Twins Offseason Status Update: December 8th, 2019

With Michael Pineda and Alex Avila now added to the fold, here's a snapshot of the 2020 roster and payroll as they stand today:

Figures in blue are arbitration estimates via the Offseason Handbook, so the $98.5 million number isn't precise, but it should be in the ballpark. This means the Twins are still $25M short of their 2019 Opening Day payroll, and $40M short of the target John Bonnes reasonably set at the beginning of the offseason.

There's plenty of flexibility to sign or trade for a high-priced starter like Madison Bumgarner, AND make a big splash elsewhere (say, signing Josh Donaldson?).

The Winter Meetings get underway this week in San Diego.

TWINS COACHING STAFF

The major-league coaching staff had three different members poached – hitting coach James Rowson by Miami, assistant pitching coach Jeremy Hefner by the Mets, and bench coach Derek Shelton by Pittsburgh. The Twins promoted minor-league field coordinator Edgar Varela to replace Rowson, but is still seeking to fill the other roles. Here's the present staff makeup:

On the surface, Bill Evers seems the most obvious choice to replace Shelton. A 65-year-old longtime baseball man who served as the eighth MLB coach on Baldelli's staff this year, primarily assisting the catchers, Evers was bench coach in Tampa Bay during Joe Maddon's first two years as manager (2006-07). Evers also managed Baldelli as a minor-leaguer in the Rays system.

Additionally, the Twins are working to replace a few departures from their minor-league instructional ranks, and have infused some new personnel throughout the org. Michael Salazar came aboard as head athletic trainer after serving in an assistant role for San Diego last year. Mark Moriarty, who is "widely known for using cutting-edge technology to successfully develop pitchers," was plucked out of a small private university in North Dakota to run the Twins' minor-league pitching program. More recently, the team hired a coach from Yale named Tucker Frawley to become their Assistant Field Coordinator/Coordinator of Skill Development.

TRENDING OFFSEASON TOPICS

Check out some of the latest and greatest articles on Twins Daily covering key storylines:

• Wheeler’s Gone, But Bumgarner Would Give the Twins Plenty to Work With
  
• Free Agent Faceoff: Madison Bumgarner Is Not Who You Think He Is Edition
  
• Twins Villains: 3 Free Agents Who Love Terrorizing Minnesota
  
• Just How Good is Blake Treinen, and Should the Twins Sign Him?