The Twins are closer than they seem. Santana, Vargas, Arcia, Sano and Buxton are going to lead this team somewhere. I see no reason why the Twins can't be aggressive this off-season and make it happen. I think if the Twins trade for an outfielder and a starting pitcher, the boost we would receive mid-summer with the arrival of Buxton and Sano could give the them what they need to be a legitimate playoff contender. I have selected my top five trade candidates for both pitcher and outfielders. Obviously, some are more realistic than others.

Pitchers:

1. Cole Hamels. Hamels 4 years plus an option left at $22.5 million apiece. He would be tough to get, but the Phillies are going to need a youth movement soon, so he may be obtainable.

2. Andrew Cashner. Cashner will be a free agent in 2017, but could potentially be extended. This year, he made $2.4 million. He'd be a solid pitcher and wouldn't increase the payroll quite as much as Hamels. He could also be harder to obtain, however.

3. Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez is a great pitcher, but the Nationals have so many great pitchers that they could afford to deal from strength. This trade would probably cause the Twins to give up more than they want to. His contract is quite nice, with two more guaranteed years (at $11 and $12 million) followed by two options.

4. Jon Niese. I've heard some talk that the Mets could deal Niese this offseason. He would pair nicely at the front of our rotation. He has a similar contract structure to Gonzalez for a couple million less per year.

5. Ian Kennedy. Kennedy will be a free agents after one more season, so I would only want him with the idea of extending him, but I think he is good enough to be an effective pitcher. He also wouldn't be as hard as the others to pry from his current team.

Outfielders:

1. Mookie Betts. Man would I love to have this guy. The Red Sox don't need him due to their abundance of prospects, but it would take a haul to bring him to Minnesota. Once Buxton gets here, the Twins would have to decide which center fielder to play in left-not necessarily a bad choice to make.

2. Sterling Marte. This is probably the most unrealistic trade I've proposed, but it's OK to dream, right? He's under control for five more years plus two option years.

3. Carl Crawford. The Dodgers have too many outfielders. I actually think this trade would be quite possible. His contract has three more years at just over $20 million per year.

4. Scott Van Slyke. Like Carl Crawford only younger and cheaper. Van Slyke won't be a free agent until 2020 and it is very redundant for the Dodgers to hold on to him.

5. Ryan Zimmerman. Like the Dodgers, the Nationals have plenty of outfielders. This is probably another unrealistic trade, but Zimmerman is under contract until 2019 and the Nationals may not want him to be one of their full time outfielders. He currently makes $14 million per year.

Now, the obvious question is how I would acquire these players. I'm OK with being aggressive if I'm the GM of the Twins. I would be willing to at least consider trading Pinto, Escobar, Plouffe, Dozier, May, or any bullpen arm from the major league squad. As far as prospects, I would love to see us trade Eddie Rosario, and would be willing to trade a lower-level high upside arm as part of the right deal (for example, Felix Jorge or Fernando Romero).

For pitchers, I would love to see the Twins acquire Hamels. It would be OK to give up some pretty good prospects for this to happen.

In the outfield, as much as I would love Mookie Betts to be a Twin, I think trading for Carl Crawford or Scott Van Slyke would not be too difficult and would put the Twins in a great position offensively. The Dodgers should have interest in Pinto based on the quality of offense their catchers have put out this year, and maybe they would even take Nolasco's contract as part of the deal (to balance Crawford's contract for example).