Minnesota Twins, Outfielder Josh Willingham sign 3-year, $21 million deal -MLB Update
Barely a day after rumours spread about outfielder free agent, Josh Willingham being in Minnesota in order to pass a potential physical for the team, a prerequisite to him being signed on, the Minnesota Twins announced that they and the player had agreed
on mutual terms and conditions to a three-year deal, worth an estimated $21 million on Thursday, December 15, 2011.
It was expected that Willingham would be signing on at any moment but the only delay was that the Twins were waiting to see if Michael Cuddyer would be rejoining them for the upcoming 2012 Major League Baseball (MLB) season or not, which has obviously been
expressed indirectly in the negative.
When reached for comment on the situation, Minnesota Twins general manager, Terry Ryan, denied having signed on any player and said that he still is looking for someone to fill the gap, until the news broke out that is.
"I don't have a deal with anybody, so I guess I've got an open door," Ryan said. "I'm still looking for a corner outfielder."
Minnesota was learned to have offered the 32-year-old Cuddyer a four-year, $24 million contract, which has not been accepted by the player. It is still not clear where he will be headed the upcoming season but it can be seen that he will be looking for more
than originally offered.
It was rumoured that Minnesota could hire both players onto the line-up, but when Ryan was contacted for further comment, he termed it as highly improbable and unlikely but did not deny it fully.
Willingham has a .262 hitting average with 132 home runs. He played with the Oakland Athletics the last season and hit a .246 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs.
"I know they had a rough year and some injuries, but it's still a good situation," Willingham added. "When you think of the Twins, you think contenders. They've been to the postseason most every year."
It will be exciting to see how Josh Willingham intends on improving next year with a new team and if he will be able to change things around at all or not.
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