Hartman: Twins open to keep or reacquire Morneau

While Terry Ryan is general manager of the Twins and has the final say when it comes to baseball decisions, team President Dave St. Peter is involved in all of the club's financial decisions.

So St. Peter was asked if there still is a chance the Twins will sign first baseman Justin Morneau, even if he is traded and becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

"There will be a time for that discussion," St. Peter said. "He has made it known that he wants to be in Minnesota, I know that's important to Justin and his family.

"He also is going to earn the right to potentially be a free agent here. That's a process, but he has been a huge part of our franchise, a big part of our brand, he's very active in the community. I know there will be a dialogue; I know we'll have a chance to sign him. At the end of the day, that's all we can ask for as this club and the relationship we have with him and his agent."

The word is the Twins will wind up with about 15 percent less in revenue this year than in 2010, the first year in Target Field. The worry is if the club doesn't start winning in the future, fans will quit coming to the park and revenue will drop.

However, St. Peter is encouraged by the team's play since the All-Star break, with a record of 15-12.

"We shown some flashes," St. Peter said. "That's really been the story of our season, and unfortunately I think we've been unable to be consistent.

"We have a lot of work to do, and needless to say it starts on that mound. Hopefully we can continue to get some decent starting pitching and take the step forward that we all really thought was going to happen at the beginning of the year and frankly within the organization believe can still happen, depending on how we play the last two months."

St. Peter added that the progress of several highly touted prospects in the minors, such as third baseman Miguel Sano, outfielder Byron Buxton, second baseman Eddie Rosario and pitcher Trevor May brightens the franchise's outlook.

"The good news is that at this time last year, I would have had as hard of a time selling the fans or anybody else on the future," St. Peter said. "Right now, when you start to look at some of the pieces that are coming together — both on this year's club and [the prospects advancing], it's a much easier sell for me. I'm pretty bullish that we're not that far away from being a very good baseball team."

It looks like former Gophers teammates Flip Saunders and Kevin McHale have found their calling in the NBA. McHale coached the Houston Rockets into the playoffs last season, and Saunders has done a fantastic job of putting a possible playoff team together as the Wolves' new president of basketball operations.

Saunders and McHale spent 10 years together with McHale as GM and Saunders as coach of the Timberwolves, reaching the playoffs eight times, but McHale eventually replaced Saunders in February 2005. Then-GM David Kahn removed McHale as coach in June of 2009.

• Weather could be a problem when the Twins open the 2014 season against the White Sox on April 1. The Twins' interleague opponents next season are at home against Milwaukee, Arizona, the L.A. Dodgers and San Diego and on the road against Milwaukee, San Francisco, Colorado and San Diego.

• Forbes Magazine released their annual ratings of the most valuable NFL franchises and the Vikings came in 21st with a worth of $1.007 billion. The Wilfs paid $600 million for the club in 2005 and before the new stadium was agreed upon, the franchise was worth about half of what Forbes has it valued at now.

• Apple Valley basketball star Tyus Jones, who made an unofficial visit to Minnesota this week, made an announcement of four of his five official recruiting visits this year, but Michigan State wasn't on the list. Spartans coach Tom Izzo probably has spent more time trying to sell his school to Jones than any other D-I coach. Jones will make official visits to Baylor on Aug. 30 — one that just might be a courtesy visit because assistant coach Jared Nuness is a relative of Jones — Kentucky on Sept. 27-29, Kansas on Oct. 18-20 and Duke on Oct. 25-27, where I'm sure he'll go.

• While there is little chance the Gophers basketball team will sign a top recruit, there were Internet reports that two players are visiting the Minnesota campus this month. One is Lourawls Nairn, a point guard whom Rivals.com has ranked as the 61st-best prospect in the country, from Sunrise (Kan.) Christian Academy. Nairn has also set up an official visit at Oklahoma. Also coming is shooting guard Wade Baldwin, who hails from St. Joseph's in Metuchen, N.J., and is rated by Rivals.com as the 117th-best prospect in the country.

• The Twins chose not to compete for former pitcher Scott Baker's services when he signed with the Cubs for $5.5 million. Baker hasn't taken the mound for the Cubs this year after elbow surgery, though he has recently made four rehab starts in the minors. The Twins' policy of not paying big money to free-agent pitchers paid off in this case.