RP Tim Stauffer ends his 12 year career as a San Diego Padres (10 in the majors). He was a former first round pick (4th overall) in 2003 (three after Delmon Young), and like Young never quite reached his potential as a starting pitcher; his best year he had 31 starts, an ERA of 3.73, and a 2.42 K/BB ratio. The last two years with the Padres, he's proved to be a quality mid-relief and long-relief arm. The Twins will bolster up their bullpen after a somewhat disappointing performance from their relievers (besides Glen Perkins). Compared to last year, he appears to be their best mid-relief arm, assuming Rule 5 draft pick (and a top 10 Braves prospect) J.R. Graham takes the long relief role. The Twin aren't quite booming from their rebuild like the Cubs this year, but they will be soon with their top prospects just on the horizon. This one year 2.2 million dollar contract, shows they want to improve from last year, with some of their younger players starting to emerge, extending Phil Hughes, and signing Ervin Santana and Torii Hunter (the later also taking a leadership role with the young prospects). The Twins are not looking to contend yet, but their future to a winning team is close ahead of them.
