...But I would absolutely hate to see Nick Punto go. Yes, he is the piranha, no he can't really hit, but come on. First off, he hasn't cost us more than $2.4 mill through this last season. Second, he plays very good defense at second, short, or third. This feeling is amplified now that
Everett has signed with the Tigers. I'm not saying that I would love having Punto as an everyday shortstop, but Punto holds a lot of value as a defensive infield utility player. Another thing I hate to admit, but feel strongly about: if we can't get an upgrade at shortstop and have to go with someone from our current roster (assuming we resign Punto), I would much rather have Punto than Harris as my everyday shortstop. Harris plays bad defense for a second baseman, atrocious for a shortstop. Yes he has slightly more pop than Punto, but he is not a demonstrably better hitter, and is a far worse defender. Given that we have a pitching staff that general puts the ball in play, Punto would be a much better option at short than Harris.
...But Delmon didn't live up to expectations this year. Did he have a BAD year? As far as left fielders go, yeah. The thing that really bothers me about this entire situation is that Delmon is still young. The Twins seem eager to give up on players that they fall out of favor with, and stick with players that they like, regardless of performance. Young and Gomez are perfect examples of this. Young, who hasn't lived up to his potential but had an over .800 OPS in three of the last four montsh of the year, is being rumored in all sorts of trade talks. Gomez, who put up a .295 OBP and .645 OPS, is the favorite to win the CF job. I honestly would not rule out Gomez getting several shots to lead off as well. Defensively, Gomez is leaps and bounds better than Delmon, but offensively, Delmon has more potential. None of this brings up the other point that the Twins have attempted to make Cuddyer a "franchise player" in RF, when he posts an inferior OPS there. What could the solution be? I don't know. It's not an easy place to be, because you have three young players that have all shown potential, and a fourth who has been slated as a starter and signed a multiyear contract.
Things would be more simple if Cuddyer wasn't a massive defensive liability at third, but regardless, Cuddyer shouldn't be a long term option at third or RF. He just doesn't hit well enough. There's a large possibility I'll be saying the exact same thing about Delmon in three years (he just doesn't hit well enough to be a viable option for a corner outfielder), but with his early performance in the minors and how young he still is, I feel like it is too early to give up on him. What I would personally do with the Twins outfield situation is send Gomez to AAA, Span in center, and Cuddyer and Young in the corners. Is this going to happen? Almost definitely not. The Twins seem to believe that Gomez is going to best develop by looking foolish on breaking balls week in and week out. The frustrating thing is that this not only makes our team worse in the interim, but also ruins Gomez's long term development.
