I'm a bit indifferent about retaining Cron. He doesn't excite me all that much, but I can see the virtues of having him back for another year, especially if he's healthy.. What I'm NOT sold on is the idea of moving Sano to first base. Not sure that's the best position for him at all. I'd rather him stay at third for another year and then let him be more of a full-time DH after Cruz has left.

All I know is that the Twins played the best prior to the All Star break when the regular lineup had Cron at 1B and Gonzales at 3B and a healthy Buxton playing well in center field.Buxton is the big unknown for 2020. They basically rode that early record all the way to the Central title. Sano had his moments but overall the team played worse after his return and especially after Buxton on the IL.

Cron is a solid player. He played through injury this year and it absolutely harmed his offense, but who knows: it may have harmed his defense too. I'm more than happy to bring him back for another run, and if he wants to bet on himself with a 1-year deal I'd be open to it. The difference between paying him $5M this year and $7m next year isn't all that significant to our payroll and if he put up 2+ bWAR it's a worthy signing.

 

Part of what made this team go this year was raising the floor: fewer bad players in any role is really important.

 

We could hand the job to Sano, but there's risk in putting a less experienced 1B out there. He's probably not going to be as strong at scooping throws in the dirt. Marwin probably has to drop in as the everyday 3B, which reduces some flexibility. we could drop Rooker in at 1B, but he could easily underperform Cron's output, especially as a rookie adjusting to MLB pitching. Marwin's solid there defensively, but is below average offensively at 1B and again we lose his flexibility. La Tortuga? Yeah...no. Sorry. I love the dude, but he's not a great player and he's not an every day player they way he flails at anything.

 

Cron is solid even with a repeat of last year and there's something to be said for certainty.

As long as the thumb is OK I would give him that deal. If not... he’s not a MLB caliber player

With Kiriloff (or perhaps Rooker) waiting in the wings for 2021, I think 1 more year of Cron makes sense unless there is another similar priced upgrade on the market for a 1 year deal. But I think we’ll likely see the same lineup we saw this year.

 

I think it is telling that Royce Lewis played more than ½ his AFL games at 3B. And with Cruz turning 40 next season and it being the final year of his contract, 2020 could be his last year.

 

In 2021:

1B – Kiriloff replaces Cron
3B – Lewis replaces Sano
DH – Sano replaces Cruz

 

I think Cron is a pretty good player. Had some thumb issues that slowed him down but he's a solid ballplayer. I don't see a reason to let him go unless there is a legitimate upgrade ready to be made now.

Without Cron they have a reasonably solid core of 13 position players.

 

Garver, Sano, Gonzalez, Arraez, Polanco, Adrianza, Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Cave, Cruz Astudillo, catcher

 

If Astudillo is the back up catcher then they have a spot for Cron. Otherwise they might be better off adding a catcher.

 

They also have enough minor league depth that is ready for an opportunity when needed.

 

Wade, Kirilloff, Rooker, Larnach, Raley and Gordon (with Lewis a few hot months away from joining the list)

 

The one position missing here is catcher. I am not sure I am confident in Telis at catcher. At 28 and in AAA since 2014 his numbers at that level might be skewed especially his recognition of AAA breaking balls.

 

Cron is a good player but they might be better off using the roster and budget resources towards building depth at catcher