Cuddyer's Last Stand March 21st, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Last season at this time Michael Cuddyer was preparing to take over for Corey Koskie at third base. He had been a bright star in the Twins organization just trying to find an open spot in the lineup, and the Twins had finally put their trust in Cuddyer by letting Koskie leave for Toronto. Last season didn't go as well as everyone, including Cuddyer, had hoped. Cuddyer made 15 errors in just 95 games at the hot corner last year. Expected to have 25+ homerun potential, he hit just 12 and batted a mediocre .263 while missing a few weeks in the middle of the season due to injury.
It's now Spring Training 2006 and Cuddyer is likely facing his last chance with the Twins. He's not playing third base; the Twins have brought in Batista to handle that job. Instead he'll be fighting against Jason Kubel and Lew Ford for the RF position.
Cuddyer has had an exceptional spring thus far. He's currently batting .500 in 28 at bats with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs. He'll probably win the right field spot, but he'll have to perform well to keep it. He'll be 28 when the season starts; it's time for him to show us what he can do.
Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our RSS feed.
2 Comments
Kris wrote: April 1st, 2006 at 11:42 am
Thanks for the correction; I got his age wrong by a year. Excellent point about the potential shortage of outfielders we may see next season.
That may provide more incentive for the Twins to give him a shot next season, but if he doesn't live up to expectations this season, it may not matter how bad they need an OF. Cuddyer is making $1.3 million this season, so that makes him even less valuable.
Search
Similar Entries
Partners
Tudi wrote: April 1st, 2006 at 10:52 am
Good point. Hopefully, Cuddy will get his fair shake this year to show what he can do. I don't think we've seen what he can do in a full season yet – last year he was a bit battered and never got on track. Considering how volatile his past 5 years have been, going back and forth between AAA, fighting through numerous injuries, and then playing just about every role and position possible, I'm not surprised he hasn't lived up to expectations yet.
Keep in mind that both Shannon Stewart and Torii Hunter are free agents after the 2006 season. There isn't a whole lot of outfield depth in the minors right now, so with a decent showing this year, it's possible to see him stick, long-term, in one of the corner outfield positions. He actually just turned 27 last week.