Metrodome Memories

The Twins locked up infielder Alexi Casilla to a one year deal and avoided arbitration with him in his first year of eligiblity.  The final tally is $865,000 which is a decent amount for a guy who’s played four seasons with the team.  He’s never played in 100 games, but he can play everywhere in the infield and he even picked up a game in centerfield in 2010.  His best season is still 2008 when he hit seven home runs and hit .281.  Of course his time could be limited with the acquisition of Tsuyoshi Nishioka but he plays enough spots to where he should get into close to half of the games the Twins play.

The Twins still have some work to do because they have five players still out there that could go to the arbitration table including Francisco Liriano.  The others include Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey and Delmon Young.

The Twins got one of their sluggers back today because they signed DH Jim Thome to a one year deal worth $3 million.  Thome will be 41 in August but he had a nice season for the Twins last year.  He belted 25 home runs in just 108 games and he absolutely killed right handed pitched (1.154 OPS).  He even managed to pick up enough votes to finish 18th in the MVP balloting.

If used right Thome is a huge asset even at his advanced age and for just $3 million, this is a nice deal and it gives the Twins a bump in the division.  Now we just need a healthy Justin Morneau on the field.  Also interesting is with 11 home runs, Thome will reach the 600 mark which will make for some nice media coverage.