Michael Cuddyer Offered Two Year Extension
By Editorial Staff
After last weekend’s trade deadline, the Minnesota Twins offered Michael Cuddyer a 2 year contract extension. Joe Christensen of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the deal was for $16 million, but Cuddyer apparently told the team that he would like to wait until this offseason to begin negotiations.
The 32 year old has spent his entire 11 year Major League career with the Twins after the club made him the 9th overall pick in the 1997 amateur draft. Cuddyer’s been a solid contributor for Minnesota, with a career .273 batting average and .800 OPS.
Cuddyer’s current 4 year $33.5 million deal that he signed before the 2008 season is up after this year, and he’s set to become a free agent if something can’t be worked out with the Twins.
However, both sides have indicated that they would like to continue their partnership. Cuddyer has said as much publicly and the Twins’ offer shows that they would like to keep their versatile slugger around for at least a few more seasons.
During a year in which the Twins have been mauled by injury and underwhelming offensive performance, Cuddyer has stood out for remaining consistent at the plate while moving around to fill in for his teammates.
Cuddyer currently leads Minnesota in basically every offensive category, as he’s posted a line of .301/.370/.494 with 18 home runs, 60 RBI’s and 21 doubles. He has to be considered one of the main reasons the Twins are even remotely close in the AL Central.
In the final year of his deal, Cuddyer is currently making $10.5 million this season. The current offer falls short of that yearly mark, and with Cuddyer certain to draw interest on the free agent market the Twins may have to up the amount a bit. But, unless something crazy happens during negotiations this offseason, it appears that Cuddyer is set to continue his tenure in Minnesota.
For more on the Twins, be sure to check out Puckett’s Pond.