The option is part of a contract Cuddyer signed in 2008. He will make $8.5 million in 2010 and $33.5 million over the life of the four-year deal.
If the Twins had declined the option, they would have owed Cuddyer a $1 million buyout.
Kearns bought out
The Nationals declined their $10 million option on outfielder Austin Kearns and are paying a $1 million buyout, presumably ending his disappointing tenure with the team. Kearns, 29, hit only .195 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 174 at-bats this season, when he was hampered by a thumb problem. Elbow and foot injuries limited Kearns to 86 games in 2008, when he batted .217 with seven homers and 32 RBIs . . . Mets reliever J.J. Putz and Twins pitcher Carl Pavano filed for free agency, pushing the number of new players on the open market to 120. Putz became a free agent one day after New York declined his $9.1 million option and chose to pay a $1 million buyout. About 60 more players are potentially eligible to file by the Nov. 19 deadline . . . The National League champion Phillies said three players will have operations this week. Brad Lidge will have surgery Wednesday to remove a loose body from his right elbow. Tomorrow, outfielder Raul Ibanez will have a sports hernia repaired and lefthander Scott Eyre will have loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow.
Lincecum agreement
Giants ace Tim Lincecum has an agreement with a prosecutor in his home state of Washington that could settle his misdemeanor marijuana possession charge, The Columbian reported. The Vancouver, Wash., newspaper said Clark County prosecutors have reached a deal with a lawyer for the 2008 Cy Young Award winner that would result in a $250 fine for having a marijuana pipe. Grant Hansen, a Clark County deputy prosecutor, told the newspaper his office is willing to dismiss a misdemeanor charge of possessing 3.3 grams of marijuana . . . Pitcher Scott Proctor signed a minor league contract with the Braves after missing all of last season recovering from elbow surgery. The 32-year-old righthander began experiencing elbow pain in 2008, causing him to miss 63 games, and underwent Tommy John ligament replacement surgery May 12.
Giants win title
The Yomiuri Giants defeated the Nippon Ham Fighters, 2-0, to win the Japan Series in six games in Tokyo. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe drove in the winning run, doubling to center to give Yomiuri a 1-0 lead in the second inning at Sapporo Dome. Tetsuya Matsumoto hit a two-out single and scored on an error in the sixth.
