As a fan who's defended the Twins adamantly over the last four years, this start to free agency couldn't have been any more disheartening.

I'm very aware that the gears of major league rebuilds turn slowly, particularly when you look at where the Twins organization was after the 2011 season. I staunchly defended signings like Marquis, Correia, and Pelfrey for two reasons. One, the starting pitching markets in those seasons weren't particularly deep, and two (more importantly), it didn't make sense to invest significant money in contracts that would mostly cover rebuilding years. I stood by the decision to move both Span and Revere in one off season because, even if it hasn't panned out as we had hoped, outfield was considered a position of depth at the time and the organization needed legitimate pitching prospects. I was fine with letting Aaron Hicks get two cracks to be the guy in center field because the team wasn't going anywhere. I have stood by Terry Ryan over and over and over again because I've watched the growth of our farm system turn into one of the best in the league.

But to hear the rumors that are coming out in these initial weeks makes me seriously question the acumen of this front office. Justin Masterson is a fine pitching target. He's got a lot of upside and is a great bounce back candidate. Not the flashiest target, but a decent potential move as long as he's not your headliner. But that may very well be the case.

Then we start to hear rumors that the Twins (backed by Molitor) are heavily pursuing Torii Hunter as yet another return candidate. After wasting roster spots on the Jasons Bartlett and Kubel last year just to watch them not make it more than 4 months cumulatively, now we are aggressively pursuing a 39 year old outfield who's defense has declined to the point where his metrics rank lower than Oswaldo Arcia. And why are we doing this? Because we want Torii to be a leader. That's right, we want Teflon Torii to be the leader and mentor for our talented young outfielders.

And the cherry on top of it all, was waking up this morning to a report on MLBTradeRumors claiming the Twins were interested in soon to be 33 year old Wily Mo Pena. Pena's spent the last three years playing in the Japan, and has showed some of the prodigous power (evidenced HERE) that made him an interesting prospect in his youth, but weighing in at 260, he profiles mostly as a 1B (Occupied by Mauer), DH (Occupied by Vargas), or corner outfield. Is Willy Mo Pena the answer to this team's defensive ineptitude in the OF? Does Terry Ryan actually believe that the Twins outfield defense isn't that bad because they "catch what they get to"? Does Willy Mo fit into this same description?

I understand the need to be patient with a farm system, not wanting to block players, and maintaining payroll flexibility so that you can sign young talent to lucrative extensions. But no farm system does it alone, and by their own admission, the organization isn't using their allotted budget. At what point does this team make a significant investment in order to supplement and ease the transition of the young talent? At what point do we start valuing defense? At what point do they stop leaving money on the table?

It's early in the off-season (as evidenced by the fact that as I wrote this article, news broke that the Twins won the bid on Hyeong Jong Yang), and this may all be moot in a couple weeks anyway. But the early indications as to who the organization is targeting, particularly when it comes to positional players, are unsettling to say the least