Free Kubel

It was announced earlier this week that Jason Kubel and Craig Monroe will likely be platooning at DH during 2008. While this news is far from surprising given Ron Gardenhire's insistence on putting the elderly in the lineup to be an automatic out, it is still disconcerting nonetheless. In reality, Monroe is not that old as he turns 31 in two weeks, but Gardy's confidence in him serves as a reminder of his loyalty to Juan Castro and Rondell White in recent years. It would be hard for anyone to have as rough a stretch as Rondell did in his two seasons, but White did come to the team with a better track record than Monroe possesses. Craig comes to the Twins with a .303 lifetime OBP. To put that in perspective, Nick Punto owned a .291 OBP during his disastrous 2007 season. Regardless of the numbers, it looks like the former Tiger and Cub is going to the starting DH whenever the Twins face a left-hander. That leaves Kubel as the DH against right-handers, but in a division with the likes of C.C. Sabathia, Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis, and Kenny Rogers among others, it appears that Kubel is in store for a limited amount of at-bats.

Once the Twins top hitting prospect and one of the better prospects in baseball, the Twins outfielder had his career rudely interrupted by a devastating knee injury suffered in the Arizona Fall League. It took a long time for Jason to recover and it is likely that his knee will never be the same as it was pre-injury. That was abundantly clear as Kubel struggled with his mobility in left field during a good portion of the '07 season. While he battled his defense at times, that didn't stop him from being the Twins best hitter during the last couple months of the season. Kubel hit .328 with an OBP above .400 in September and after a slow start to the season which saw him hit .238 in April and May, he responded by posting a near .300 clip the rest of the way despite sporadic playtime.

His hot finish would seemingly have put him into a position for regular playtime, but with Delmon Young and Michael Cuddyer entrenched at the corner outfield positions, Kubel's only chance for consistent at-bats would be in the DH role. In a rebuilding year for the Twins, it is time for them to let Kubel sink or swim and give him the DH role to himself. With 500 AB's Jason could easily develop into one of the team's better bats as he has good gap to gap power and a decent amount of pop. The signing of Monroe is seemingly blocking the Twins from finding what they truly have in Kubel, who should be entering his prime as he turns 26 in May.

Monroe can hold some value if he can find the stroke that allowed him to hit 48 home runs and drive in 181 runs in 2005 and 2006, but his bat is best as a late-inning pinch hitter or a spot starter. His signing is also a bit confusing considering he will earn over 3 million, while a guy like Mike Sweeney, who has put up similar numbers the past few seasons, was only given a minor league contract by the Oakland A's. The Twins appear hasty in their acquisition of Monroe as there were many cheaper options who could provide the same type of production. If nothing else, it is nice that Monroe is no longer in Detroit as he was an absolute Twin-killer during his Tiger days.

*On an unrelated note, it looks as though former Twin Matt LeCroy has gotten another shot with the Oakland A's. If you can't root for LeCroy, you simply are incapable of rooting for anyone.