Minnesota signed RHP Joe Nathan to a two-year contract last week. He'll reportedly receive a salary of $440,000 in 2004, but his base salary in 2005 supposedly is dependant upon whether he leads the Twins in games finished. If he fails to lead the team in GF, then he'll receive $850,000 in 2005, whereas accomplishing the feat earns him a salary of $1.2M in 2005. The second year of the deal apparently also includes incentives of an undisclosed nature. He was scheduled to achieve arbitration-eligibility next off-season.

Since Nathan currently is the favorite to break camp as the Twins' closer, Minnesota sought to lock him into a deal before his status inflated his price. Nathan was amenable to the security the contract provided, as there are provisions that would increase his salary if he closes and he doesn't yet have the job. While his strikeout rate certainly was impressive in 2003, I fear his ERA will balloon in 2004. The Giants' defense helped Nathan keep his hit rate down, concealing his questionable walk rate and protecting him from allowing an excess of baserunners. Even if Minnesota's able to provide him with similar defensive support, the change of stadiums alone should result in trouble. The 29-year-old is very much a flyball pitcher, and while San Francisco's stadium suppressed home runs, the Metrodome will be unfriendly.

As far as winning the closing job, I don't think LHP J.C. Romero will offer Nathan much competition. While a nagging groin injury received most of the blame for his poor showing last year, Romero succeeded in 2002 with a lot of help from the Twins defense. His hit rate rose in 2003, a questionable walk rate grew worse, and the earned runs piled up. The 27-year-old remained effective against lefties and should be useful to Minnesota if they limit his exposure to right-handers in 2004.

Nathan's real competition comes in the form of RHP Jesse Crain. Minor league closers generally do not impress me, but Crain's minor league saves are superfluous to the impressive skills he's displayed. After closing 2002 at Quad City in the Midwest League, Crain opened last season at A+ Fort Myers in the Florida State League, where he compiled a 25:5 K:BB with 10 H allowed in 19 IP for a 2.84 ERA over 10 appearances. He then advanced to AA New Britain in the Eastern League, where he compiled a 56:10 K:BB with 13 H allowed in 39 IP for a 0.69 ERA over 22 appearances, earning him a promotion to the AAA International League. At AAA Rochester, he compiled a 33:10 K:BB with 24 H allowed in 26 IP for a 3.12 ERA over 23 appearances. Crain did not allow a home run at any level in 2003. The fast track doesn't bother me the way it would with a starter, as relievers can pack more into a shorter time since they don't need to rest five days between appearances.

Minnesota drafted Crain out of the University of Houston with a second round pick in the 2002 draft. Reports indicate, he's been a reliever as long as he's been a pitcher because he likes it rather than because he failed as a starter. While the limited nature of his minor league sample size leaves open the possibility that a fatal flaw will emerge once he hits the majors, the 22-year-old appears prepared to make his major league debut. Given his experience in the late innings, I don't find the idea of him debuting as the Twins' closer absurd.

Manager Ron Gardenhire acknowledges Crain's in the running for the position, and I believe it will come down to his spring performance. A spring shelling will mean more time at AAA. If both he and Nathan pitch comparably, Nathan likely will open as the closer while Crain works as a setup man. With a dominant spring training performance along the lines of the numbers he put up in the minors, I think Crain will be able to start picking out a song to accompany his intro as the closer from the bullpen. I don't know how well something like Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" matches up against traditional Metallica favorites "Hell's Bells" and "Enter Sandman", but played loud enough it would probably work.

Even if Crain doesn't win the position in spring training, Nathan appears unlikely to hold the closer's job for long. Consequently, I don't see a lot of wisdom in signing Nathan to this deal.

If healthy, OF-R Torii Hunter likely will pull a couple of homers back over the fence for Nathan. However, Hunter experienced a frightening collision with the outfield fence during Friday's spring training game against the Reds while trying to catch a fly ball hit by OF-L Jacob Cruz. He pulled himself from the game and requested x-rays on his left wrist. Fortunately, the x-rays results were negative, and the injury is being called a strain. While he remained in pain, Hunter began therapy on Saturday, and he hopes to resume normal participation in spring training sometime this week. As long as reports indicate he's recovered within the next week to 10 days, I don't believe this will be a problem for him during the regular season. On the other hand, I'm somewhat concerned by the continued reports of pain as x-rays don't catch all injuries. I will provide an update if he appears to be more seriously incapacitated.