The Twins offered Mike Lamb a 2 year $6.6 million contract to man third base in 2008 and 2009, with a $3.5 million club option for 2010. Will they get their money's worth on this deal? Let's see:

The signing of Mike Lamb was a clear sign of desperation on the Twins' part. Lamb offers a major offensive upgrade at the hot corner for the Twins, which isn't saying much. The Twins had so few options at 3B in 2007 that Nick Punto played 108 games at the position despite hovering around the Mendoza line all season.

Lamb has only reached 400 at-bats in 1 season, his rookie 2000 season. With the Twins he expects to be a full-time third baseman and should see considerably more at-bats. For that reason, his ZiPS projection is likely a bit off for the counting stats. It's reasonable to think he could hit in the upper teens in homeruns, which isn't much, but it adds a bit of pop to a position that sorely lacked it in 2007.

Defensively, Lamb is a downgrade for the Twins. The hope is that with his former teammate in Houstin, Adam Everett, playing next to him at SS, he'll be less relied on to cover ground to his left. Lamb has spent his career playing in more hitter friendly parks in Houston and Texas, so it remains to be seen how playing in the AL Central will affect his numbers. Lamb will likely spend most of his time in the bottom third of the Twins lineup, ahead of Brendan Harris and Everett.

I don't like the fact that the Twins committed to Lamb for two years, but I'll definitely be happy to not see Nick Punto trotting out to third on a regular basis.

Other 2008 projections

Pitchers

• Scott Baker
• Francisco Liriano
• Livan Hernandez
• Boof Bonser
• Kevin Slowey
• Philip Humber
• Nick Blackburn
• Pat Neshek
• Matt Guerrier
• Juan Rincon
• Jesse Crain
• Dennys Reyes
• Glen Perksin
• Joe Nathan

Hitters

• Joe Mauer
• Justin Morneau
• Brendan Harris
• Adam Everett