Twins

One of the trends that I was most interested in following during spring training was the velocity readings from Phil Hughes. His drop-off in average fastball speed last year – down about 1.5 MPH from the previous season – was symptomatic of an overall reduction in effectiveness that turned him from the rotation's best contributor in 2014 to its worst in 2015.

Unfortunately, this year Hughes is continuing to slide the wrong way in just about every regard. And that's an extremely disturbing development, given that he is under contract longer than any other player on the team.

This week, the Twins named their 13^th manager and we have been analyzing that decision quite thoroughly. However, it’s also important to know that free agency has started now and the business of baseball continues. So today, I want to start a series on various Twins players and what the offseason could mean for them. Today, I will start with infielder Eduardo Escobar.

The Minnesota Twins appear to be on the verge of announcing the signing of 32-year-old Ervin Santana.

Once he passes his physical, he will be a Twin for the next four years, for better or worse.

If you are looking his recent track record, you may find similarities in his numbers to those of Twins' pitcher Ricky Nolasco in that same time span. Behind the pile of numbers is a slightly different story for Santana. After the dreadful 2012, over the past two seasons he has been an above average pitcher.

Here is why this is a good trend.

Marwin Gonzalez. Minnesota Twin.

Pencil him in for any position in the field, he can play more roles than Christian Bale. As a switch-hitter, he’s his own platoon partner. Call him a Swiss Army Knife or Thneed or whatever object you want to conjure up versatility. The Twins will simply call him theirs.

It was a bit of an oddity that Gonzalez lingered this long on the free agent market. Sure, there’s been the ongoing Great Free Agent Freeze-Out but still, someone who can play passable defense at positions 3 through 9 on the diamond and hold his own offensively would be a godsend for any bench -- particularly those that have their sights on a postseason berth -- at a relatively modest price would have multiple suitors. And, yet, Gonzalez was available so long that the Twins were forced to say ‘take our money’.

So what is this modern-day Cesar Tovar capable of providing the Twins? Is Gonzalez likely to replicate his 2017 numbers or is his true production closer to what he’s turned in every other year?

While the Twins played their first spring training game, the front office stayed active with a waiver claim for catcher José Godoy. What can we expect from the 27-year-old catcher?

As the snow begins to melt and the shorts slowly come out of retirement, the sounds and smells of baseball lurch closer, beckoning fans across the world to watch and support their team as they grind through yet another season. But while the beginning of the season sparks hope for most teams (Orioles not included), the first month or so of the season can be somewhat unusual in how the players and teams perform thanks in part to scheduling and weather among other things.

The first time I ever saw Ricky Nolasco pitch live was last March, when I was down in Ft. Myers covering spring training. In his first inning of work, the newly signed righty coughed up a whopping seven runs on six hits as the Mets drilled the ball all over the field.

That was Nolasco's second-to-last spring start -- akin to the third preseason game for an NFL team in terms of maximizing readiness for the season -- but I still put minimal stock into it, as with any exhibition outing. Nonetheless, the drubbing served as a prelude for a disastrous season in which opposing hitters batted .316 and slugged .505 against the righty, both career highs.

The Twins head into this offseason with bullpen upgrades among their most glaring needs. This is largely because their boldest investment to address that unit a year ago has failed to pay dividends.

Not only was Addison Reed's first year with Minnesota a disappointment, but his uncertain status going forward creates planning headaches in 2019. The only thing guaranteed with Reed for next year is his hefty salary. Can the Twins find a way to derive value from it?

The Twins have done the unthinkable. After seemingly looking in from the outside on the shortstop's market all winter, they swooped in this week and snagged Carlos Correa away from the Mets.

The reason Correa was available to the Twins, and the reason his contract with Minnesota is structured as it is, boils down to an ankle concern that will weigh heavily in the fate of this blockbuster move.

Here's what we know about it.

Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are in their first week on the job heading up the Minnesota Twins baseball department, but already they have made a few waves.

In particular, I'm talking about the coaching staff shakeup that took place earlier this week.