ON THE ROSTER (alphabetical order): Drew Butera (.198, 1 HR, 5 RBI), Jamey Carroll (.268, 1 HR, 40 RBI), Alexi Casilla (.241, 1 HR, 30 RBI), Ryan Doumit (.275, 18 HR, 75 RBI), Eduardo Escobar (.227 0 HR, 6 RBI), Pedro Florimon (.219, 1 HR, 10 RBI), Chris Herrmann (.056, 0 HR, 1 RBI), Joe Mauer (.319, 10 HR, 85 RBI), Justin Morneau (.267, 19 HR, 77 RBI), Chris Parmelee (.229, 5 HR, 20 RBI), Trevor Plouffe (.235, 24 HR, 55 RBI)
LOOKING BACK: It was an interesting year for Minnesota's infielders and catchers. Some positions, such as catcher, saw a stability that wasn't there in 2011. Other positions, namely shortstop, were a revolving door throughout the entire 2012 season.
Mauer bounced back from an injury-plagued 2011 in which he played just 82 games and set a career high in games played in 2012 with 147. After batting just .287 last year, Mauer hit .319 this season and challenged for his fourth career batting title until the final week of the season. Mauer's 10 home runs and 85 RBI were both the most since his MVP season in 2009.
Helping Mauer's increased durability in 2012 was the fact he moved out from behind the plate for half the games he played. Mauer caught 74 games (72 starts), started 30 games at first base and was the Twins' designated hitter for 42 games. Though Mauer still wants to be a catcher first and foremost, he made the transition to first base look easy.
Mauer's increased versatility allowed Minnesota to use Doumit behind the plate for 56 starts. The Twins signed Doumit as a free agent last winter, and he proved valuable. He posted career highs in home runs (18) and RBI (75) while playing in a career-high 134 games. Aside from at catcher, Doumit also played in both left and right field (22 total games), as well as 48 games as DH. His versatility and production intrigued the Twins enough to sign him to a two-year contract extension in late June, which means he's now locked up through the 2014 season.
As Mauer bounced back from an injury-plagued 2011, so too did Morneau. The Twins first baseman entered the 2012 season with plenty of question marks after he played in just 69 games last season and 81 games in 2010. Morneau suffered a concussion during the 2010 season and experienced lingering effects in 2011, along with other ailments. But the 31-year-old Morneau played 134 games this year and, after a slow start, finished third on the team in both home runs and RBI.
When Morneau wasn't playing first base, the Twins gave Parmelee the opportunity to play first. The 24-year-old made his major league debut in 2011 as a September call-up and played in 64 games this year with Minnesota, including 31 starts at first base. On days when Morneau was in the lineup at first base, Parmelee played in right field.
For a while this season, Plouffe was the hottest hitter in baseball. During a span of 14 games from May 28 to June 15, he hit 10 home runs — including five in a four-day span — and slugged .982 in 56 at-bats. Yet that production wasn't consistent throughout the year for Plouffe, who adjusted to playing third base for the first time in his career. In 95 games at third base, Plouffe committed 17 errors. His right-handed power is intriguing, but he needs to show more consistency — both at the plate and in the field
The middle infield was one of the biggest issues for the Twins this season. Minnesota began the year with the veteran Carroll at shortstop and Casilla at second base. By early May, rookie Brian Dozier made his major league debut and spent time at shortstop, while Casilla and Carroll platooned at second. But Dozier was eventually sent back to Triple-A Rochester and replaced by Florimon, who spent much of the final two months as the everyday shortstop. Escobar played in just 14 games for the Twins after his call-up and played three positions (shortstop, second and third base) during that time.
OFFSEASON DECISIONS: Outside of settling on a rotation, the Twins' biggest offseason decisions may come when they try to figure out who the starting middle infielders will be. Florimon impressed the Twins' coaching staff and front office with his fielding, but he needs to show more at the plate. Minnesota was hoping Dozier would be the answer at short, but his struggles both at the plate and in the field led to his demotion.
The Twins will also have to decide whether Plouffe is the long-term answer at third base. It's a position that has not been settled in Minnesota for quite some time — even earlier this season, Danny Valencia held down the job before he was traded to Boston.
LOOKING AHEAD: It appears as if the Twins have most of the pieces of their 2013 infield. The question now is how they all fit together.
Will Morneau again be healthy enough to play regularly at first base? If so, where does that leave Parmelee? There's a chance Parmelee's transition to outfielder could become a more permanent fix. And will Mauer continue to play a handful of games at first base? What about Florimon? Can he contribute at the major league level?
It should be an interesting spring as Minnesota tries to sift through the infield options.
MANAGER RON GARDENHIRE SAYS: "I like what (the middle infield) looks like. I was kind of happy starting the season. Once we got Jamey Carroll, I knew he was solid. I was excited about the Dozier situation, the possibility of him, fitting his way into it one way or another. Alexi, I've always said Alexi can play, just on a consistent basis he just hasn't been there. So I like some of our players, it just hasn't worked out as well as expected. But the guys that we have out there right now, it's really fun to watch Florimon play shortstop. I mean, that's pretty exciting, and we can figure out second base with a lot of talented people going in there and battling for it. And then we've got to figure out third base. There's no guarantees on that. Plouffe's put his stake in the ground. We have to see if that's going to be the right thing for our baseball team."
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