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It is going to be fascinating to watch and see how their front office navigates the next two years. Here is a list of players that will be free agents after the 2017 season: Cain Davis Hosmer Moustakas Escobar Vargas Volquez Morales Hochevar Medlen Duffy Dyson Will they go all in for the next two years, and continue to trade away prospects from a good-but-not-great farm system to help them win now? Or will they start to trade away some of their major league talent to win in 2018+?

Doesn't Miguel Sano live in the Dominican Republic? This is the off season is it not? Can he not go home during the off season? Why do we need to know what he is doing? It's the offseason. There is no one following around Escobar or Santana this off season. What about Mauer, Suzuki or Dozier? What are they doing? It's none of our business! They can all do whatever they want to do. As long as they report to spring training ready to play, how they prepare themselves, and how they communicate with the public during their time off is up to them.

I actually have no problem with Nolasco. I liked the signing then. He had always been real solid and the Twins needed 'solid' starting pitching. He should/could be a #3. I don't completely give up on him... I just don't think he should just get a starting job over any of the five I mentioned, or Berrios. Right or wrong.

Yeah, Royals will still be the favorites but we'll see how their starting pitching goes. It could be just as bad or worse. Royals relief pitchers threw the 5th most innings last year in all of baseball (and first in the AL). They should be due for a bit of comedown just based on how good they were last year. But re-signing Gordon was really big for them.

I don't know if that was completely forgetting about him, or some sort of unintentional foreshadowing... I suppose, based on present roster makeup, he would slot in with the right-handed relievers, and probably take a spot from Ryan O'Rourke or Fernando Abad. They'd have to go with just one lefty (beyond Perkins).

UNLESS HES DELMON YOUNG! I appreciate someone who can see both sides of a discussion, there have to be two sides, or it ain't a discussion. You are correct sir! It will work itself out. Everything does. The other side of the discussion is the cost in wins during this period. Two points, the thought that EE would still be rummaging around LF without an injury to guide the Twins speaks of itself. Second, Plouffe would have to approach T-Ball level aptitude to get benched. The Twins seldom bench a veteran. Regardless, is there a defensive metric for "rummaging"?

The Yankees No. 1 prospect (BP) is listed at 275 lbs and 6'7", and is described as a prototypical right fielder and an above average defender who moves well even if it doesn't show up in third to home speed. I think there is a least a decent chance that a year in the outfield won't hurt Sano or the twins.

The Twins finished 12 games behind the Royals in the standings last year – a larger deficit than any other second-place team in the majors. Rising to the top of the division means closing that gap. Can Minnesota surpass the defending champs in 2016?The Royals made a huge move to keep their core intact last week by re-signing free agent Alex Gordon on a four-year, $72 million deal. It comes as a surprise weeks after it was reported that the team had "no chance" of retaining him. Gordon's solid offense and premium defense have been critical to Kansas City's success over the past two seasons, and he would have been a big loss had he signed elsewhere. It's a contract that might not look too great on the back end, when Gordon is 35 and making $20 million, but it certainly boosts the club's short-term outlook. Gordon rejoins a lineup keyed by prime-aged hitters such as Eric Hosmer (26), Salvador Perez (26), Mike Moustakas (27), Alcides Escobar (29) and Lorenzo Cain (29). Things are looking quite promising on the offensive front. The rotation is one area where the Royals do appear vulnerable. Johnny Cueto is gone, and they've done little to improve a unit that was frequently shaky in 2015. Re-signing 36-year-old Chris Young to a two-year deal with hopes that he can repeat last year's magic seems less than prudent. Yordano Ventura has all the tools to be a quality No. 1 but will he continue to be such a volatile asset? Unfortunately (for the rest of the Central), Kansas City's weakness in the rotation hasn't held them back much. Their starters ranked 12th in the AL in ERA and 14th in WHIP last year, but the team won 95 games and cruised through the playoffs nonetheless. That is in large part because, as we all know, the Royals lean heavily on a dynamite bullpen that has given them an enormous edge. There are no signs of that changing. Signing Joakim Soria makes up for the losses of Ryan Madson and Greg Holland. Wade Davis might be the best reliever in the league. Kelvin Herrera is only 26. Luke Hochevar and Franklin Morales will return. Top prospect Kyle Zimmer, who finished at Double-A last year, could be a factor. In other words, the Royals aren't poised for much of a drop-off, so the Twins are going to need to take big step forward to get over the hump and recapture the division crown. That is, of course, not even accounting for the rest of the teams in the division, which have improved to varying degrees in efforts to leapfrog the Twins and take their own shots at KC. You can argue that Minnesota hasn't really improved much on paper this winter. They don't appear built to overcome the Royals, especially when you look at the bullpen disparities. Will the Twins rely entirely on what they currently have or is a big splash still in store? Click here to view the article

The fact that a professional front office thinks putting a 275lbs DH/Corner infielder type in the outfield having never played there on any level speaks volumes to where the Twins stack up against the league. This isn't D-league softball. You put Sano in the outfield for an entire season and you better be prepared to score at least 30 more runs just to break even. I've seem comps like Dave Parker and Willie Stargell and neither player was nearly as big as Sano. Stargell may have been big for the era but he was 6'2 and MAYBE 220 lbs. Parker was about the same. Again, big for the era but not even close to Sano. He's 6'5 and conservatively 270lbs. Throw in that both Parker and Stargell actually played the outfield versus Sano who never has and hopefully people start to see what a horrible idea this is.

Perhaps the transition to outfield is not going as well as the Twins had hoped so they are being vague about him "training" which could be anything. If they come right out and say, "yeah, this isn't going to work" they lose any leverage they have in a Plouffe Trade." If they say it's going great and then he doesn't end up playing out there they are liars and look bad. The Twins don't necessarily lie about development or players. They often are vague when they don't want the general public to know what is going on, which is what I suspect is happening.

Sub "Kepler" with "Rosario" and I think that you are about right. Kepler is not a centerfielder any more (but the Twins used Parmelee and Cuddyer at CF...)

Fien was dominant in 2014? Please elaborate.

I don't recall being all that excited about Nolasco when they signed him but no reason to write him off. There was a reason he was signed and he has had injuries so I see no reason he can't be decent out of the pen. I would hate for him to get a rotation spot over any of the guys named above. All of those guys have earned their spot through performance for the Twins.

Nice write-up, Seth. I'm not in the hand-wringing crowd: I think things will go well, with some adjustments along the way. I believe in his 2nd year as manager, Molitor will be a little quicker with the hook in moving under-performing veterans for younger players. That's not a knock on Mauer. I'm in the small group that believes he'll improve this year.

Its okay to forget about him, unless there is a miracle somewhere waiting to drop in Nolasco's lap we all want to forget him and hope the Twins do to. Better to lose the money than the games.

Assuming the Twins don't (can't) trade Nolasco, he's in the rotation over Duffey. Or maybe they tell Ricky that his ankle hurts and DL him.

Did I miss something with Ricky?!?! Did we let him go/trade him??? Or was this just a big foreshadowing of a deal to come???

Under Ryan the Twins bullpen has been pretty good overall, however that doesn't guarantee future success, at some point they need guys that can strike people out, not more Duensings, Boyers, Fiens etc the problem many have is that they refuse to go after any game changing type players. Settling time and time again for the safe/cheap option

Using Escobar as an example. If Santana didn't need replacing... Escobar may still be rummaging around LF but Santana needed replacing so it worked out. My thinking is that Sano would replace whoever needs replacing. Park may struggle with the size of american baseballs and big hard sliders. Mauer might get hurt. Plouffe may get traded... or play much less because Sano's bat plays bigger than Plouffe's glove. These things just work themselves out. Unless he's Delmon Young.

They would likely, and likely will. But when? And if they do, and don't trade Plouffe, where do they stash him? Signing Park, and not trading Plouffe paints them in a corner. This is a team that sent EE to rummage around in LF.

Well, just spent a week in the Dominican. Didn't run into Sano on the beach, so I guess that's a good thing Oh, but I should add, if you ever go there, wear your Twins gear. Baseball is a big deal down there and the locals all notice.

Yeah, I watched Harmon play a lot of baseball. I don't care what he weighed, he (and many others) were a lot slower than Sano.

If Sano ends up being terrible in the OF. I have a feeling that the Twins will stop playing him in the OF. I'm really not worried at all.

Jimmer, I don't disagree with your points at all. I would just note that the only time Willie Stargell was ever 6:1 188 pounds was in the 9th grade !!

Also, if you could, send the link to buy last years...... i like to compare years.....and i didn't get last years :-(

Sweet so is the closest thing to the PDF version the ebook for $10.99? I can't wait....... (awesome job guys, btw)

I guess I don't get it... Per that article, he's working 6 hours a day at the Twins facility in the Dominican. They Twins have staff there and can monitor it. He can do the same drills there as he can in Ft. Myers. Do we want or need some sort of hour-by-hour breakdown of what he's doing? I guess I don't need to know the specifics. Having been the spring training in recent years, I know some of the fundamentals they do there with outfielders. These aren't things you would spend six hours a day on... If he's working on outfield drills for an hour a day... Shagging in the outfield for an hour a day. Hitting for an hour a day. Work at 3B for an hour a day. Conditioning/Lifting for an hour or two a day. That's a pretty busy, effective day. I guess I don't know what more the PR department is supposed to tell us.

'I'm not very excited about the idea of Sano playing in the OF. However, it's fair to note that Harmon Killebrew played some LF early in his career. Also, Willie Stargell player A LOT of LF for the Pirates in the 60's and 70's. ...' It's also fair to note the plethora of big people who couldn't play OF. Names most don't know cause they couldn't cut it. Pointing out a handful of big people who did play OF in the history of the game, some way back, only emphasizes how rare it is, not how common. Kind of like when people point to Randy Johnson when talking about Meyer. And how big was Killebrew when he played OF? His profile at BR says 6 foot, 195 pounds. I'm guessing he stopped playing OF as he got bigger since he stopped playing OF after his age 30 year. Stargell listed at 6 foot 2, 188. Sano is much bigger than those two already.

I'm not very excited about the idea of Sano playing in the OF. However, it's fair to note that Harmon Killebrew played some LF early in his career. Also, Willie Stargell player A LOT of LF for the Pirates in the 60's and 70's. Frank Howard played RF for the Dodgers and some LF for the Senators. In other words, there is a LONG list of guys who were not speed demons who have played the outfield. In fact, Stargell's center-fielder was Matty Alou, a decent, but not great CF'er. Howard had Willie Davis (a tremendous CF'er able to cover a lot of ground). Again, I'm not thrilled with the idea, but if Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario are out there with Sano, it could work.

This whole thing just smells bad. We have a young guy, previously rated in the top 5 prospects in MILB, just starting to mash, and we're going to change his defensive position. He already carries 2 gloves, let's add a third. ... Give Sano 3rd and move Plouffe around.

I would say getting him to put in 6 hours a day is pretty invested (even though not all 6 hours are dedicated to OF play). The team also has no responsibility to let the media and fans know anything about how the transition is going.

How about taking a chance on Greg Holland RP (former KC)? After recently undergoing TJ surgery, he offers nothing for 2016. However a multi year incentive based contract could yield some BP help in 2017 and beyond. 30 yrs old and has had some very impressive seasons pre TJ.

Thanks! We aren't lying everytime we say, "It's the best one yet!"

Maybe you missed it... he was the first one listed under 'Extended Spring Training', with this description: In July of 2013, the Twins big international signing was outfielder/first baseman Lewin Diaz. His body type is often compared to David Ortiz and Ryan Howard, so first base was always the place he would most likely play. He spent 2014 in the Dominican Summer League. He came to the States in 2015. He played in 33 games for the GCL and hit .261/.354/.369 (.724) with seven doubles and a homer. He moved up to Elizabethton for the final 14 games and hit just .167 but hit three home runs. Power will be his game. He is most likely to spend the year in Elizabethton.

Unfortunately he will be out of options before Mauer retires, so he either has to move up in 2017 or move to another team. I am with you.

I guess I object to these descriptions in a couple of ways. 1. Comp to MLB Hitters - The OPS you present is the league average hitter from Fangraphs. It includes pitchers and players from other light hitting positions. His peers are other 1B and the average OPS for 1B in 2015 was .780 so he was well below average. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=1b&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2015&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=0,ss&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0 2. Projections - I just can't see how after 2 straight seasons of .732 and .718 OPS we can say a realistic season for Joe is a .825 OPS. IMO realistic is .730-.740 and optimistic is .770-.780.

Sano - Arcia - Vargas - Park seems like a full cupboard to me, if only we could move that big box of Sugar Coated Minnesotan out of the way.

Reading this article makes it clear why the Twins were aggressive in bidding for Park--the cupboard is bare. I do believe that Sano should be added to this list due to the high probability that he may become the regular 1B.

I find it frustrating that the Twins seemingly have given up on Vargas. Sure he may be 25 and only one option left, but man the guy can club the ball.

Just finished reading it. Best one yet - great job gentlemen. Especially liked the organization of the player profiles, the Killebrew write-ups and "The Chase" chapter. As fans, we're lucky to have you.

I'm not sure if #3 and #5 are wholly compatible. Even with Nolasco's injury in 2015, the rotation stayed healthy enough to not have enough spots for the young pitchers. I don't think the team should count on injuries or performances to open up spots for Berrios, May or whomever. I'm concerned that the veteran starters will Pelfrey themselves into a season-long spot. They won't be good enough to dominate games, but they'll be acceptable enough that their veteran status will dissuade the team from giving the younger guys with upside their job.