Monroe - B.F.D.

When the Tigers traded Craig Monroe to the Cubs last year, many Twins fans rejoiced, because, of course, he absolutely killed Twins pitching.
Like Joe Orsulak, Lance Johnson, Edgar Martinez and Jim Thome, he was a guy that never made an out in the Dome. Or so it seemed.

But the reason the Tigers traded Monroe is that his career appeared to be in steep decline (he seemed to confirm that by stinking it up in Chicago).

Now the Twins have picked him up from the Cubs for a PTBNL.
Many Twins fans have already reacted with shock and horror, comparing Monroe to Tony Batista, another washed up veteran the Twins took an ill-advised flier on.

Monroe could very well be another Batista, but there's an important distinction to be made here. Monroe, who hit .222 with 12 homers this year after three relatively productive seasons in 2004-06, is up for arbitration Dec. 1.
The Twins will try to sign him to a cheap contract (he made $4.75 million last year) in the meantime. If they can't, and indications are that Monroe will be open to a cheap deal in light of his poor '07 performance, they'll cut him loose, and they won't have to send the PTBNL to the Cubs. So basically they've bought themselves a window to have exclusive negotiating rights to him.

It's doubtful the Twins look at Monroe as an everyday player, and it's doubtful they'll allow him to take them to arbitration if they can't work something out.

There is, I suppose, a slim chance Monroe could return to form, and if so this could be a steal for the Twins. Maybe his track record in the Dome will come into play. Even if he doesn't return to form, he can be a decent 4th OF (especially if the platoon-allergic Ron Gardenhire limits him to playing against lefties, who he hits well), and I have stressed several times that the Twins need to address their bench as badly as they need to address their lineup. This would be a nice step in that direction.

Ultimately, this isn't a major transaction. I think it's Bill Smith dipping his toe in the water.

Bottom line: If Monroe is replacing Lew Ford/Rondell White, I'm cool with it. And he's a close friend of Torii Hunter's, so maybe they're trying to make it harder for Torii to leave.
But if Monroe's coming in at $5 million, or to play everyday, Smith is off to a bad start.