"If the Phillies have decided free agent Michael Cuddyer is a player they must add this offseason, they made a brilliant move Saturday by re-signing his former Twins teammate Jim Thome to a one-year, $1.25 million contract.

At 41, Thome will be reduced to a full-time pinch-hitting role in the National League, but he's going back to a place where he thrived from 2003 to 2005 and returning to a manager he loves like a father, Charlie Manuel.

Imagine the conversations Thome and Cuddyer could have about playing together in Philadelphia, in the hitter's paradise that is Citizens Bank Park, under Manuel, the old hitting guru, alongside that incredible pitching staff.

"We've texted a little bit; we've talked," Thome told reporters. "All I can say about Michael is he's a great player. He's a winner. He's a stand-up guy. ... I would put Michael as one of my top-five, all-time favorite teammates. No question. He's up there. He's a winner.""