Twins Offseason Status Update: February Free Agent Frenzy

Hard to believe I am saying this but Jimmy P. is stepping up and giving the team a chance.  Baseball is fickle and things have to go right to get where we want to go but I am happy he is digging deep to get it done for a change.  

It was a loooong rebuild to get back to this point with many years being more excited about the farm than the actual club.  We all suffered through that so I am glad he isn't selling the team short.  No guarantee that spending money gets you where you want to be but it sure can help.

After the Cruz signing I figured they were done.  After the Colome signing I assumed it would only be minor league signings so it is interesting to hear that they are ready to pull the Trigger and make more moves. While I wouldn't mind a few more vets I am wondering who they plan to bump off the 40 man when they do make those moves. 

We can live without Odorizzi, but not without more help in the BP

Wonderful summation. Thanks for starting my day off so well.

Thanks for another good read, Nick.

Count me among the group that believes they are done, other than signing a couple of veteran/AAAA types to minor league contracts to come in and compete for the #5 spot in the rotation, a spot in the pen or an infield utility guy.

The biggest reason is that the 40-man is full and there aren't a lot of good options to create an opening. Sure is different than a few years ago when any of us could look at the 40-man and come up with several players who stood a great chance of clearing waivers.

Considering the 40-man is full, another route they might take is trading someone on the roster together with a prospect for a good starting pitching prospect who is closer to being big league ready. Or maybe they are happy with Thorpe and Smeltzer as their competition for Dobnak in the #5 spot? Could they be so fortunate to have the Thorpe from 2019 show up after last year's disappointing season that began with his leaving spring training for a few weeks?

I am guessing there will be more signings but nothing major.  With spring training just around the corner both sides are feeling the pressure to get ready.  There will be one or two more vet arms signed with invite to camp but no MLB spot yet.  

Twins should sign one more vet reliever (Clipprd level) and that’s about it. I like the roster as it stands. If Father Time catches up with Cruz, the Twins have to pivot to their hitters playing over in St. Paul.

We can live without Odorizzi, but not without more help in the BP

I think Odorrizi is much better than Dobnak, maybe 5 more wins for the team. Playoff weapon as well. I’m rooting for a signing.

I continue to marvel at how this front-office operates. Smart and efficient are the keywords.

I'd be happy to get Clippard back because his reverse splits would give them another option against lefties and he wouldn't cost much. I don't see much need to get another mediocre RHP and see no reason not to let Stashak have a slot: he's pitched well enough to deserve it.

I don't think they need another backup INF at this point; If you're gonna carry that kind of guy on the 26-man, let a Nick Gordon or Travis Blankenhorn compete for it but you don't need the same kind of backup SS option when you have Polanco & Simmons on the same team. What's the advantage to having a no-hit utility guy who's D is probably overrated anyway sitting on the bench just because he's a SS? Just insurance against long-term injuries to both Simmons & Polanco? If both those guys go down for 2 months we've got bigger problems one of the utility guys still out there won't solve. 

It'll be interesting to see what they grab as a starter: cheap veteran on a make-good to compete for the 5th slot or someone like odorizzi who might find himself without a chair as the music stops and decides to jump in with the twins because they're a good team and they want to be a FA when the market is back to normal. I think it's one or the other and I have no idea which it will be; it'll depend on who's available at what price. (Gotta say, the rotation is pretty deep if Happ or Odorizzi is your 5th starter)

Odorizzi pitched some good games for the Twins, but I hope he lands somewhere else. If he does come back, I'll root for him.  Honestly, he isn't my favorite pitcher to watch.  I much prefer watching Dobnak.  I do understand that Dobnak may be figured out and doesn't have the stuff that Odorizzi has.  Dobnak also seems to be content yet hungry with any role he is given, so another option at the 5th spot would be better for depth.

This says nothing about the possibility that the Twins go the neo-unconventional route with handling innings on the backside of the rotation.

Justin Wilson seems like a good fit at somewhere below $5mil on a 1-year deal.  I also like the idea of adding James Paxton but am uncertain as to his health and projected cost.

We can live without Odorizzi, but not without more help in the BP

Boy, I’d love Odorizzi & Rosenthal OR Clippard.

If we're hoping for another starter, think we're looking at something like a Foltynewicz on a minor league deal.

It’s better now than it was two weeks ago. But, I still don’t think we’re a better team than 2019 or 2020.

None of these guys excite me much.

We couldn’t accomplish anything with Cruz playing out of his mind, and he’ll likely regress.

Simmons isn’t particularly potent offensively and has dealt with injury issues. If he’s healthy all year, he’ll help. But, he’s just another name on the long list of recent injury issues on this roster.

Colome isn’t a significant upgrade over May. If he was, wouldn’t the White Sox has brought him back on that deal instead of paying an arm and leg for Hendriks?

These are good players, don’t get me wrong. But, I just don’t see how dropping Rosario and picking up Simmons brings this club any closer to playoff success.

At some point, payroll for 2021 will hit a wall. I'm not sure we are there yet considering need, opportunity, FA depth lagging behind signing expectation, and a FO that is known to make late moves based on value and opportunity.

We can all debate priority, but there are THREE obvious areas to address IMO. 

1} BP: I just don't buy Rosenthal at this point. But the sheer number of RP arms on the market screams a late signing that could pay dividends. The FO is smart enough to identify the options and we don't have to make a list. But for $2-3M I am still shocked Clippard isn't already on board. His only negative is never putting up HUGE numbers to earn big notoriety or big contracts. All he did in 2020 is do what he's done his whole career; get out consistently against batters from both sides of the plate. I will be borderline shocked if he isn't signed the next week or so. He's affordable and needed.

2}SP: I would LOVE the FO and ownership to just accept a $140-150M payroll and just sign Odorrizi, Paxton or Walker on a 1yr or 1+ deal. And I could easily make arguements for any of them from production to "if healthy" to "young and if finally healthy".  But even if we didn't go this route, there are going to be guys available for just $3-4M on a 1yr flier that could be worth a look. Some may be available on a milb deal with an invite. The Bailey signing last year was cheap and smart. If we had a normal 162G season, he may have paid a really nice dividend. 

So while I doubt Bailey would want to come back, and I'm not sure anyone knows what's up with Hill, just think along those lines. And maybe I missed a signing somewhere, but just to toss out a few possibilities; Arrieta, Fiers, Foltynewicz, Hamels, Porcello, Teheran. 

KNOWING you are a legit contending team, and KNOWING you will need more than 5 SP, do you make the big move to add to your depth? Or do you like the depth you have so much you are willing to gamble a bit and bring in someone on the cheap to compete?

Even if it's a milb deal and invite, SOMEONE needs to be brought in.

3} INF: This the CRAZY ONE that nobody seems to pay attention to. Adding another quality infielder would seem to take away from Arraez opportunities, which nobody wants. Additionally, having a 6th INF option means there may not be room for Rooker, unless Kepler is the CF option and Cave and  Wade both are left of the roster. OR, you start with 7 BP arms instead of 8. But if you are a legitimate contending team, and you have at least some concern about one of the best infields in all of MLB having a potential ankle, knee, calf injury from being all you can be, would you be smart to enough to take advantage of so many FA options on the market to add depth?

Would you bank on Gordon, Blankenhorn and a couple milb infield options to fill in? Or would you spend a couple $2-3M for a 1yr deal on depth and let the chips fall where they may, understand IL time WILL HAPPEN here and there, and trust Rocco to balance playing time?

The 40 man is full. There is room for a couple additions/deletions to make an even better one. Adding 3 more could be painful/hard. But if we're talking about real depth, real value/opportunity, real contention and allowable budget, a hard decision or two might be in order to build the best contending team we could have

Doc, I would keep the 6th IF option in St. Paul for a quick call up if needed as an IL replacement (assuming a 25-player roster). If we go to 26, maybe then?