Cabrera, Wuertz draw interest

With the trade deadline closing in, the Twins are looking at A's shortstop Orlando Cabrera and a reliever, Austin, Minn., native Chris Wuertz.

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: July 23, 2009 - 11:58 PM

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ANAHEIM, CALIF. - The July 31 deadline for trades without waivers is a week away, and a couple of the Twins' trade targets are becoming known.

Indications are that the Twins are interested in Oakland shortstop Orlando Cabrera and reliever Michael Wuertz. Cabrera, 34, entered Thursday batting .276 with four homers and 39 RBI. He is batting .387 in July.

Cabrera is viewed as a player who can bring energy to a club, and has played in 31 postseason games. He signed a one year, $4 million deal with Oakland before the season, and the Twins appear willing to add some salary.

Wuertz, 30, is 5-1 with a 2.72 ERA with three saves in 44 games with the A's. The Austin, Minn., native is making $1.1 million this year.

It's not known what Oakland is seeking in return.

If the Twins don't deal for Cabrera, there are indications that the Twins haven't ruled out another push for Pittsburgh second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who entering Thursday was batting .305 with six homers and 34 RBI. Sanchez is making $6.25 million this year and is on pace to have enough plate appearances to trigger an $8 million option for 2010. Although the Twins are willing to add some salary, they might be debating whether to take on that much.

Plan for Grudzielanek

Infielder Mark Grudzielanek reported to Fort Myers. Fla., on Wednesday to begin a week of workouts before joining Class AA New Britain.

Grudzielanek, who signed a minor-league deal with the Twins earlier this week, is expected to need at least three weeks to get ready.

The Twins continue to look around the league for middle infield help, and Grudzielanek, 39, is aware of that. If Alexi Casilla is struggling at second base by the time Grudzielanek is ready, the Twins could make a change.

But Grudzielanek is interested in playing next year as well as this year and views this an opportunity to either join the Twins for a playoff push or showcase himself to other teams if the Twins swing a deal for another middle infielder.

Buscher, sushi don't mix

Brian Buscher was in the starting lineup Thursday before he walked into manager Ron Gardenhire's office and told him he had gotten sick from some bad sushi.

Brendan Harris replaced Buscher at third base and in the seventh spot in the batting order.

Buehrle's gem

Twins players who arrived to the park early Thursday caught the last couple of innings of Mark Buehrle's perfect game against Tampa Bay.

Denard Span said there were a lot of shouts when outfielder DeWayne Wise raced back to fence to steal a homer in the ninth and help preserve the masterpiece.

Joe Crede knows what it's like to be part of a no-hitter. He fielded the grounder that became the final out of Buehrle's no-no with the White Sox in 2007. Buehrle bought each teammate a watch to commemorate that game.

Crede said he was so focused on trying to win the game that he didn't realize Buehrle had a no-no going until the late innings. Then he had to figure out if it was a no-hitter or perfect game.

"You want the ball hit to you," Crede said. "You want to end it and get it over with."

Buehrle, Crede said, acted as if it was another game, talking with teammates between innings. It was a contrast to last year, when Gavin Floyd was silent the whole game when he no-hit the Twins for 8 1/3 innings at U.S. Cellular Field.

Crede congratulated Buehrle via a text message.

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