MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Twins swapped offers with several of their young stars on Tuesday, including AL MVP Justin Morneau and batting champ Joe Mauer, in what will be the start of an expensive offseason for the small-market club.
The Twins offered Morneau $4 million, Mauer $3.3 million and cleanup hitter Michael Cuddyer $3 million.
Morneau, who hit .321 with 34 homers and 130 RBIs to edge the Yankees' Derek Jeter in a tight MVP race last year, asked for $5 million, a hefty raise from his $385,000 salary last season.
After helping the Twins to their fourth AL Central title in five seasons, Morneau said he'd love to stay in Minnesota for the long haul. General manager Terry Ryan has said he will be discussing a multiyear deal with many of his arbitration-eligible players, including Morneau.
"I love Minnesota. I'd love to play my whole career here. We have a great young team," the 25-year-old Morneau said after winning the MVP. "We're all around the same age. We had a pretty decent year last year and we have a chance to do it again next year and for a lot of years to come, especially with that new stadium coming. This is a great place to play. I love the people here."
If that is going to happen, the Twins are going to have to pay up.
"He's going to be rewarded. There's no doubt," Ryan said in November.
The same can be said for Mauer, who hit .347 to become the first catcher to win an AL batting title. The smooth-swinging lefty made just $400,000 last season, but asked for $4.5 million next year.
Cuddyer avoided arbitration last season when he agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.35 million, then went out and had the best season of his career.
Playing every day in right field, Cuddyer hit .284 with 24 homers and 109 RBIs. He asked for $4.25 million.
Reliever Juan Rincon asked for $2.4 million after earning $900,000 as the primary setup man to Joe Nathan. The Twins offered $1.6 million each to Rincon and third baseman Nick Punto, who provided strong defense and a spark at the top of the lineup while hitting .290. Punto asked for $2.1 million after making $720,000 last season.
Lew Ford, a reserve outfielder who struggled with injuries last season, was the final player to exchange numbers, asking for $1.3 million and being offered $800,000.
The players and the team can continue to negotiate contracts until their arbitration hearings begin to try to avoid the process. Hearings will be held next month, during which a panel of three arbitrators will select from one of the two numbers presented, but negotiations rarely get that far.
