AaronGleeman.com

For the second straight offseason the Twins need relief help. Last winter they ignored the free agent market, trusted various in-house options, and wound up with a fire-starting bullpen that had the worst ERA in baseball. Joe Nathan and Matt Capps are free agents and Glen Perkins is the only reliable holdover, so here are 15 worthwhile bullpen targets who figure to be cheap enough to fit into the Twins' budget assuming they don't bust it on Nathan or another closer.

Frank Francisco: If other teams pursue Francisco as a closer the Twins should bow out, but if he's available for setup man money it could be a nice fit. He can't be counted on for more than 50 or 60 innings, but over the past four seasons Francisco has a 3.54 ERA, 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings, and a .226 opponents' batting average while averaging 94.1 miles per hour with his fastball. If the Twins are serious about adding power arms, he's an obvious target.

Jonathan Broxton: After a four-year run as one of baseball's most dominant relievers Broxton began struggling in mid-2010 and fell apart this season, missing the final five months with an elbow injury. He underwent minor surgery in September, but is expected to be fully recovered by spring training and is still just 28 years old. Broxton had a 2.92 ERA with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings through his first five years. He's a big risk, but the reward could be just as huge.

Mike Gonzalez: After a long history of arm problems Gonzalez is recovering from knee surgery, but if healthy he's an elite left-handed reliever. Gonzalez had 51 strikeouts in 53 innings this season and has averaged 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings for his career, which ranks second among all active lefties. His control can be shaky and offering more than a one-year deal would be a mistake, but Gonzalez is capable of getting high-leverage outs versus lefties and righties.

LaTroy Hawkins: At age 38 and eight years after leaving the Twins as a free agent Hawkins posted a 2.42 ERA and 28/10 K/BB ratio in 48 innings for the Brewers, giving him a 3.43 ERA in 444 total innings since exiting Minnesota. He's lost fastball velocity, but Hawkins still averaged 92.6 miles per hour this season and served up just one home run while inducing more than 60 percent ground balls for the second time in his career.

Brad Lidge: Once an elite closer with a devastating mid-90s fastball and high-80s slider, Lidge averaged just 88.9 mph on his fastball and 80.9 mph on his slider this year while being limited to 19 innings following elbow surgery. At age 35 his velocity likely isn't coming back, but Lidge still racked up 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings throwing in the high-80s and his slider remains one of the best pitches in baseball. If the price is right he'd be a nice boom-or-bust pickup.

Octavio Dotel: I suggested signing Dotel last offseason, when he got a one-year, $3.5 million deal and logged 54 innings with a 3.50 ERA and 62/17 K/BB ratio. He has the highest strikeout rate of all time among right-handers with 800-plus innings and even at age 37 got more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings for the fifth straight season. Dotel struggles against left-handed power hitters, but if spotted mostly versus righties he can be a major late-inning weapon.

Joel Peralta: Another of my suggested signings last winter, Peralta got a one-year, $925,000 deal from the Rays and tossed 68 innings with a 2.93 ERA and 61/18 K/BB ratio. His raw stuff has never been particularly impressive and Peralta is a 35-year-old extreme fly-ball pitcher, but his secondary numbers have always been excellent and he's got 110 strikeouts versus just 20 non-intentional walks in 117 innings since the beginning of 2010.

Takashi Saito: Saito is 41 years old and missed nearly the entire first half with hamstring and back injuries, but was his usual unhittable self after returning in July with a 1.46 ERA and .186 opponents' batting average in 25 innings. After a brilliant career in Japan he's played six years in the majors, posting ERAs of 2.07, 1.40, 2.49, 2.43, 2.83, and 2.09. Aging and injuries make him a risk, but Saito remains incredibly effective and would surely accept a one-year contract.

Jon Rauch: Rauch pitched much better than he got credit for as Nathan's replacement in 2010, converting 21 saves in 25 chances before the misguided deal for Capps bumped him back into a setup role. He left as a free agent last winter and had a mediocre season for the Blue Jays on a one-year, $3.5 million contract, but Rauch posted a 2.82 ERA and 60/20 K/BB ratio in 73 innings during one-and-a-half years for the Twins and remains a capable setup man.

Chad Qualls: Also on my list of suggested bullpen targets last winter, Qualls inked a one-year, $2.55 million deal with the Padres and threw 74 innings with a 3.51 ERA and 43/20 K/BB ratio. Because he called pitcher-friendly Petco Park home that ERA isn't as impressive as it appears and Qualls' strikeout rate was the worst of his career at age 32, but aside from a fluky 2010 season his annual ERAs are 3.55, 3.28, 3.76, 3.05, 2.81, 3.63, and 3.51 dating back to 2004.

Dan Wheeler: Yet another reliever I suggested last offseason, Wheeler signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Red Sox and threw 49 innings with a 4.38 ERA and 39/8 K/BB ratio. Much like Dotel he's susceptible to left-handed power hitters, but righties hit just .200/.233/.379 off Wheeler during the past three seasons, producing a 104/18 K/BB ratio. As an extreme fly-ball pitcher Target Field is a good fit and at age 33 he should be available for a one-year deal.

George Sherrill: Before missing the final six weeks of the season with elbow problems Sherrill tossed 36 innings with a 3.00 ERA and 38/12 K/BB ratio, and if healthy the 35-year-old would fit nicely as a left-handed specialist. Combined over the past three seasons lefties hit just .192 with two homers and an 80/17 K/BB ratio off Sherrill, who has a 3.68 ERA and 320 strikeouts in 323 career innings.

Todd Coffey: With his sizable gut and sprint to the mound Coffey seems like a sideshow, but over the past three seasons he posted a 3.68 ERA and 167/64 K/BB ratio in 206 innings. That includes a 3.62 ERA and 46/20 K/BB ratio in 60 innings for the Nationals, who signed him to a one-year, $1.35 million deal after Coffey was non-tendered last offseason. I wanted the Twins to sign him then and he'd make sense again now as a hard-throwing righty setup man.

Michael Wuertz: Wuertz was injured and ineffective this season, convincing the A's to decline their $3.25 million option on the 32-year-old right-hander. When healthy the Minnesota native was an extremely effective setup man from 2004-2010, throwing 381 innings with a 3.45 ERA and 9.7 strikeouts per nine frames. His velocity has declined recently, so anything more than a modest one-year deal would be too risky, but Wuertz's fastball-slider combo is worth a flier.

Matt Capps: No, seriously. Capps was an incredibly misguided acquisition and has no business closing again, but remains useful enough to be worth bringing back on a cheap one-year deal. And apparently Terry Ryan agrees. Even in what was the worst season of his career he threw 66 innings with a 4.25 ERA and 34/13 K/BB ratio, and a return to his pre-2011 work would be a decent setup option. As an expensive closer he's a mess. As a cheap middle reliever he's fine.

• Terry Ryan revealed during a 1500-ESPN interview yesterday that Trevor Plouffe will be an outfielder going forward, which isn't shocking considering how awful he looked as an infielder despite playing 680 games at shortstop in the minors. He has the tools to be a strong corner outfielder defensively and with Jamey Carroll signed that may be the clearest path to at-bats, but before the middle of this year Plouffe had never played the outfield in seven pro seasons.

Moving to the outfield full time also means Plouffe's bat will be held to a much higher standard and aside from a 50-game stretch at Triple-A this year he's never really produced like a corner outfielder offensively. He's batted .262/.316/.451 in 337 games at Triple-A and .226/.286/.382 in 103 games in the majors, so unless his two-month breakout in Rochester at age 25 is a sign of things to come Plouffe will have trouble hitting enough to be more than a platoon player.

• According to Nippon Sports the Twins are interested in Japanese pitchers Hisashi Iwakuma and Tsuyoshi Wada, both of whom are outright free agents and can be signed without going through the posting process. Last winter the Twins reportedly finished runner-up for Iwakuma, who failed to sign after the A's bid (and were refunded) $19.1 million for his negotiating rights. He remained in Japan and had a 2.42 ERA in 119 innings, but missed time with a back injury.

Wada was even better, throwing 185 innings with a 1.51 ERA, but the 30-year-old left-hander may not have the raw stuff to thrive in the majors. I've seen Wada compared to Bruce Chen and Jamie Moyer as a strike-throwing southpaw with mid-80s fastball velocity and in talking to people who've seen him pitch in Japan the consensus seems to be that he's no more than a possible fifth starter.

As teams were bidding on Iwakuma last year there were some reports of him potentially being a No. 2 starter in the majors, but apparently those back problems sapped his already modest velocity this season. Iwakuma has more upside than Wada, but the 30-year-old right-hander likely projects as a mid-rotation starter even if his fastball returns to the low-90s. Intriguing, but unless the price tags are modest I'd be surprised to see either pitcher land with the Twins.

• Jim Thome signed a one-year, $1.25 million deal with the Phillies, which is a price the Twins should have been willing to match. However, prior to being fired Bill Smith ruled out bringing back Thome because of how his inability to play defense limits the roster and it may have been a moot point anyway, as the future Hall of Famer loves Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and reportedly had been hoping to be traded to Philadelphia rather than Cleveland in August.

Thome will have a very limited role with the Phillies, who view him as only an emergency option at first base even with Ryan Howard potentially out for the entire first half. That means pinch-hitting and serving as a designated hitter during interleague games, which probably won't add up to more than 150 plate appearances. His attempts to recruit Michael Cuddyer to join him in Philadelphia might have a bigger impact than Thome's on-field performance.

• Wayne Krivsky was Ryan's right-hand man prior to leaving the Twins to become the Reds' general manager in 2006, but returns now as "professional scout and special assistant to the GM." Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune looked into his role and says "Krivsky will scout 15 major league teams, with scout Kenny Compton handling the other 15." And he'll be stationed out of Kentucky, so Rob Antony remains the No. 2 guy in the front office.

Days before firing Smith the Twins denied the Orioles permission to interview vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff for their GM opening, but several sources have suggested that was more about Radcliff's lack of interest in the job than anything else. Radcliff was the Twins' longtime scouting director prior to switching roles when Smith replaced Ryan in 2007 and is a big part of the organization, although Ryan admitted Radcliff was "spread too thin" recently.

• To put into context how odd the Twins' timing was in firing Smith: Eno Sarris of Fan Graphs reports that Smith was the first MLB general manager to be fired in November since 1950.

• Last month the Twins dropped Brian Dinkelman from the 40-man roster, making him a free agent, but the 28-year-old second baseman/corner outfielder has re-signed on a minor-league contract. Dinkelman's performance didn't warrant being called up to the majors twice this year, but he certainly took advantage of what may prove to be his lone opportunity by notching 22 hits in 23 games and the organizational solider will provide some veteran depth at Rochester.

• Rochester will also likely have right-hander Jared Burton in the bullpen after the Twins inked the former Reds reliever to a minor-league deal. Burton had a 3.47 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 161 innings from 2007-2009, but missed most of the past two years with shoulder problems that required surgery. He's exactly the sort of cheap, readily available player who makes giving 40-man roster spots to Matt Maloney and Jeff Gray so confusing.

• LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Ron Gardenhire's son, Toby Gardenhire, will not be offered a contract after becoming a minor-league free agent. Nepotism got Gardenhire to Triple-A despite being a former 41st-round pick with a .232/.292/.274 career line, but his defensive versatility served a purpose for Rochester and ultimately at least they cut him loose based on merit.

• Other minor leaguers to leave the organization as free agents include Andy Baldwin, Dusty Hughes, Chuck James, Jake Stevens, Allan de San Miguel, Jair Hernandez, Chase Lambin, Paul Kelly, Yangervis Solarte, Jeff Bailey, and Brandon Roberts. Hughes and James pitched for the Twins this year, Kelly is a former second-round pick, Baldwin is a friend of AG.com, and Lambin was the subject of a Grantland article, but only Solarte resembles any kind of prospect.

• Getting a veteran middle infielder with very strong on-base skills was obviously nice, but I've stumbled across the primary reason the Twins signed Carroll:

Presumably "shorter than Gene Simmons' daughter and Shannon Tweed" wasn't prominently featured on the scouting report.

Terry Ryan's first significant move in his second go-around as general manager was to fill the Twins' gaping middle infield hole by signing Jamey Carroll to a two-year, $7 million contract. In assessing inexpensive shortstop options last week in this space I endorsed offering Carroll a one-year deal. Handing out multi-year contracts to 38-year-old middle infielders generally isn't a smart idea, but the money is reasonable enough and for 2012 at least Carroll is a good fit.

Carroll was stuck in the minors until age 28 and began his big-league career as a utility man, but he's gotten better and expanded his role with age. He's coming off the two best seasons of his career at ages 36 and 37, batting .290 with a .368 on-base percentage in 279 games for the Dodgers while posting a strong 122-to-98 strikeout-to-walk ratio, going 22-for-26 stealing bases, and splitting time between shortstop and second base.

Carroll's power is non-existent, with 12 homers in 1,065 games and an Isolated Power of .070 that ranks third-lowest among all active players with at least 2,000 plate appearances ahead of only Cesar Izturis and Juan Pierre. Obviously a middle infielder with power would be ideal, but the Twins botched that with J.J. Hardy and Carroll's on-base skills stand out. In fact, his .356 OBP ranks seventh among all active middle infielders with 2,000 plate appearances:

Derek Jeter         .383
Hanley Ramirez      .380
Chase Utley         .377
Dustin Pedroia      .373
Yunel Escobar       .366
Troy Tulowitzki     .364
JAMEY CARROLL       .356
Ian Kinsler         .355
Carlos Guillen      .355
Rickie Weeks        .354

That's some pretty great company for Carroll and his OBP during the past four seasons is even higher at .362, including yearly marks of .359, .379, .355, and .355. And he doesn't just get on base, he grinds out long at-bats too. Carroll saw 4.28 pitches per plate appearance this year, which tied Jose Bautista for sixth in all of baseball, and he also ranked fifth in 2010 and ninth in 2009. That's remarkable patience considering pitchers aren't afraid to throw him strikes.

Ron Gardenhire goes out of his way to bat a middle infielder No. 2 in the lineup whether they have a decent OBP or not, so the fact that Carroll actually gets on base, takes tons of pitches, and makes tons of contact is a nice bonus. He's also a right-handed batter who's hit .292 with a .371 OBP versus left-handed pitching during the past three seasons, making Carroll a nice fit breaking up the left-handed bats of Denard Span, Joe Mauer, and Justin Morneau.

Signing a middle infielder whose primary strengths are working counts and getting on base is a big step in the right direction for the Twins and Carroll's on-base skills are legitimately good, not just good compared to other middle infielders. For instance, he's posted a higher on-base percentage than Michael Cuddyer in each of the past four years. With that said, Carroll's lack of power is certainly an issue and both his age and defense are concerns on a two-year deal.

Apparently the Twins plan to use Carroll as their everyday shortstop and he's never done that before, although he did make 105 starts and log 1,078 innings at shortstop over the past two seasons. He also graded out as exactly average during that time according to Ultimate Zone Rating. Of course, for a 38-year-old average can quickly turn into below average and very few shortstops throughout baseball history have remained strong defenders at Carroll's age.

Age also puts him at risk for a rapid decline at the plate, particularly since speed and hand-eye coordination are major factors in Carroll's offensive game. Zero power is easy to live with in a solid defensive shortstop with a .350 on-base percentage, but if Carroll's range and OBP slip he'll either have to shift to second base with Alexi Casilla sliding back to shortstop or move to a bench role for which he'd be overpaid.

This isn't a signing that will excite an already frustrated fan base and if father time catches up to Carroll the Twins will regret giving him a two-year contract, but he's been worth significantly more than $3.5 million per season in each of the past four years, has shown no sign of decline so far and is better at 38 than he was at 28, has been on the disabled list once in 10 seasons, and kills two birds with one stone as a middle infielder and No. 2 hitter.

• Wilson Ramos, the Twins prospect traded to the Nationals for Matt Capps in mid-2010, was kidnapped from his home in Venezuela and remains missing.

• Jim Thome is recruiting Michael Cuddyer to join him on the Phillies.

• Hopefully this book can be found in the fiction section.

• Rockies reporter and columnist Jim Armstrong was dismissed from the Denver Post following 27 years at the newspaper after being named in a sports betting indictment. It's a complicated issue, but considering how many sportswriters bet on sports, openly talk of betting on sports, and even write about betting on sports ... well, it just seems like Armstrong got a raw deal.

• I've long been fascinated and frustrated by Eddie Murphy's career and Bill Simmons' movie-by-movie and quote-by-quote recap is a great read.

• Who knew the pizza industry employed so many artists?

• This is why I work from bed, not from the couch.

• Next year's Society for American Baseball Research convention will be in Minnesota from June 27 through July 2 and SABR announced that the event will be held in downtown Minneapolis at the Marriott City Center, which is walking distance from Target Field. I haven't missed a SABR convention since attending my first one in Cincinnati as a 21-year-old in 2004, so I'm hoping to see tons of Twins bloggers and AG.com readers there.

• As part of the interview process Theo Epstein made the Cubs' candidates manage simulated games, which is what happens when the people who grew up reading Bill James and playing Strat-O-Matic start running MLB teams.

• In fairness, this is probably how my colleagues would describe me too.

• I watched a few minutes of an MTV show called "I Used To Be Fat" and it reminded me of this Mitch Hedberg joke: "I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too."

• Community creator Dan Harmon was already a genius, but this proves it. Also, thanks.

• High school football announcers are the best:

"Py-ro-technics!"

• One of my articles was selected for the fourth annual "Best of MinnPost" collection.

• Never forget: Minnesotans elected this guy governor.

• Dave Attell talking with Joe Rogan for two hours about random stuff was pretty great.

• This is what they mean by a match made in heaven, except the exact opposite.

• My favorite Joe Frazier memory is him singing "When Somebody Loves You Back" by Teddy Pendergrass to woo Robin Quivers. One of his few losses, although it was a split decision.

• One of my childhood favorites, Heavy D, passed away at age 44. Eerily, his final Twitter post was mourning Frazier's death.

• Louis CK is taking his next stand-up special straight to the internet.

• Stand-up comedian, Parks and Recreation writer, and Official Fantasy Girl of AG.com candidate Chelsea Peretti was a great guest on Pete Holmes' new podcast. Follow her on Twitter, too.

• I'm not necessarily proud of this, but I watched an arm wrestling documentary on Netflix and it was really good despite some cheesy attempts to ramp up the drama.

• If you're not sure what to think of the Penn State situation, please read this and also this.

• My aunt's new book got a great review.

• Joe Christensen wants the Twins to finally induct Camilo Pascual into their Hall of Fame.

• As a Howard Stern fan this saddens me, but as an NBC employee it wouldn't be so bad.

• If they need a designated hitter who can't hit, count me in too.

• Ben Revere is, as always, adorable.

• This week's "Gleeman and The Geek" was an emergency episode recorded immediately after the announcement that Terry Ryan was replacing Bill Smith, so John Bonnes and I spent 105 minutes discussing what the general manager move means for the Twins' present and future.

• Finally, this week's AG.com-approved music video is Heavy D and The Boyz with a live version of "Now That We Found Love":

Joe Mauer's days as a full-time catcher may be over and current backup Drew Butera is one of the worst hitters in the history of baseball, which means the Twins should be in the market for help behind the plate this winter. Below are 15 free agents and possible trade targets who realistically figure to be on their catching radar along with my thoughts about how much sense it would make for the Twins to pursue each of them.

Ryan Doumit: His defense grades out horribly in every category behind the plate, but Doumit has plenty of catching experience in addition to playing right field and first base. His bat is the real asset, with a .271/.334/.442 career line and .303/.353/.477 mark this year. By comparison Michael Cuddyer has a .272/.343/.451 career line and .284/.346/.469 mark this year. Doumit has flaws, but a younger, switch-hitting poor man's Cuddyer who can catch is plenty useful.

Ryan Hanigan: With top prospect Devin Mesoraco looking MLB-ready the Reds may be willing to deal Hanigan, who's been stuck in a backup role. Hanigan is 31 years old with minimal pop, but among all catchers over the past five years his .371 on-base percentage trails only Mauer at .405. He's also hit .275 with more walks (116) than strikeouts (95) while throwing out 36 percent of steal attempts and is signed for just $1.2 million in 2012 and $2.1 million in 2013.

Ramon Hernandez: Hernandez is a free agent and coming off one of his best years at age 35, hitting .282/.341/.446 in 91 games for the Reds. He's a career .266/.330/.419 hitter, topping a .700 OPS in eight of the past nine years, and gunned down 36 percent of steal attempts since 2009. He hasn't played 100 games since 2008, but as a right-handed hitter presumably open to a one-year deal and a part-time role Hernandez would be a good fit for the Twins.

Chris Iannetta: Iannetta hasn't lived up to the promise he showed in 2008, falling out of favor in Colorado at age 28, yet despite a .235 career batting average his .788 OPS is ninth among active catchers. Coors Field inflates offense and away from home he's hit just .208/.338/.369, but that's still above average for catchers and the Coors effect tends to hurt Rockies hitters on the road. Signed for two more seasons and a total of $8.5 million, he'd be an affordable risk.

Chris Snyder: Snyder has long been a starting-caliber catcher, but missed most of this season following back surgery before the Pirates declined his $6.75 million option for 2012. Obviously back problems are bad news for catchers, but Snyder is still reasonably young at 31 and offers 15-homer power along with good plate discipline and a solid arm. His batting average won't be pretty, but if healthy Snyder can be an above-average hitter for the position.

Jesus Flores: Thanks to the Twins trading them Wilson Ramos the Nationals are set behind the plate, so they'll shop Flores now that he's healthy after missing two years with shoulder problems. He's a big question mark, but Flores is still just 27 years old, showed promise before the injury, and has played well in winter ball. If the Twins want a reliable veteran backup he's not the answer, but if they're looking for a younger catcher with some upside he's flier worthy.

Yorvit Torrealba: Texas gave Torrealba a two-year deal to be a starter and he filled that role for much of this season, but Mike Napoli's emergence benched him for the playoffs and could make him available via trade. Torrealba has never had a huge season, but he's topped a .700 OPS in three straight years with a .260/.318/.390 career line that's average for catchers. As a right-handed hitter and solid defender he'd be worth the one-year, $3.25 million commitment.

Kelly Shoppach: When pressed into extended duty Shoppach has struggled to hit above .200, but if limited to a platoon role versus left-handed pitching he's capable of being very effective. Shoppach has been useless against righties during the past three seasons, hitting just .156, but he's hit .262/.372/.488 off lefties. With the Rays declining his $3.2 million option the Twins would do well to pair Shoppach with Mauer.

Ramon Castro: An ideal backup/platoon partner for Mauer if not for the fact that he's 35 years old and missed the second half with a fractured right hand. Castro has never had a chance to start regularly, but he's been a top backup for a decade and hit .261/.336/.552 versus lefties over the past three seasons. If healthy he'd be a fine one-year, $1 million investment, but the age/injury combination is scary and Castro would be overmatched if pushed into a bigger role.

Miguel Olivo: Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has mentioned Olivo a few times to make me think the 33-year-old free agent is on the Twins' radar. Olivo has 20-homer power, but he's also MLB's most undisciplined hitter, posting a putrid .279 career on-base percentage. That includes this year's 140/20 K/BB ratio and .254 OBP, which prior to 2011 was the lowest by a qualified hitter since 1989. And he's led the league in passed balls four times in six years.

Rod Barajas: Barajas is similar to Olivo in that he's a veteran with 20-homer pop whose awful on-base skills drag his value down. He had 16 homers in 98 games for the Dodgers, but also hit just .230 with a .287 on-base percentage. Barajas played this season on a one-year, $3.25 million contract and a similar deal wouldn't be the worst investment for the Twins, but at age 36 and with a .231/.275/.424 line over the past three seasons they can do better.

Ivan Rodriguez: He's one of the greatest catchers of all time and can still shut down a running game, but Rodriguez hasn't cracked a .300 on-base percentage or .700 OPS since 2008 and is so old that the Twins drafted his son, high school outfielder Dereck Rodriguez, with this year's sixth-round pick. Combined over the past three seasons Rodriguez has hit .252/.286/.360 for a .646 OPS that ranks sixth-worst among all players with at least 1,000 plate appearances.

Jason Varitek: He has more pop left in his bat than Rodriguez, but that isn't saying much and Varitek has become a major defensive liability at age 39. He's hit .216/.306/.414 over the past three seasons, which is around average for a catcher if it didn't come with a throw-out rate of 15 percent and age-related durability issues. For some teams Varitek, like Rodriguez, wouldn't be the worst choice as a cheap one-year backup, but he's not what the Twins should look for.

Jorge Posada: One of the most underrated players of his generation, but unfortunately at this stage of his career Posada is more designated hitter than catcher/designated hitter. He made zero starts behind the plate in 2011, which along with a late-career inability to hit left-handed pitching makes Posada a poor fit for the Twins, but it's worth noting that he hit .269/.348/.466 versus right-handers this season.

A.J. Pierzynski: It's tough to imagine the Twins being interested in a reunion with Pierzynski, but he's under contract for $6 million in 2012 and figures to be available as the White Sox turn to Tyler Flowers behind the plate. At age 34 he struggles to throw out runners and has never hit left-handed pitching particularly well, but Pierzynski remains durable and productive versus right-handers. Under different circumstances he might be a fit, but in reality don't count on it.