Q&A with Bill Smith: Having a surplus is OK with Twins

Smith, with the help of Ryan, Rob Antony and Mike Radcliff, tackled the challenge of keeping the Twins competitive despite losing All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter to free agency and trading two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana.

Smith traded with Tampa Bay for outfielders Delmon Young and Jason Pridie and infielder Brendan Harris. Smith traded Santana to the Mets for four prospects, headlined by outfielder Carlos Gomez. Both trades will be heavily scrutinized unless Young and Gomez reach their potential.

Smith authorized assistant GM Antony to sign Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Joe Nathan to contract extensions. Smith then watched his team win 88 games but get dragged down by a leaky bullpen and lose a one-game playoff to the White Sox.

Before traveling to Fort Myers, Fla., for organizational meetings, Smith sat down with the Star Tribune to discuss several issues as he enters his second offseason as GM.

Q How do you get better?

A We've got to bring some stability back in our bullpen. We hope that Pat Neshek [recovering from a torn elbow ligament] is going to be able to bounce back in 2009. Our infield, we have a couple issues. We have to figure out what we are going to do with some of our free agents. We got real good performances out of Brian Buscher and Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla this year. Our outfield, we are in pretty good shape. For the most part, we don't have any drastic contract issues.

Q Any regrets about not being able to do more to help the bullpen?

A You always want to try and make your club better. But I don't regret not doing some of the deals that were offered to us. We've got to maintain some long-term vision, and I think we were competitive on a lot of possible deals and we just couldn't make them happen. I'd rather do no deal than make a bad deal.

Q Is it a higher priority to look outside the organization for bullpen help than inside?

A We'll look at trades. We'll look at free agents. We'll look at internal candidates. And we'll see what happens. Phil Humber had a real good second half at Rochester last year and he will be out of options next year. So we will look outside the organization in all areas and we'll see what the winter brings. It's a little lean in some of the free-agent markets.

Q You have a surplus of starting outfielders and your designated hitter spot is manned by Jason Kubel. How does that affect your approach to offseason moves?

A We'll see. Having a surplus isn't a bad thing, as we found out this year. You start with 25 on Opening Day. Michael Cuddyer was hurt. Nick Punto was hurt. Kevin Slowey was on the [disabled list]. Scott Baker and Slowey were on the DL early. Having depth is a good thing. If we can figure out a way to make our club better, we're certainly going to be pursuing it.

Q But if you need to tap into a resource to trade for a quality player, isn't the outfield where those resources are?

A We'll see. I'm not going too deep there. We have Cuddyer and Carlos Gomez and Kubel and Denard Span and Delmon Young. That's five [outfielders]. And Jason Pridie had a terrific second half [at Class AAA Rochester]. He's certainly ready to play at this level. That's six.

Q Is moving Cuddyer to third base a real possibility?

A You'll have to talk to the manager about that. And I haven't.

Q Granted, we are only one season removed from the trade with the Rays, but how do you think that trade has worked out so far?

A It's worked out great for the Rays, no question. Look where they are. And I think it's probably still a work in progress for us. I don't think we saw the best of Delmon Young. I haven't seen too much analysis or have broken it down, but I think from June 1 on, he was a much better player for us. He's durable. He hit for average. He drove in runs. He has raw power. I think everyone has seen it. He hasn't hit a lot of home runs, but he's got tremendous raw power. He just turned 23 years old.

Brendan Harris, we moved him around to a couple different positions. We'll see how it goes. Pridie is a good piece of that. I think Delmon Young is going to continue to improve.

Q How tough is it to go out and trade for what you want without breaking up key areas of the club -- like your staring rotation?

A We like that core group. We've got a couple young guys coming. A couple guys who pitched in AA and AAA this year, we think are going to continue to supply support to this club. You can't have too much pitching. So we like that.

Q So you prefer to keep that group intact?

A It depends on what we're getting back. I know this is a canned answer, but if it makes the organization better, we could do that.

Q This organization has tried to find a solution for third base in recent years, but it hasn't worked out. How can you solidify that position?

A We will continue to bring people in. Brian Buscher did a good job there this year; he was one of our key guys. Harris, when he went over there, there was a stretch where they were platooning. We've got a couple guys over there who handled the position this year. We have a couple young guys coming through the system who are still a few years away. And we're always looking to make every position better when we are presented with that option -- but they aren't in great supply out there.

Q How close are third base prospects Danny Valencia and Luke Hughes?

A We'll see. We don't think they are ready now, but Hughes is going to go play in Venezuela [he just started winter ball] and Valencia is in Arizona [at the fall league]. They both have good talent. Hughes had a breakout season. He showed more power than he showed in recent years. And Valencia's got skills.

Q How important is it for you to address Ron Gardenhire's contract this offseason?

A You know how highly this organization thinks of Ron Gardenhire and the entire coaching staff. I don't think it's an issue with him. He hasn't made it an issue and we haven't made it an issue and when the time is right we'll sit down and talk. He's extremely well-thought-of, and I don't envision any drastic changes.