even it out.
Konerko and Ordonez aren’t going to be platooning. Jose Guillen is barely better against left-handed pitching than right-handed pitching. Jones is a semi-reasonable option in that he can backup at all three outfield spots, but at this point he’s not really a guarantee to be better against lefties than Thome already is.
I did say that Konerko and Ordonez are long shots, but if someone like Jermaine Dye doesn’t even get signed in 2010, there is the possibility a guy like Konerko or Ordonez would be in a situation like Thome was last year. Konerko does have the ability to play 1B which gives him more signability, but his defense really dropped off this year (-15.4 UZR).