Mackey: Morneau finally healthy!

Justin Morneau is 'miles ahead' of where he was last offseason - Minnesota Twins news | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Twins

Phil Mackey interviewed Justin Morneau and it was vastly different from when Morneau spoke to the media early in spring training last year. For the first time in years, he has been able to enjoy a normal offseason. Good for him, and hopefully he can put up another monster season in 2013!

If Morneau somehow gets back to his pre-injury form, just think of all the fun screaming matches that will take place here come July about whether to trade him or extend him. Should be fun.

Hmm... I seem to remember hearing that part of the reason Morneau has tended to cool off late in the season (even when not injured) is that he has a tendency to work too hard in the offseason.

Great to hear this. Let's not forget how good he was in the second half of last season.

I'm a huge Mornie supporter, for obvious homer reasons he's been my favourite Twin since he came up with the big club. The last couple of years have been painful to watch him struggle the way he has, although last year provided at least some glimpses of hope that he was moving past his injuries.
Morneau is a crucial element for the Twins and a key piece to their future. Regardless of how much it would pain me, a productive, healthy Morneau would be an invaluable trade chip for this club to help it build for 2014 and beyond. A strong, injury free first half would draw considerable interest in my mind.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nicksaviking

If Morneau somehow gets back to his pre-injury form, just think of all the fun screaming matches that will take place here come July about whether to trade him or extend him. Should be fun.

---

I agree. I think he will be much improved in 2013. He is still in his prime and is an MVP caliber player. I am expecting him to hit the All-star break with a .280 plus average and 15 plus dingers. How the team plays around him will really go a long way in shaping the argument for signing him or trading him.

I expect us to be out of contention again by the break (mainly due to our pitching and defense) and it will se sad to see him leave as I think he still has a number of good years left.

Didn't he really alter his diet last season and dropped a bunch of weight? I thought it was something to do with allergies or was that Span? Anyone know if he is till on the strict eating regimen?

This is really good news. Hopefully he will have a monster season.
Unless the Twins are in contention, they should trade him at the deadline. It is all downhill from now and Sano will be ready for that 1B job sooner than any extension will expire.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nicksaviking

If Morneau somehow gets back to his pre-injury form, just think of all the fun screaming matches that will take place here come July about whether to trade him or extend him. Should be fun.

---

Statfreak would have been right in the thick of of it

What to do with Morneau would be a good problem to have if he has a good first half. This is more tied in with how Parmalee does the first half. If Parmalee looks competent then he should be traded, if not he needs to be extended.

The Twins have reached out to free agent outfielder Ryan Sweeney, though they're just "kicking the tires" at this point.

The Twins outfield has been depleted this Winter after trading away Denard Span and Ben Revere. Sweeney hit .260/.303/.373 in 63 games with the Red Sox in 2012 before undergoing surgery to repair a broken pinkie finger. If interested, he could provide solid depth with his ability to handle all three outfield positions defensively.
Related: Twins

Source: Darren Wolfson on Twitter

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by thrylos98

This is really good news. Hopefully he will have a monster season.
Unless the Twins are in contention, they should trade him at the deadline. It is all downhill from now and Sano will be ready for that 1B job sooner than any extension will expire.

---

Just the opposite of the above. If he comes back to health and regains his old form then Parmalee should be traded. There is a big disparity in ability between the two if Morneau is healthy. And Morneau is still young enough to be a mainstay, along with the young players coming up such as Sano.

Seriously. Top Gun has to be some kind of random posting bot, right?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by peterb18

Just the opposite of the above. If he comes back to health and regains his old form then Parmalee should be traded. There is a big disparity in ability between the two if Morneau is healthy. And Morneau is still young enough to be a mainstay, along with the young players coming up such as Sano.

---

Trade Parmalee? For What? If the Twins give up on Parmalee anybody in MLB who has any interest will simply wait for him to be DFA'd or become available in the Rule 5 Draft.

Chris Parmelee's future is very bright. I don't care what Justin Morneau does. He's gone.

If morneau can return to what he was back in '09, and mauer and willingham can do what they did last year. Along with hopefully the starting rotation surprisingly posting a average or above-average era. The twins could very easily win around 80 games this year. Even with the loss of span and revere.

[QUOTE=Anorthagen;73781]If morneau can return to what he was back in '09, and mauer and willingham can do what they did last year. Along with hopefully the starting rotation surprisingly posting a average or above-average era. The twins could very easily win around 80 games this year. Even with the loss of span and revere.[/QU

And if the Twins had signed M. Izturis, Hamilton ,and Sanchez? If we got breaks could we have won a 100 games?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FrodaddyG

Seriously. Top Gun has to be some kind of random posting bot, right?

---

You should make a post about Glen Perkins. Then maybe we can get an update on the status of Rich Robertson or Otis Nixon.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheLeviathan

You should make a post about Glen Perkins. Then maybe we can get an update on the status of Rich Robertson or Otis Nixon.

---

Haha. No kidding.

Morneau's health this year would be great. Given this, the Twins need to throw some money at Shaun Marcum. A 1-3 solid rotation is a remarkable improvement when put together with a healthy Morneau, a full season of Plouffe, and the improvement of Parmelee over the hodge-podge in RF for the first part of last year.

For anyone saying that Parmelee is the future, that is false. Parmelee is a future bench bat (which would be GREAT if the Twins were in that position down the road) given the existence of Miguel Sano. Or failing that Kennys Vargas . . . or Travis Harrison, etc. The return for Morneau in a deadline deal (if the Twins don't seek to contend by not adding Marcum) is much bigger than Parmelee, but all options should be explored (including trading both of them).

The point is that 2013 contention is not out of reach with a healthy Morneau and the acquisition of Marcum.

A healthy Morneau would sure make things easier for Willingham. Might get another 35 homer season out of his bat. As for Sweeney, he'd make a good platoon bat with Mastroianni to start the season. Give Benson, Arcia and Hicks some triple A time.