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The Minnesota Twins reportedly agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Jason Kubel on Friday morning, finalizing the initial steps toward completing a reunion with the team that drafted him in 2000. The seasons that followed his rookie year in 2004 with Minnesota were mostly positive, where he greatly contributed to the team's regular-season success that resulted in four postseason appearances during this stretch.
It's a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training, a pact that seemingly presents little risk for the Twins. Kubel will likely compete for a starting role with Minnesota, spending time primarily in left field and as the designated hitter.
Kubel will bring some much-needed pop into the Twins' lineup; however, he's a left-handed batter, and may be challenged in pulling the ball into the right-field seats at Target Field. This was an issue for him at home games in his first stint in Minnesota's relatively-new ballpark, as he only put the ball into the seats on 12 separate occasions in 448 at-bats between 2010 and 2011. He was much more productive in away games during this span, as he hit 21 home runs in 535 at-bats.
His home and road splits between 2010 and 2011 may not give a crystal-clear picture on his ability to consistently hit home runs, as seen by his 2013 power numbers, where he only hit 5 home runs in 290 at-bats between stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Indians.
2013 was clearly a down year for Kubel, but he was much more effective during the prior season with Arizona, where his greater offensive production can be seen by his triple-slash line of .253/.327/.506, including a career-best 30 home runs.
If Kubel is able to produce even slightly close to this 2012 production, the Twins will have signed one of the best bargain-deals this offseason.
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