Why do I care so much about irrelevant signings? Nobody knows.
The Minnesota Twins "filled" their hole at shortstop by signing Juan Castro to a 2yr/$2M deal.

I honestly think I could hit as well as Juan Castro. Seriously, I think I could. Now I'm not going to say I could play defense as well as he can, I definitely couldn't, but Castro is a career .226/.269/.331 hitter. I know I could do better than that.

Anyways, its not like he has a lot to live up to if he even makes the team. After all, he replaces Christian Guzman, who is a career .266/.303/.382 "hitter".

One million dollars a year to a defensive replacement? Strange. It's interesting that the Twins, a low budget team, don't have better ways to spend a million. It may not be a lot of money, but there are AT LEAST eight other shortstops not named Nomar still available on the free agent market who would be a better option than Juan Castro. Why do the Twins think Juan Castro is the answer? Wouldn't they be better off signing Pokey Reese for $1M? Unfortunately, Twins GM Terry Ryan doesn't see it that way.

"Our shortstop search is over," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said Tuesday. "We feel good about the people we already have in the organization and this man who is joining them."

I don't know how to interpret that statement. I really don't. I have to assume that Jason Bartlett, who last year hit .333/.415/.475 in AAA will be the opening day shortstop. That would take Terry Ryan off the hook for not pursuing a shortstop who belongs in the major leagues, but it definitely doesn't take him off the hook for wasting $2M on a replaceable player.

Maybe though, just maybe Terry Ryan is actually counting on Juan Castro as his everyday shortstop. Well good luck to him. Much like my fearless prediction that no NFL team will win with Tony Banks at quaterback, I will boldly predict that no MLB team will EVER win with Juan Castro starting.

The Twins were in the playoffs last year. They aren't that far away from being a serious contender. Throwing a million bucks at a player who could be replaced for the league minimum is hardly an attempt to take the next step.
Curt  ¶ 4:53 PM