From One Orlando To Another

At the end of last season, the Twins picked up Orlando Cabrera…

…to anchor the SS position and provide some pop at the top of the order.

Unfortunately, Cabrera is somewhat of a bid-hunter in the baseball business, and thus was all but assured a ticket elsewhere.  So, just a few days ago, the Twins picked up another Orlando (this one carrying the moniker of Hudson)…

…to, once again, anchor an infield position (this time 2B) and hit in between Denard “Singles Machine” Span and Joe “Drive ‘Em In” Mauer.

I really like this move, as it continues to reduce the number of weak outs the Twins have in their lineup.  A possible Opening-Day squad now looks like this:

1. Denard Span

2. Orlando Hudson

3. Joe Mauer

4. Justin Morneau

5. Michael Cuddyer

6. Jason Kubel

7. Delmon Young

8. J.J. Hardy

9. Nick Punto/Brendan Harris

Compared to past years, that lineup has the real potential to put some feet on home plate.

I have to give it to the Twins organization this season for opening up the wallet a bit.  The combination of “new stadium funds” and “trying to woo Mauer into staying” seems to be working quite well together!  Instead of just treading water and competing in our weak division, if our pitching gets back on track we could have a real contending squad.