The Twins agreed to sign Ryan Doumit to a one-year deal, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick and Doumit's agency, Sosnick/Cobbe Sports (Twitter link). The deal is worth $3MM and includes performance bonuses, according to Crasnick. The Twins officially announced the agreement today.
The 30-year-old posted a .303/.353/.477 line in 236 plate appearances for the Pirates in 2011. His role with the Twins figures to depend on the health of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. He can catch, play first base or, if both Mauer and Morneau are healthy, contribute as a DH or right fielder. GM Terry Ryan said during today's press conference, "First and foremost, we consider Ryan a catcher." Doumit's versatility is an added bonus.
Doumit, a Type B free agent, will lead to a compensatory draft pick for the Pirates in 2012. The Pirates benefit by Doumit signing early, as they probably would not have offered arbitration. Doumit received multiple contract offers this offseason, but was intrigued by the American League.
Twins GM Terry Ryan has been busy since assuming leadership of the baseball operations department earlier this month. Minnesota signed infielder Jamey Carroll to a two-year, $6.75MM deal last week.
Huh, I guess he was all about the club and not the cash.
sdsu
good fit
Anyone else get the feeling that he could have been had for significantly less than $3 mil?
Nope.. Good pickup if healthy. Can play several positions and other than Shoppach, about the best backup C out there.
Twins get an “A” on this one.
David Ross > Shoppach
Not to mention that he can save Mauer from a little more wear and tear behind the plate.
Just because he HAS played several positions doesn’t mean he CAN play several positions.
Doumit can’t throw out my Grandmother and can’t play anywhere but DH can hit a little.
Twins fans will have a new Cuddyer. Someone who WILL play anywhere but can’t play any position well. This ought to help the league’s worst defense!!
Cuddyer actually plays RF quite well.
Too bad he can’t throw out a runner to save his life.
They are not asking the guy to play 120+ games everyone.. This guy is a backup catcher they signed to play couple of times a week and fill in at 1b and DH when needed and they got him on the cheap. Why fans from other teams are knocking this outright swindle of a deal is beyond me.
They are knocking this because im sure some of them are Pirate fans like myself and know for a fact that it is impossible for this guy to stay healthy. The potential is there for every major leaguer but unfortunately he cant seem to stay healthy long enough to find it. Good luck with him and you def could have got him for less than 3 mil
…considering he already turned down $3m from the Dodgers… no, no they could not have.
Not that I care but just because one team was turned down for a certain amount doesn’t mean anything. Every year some player over values himself, doesnt see interest . and signs for less than expected. If the Twins waited a while they might have run the risk of losing him but they. or someone else might have got him a lot cheaper.
Ugh, I was being half sarcastic and half real. I know his D is terrible but I actually think it’s a decent fit for him and the Twins since there is a DH spot for him to fill if needed be.
career throw out percentage of .25/ over that same span the league average .28 seems reasonable for a guy who won’t be expected to catch more than twice a week
He was terrible at defense, especially in the outfield. In 2010, he terribly misjudged a popup in shallow right field and his throwing arm is terrible.
Still, he has pop in his bat and could fill in for Justin Morneau occasionallt
Is he just going to DH? Or is he going to be more of a role player (like 1st, C, RF, LF, etc)?
Edit: Question answered.
Did you read the article? It seems pretty clear to me that he will be used by the Twins at several positions, in a true utilitarian maximization of Doumit’s abilities.
And before you ask, yes, he would have been a nice fit on the Phillies.
When I posted this it just had the first paragraph.
Hey, Ryan…we get it, okay. You don’t like Brian Schneider.
What’s with all the catchers signing early? Treanor, Laird, Schneider, Doumit…
Molina
There’s only so many Major League catching jobs out there, boss.
A healthy Mauer plus Doumit as backup C gives very good offensive production from the catcher spot.
Absolutely right.
A bit leary on his B A and it being consistent …
Career BA .271 & hasn’t been below .250 since 2006, also career OPS: .777
very good deal for the twins, i like what they are doing this offseason so far
Nice fit … a little DH,1B,C good value for Twins
this is awesome news for the Twins!
Doumit could play 90 games this year between backing up: Mauer, Morneau, RF, & DH. Plus it is always nice to have a backup catcher who can play other positions too.
I doubt he would of signed if he didnt think he could play atleast 120. Considering he turned down the dodgers offer for the same amount it comes down to playing time. Dont forget that beyond Mauer and Morneau’s health issues, the twins are likely to lose both Kubel and Cuddyer.
I still think they’ll sign at least one more corner OF – maybe two, maybe three. Doumit provides a great fit either way
Considering how absurd some of the contracts are going to be and the lack of over all talent in the FA market i’m guessing they sign a platoon OF with some upside. Cody Ross or Ludwick maybe.
haven’t thought about those two but I like them as well.
Don’t forget to factor in the 80 games he’ll miss due to injury. He’s only played 90+ games twice in his 7 year career.
This sees like a pretty smart signing. Two in a row, no less.
Interesting, I wouldn’t have expected the Twins. I guess they’re not 100% confident in Mauer and Morneau’s health.
Nor should they be.
As a life-long Pirates fan, trust me when I say that you don’t want Doumit anywhere near 1B and you will be nervous when you puts on the armour as well.
He is a bat without a defensive position and will be much better suited as a DH than any defensive position.
Thanks for the heads up ….
makes me feel better about the Giants not getting him, I thought he’d be a good fit for us…carroll too!
Glad the Dodgers didn’t get him, but then again we ended up with worse, Treanor is no prize either.
“you will be nervous when you puts on the armour as well.”
Not any worse than Napoli and we saw how good Texas did in 2011 with him behind the plate.
Twins should be ok with Doumit, just worry about keeping him on the field for 50+ games along with Mauer healthy all season.
I would say Doumit is significantly worse than Napoli.
I’d be willing to take a little sacrifice in defense if Doumit was hitting .320 and 30 HR.
Used to call him “Oumit” because he has no D.
Ha!
I prefer “DOH!mit”
Great news, and a great day to be a Twins fan.
It’s not exactly Albert Pujols we’re talking about here.
Then again, it’s not exactly Drew Butera we’re talking about here either.
A good signing by the Twins, but far from earth-shattering… which would have been the case if the Twins signed Prince Fielder.
Did I mention anything about this signing being earth-shattering?
Nope, okay so where did I talk about Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder?
The back up cather postion was a huge disapointment last year, and it is great to see our GM address this issue. If Doumit get close to his ’11 stats in the ’12 season, then it IS great news, and it IS a great day to be a Twins fan.
Wow. A 31 year old, injury prone, stone handed backup catcher, and a 38 year old career utility player, who has never played even half the games at short in any season to be the everyday SS! Yep, GREAT DAYS for Twins fans LMFAO
you seem like you’re wound a little tight. can’t a fan just be happy with some decent moves after years of fail?
just because you’re not happy with your life and situation doesn’t mean others can’t
I hope the Twins still sign/trade for another backup Catcher leaving Doumit to play the majority of the time at DH while occasionally filling in at 1B, C and OF. This is also nice insurance should Morneau have further concussion issues. Probably means that the Twins won’t re-sign Cuddyer though.
Wow first Jamey Carroll and now Ryan Doumit. Twins are really targeting some nice solid players this offseason. It’s nice to see a team address areas of weakness in a way that is both economical and statistically appealing.
Next we gotta make that deal with Colorado and get either Brothers or Betancourt in a deal ivolving sending them Slowey or Blackburned
Gardy is in love with Blackburn so that leaves Slowey, and I really don’t think Colorado is that stupid.
Colorado actually wanted slowey last season, why I don’t know but they approached Smith about him.
Twins now need to sign a durable starting pitcher, and move Brian Deunsing to the bullpen. That would pretty much kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
Well… Here is an idea after the kudos thus far to the nice FA sign they made today..
Rather than pursue rubbish throwers such as Blackburn,Slowy, Baker etc.. In the draft and sign FA like Pavano who can’t break a pane of glass with their FB.. begin drafting people that throw a weeeee bit harder and maybe get more consistency as just a general rule.
Granted it does not always hold true, but having someone who can throw 92 or so helps at least a little as compared to a SP on the mound who cannot even hit 90 sometimes as the Twins have a couple of.
All SP will not fit into that Jim Kaat mold and have success like that throwing slow and have wondered why the Twins have continued to draft/develop these types of SP for so long.
Francisco Liriano throws about 92, and at times Baker reaches 94. Baker was our best pitcher last year and is definetely not rubbish, while Pavano was our workhorse to help save our horrible bullpen from any further embarrasement. If our rotation looked like this we would be just fine. (If they stayed healthy)
1. Edwin Jackson
2. Carl Pavano
3. Scott Baker
4. Francisco Liriano
5. Nick Blackburn / Anthony Swarzak
I understand your theory, and I agree. Pitching to contact is a good way to coach if you have a great defense, which we don’t. I’m not saying I love our starting pitchers, but our budget is limited, and I don’t see us being able to sign more than one starter from free agency at this time. Edwin Jackson IMO would be a great fit in our rotation.
If I’m the Twins, and I have to deal with the health concerns of Morneau and Mauer, it would make me kind of nervous signing another oft injured player to back up my oft injured players.
That being said, I’m a Tigers fan and wanted the Tigers to sign Doumit to back up Avila. I don’t think DD wanted to pay Avila’s backup 5 times more than Avila, however.
why didn’t he sign with the Dodgers he rejected their offer for 1 yr 3 millon and he accepted the twins for the same amount.
For the same amount, he probably chose the location he preferred.
Plus, the Twins can offer him the DH spot, at least occasionally, which could help him stay healthy and build his value for next off season.
Fantastic signing and perfect fit. Well done, Twins.
Doumit can catch in the sense that he’s physically capable of crouching behind the plate and managing to semi-consistently have the pitch end up in his glove, but the guy can’t catch at anything approaching a major-league-caliber level. Can’t frame to save his life, horrible receiver, can’t throw out baserunners. If he’s really their backup answer to Mauer, the Twins are going to have some problems. I’d expect a legitimate backup catcher to be signed in the foreseeable future and Doumit to be 90% a DH/PH and occasionally a RF or 1B.
Compared to Butera he is a serviceable back-up catcher.
I’d take Butera in a nanosecond.
I don’t think you realize just how awful Doumit as at catching.
I don’t think you realize just how awful Butera is at hitting…he hit .167 last year
Dang it. You beat me to it.
Go to Baseball Prospectus and look up the article “Spinning Yarn: Removing the Mask.” (requires a membership, but worth it IMO) Then scroll to the very last name in the table sorted by framing runs above average and find Ryan Doumit in a value-demolishing last place slot.
He’s probably the worst defensive catcher in major league baseball in the last half-decade. His glove is worse than Butera’s bat, by a wide wide margin.
I don’t care. You cannot have a person like Butera in your lineup. It’s like having a pitcher in an American League lineup. Also, Butera’s defense is not nearly good enough to justify that average. You have to realize what it was like watching Butera as your starting catcher for over half the season. It was unbearable. You go from one of the best hitting catchers ever to a guy who has no chance of ever hitting above the Mendoza line in his career. It’s like going from filet mignon to squirrel.
Yeah. I’m a Tigers fan, and I actually started to feel bad for you guys late in the season, because we have known what that feels like.
filet mignon to squirrel, haha A+
I’m sorry, I guess I forgot to realize that the runs that Doumit gives up with his poor all-around framing and catching were worth less than the runs he creates with his bat.
Geeze, it’s like people think that I love Butera and think Doumit’s worthless. Butera sucks, but I’d rather have him catching than have Doumit catching, because Doumit sucks at catching and is a good enough hitter to be far more valuable in RF or at DH than as an atrocious backup catcher.
by a wide margin really? Butera was in the bottom two of every hitting statistic regardless of position(min 225 at bats) and it is not like Doumit will be catching every game…Buetera fWAR -.8, Doumit fWAR 1.8
fWAR is a horrible measure of catcher value.
Butera 11 passed balls in 2 seasons, Doumit 35 in 7 seasons seems pretty even – League average for caught stealing is .28, Butera is at .36, Doumit at .25 in far more chances.
Batting Doumit line: .271/.334/.442
Batting Butera line: .178/.220/.261
I choose Doumit and league average runners caught stealing over Butera and not much better defense with no hope of offense.
And all of those stats are completely ignoring the value of framing. Really, has ANYBODY even bothered to look at the Baseball Prospectus post I referenced? Goodness gracious.
that info is not applicable to the Twins staff cause we don’t have strikeout pitchers
1) Lulz
2) Control pitchers like the Twins have in their rotation rely on hitting the edges of the zone for called strikes to put themselves in favorable counts. Their fringey stuff doesn’t work in the middle of the plate like strikeout pitchers who can blow a 95 mph fastball by someone if they need a strike in a 2-0 count. When you don’t get many swings and misses, you ESPECIALLY need called strikes. Not the opposite.
3) Let’s look at data by count, completely negating situations in which the called strikes or balls will directly result in a strikeout or walk. 2011 by-count splits for all big-league hitters (from B-R):
First pitch.
After 1-0 count: .272/.383/.438, .821 OPS
After 0-1 count: .225/.265/.341, .606 OPS
Assuming strike 1.
After 1-1 count: .237/.304/.366, .671 OPS
After 0-2 count: .169/.198/.253, .451 OPS
Assuming ball 1.
After 2-0 count: .289/.508/.481, .989 OPS
After 1-1 count: .237/.304/.366, .671 OPS
Assuming 1-1 count.
After 2-1 count: .257/.388/.410, .797 OPS
After 1-2 count: .180/.227/.274, .502 OPS
Assuming 2-0 count.
After 3-0 count: .294/.751/.499, 1.250 OPS
After 2-1 count: .257/.388/.410, .797 OPS
Assuming 2-1 count.
After 2-2 count: .195/.289/.301, .590 OPS
After 3-1 count: .279/.578/.475, 1.053 OPS
Cite the subjective, misleading notion of how “painful” Butera is to watch at the plate all you want, but these numbers don’t lie. The value of framing in catchers is enormous, regardless of the type of pitching staff a team has assembled. Butera affects three or four plate appearances per game with his poor bat, whereas Doumit affects every plate appearance the other team has in a game in remarkable fashion. Put Doumit behind the plate at your own risk.
So happy for Ryan! The Twins got a great pickup..versatile and if he can stay healthy he can be a HUGE asset for them He is a good guy who did his best while with the Bucs just had too many injuries. Hope he can keep those legs healthy and especially stay away from the blows to the head. I couldn’t be happier for him and as he leaves “the burgh” behind I hope he does so with at least SOME happy memories! I know I have many of his time here! Best of luck Doooooooy and I for one will miss ya!
pretty decent hitter,,,can’t play defense in ANY position, but wth….a stick is a stick
Think he was a little more interested in a place that he would have the option to DH as well as play other positions. Gives him a chance to play on regular basis since he provides them so many places to play him. I think he will surprise a lot of people who beat him up and wanted him out of Pittsburgh. I hope he can stay healthy and prove the type of player he can still be. Smart to take a one yr contract cause if he has the kind of year he is capable of having with the bat he may be looking at a much better deal next yr!! Good Deal Ryan…Good luck too!!
Must be nice to be able to sit down and think…”hmm should I play for the Dodgers, M’s, Twins? Lets try Twins this year!”
What I think about at work… “hmm should I eat at Subway, Taco Bell, or save my cash?”
I hear ya.
I would imagine a lineup looking something like this:
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Jamey Carroll, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Ryan Doumit, DH
6. Danny Valencia
7. Chris Parmelee?, RF
8. Alexi Casilla, 2B
9. Ben Revere, LF
Not bad, assuming Mauer, Morneau and Span are healthy. If Terry Ryan could sign someone like Josh Willingham to play RF, even better. The defensive prowess of Span and Revere would cover the liability of Doumit or someone like Willingham in RF.
I hope the Twins manage to sign both Kubel and Willingham.
together they will probably cost the same as Cuddyer. I’ll take both of them and Dejesus
On further review it looks like they could have all three for about 18 million. That’s only 7 million more than Cuddyer will likely command for himself
not bad? I’d say that’s one of the worst lineups in the league
I got to agree. Power production from only 1 spot in the lineup (that’s if Morneau is healthy). 6-8 place hitters wouldn’t be regulars anywhere else in the majors.
Danny Valencia is definetely worthy of being in a starting lineup.
You missed the “assuming Mauer, Morneau and Span are healthy.” Morneau and Mauer were back to back MVPs prior to their injuries and Span is a great lead-off hitter. I will agree that if they aren’t playing well it is a pretty bad lineup.
sorry-ASSUMING Mauer, Morneau and Span stay healthy, that is STILL one of the worst lineups in the league. This is even discounting the fact that the chance of all three staying healthy is about as good a chance as me becoming the commissioner of baseball.
Even if Mauer and Morneau have MVP-type seasons, there is no talent around them at all. Denard Span is overrated
Did you not notice the “assuming Mauer, Morneau and Span are healthy.” part? For the exception of Chris Parmelee and Ryan Doumit occupying starting positions in his lineup it looks very good. My lineup-
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Jamey Carroll, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Josh Willingham, RF
6. Jason Kubel, DH
7. Danny Valencia, 3B
8. Alexi Casilla, 2B
9. Ben Revere, LF
There’s no way Revere bats 9th.
the Twins have already declared they plan on batting him ninth as a “second leadoff man”. The only way he doesn’t bat ninth is if Tolbert or Butera is playing, or if Span takes a game off
I could see him occasionally batting #2, but Carroll has a better OBP. No way he takes a healthy Span’s lead-off spot.
Where would you put him?
I don’t see them putting Revere in between Span and Mauer. That would be 4 consecutive lefties at the top of the lineup, possibly 5, if Kubel returns.
That line-up could use a power bat or two or three. That line-up sucks.
“Power bat” is a relative term with spacious Target Field. The Twins need Doubles hitters.
There’s a lot of excitement regarding Doumit’s versatility… While it would be great to have his bat backing people up at C, 1B, corner OF, he stinks at defense. He is below average at catcher, fairly significantly. He is also below average in RF, has never played left, and has been putrid at 1B. But, for $3M, I like it.
Doumit’s role will also depend on the health of Doumit, since he seems to miss about 3 months every year.
Doumit’s role will even more so depend on the health of Mauer and Morneau.
Why am I not surprised that the Orioles showed nothing here.
Why am I even mad, you would think after 14 year of “Gross Incompetence”, well maybe 13, Pat Gillick’s last year with them O’s was a lost year, I would be numb to the pain.
I realize it’s just a Back-Up catcher or whatever you want to call Doumit. Even if the Orioles had Branch Rickey as their GM, as long as Peter Angelos is the Owner of the Orioles, this team will go nowhere! 3 Million dollars taxes and tags was very reasonable for Doumit, I am very disappointed by this!
Doumit would offer little for the O’s. The O’s need pitching or an impact bat. Doumit is neither.
I thought the same thing. Primary DH who backs up Wieters every once and a while. Especally with the post from Douquette saying he was going to fill the bench this week. Oh well maybe the Astros will trade us Tatum back.jk
Smart signings. That’s what happens when you get rid of Bill Smith
This has to be one of the best signings by the Twins in recent years. At least one of the most logical.
Hell I might even change my name now.
Maybe there is hope for 2012 after all.
Thank you Terry and Wayne.
I have to admit, I do not remember Terry Ryan being this aggressive during his original tenure.
Kudos on the win now mentality.
I was thinking the same thing. It appears that he’s aggressively trying to fix the cluster____ that his handpicked successor left behind.
(Disqus Fail)
Good signing for the Twins…
I know it’s early, but I can’t help but feel a little nervous for the Angels… so far, 4 capable backup catchers have been taken off the board, and so far the only player they’ve been linked to is a pitcher who’s asking price is so high, he has the potential to be Barry Zito Pt. 2… Hmmm….
Am I missing something here? You guys are acting as if Twins signed the best free agent out there. It’s Ryan freaking Doumit!
the Twins just added a piece that they were sorely lacking and a guy with great upside given a full complement of AB for only 1 yr/3 MIL. You get a servicable backup (who can hit, get on base, and drive in runs) for our two questionable superstars.
Did you ever actually see No-mit play? You might not be so excited if you had.
If you ever saw Drew Butera play you’d be orgasmic about having Doumit here.
What you are actually getting is an injury plagued backup for two injury plagued superstars. Those letters down quite add up to Dependable to me…
You overpaid and he is a bench player at best.
a pretty good bench player (career OPS of .777) than since he has had 8 or more hrs each of the last 5 seasons, and he has the ability to go 15-75 with enough at-bats
Well if anyone knows about overpaying, its the Tigers.
52 Mil for a full time DH
15 Mil for a set up man
And my personal favorite $137 Million for a last place finish in 2008 and a $115 Million dollar payroll for an epic collapse
Are you referring to this season as an epic collapse? They cruised into the postseason and then beat the favored Yankees on the road. That sounds like an excellent season to me.
Actually I was referring to 2009
THAT COLLAPSE
(hehe)
Oh, I see. Sorry.
When I think of Tigers collapsing, I think of the 8 or 9 errors in the 2006 World Series.
Twins lost 99 games this year with a payroll above $100MM. It’s a two way street.
A full time DH that finished in the top 5 in batting and can hit 30 hrs? And a setup man that we dont get to the ALCS without? Is thoes are really bad deals?
Or, a bargain for a player that could hit 20 HRs with the ability to stay healthy while DHing.
I still want to see us use Span to get Storen and Morse from Nats and then use cheap money to sign DeJesus or Crisp to play CF and spend less money than it’d cost for Kubel &/or Cuddyer to get Willingham.
Crisp/DeJesus CF
Carroll SS/2B
Mauer C/1B
Willingham RF
Morneau 1B/DH
Morse DH/1B
Valencia 3B
Casilla 2B/SS
Revere LF/CF
Bench: Doumit (C,1B, RF), Plouffe (RF, LF, SS, 1B), Hughes (2B, 3B, 1B), Tosoni (LF, RF), final bench spot: ???
So the Nats wouldn’t trade the Twins Storen and a C/B- prospect for Span, but are now going to trade Morse and Storen for Span?
Maybe the Nats feel bad about the Capps trade. lol
its been bandied about here before – the Nats are interested in pursuing Prince Fielder, making Morse expendable. If we can’t get him we can’t, but if they do pursue Fielder he might be available – I also know we’d have to throw something else into the deal too.
Maybe they’ll take Nishi off our hands 🙂
We either spend 2-5/mil for Crisp/DeJesus and deal Span for a closer or
The other option is keep Span and spend 4-5/mil year for mediocre closer or 9-10/mil year for good closer.
Seems like simple math to me.
In fact we can sign Willingham & DeJesus for the same 9/10 million it’ll cost to sign a legitimately capable closer of course we could re-up Nathan for 7+/mil or sign a Francisco type for 4-5/mil but neither is as good as Storen.
Morse is their LF. For now. Prince would not affect that whatsoever.
I think a certain Mr. Harper might have something to say about that
By the time Harper comes up, LaRoche might leave and Morse moves to 1B. And once again, we are not interested in prince or pujols this off-season. Unless either of these two people sign a one-year deal and become a free agent at the end of 2012 season with Nats officially having an opening, I don’t see them on our team.
Sorry, but it is hard to seriously consider your proposed lineup card when your proposed trade between the Nats and Twins is scratch-your-head-til-it-bleeds lunacy!
Pipe Dream.
you see how morse did this year? Just span for him? along with storen? i dont think that would even work in MLB the show, or MLB 2k11
Having watched No-mit for many years here in Pittsburgh, he has a good bat for a catcher, that is all. He cannot stay healthy thru an entire season. His best position is catcher and he is well below average at that position and can’t throw out a base runner to save his life. You do not want to see him in RF, he has no range whatsoever. He has played 1B like twice if I remember correctly and that was an adventure. If the Twins play him anywhere except DH, they will live to regret it.
1B will be in a pinch only we have Morneau, Mauer, Hughes, Plouffe, all of whom can play 1B, if he plays there it will be a pinch. With Span & Revere starting we could put John Kruk in RF and be fine rangewise
Not true. Right field is not an easy position at Target Field, the alleys are huge, plus runners can go first to third on Revere even when he plays left.
other guys I’d like to see us pursue on the cheap:
SP: Erik Bedard, Edwin Jackson, Aaron Harang, Chris Young
RP: John Grabow, Frank Francisco, Mike Wuertz
Jackson only one on that list that should cost more than 7/mil/yr.
Get Bedard & another on that list for combined 9 mil, and get all three relievers for combined 6.5 mil.
Francisco alone made $4 million last year.
yeah and he’ll get 4 mil this year, wuertz gets a MiLB contract, and Grabow gets 1-1.5/mil
Frankie has a career GB/FB percentage of 0.53, league average is .80, Capps career 0.67, including 0.90 over last five seasons.
Francisco also has 67 more career strikeouts despite pitching 76.3 fewer career innings.
And Matt Capps made over 7 million! I for one would take Frank Francisco!
You don’t want Grabow. He was horrific for the Cubs for 3 years. Of all Hendry’s awful FA signings, Grabow was one of the worst.
Wuertz makes a lot of sense considering the small amount needed to get him and his MN ties (grew up in Austin, MN). I would like to see George Sherrill signed instead of John Grabow. With a solid LOOGY in the fold, Glen Perkins can be given the closer role.
I also think that a guy like Aaron Harang would make sense on a “make good” contract. I can imagine he wouldn’t mind pitching in a spacious park like Target Field. Edwin Jackson scares me considering he is pretty much a right handed version of Francisco Liriano. Erik Bedard, as well as Rich Harden, are interesting “injury-prone” options. Dunno about Chris Young, but he hasn’t pitched many innings in the last few years.
I guess they miss Wilson Ramos, who went to Washington in that ugly trade who brought Matt Capps to the Twins
I think Doumit is a good signing I still think they need to sign Willingham or Kubel to make this a good line up.
Great!! Ok, our shortstop and backup catcher/utility players are set, now it’s time to fix our rotation and bullpen!! Keep it up Terry Ryan!
Another good minor signing. Now resign either Cuddy and Kubel or bring in Willingham. Also get bullpen help. For the love of God get bullpen help.
I figured the Rays would have been heavy players for Doumit since they got a .607 OPS from their catchers last year, Kotchman was at his absolute 100% best last year, Matt Joyce can’t hit LHP, and they don’t currently have a DH.
Oh well, good signing for the Twins. Doumit should be pretty good in the Napoli role.
How long until Gardenhire puts Doumit in the doghouse for being a defensive siv?
Unless he is strictly a DH.
This also likely means that Minnesota is losing one, if not both, of Cuddyer and Kubel
Kubel and Young were defensive sivs as well, they got their fair share of playing time.
Cuddyer was actually a worse RF than Kubel. The 2011 Twins were godawful defensively PERIOD. Besides keeping Plouffe out of the SS position, I don’t see how signing an ancient utility man to play short, and and likely the worst defensive catcher in baseball to back up Mauer is going to help that any…..
Doumit is mostly going to be used as a DH.
Yes and Doumit will be serviceable the once or twice a week they need to put him behind the plate – is he Joe Mauer, no…but in just 218 at bats last year Doumit had more homeruns than every Twins catcher (including Mauer) combined.
Funn,y for a Tigers fan, I see you on more Twins comments than Tigers comments. Just saying.
Besides, its not like he is being used as a SS or CF. So he probably will get a little more leeway on defense from Gardy.
I’ve commented on a whopping two stories in the past two-three weeks.
Perhaps I should come around more often so you can stalk me
Its so weird when people pay attention to what other posters say. Everyone’s words all look like they’re in the same language to me.
your name is amazing and yes, I get the reference.
Sweet! Since he signed before the 23rd, the Pirates get a compensation draft pick. Best thing Doumit ever contributed to the Pirates.
HAHA i guess he just didn’t want to be with Dodgers LoL..and now Angels are stuck with Ramon Hernadez as the only good F/A Catcher with high OBP..I doubt Angels sign a catcher.. Mathis gona play Every game and hit .270Avg and .440OBP with 30+ Bombs!! Just watch people!
i didn’t think .270 was that bad of a stretch, but then the OBP and HR total totally went over the top
no, the .270 average is still quite the stretch.
I’m happy with this signing. I feel like the Twins got him for a good deal too. I thought the Twins overpaid Carroll a little and now I think they underpaid Doumit a little, so I guess it evens out.
Now the Twins need to look in to some SP, BP and OF. Though Ryan said the Twins don’t need starters, so we’ll see. I’m wondering what the payroll is actually going to be. Ryan says it’ll be around 100 million, but other front office people say it could be more than that.
Not sure how $3 million a year for a backup DH who doesn’t know which hand to put his glove on is a baragin, but ok!
Well, he’s cheaper than the Pirates paid for him last year and he’s at least two times the player Drew Butera is. That’s a bargain.
You have to understand how bad the 2011 Twins were. Any little upgrade, like Caroll and Doumit, is considered a solid upgrade…even a huge upgrade. That’s how bad it was. And he likely isn’t a backup player. Right now he’s looking at the primary DH spot (depending on Morneau’s head) and a fill in at RF, 1B and C. I know he’s not great defensively, but he’s still an upgrade.
The Tigers were healthy, where the Twins were not.
Doumit was definitely the #1 most undervalued/biggest bargain of this market. Twins will probably triple or quadruple the production per dollar spent if he mostly DH’s.
If they get Chris Snyder now, they might complete a nice group for the DH/1B/C positions (if Snyder and Doumit manage to stay healthy all year). Having this group would give them the possibility to keep Mauer on the lineup permanently, deal with the probability that Morneau can’t field (at least not every day) and not hurt their lineup as much (at least not as much as with Drew Butera batting). There still would be plenty work to do, but at least it’s a start (and I know I will be insulted 1000 times over this post… so bring it)
Don’t think we’ll get Snyder but he’d sure look nice. I think if we got him, I’d consider starting him behind the plate putting Mauer at 1B and making Morneau a FT DH
I think Snyd could also play first i a pinch
Or sign Kelly Stoppach to form that DH/1B/C combo. I would envision something like 70-80 games at catcher for Mauer, 20-25 for Doumit and 50-60 for Stoppach/Snyder.
Adding to his versatility, Doumit is also a grade A, badass beard grower and his eye color is pitch black. The Twins got a helluva deal.
he looks like Jack Parkman from Major League 2
looks like he wears mascara at some angles
His beard replaces Jason Kubel’s lumberjack growth.
this makes no sense. i know that mauer and morneau arent healthy but why the hell would you sign onto a team who already has a allstar catcher and firstbasemen? To be the DH and play backup catcher and first base… i know doumit hit 300 this year but come on, yes it could bring up his value in the later years but i think it could also bring down his value as a legimate catcher
I am not sure that he is a “legimate catcher” with his defense being rated well below average. What makes sense for Doumit is the ability to stay healthy for an entire season by getting ABs as a DH.
He is not going to hurt for playing time…..
goodbye drew
Finally got done.
“First and foremost, we consider Ryan a catcher.”
Sorry Twins fans, it looks like your new GM may be an idiot.
why are the twins spending all this money when there’s no way they compete anytime soon? Haven’t they wasted enough money with the injured boys?
I LOL at the fact that Twins fans think Doumit will help. He’s a great guy and he could do pretty well at DH because it would help his fragile body from breaking, but I never want to see him in the field ever again lol. Decent arm and a little below average catcher. If you were to use him in the field though, you def. want him at catcher. I play HS baseball, so this isn’t a crazy insult, but I’m pretty sure I can play 1B and OF better than him. Good DH. Decent backup catcher if he stays healthy. I’ll miss him as a person, but not as a player. Overall, pretty okay pickup for the Twins. Treat him well.