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The offseason is coming to an end with spring training rapidly approaching and the Twins just shocked the baseball world by signing Josh Donaldson to a four-year contract worth $92 million. The lineup went from being one of the best in baseball to simply being the very best in baseball. This has become a successful offseason with many moves made.
- Jake Odorizzi: 1 year/$17.8 million
- Michael Pineda: 2 years/$20 million
- Alex Avila: 1 year/$4.25 million
- Sergio Romo: 1 year/$5 million
- Tyler Clippard: 1 year/$2.75 million
- Homer Bailey: 1 year/$7 million
- Rich Hill: 1 year/$3 million
- Miguel Sano extension: 3 years/$30 million
- JOSH DONALDSON: 4 years/$92 million
These deals leave the Twins with a payroll of around $135-$140 million which is not something you typically see from this team. While the lineup is elite, the pitching still has a couple of question marks that could be addressed, which is something I think we have been saying for over a year now.
Done adding to the bullpen?
I would be extremely surprised if the Twins add another arm to their bullpen group. Rogers, Duffey, May, Romo, Clippard, Littell, and Stashak are relatively locks to make the roster and that leaves one open spot. With everything we have seen from this team in recent years, they like to try out different guys in the bullpen to see what sticks so I expect Wisler, Romero, Alcala, maybe Graterol and more to get a lot of opportunities in the bullpen. That is the strategy that allowed the Twins to see how good Duffey, Stashak, Littell, and Graterol could be.
Starting pitching: Add one more starter.
The Twins have one of the best lineups ever. It really can’t be overstated how good that group will be. There is still one main problem with the team, and it is the same problem the offseason started with. The Twins need a starting pitcher as good or better than Jake Odorizzi. The additions of Homer Bailey and Rich Hill are certainly intriguing and I think they could both be really good, but they’re long shots.
The Josh Donaldson signing actually makes me more confident the Twins will add an impact starter. Why add Donaldson if you’re going to leave the rotation with Homer Bailey, Lewis Thorpe, and Randy Dobnak in the final three spots? Falvey and Levine have now shown this window is wide open and I expect them to capitalize by also adding a starting pitcher. Maybe they want to open the season to see what the rookies can give them and then add the starter at the trade deadline, but I think the best option is to get that starter now. Some of my favorite options include Matthew Boyd, Joe Musgrove, Jon Gray, Robbie Ray, and the entire Marlins pitching staff.
What do you think the Twins still have to do this offseason? Maybe you want them to stand pat, or add another pitcher similar to Homer Bailey to fill out the rotation? Let me know how you like the offseason so far, and feel free to comment how excited you are about Josh Donaldson.
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