Alternate Options if Cruz Doesn't Sign

It is DH - not a position player.  There are many options, including in house.  Use the money for the critical positions - pitcher, pitcher, pitcher.  

If you can't get Cruz on a one year deal then use the prospects.  I would not give a 4 year $80 million deal for a DH.

Agreed. Prospects for DH.

Use the money for pitching.

Most teams do not like using the DH for prospects exclusively.  I would not go out and sign Ozuna.  I would be fine with Brantly as he is a pro hitter that is not an easy out.  He can play the field if needed too.  However, my preferred route would be if Cruz does not sign just do the rotational DH thing, or go with Rooker as the DH.  Rooker is old enough that by putting him the DH you are not really hurting his value because he will be in early 30's before a FA, assuming he makes it that long, and his fielding is so bad that by that age that is where he would fall anyways. 

If you do not go Rooker, then I would look Sano as well, and let others play first, but Sano was not as bad at first as I thought he would be.  I just would not want to invest big on a DH when you have a lot of possible bats with limited defense ready to play now.  

I'm all for resigning Cruz.  He's our BEST hitter.  But one year with an option is as far as I'd go at this stage of his career.

If the Twins decide to go with the kids and a DH rotation here's what I want to see:

A trade for Ketel Marte and sign the kid long-term.

Liam Hendricks as our closer.

Paxton as a welcome LHP in our rotation. 

Cruz is our BEST hitter.  But balancing when that stops and all the other holes on our roster means there are no 2-year $28-$30 million dollar contracts coming Nellie's way.

I've said this before too:

Teams who are willing to spend just a little bit more can take a BIG step forward for 2021 and beyond.

I don't see Cruz ever being THAT bad.  

I think you gotta pay him a decent value and guarantee it.  

But the option year should be a mutual option to give both the Twins and Nellie the flexibility.  

One possibility I don't think I've seen mentioned is Donaldson being DH, Polanco moving to 3B, and signing one of the free agent SS to a one or two year deal while waiting for Lewis to show up. Improves defense at SS, but costs some at 3B, but that's not as important a defensive position as SS, so I think that's an overall win. Plus it should help keep Donaldson in the lineup more consistently, and he should be able to provide as much production as Cruz.

Unless you have a pretty special bat like Cruz, or Ortiz, or Thome back in the day, etc, I've never been in favor of a bat only player on your team. I believe in the best, deepest and most versatile roster you can put together and rotate the DH spot. The obvious caveat to this is no matter good and deep a team you put together, some guys will just be better defensively than others so someone could still get the majority of their AB in the DH spot.

To a smaller degree/example, think Randy Bush when he was with the Twins. He was a servicable corner OF and 1B but on more of a fill-in, rotating basis. Think Rooker, potentially, going forward.

But even with the talent on hand, prospects and players expected to rebound in 2021, losing the production of BOTH Rosario AND Cruz is going to bring a downgrade offensively. And with the talent on hand, and the PROBABLE additions of a couple utility 10th/11th man options, overall roster flexibility should remain in place.

But there is both room and need for a bat for this lineup IF Cruz is not brought back. But that doesn't mean that has to be a bat only option.

Ozuna is not Cruz, but he's a nice bat who could at least play an OK OF once in a while. My problem with him is $18-20M per for 3-4yrs. There is a real chance that a year from now Kirilloff, Rooker and Larnach are all fixtures, or near fixtures. There is a real chance that a year or two from now, Donaldson could be transitioned to DH, or 1B in place of Sano, who can slide in to more of a DH role. So I'm not sure I want to commit long term to something like that.

Brantley would make so much sense to me as an option instead of Cruz. Less HR power, more doubles, and a quality AVG hitter with decent contact and can still play the field. He fits in perfectly with various DH/OF/1B rotations.

I'm also very interested in Schwarber on something like a 2yr deal. I MIGHT do 3yrs but it depends on the terms. He's coming off a poor season...but a lot of guys are...and has a career OPS of .816 even with a bad 2020. He will only be 28yrs old for 2021. While I don't want him in the field often, he CAN play some OF. (Could he be worse than Willingham and some others)? And he CAN be a 3rd/emergency catcher on the roster. (Guy was a catcher in college and began his career back there).

I honestly believe Cruz will be back. I'm starting to think it might be a 1yr deal for around $15M. Less than he wants, but more than he got either of the last 2yrs. But Brantley and Schwarber could be productive and smart choices as replacement options without tieing in to expensive or long term deals.