"Justin Morneau is willing to be the Twins' full-time designated hitter, but it's not his preference.

"I will play wherever the team wants me to play that will give us the best chance of winning," he said via email Tuesday. "I believe that would be at first base."

That's what general manager Terry Ryan is hoping to hear, now and when spring training begins the third week in February. If the Twins are to recover from a 99-loss season and compete for an American League Central title, they'll need Morneau to play his first full season since 2008. And if Morneau is able to play a full season, it might as well be at first base, where he earned the 2006 AL Most Valuable Player Award.

"We have not talked about the DH with Morneau; we're talking about first base," Ryan said Monday. "I don't see how DH would be any less strenuous than first base for him myself. It will be the same thing for him; he'll have to slide, go from first to third. Ultimately, he'll have to be a base runner and take at-bats." "