Photo Credit: Stephanie via Compfight
Update: Michael Cuddyer has signed a 3-year, $31.5 million deal with the Colorado Rockies.
Michael Cuddyer has apparently been offered a 3-year, $25 million contract by the Minnesota Twins that he is mulling over along with the other things going on in his life.
He has been somewhat busy with the birth of twins of his own. Gardenhire thinks that’s an omen. Since Cuddyer had twins, he should remain a Twin. That’s probably not much of an influence for him on staying here and it’s probably easier to move to a new city with younger children than older children. Put it this way, if he signs with another team, he will always have twins and the Minnesota Twins will always have Michael Cuddyer.
Rumors have the Colorado Rockies very interested in Cuddyer. The Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies are believed to still have interest in the RF/1B as well. The Phillies acquired Ty Wiggington from the Rockies back in November and that quieted the rumors of Cuddyer to Philly while turning up the volume on rumors of Cuddy going to Colorado.
Supposedly, Cuddy would like a couple more million added to the contract offer.* I’m all for players trying to get as much as they can get but what is the difference between $25 and $27 million really? It’s two million, you’re right but that’s not what I mean. When you are getting paid by the millions, I’m not sure 2 more million should be a big hurdle to signing a contract.
*An extra couple million could buy a lot of diapers for the Cuddyer twins though. Heck you could just use the money as diapers at that point. Make sure it’s the paper money though although that could make “changing” the diapers have a whole new meaning. “Do these quarters smell like crap to you?”
It’s easy to think that money is the only reason Cuddy hasn’t made a decision but for a guy like Michael Cuddyer, it might be the better chance to win. Having gone through possibly the worst Twins season ever, he might be looking for a quicker or easier path to the World Series. It’s easy to see him looking at different organizations with the Twins appearing to be pretty far away from contending for the World Series.
Now, maybe the Twins could put some incentives in the deal that could make him earn that difference in the contract. These could include performance incentives like games played, plate appearances, home runs, RBI’s and All-Star appearances. That’s a better deal in my opinion as the player has some motivation to earn an extra bonus in pay.
I do think Cuddyer brings some other intangibles to the table with his leadership and off the field community service. That’s not usually something you think of when a team is trying to sign a player to a new deal but it should be taken into account. It’s hard to put a price on leadership, unfortunately.
Another thing is Michael Cuddyer is probably not going to sell tickets in Minnesota because we know who he is and we’ve watched him for so long. He’s fun to watch and gives 100% every game but he’s probably not getting people into Target Field as much as he would if he signs with a different organization.
In the end, if Cuddy signs with another organization, he’ll be missed by Twins fans as a player that gave his all every time out and a player that could be counted on for some home runs, some clutch hitting and a few outfield assists.
There was an area in right field that the groundkeepers had to replace that was a different shade of green. Michael Cuddyer would usually stand on that piece of right field so I liked to call that piece of land Cuddyland. Michael Cuddyer was the mayor of Cuddyland.* It might say everything that in the offseason, the groundskeepers will be able to grow out that part of right field and it will no longer be a different shade of green.
*With the official signing of Josh Willingham, right field might be manned by Denard Span, Ben Revere and/or Josh Willingham. Now that piece of right field might be changed to the Land of Span or Spanopolis or Willingham, Minnesota or Joshua, Willingham or Willingham Field or Castle Willingham (where’s the moat?) or RevereInRight (welcome to Reverenwright!) or Bentopia or…
Did the Twins err in not re-signing Michael Cuddyer? Are they better off without him? Was Josh Willingham the better option for them?
Tell us what you think in the comments!
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Robb
Michael Cuddyer Stats
Michael Cuddyer – Fangraphs.com
Michael Cuddyer – Baseball-Reference.com
Other articles about Cuddy
If Michael Cuddyer spurns Twins, it’s probably not about money – (1500espn.com – Phil Mackey) – 12/9/2011
Why Josh Willingham was built for Target Field – (OverTheBaggy.com – Parker Hageman) – 12/13/2011
Will Josh Willingham boost Twins power? – (ESPN.com Sweetspot Blog – Christina Kahrl) – 12/14/2011
Willingham would add pop, brings line-up into focus – (NoDakTwinsFan.com – Cody Christie) – 12/14/2011
Twins Better Off Without Cuddyer – (Fangraphs.com – Chris Cwik) – 12/15/2011
Negotiations with Willingham were ‘sensitive’, Terry Ryan says – (1500espn.com – Phil Mackey) – 12/16/2011
Twins sign Josh Willingham, say goodbye to Michael Cuddyer – (AaronGleeman.com – Aaron Gleeman) – 12/16/2011
Twins Sign Josh Willingham – (WeAreOffTheMark.wordpress.com – Andrew) – 12/16/2011
