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Trade Garver and Polanco when their value has bottomed out? I don't think the Twins front office is considering that. The 2020 season was a weird one, and I hope the Twins front office wouldn't make short-sighted trades based entirely on those results. Looking at the projected lineup at the end of the article, resigning Cruz should be a priority for no other reason than to add some stability.

My thoughts, which the Twins FO will ignore. They never return my calls. Rosario will likely not be back because they have three prospects ready for the position (Rooker, Kirilloff and Larnach). In a normal offseason, Rosario would have a bit of trade value. A 2.5 WAR OF for $10M is a pretty good deal. With Covid, he'll probably just be released.Cruz is a difficult decision. It will probably depend on the magnitude of competing offers.How do we know Jeffers is ultimately better than Garver? Garver has proven, when healthy, he can be very good through an entire season. Besides, it costs very little to keep the two of them and Garver's trade value is at a minimum right now.Polanco won't be traded this offseason. If he's traded, the FO will have to sign another middle IF. They aren't going to get anyone near Polanco's caliber for a comparable salary.Lewis is the only legit middle infield prospect in the high minors and he hasn't had a chance to prove he's ready for the majors. Arraez and Polanco ended the season with nagging injuries. Plenty of room for all three when Lewis is ready,Sano has the most trade potential. Other teams will be interested because of his upside and the Twins have 1B options in Kirilloff and Rooker. This would work if Cruz is signed. I'm not saying the Twins need to trade him but if the offer is substantial, take it.

Not sure a lineup of 4-5 rookies would be the best way to plan next year. With no minors last year, really hard to gauge the level of development.

Can we afford to have a DH who strikes out at a 50% clip?

There are plenty of decisions for Minnesota’s front office to consider in the months ahead. The Twins have won back-to-back AL Central titles, but their playoff frustrations have continued. No one knows what the beginning of next season will look like and there is wide speculation about teams reducing payroll after a shortened 2020 season. One strategy the team can explore is turning the reins over to a young core of top prospects that are on the cusp of being big league ready.Alex Kirilloff is Here to Stay Minnesota made it clear how highly they thought of Alex Kirilloff by having him on the postseason roster and starting him in an elimination game. There are a couple different ways to get Kirilloff in the line-up as a regular in 2021. Eddie Rosario is in his final year of arbitration and he is scheduled to get a raise to around $10 million. He likely isn’t worth that much especially if the Twins are trying to cut costs. If Rosario isn’t offered arbitration, the Twins could start next year with an outfield of Kirilloff along with Byron Buxton and Max Kepler. Kirilloff also can slide in at first base and the easiest way to make this happen is to not try and resign Nelson Cruz. Sano could move from first to being the team’s full-time designated hitter and Kirilloff could become Minnesota’s first baseman for the better part of the next decade. Finding Room for Brent Rooker Before the Twins turned to Kirilloff, Brent Rooker was the player the Twins turned to from the alternate site. Unfortunately, his season ended early after being hit by a pitch from Cleveland’s Zach Plesac. The 25-year old was still able to make a strong impression in his first taste of the big leagues. In 21 plate appearances, he went 6-for-19 with half of his hits being for extra bases. Much like with Kirilloff, the Twins could find a scenario where Rooker takes over at first base with Sano moving to DH. Minnesota could decide what can be better for the team’s defense which seems like Kirilloff in the outfield and Rooker at first base. Would the Twins want two unproven bats in the line-up from season’s start? Meet Ryan Jeffers, Everyday Catcher Ryan Jeffers quickly made his presence known on the Twins roster this season and there is little chance he will be going anywhere in the years ahead. Things get tricky when considering that Mitch Garver struggled in 2020 after one of the best hitting seasons ever for a catcher. Over the last couple of seasons, the front office has preferred to have one younger catcher, Mitch Garver, and pair him with a more veteran backstop (Jason Castro, Alex Avila). Both Castro and Avila made a good complement to Garver because they bat left-handed. Would the Twins be willing to trade Garver and resign a player like Avila as the back-up to Jeffers? Others on the Way Outside of the trio of players mentioned above, there are also other players closing in on Target Field. Trevor Larnach was the team’s 2019 Minor League Player of the Year and he adds some depth in the outfield. If Buxton misses time, an outfield of Kirilloff, Kepler and Larnach could certainly be intriguing. Another option could be to trade Larnach to fill a need at another spot on the roster. Royce Lewis is going to be talked about a lot this offseason and rightfully so. He is the team’s consensus top prospect, and he is one of baseball’s top prospects. With no minor league season, it’s tough to know how he progressed at the team’s alternate site. He ended 2019 at Double-A and there was a chance he made his big-league debut this season. Would the Twins be willing to trade Jorge Polanco and his team friendly deal? By midseason next year, the Twins line-up could include: C: Ryan Jeffers 1B: Brent Rooker 2B: Luis Arraez 3B: Josh Donaldson SS: Royce Lewis LF: Alex Kirilloff CF: Byron Buxton RF: Max Kepler DH: Miguel Sano The Twins farm system has kept them relevant and it continues to be the key to sustainable contention. Do you think the Twins should go with a youth movement in 2021? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

I'd be shopping Sano. I don't see a higher ceiling for him, and you can't devote a full-time DH slot to someone with those numbers. We may still be able to get another team to bite on him, but it'll be tough. I'm in the "take what you get for him and move on" camp here.

I hadn't even considered the speed tool into this equation. It would be interesting to ask if stolen bases aren't a regular part of the Twins attack because they lack the skill or if it is an approach that they have chosen to rely on getting hits versus "manufacturing runs." With that said, I wonder if Gordon or Lewis are your best route to more speed on the roster outside of a trade.

Great article and even timely, though the Hot Stove is a ways away. The bench failed a lot in 2020. Like ANY team or ANY player, how much stock do you place on any under performing player in a short and crazy season? First of all, shame on anyone to just blast Marwin or Adrianza. While Gonzalez may have not lived up to his contract, be did a fine job in '19. While he looked slow and his bat disappeared in this past season, his defense was largely good to great. Adrianza continued to play fine defense, though his OK bat also disappeared. I was pleasantly surprised by Cave in CF defensively, but his offense is just so inconsistent. (Not so sure Wade hasn't surpassed him). Avilla was a smart signing, seemed solid behind the plate, but appears done. While I doubt the primary lineup will be different other than Rosario...finances and young talent...the bench needs to be addressed. I don't know who at this point, though the OP presents options, a 5th STARTING CALIBER infielder needs to be brought on board. Thats what Marwin was tbe past two years. The Twins need that 5th guy to play decent defense with a solid bat to fill in where he can, even if be isn't a normal SS option. Next, tbe Twins need to decide if Adrianza's bat is dead, or was it just a bad year. The guy plays great defense and his bat was solid for his role in 2018-19. Can you count on him in '21? On paper, Blankenhorn and Gordon are almost perfect replacements. ONE GAME and a couple balls be didn't get to doesn't diminish my hope that Blankenhorn couldn't be a nice super-sub. But I'm not going to bet on him to start next season. Talk about hard luck cases, Gordon has dealt with everything from intestinal issues...seemingly resolved...to injuries where Adrianza got promoted ahead of him, to a bad covid situation that robbed him of most of his projected 2020 taxi squad season. The ability is still there to be a quality player, at least in a reserve role. For a team with a still wide open window, I am hoping for Blankenhorn and Gordon in 2021 but NOT banking on them and I am looking via trade or FA for a viable Marwin replacement and very possibly/probably an Adrianza replacement as well. I'm also looking to move on from Cave as well. I like him, but as stated, I Want someone more consistent in everything they do. I want someone to play good defense and provide some more consistent offense. Everyone seems to state they want a RH hitter for this spot. I'm not sold on that. Kepler, Kirilloff and Larnach are all LH. Rooker is RH. So is Buxton. Only Kepler can fill in at CF. Last I checked, most pitchers are still RH. I just want someone to be a legitimate option offensively and defensively for that spot. I think catcher is solid as is with Jeffers and Garver. And Garver is absolutely not the hitter we saw in '20. But it would be very smart to sign a veteran MLB/AAA guy to compete and provide depth. Spend $ for a Marwin replacement. Do the same for Adrianza..maybe. let Blankenhorn and Gordon earn their opportunity. Find a legit 4th OF. Grab the best AAAA catcher you can.

I hope Donaldson has a little more time in the field than that, otherwise we're going to have a logjam between him, Sano, and Rooker. And maybe add Kirilloff to that mix depending on how his outfield defense looks in the big leagues. I assume they've had him cross-training at 1B for a reason...

Getting anything more than a bucket of balls for Rosario would be a coup. I get letting Gonzalez go, He was paid starter money and last year, he was a replacement player. Not a lot of guys have his utility skills and he is a switch hitter, but last season he was pretty bad with the lumber. I don't think either Kirilloff or Rooker are locks to be ready. I said it before that 21 plate appearances isn't enough to make a judgment about Rooker and his minor league credentials don't say "future star" to me. I'm much more confident that Kirilloff will be a building block than Rooker, but I'm not sure if that is in April of 2021. I have mixed feelings on Cruz. Ted Schwertzler's blog entry gives me pause. The topline numbers were just as good as last year, but especially in September, Cruz looked vulnerable. He's smart and takes advantage of mistakes, but I really fear that he is going to diminish and not gradually. If he can't be had for a one-year deal, let someone else see him decline.

Would not surpise me to see the FO sign Cruz and find a way to jettison Sano. Opens up 1B for Rooker/Kiriloff and not bringing back Rosario opens up LF for Kiriloff. Rosario projects to about $10 million in arbitration and Sano makes the same. That $20 million would be a nice start to getting Trevor Bauer at the front of the rotation.

A. I heard the Twins front office changed its number because they kept getting pestering calls from random people. I think we just found the source... :-) B. Concur. I think they'll keep both catchers. No team gets through the season on two. Even with the two, I'd consider adding a veteran, Avila/Castro type. I assume both Garver and Jeffers have options and one could start in Rochester, knowing they'll get called up. Alternatively, guys like Avila/Castro/Erik Kratz sign minor league contracts with a general commitment from the team to get the first callup when a catcher goes down.

Concur. For what it's worth, they did not remove Sano for defensive purposes in any of his last 28 games. I mainly listened to games, but from what I could tell in the games I did see, I think Sano could be on his way to being a solid defensive first baseman. He did some things well (though not others) as a 3B, and he seemed to be very good on picks. He also seemed to have a very quick tag on pickoffs -- there were a couple of occasions where I think he outpsyched a 1B ump and got a call reversed. His mistakes seemed to be ones where he ranged too far going after balls and didn't get back to the base in time, which will come with more reps there. (Aside, I think the learning of a new position as a full-time 1B could have contributed to offensive struggles this year. His past offensive struggles seem to coincide with trying to learn RF and when trying to improve at 3B.)

Parts of this offseason are easy. 1. Resign Cruz 2. Trade Rosario 3. LF a competition for Rooker and Killeroff 4. Let Gonzales walk. Some decisions are less easy. 5. Resign Adriana to 1 year 1.25 million with up to 750k incentives based on plate appearances. He had a bad year at the plate and a make good contract with a team he had success with and is competitive makes sense. And Adriana can play 3rd. We could also sign a minor league insurance policy in addition to. Having a capable replacement at third should be a priority. 6. Make Lewis the everyday utility player. His bat wont need to do much to replace Gonzales and he is fast.... Now on to pitching.....

If we assume things will go back to normal in 2021 (that is a big assumption at this point), I would probably try to resign Cruz for another year. He not only was the team's most consistent bat this season but also is a good clubhouse presence and leader. While I would love to see Roasrio back, I don't see him being worth $10M. Now, we have no idea what arbitration is even going to look like this offseason so maybe that number will end up being less. If we could get him for $5-7M, I would get him back. I think there are options that are equally good in the Twins lineup that cost less than $10M. The payroll flexibility is going to be more important. Can Rooker play other infield positions? I don't see the Twins bringing back both Adrianza and Gonzales (they might not bring either back) so having someone who can play a lot of positions could be helpful. What about Royce Lewis? Is this how he can fit in, the utility guy who can play about everywhere? We have to understand that the Twins have been very lucky to have two guys who can play virtually every position on the field the last two seasons. Try to trade Garver (or maybe even Jeffers) and see what you can get in return. Can we get a handful of prospects with high upside? Can we get a major league ready starting pitcher? Can we get someone who can provide outfield depth? It is worth seeing what the market is but I would suspect that lots of teams are going to be cautious about making moves. It is also worth pointing out that the current CBA expires after next season so we don't really know what the financial picture looks like beyond 2021. I would bet that there will be lots of short term deals in free agency this year, rather than long term big deals.

Some of the biggest questions are what the season will look like. Will there be a normal season with spring training, minor league baseball, attendance at games? With all the uncertainty, can see Twins tightening the budget. Twins appear to have plenty of young players on cusp of breaking into MLB, maybe they go cheap and give them a shot.

I love offseason speculation. Love it. But here's where I'm struggling with this offseason. There are two MAJOR questions that we don't have answers to, that would significantly alter my strategy. 1) Payroll - 90M? 140M? Normally I have a pretty good gauge of where they SHOULD be and can work from that. But honestly, at this point, I have no idea. And, frankly, they probably don't have a great idea either. 2) Playoffs? Back to 5, with the one game WC game? Stay at 8? If we stay at 8, are the 8 teams roughly on the same playing field like this year, or are there big advantages to being a high seed? Because if the playoffs are like this year except with ta longer season, I'm willing to give the youth movement a shot, because I have more room for error (and then I spend money on one high end starter). But if it goes back to the way it was before, I probably rely on more veterans, at least at the start of the season.

I have a feeling many options are on the table for Twins. Much of it will come down to how other teams value the players the Twins have, versus how the Twins value them. For example, Garver is a catcher that 2019 was one of best hitting in the game, and was decent behind the plate too. Last year he was no where close to same. Catchers generally have higher value in baseball if they can hit, it is always a bonus. Question is if other teams believe he can be 2019 or not. If a team believes he can, do the Twins think so? If Twins think so, will they be willing to trade him? I believe if another team is willing to pay 2019 value for him you snatch that up so quickly. Even if he does return to that, it will not be for long based on his age. Sano as well, how do other teams value him? When he makes contact he hits ball as hard as anyone, but he makes contact only about 50 to 60 percent of the time, and has only at times shown an improvement on that, but never consistent. Does a team think they have the solution, do the Twins think they do? I may catch some heat for this, but I think Twins should see what value other teams have for Buxton. Not saying they should trade him, but see what is out there. He is not that young anymore, and continues to show he could be amazing when on the filed, but that is not that common. I think many teams will still have high value of him, but I fear he will not age well. His whole game is based on speed and once that is gone, he will need to change up his game. He did show flashes of being a top hitter without his speed, but he had shown that in past only to come back swinging to way too many pitches out of the zone. I am still a huge fan of him, but if Lewis or someone else can step in and be not a huge drop off on defense I would look to see what value other teams have of him. I would not dump him for nothing by any means, but if you feel some times value him very high I would look into it. Finally, I would not load up on rookies, but if Lewis is MLB ready I would bring him in, rooker, and Krioloff. Lewis I would figure out where he fits best OF or SS, and make rest of team adjust.

Cruz should absolutely return... he DHs until he proves he cannot. Sano can stay on first.

No. Resign Cruz. Sano can't hit half the time.

Most likely the prospects within the organization will get their chance in the coming year. 2020 was short and strange and didn't give many at-bats to the top prospects. Next year should be different. Most everyone on TD is more than willing to say goodbye to Adrianza and Gonzalez and that is especially true of Marwin since he had an eight-figure contract. I guess I agree, but given who the manager is and who his players are, utility guys are both important and will get lots of playing time. The combination of Adrianza and Gonzalez was very versatile, offered two switch hitters and gave the Twins solid defense wherever they were put in the field. That is much more than nothing. Neither hits well enough and both are past 30 years of age. It should be noted how rare it is to have a utility guy who not only can play multiple positions in the infield, but also is capable in the outfield. That said, one thing lacking in Ehire and Marwin is speed. The Twins have only one player who would be considered to have well above average speed and neither Adrianza or Gonzalez would even be average. I do think that replacements for the two Venezuelans should have the speed tool in their toolkit. Having versatile switch hitters would be nice, as well. I really don't like the idea of bringing up a rookie to be a bench player. They usually are accustomed to playing regularly and might not be able to adjust to playing infrequently and sporadically.

Francisco Lindor is a free agent and would solve the SS problem. And he would add a bat that can actually make contact with a pitch. Trade away Sano, Polanco, Kepler. Replace Sano and Kepler with Rooker/Larnach and Kirilloff. And if Lewis looks ready, bring him up to play all the outfield spots as a replacement for whomever needs a rest.

Adrainza would be cheap, even if you sign him will not be out much if someone moves past him for playing time, With that said, I am all for a youth movement, Time to give Gordon, Blankenhorn, Jeffers, Kirilloff, and Rooker opportunities to see what they can do at MLB level, Lewis and Larnach may be mid to late season callups.

Too frustrating. Easy as a fan to be over it, and say move on. Trade and get some value. For a front office full of analytics enthusiasts? Not a chance. Both are way to valuable to just part ways with. I'd welcome a change from Buxton. Though our defensive outfield depth isn't plentiful, our offensive outfield depth is VERY plentiful. Speed on bases? Buxton does give teams fits, but he could've embraced a well placed bunt once every 10 at bats and welcomed or pushed for stealing more bases. I LOVE watching Buck, but I'm ready to see a change. As for not wanting to see him become a David Ortiz, I don't think we'll have to worry about that. David Ortiz had chronic knee pain from playing on the terrible Metrodome turf. He even said, when he "...went to Boston, it was gone." What scares me is Arraez and tendonitis in that knee. Don't want him to become the Brandon Roy of the MLB.

The other IF might have chronic injuries as well. Polanco may need surgery on his ankle for the second year in a row. Arraez has tendinitis in a surgically repaired knee. All four could have issues next season. The problem is they have very few IF/CF prospects near MLB ready - Blankenhorn, Lewis and Celestino. The Twins FO doesn't seem to notice. Their minor league system is chock-full of corner OF/1B/DH power hitters... and they keep drafting them!

Donaldson is more concerning for me because it is the same injury over and over. With buck, other than concussion thing which is yet to be seen if that will linger, he has had so many different types. Yes, they have been high in number, but with the different types there is no reason to say he will not recover from them. Just wondering when he will get a new one. With Donaldson the question is when it will act up again, and seems to act up anytime and cannot do much to prevent it other than maybe rest. That type of injury concerns me more.

But what does 162 games have anything to do with laying an egg in the post season? I mean the same thing happened last year too?

Yes. Both have chronic conditions that flare up without warning - migraines (over-simplifying a bit) and calf tightness. I suppose the guaranteed contract for Donaldson is the deciding factor. But both players are concerning in roughly similar ways.

Seems like an ideal candidate for a contract with performance clauses. Half guaranteed and the rest kicking in at 80 games and 120 games played.

I think Buxton's injury history is more concerning because the Twins are still counting on major upside from him. He's still not locked into a long term contract and I don't know how they even begin those discussions when he is injured every single season. Donaldson is on the downswing of his career and my assumption is he has maybe 1 year left at 3B before transitioning to DH full time.

There seems to be some avoidance over this so whey you say "chilling about it" you pretty much explain Rocco's touch. He didn't embrace the history for whatever reason last year. I felt alienated when Rocco said, "I'm not frustrated at all" after last year's 3 and out. It's funny because the team tries to act all relaxed like it isn't a big thing, but until they can face fact and admit: YES, this is a big deal we aren't going anywhere. Time to own it.

Keep Rocco, get rid of Astudillo....

I continue to monitor the games - see my blog on the wild card results - and it is apparent that small ball still works. It is also fun to see pitchers go 7 or more innings at the start of the game. I am being redundant, but it is obvious to me that this team lacks spirit - the Puckett affect - and I am seeing other teams' players excited, angry, emotional and I love it. One last note as my blog illuminates - there are no central division teams left, Not one, not NL, not AL. Our division stunk and we were handed the division championship, we backed into it.

...with the decrease in fastball % and the increase in spin rates and spin pitch %, the organization needs to respond. Shorter swings and more contact please. And maybe a little more "small ball" when the bats are struggling.

The swing-for-the-fences approach works fine during the regular season when you see teams' 4th and 5th starters. It works when teams are trying to manage bullpens and use all of their arms. The last two years, the Twins did nothing in the playoffs....when they only saw the best pitchers the Yankees and Astros had. There needs to be a tweak in offensive approach. And maybe see what it'd take to bring James Rowson back!

Wow – the combined AL/NL Central division had 7 teams in the 16 team post season mix. That must be a great division so we can take great pride in all our wins, right? Maybe not. Let us look at the division record for the first round. This is for those of you who have decided not to watch any more baseball until spring. The game does go on even if the Twins do not. And if you did see other series you would see something that we missed in the Twins series, besides relief pitching, batting, and fielding. We missed fire - the Kirby Puckett type of jump on my back fire or the Jack Morris I am not coming out of the game fire. Central division seven teams: Chicago Cubs 0 - 2 Chicago White Sox 1 - 2 Minnesota Twins 0 - 2 The bombas scored 2 runs in two games Cincinnati Reds 0 – 2 - They did not score once in 22 innings and had 28 Ks Cleveland Indians 0 – 2 St Louis 1 – 2 Milwaukee 0 – 2 Total 2 - 14 Derrick Falvey - “When you get to the playoffs, every inning matters in a different way. It’s so much more stressful in those moments, because you’re worried inning to inning about what’s going to happen next … You get a little more fixated on the detail of it.” The Eastern Division has five teams Tampa Bay 2 – 0 New York Yankees 2 – 0 Toronto Blue Jays 0 – 2 (and they played Tampa Bay in their own division) Atlanta 2 – 0 Marlins 2 – 0 Yes that was Brandon Kintzler closing out for the Marlins Total 8 - 2 "THEY’D LOST SEVEN STRAIGHT POTENTIAL CLINCHERS! The hardest part of going all those years without winning a series is that the Braves could have won so many of them. They played seven postseason games in that time that could have clinched five different series — and lost all seven. That’s the longest losing streak in potential clinchers by any NL team in history — and the second-longest in baseball history." Jason Stark. Western Division has only 4 teams - must be the weak division (right?) Oakland A’s 2 - 1 Liam Hendriks threw 49 pitches on Wednesday, then saved their clincher Thursday.https://www.mlb.com/video/liam-hendriks-k-s-mazara?t=clinches-and-celebrations San Diego 2 – 1 Los Angeles 2 – 0 Brusdar Graterol gets Ben Gamel to fly out to secure the 3-0 victory https://www.mlb.com/video/brusdar-graterol-earns-the-save?t=clinches-and-celebrations Houston 2 – 0 Total 8 - 2 The Central has had 4 two and out, the East has one (because that team had to play within its own division and the West has zero. "As the sixth inning arrived Thursday in Petco Park, the Padres were four innings away from getting swept by the Cardinals in the wild-card series. Then those same Padres apparently decided that getting swept was not an option. Nope. Not happening. What happened instead was incredible:" Jason Stark. Reminds me of Puckett and Morris. Sometimes you just have to say no - we are not going to lose. Of course Don Mattingly without knowing it said what Rocco needs to hear - our starters are better than anything we have in the pen. You got to trust them. https://www.mlb.com/video/don-mattingly-on-the-win?t=clinches-and-celebrations "Meanwhile in Oakland … the A’s were in the midst of one of the most mind-boggling October funks of all time. Until they outlasted the White Sox on Thursday, they’d somehow lost nine winner-take-all postseason games in a row. "They’d lost three of those games to the Yankees … and two to the Tigers … and one each to the Red Sox, Twins, Royals and Rays. It was the longest streak in baseball history." Jason Stark And despite the fact that the Twins starters are limited to five innings, Clayton Kershaw proved that is not a new league rule - "The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw. Eight dominant innings, giving up only three hits while recording 13 strikeouts, all on breaking pitches." ESPN Wild Card Round Central - zero East - Four West - Four