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Twins fans became apoplectic on Friday evening when Cody Allen, coming off a horrendous 2018, signed a one-year pact with the Angels. Allen represented the last big-name, big-rep free agent reliever available besides Craig Kimbrel. Twins Twitter instantly descended into a level of chaos usually reserved for dystopian Jimmy Butler practice sessions or Vikings kickers. I’m not here to talk about the payroll (too low, and I have a right to complain about eight years of pretty garbage baseball). I’m mostly interested in answering the question who are some free agent relievers who could help the Twins in 2019?As we know from the Addison Reed signing, or the Rockies bullpen in general, relief pitching free agency is a fickle mistress. With all that said, there are a fair few intriguing arms left. Here are a few I think could help the 2019 team while they’re … getting the nucleus right. Nick Vincent ERA 3.99, K/9 8.95, BB/9 2.40, FIP 3.75, xwOBA .279, avg. exit velo 85.0 Vincent is one of my favorite under the radar FA relievers. He had a really solid 2018 with the Mariners, albeit in a ballpark which suits his game. He made his MLB debut in 2012 with the Padres. At 6’0, 185lb, Vincent does not overpower, with a four-seem fastball, cutter, slider, and changeup combination. His fastball averaged just 90.1 mph in 2018. Due to a combination of arm side run and rise, it generates a good amount of swings and misses for a pitch with poor velocity. Vincent finished 2018 17th (out of 310 qualified pitchers) in average exit velocity. His ability to induce weak contact, in addition to what should be a good Twins outfield defense, could set him up well in 2018. He made $2.8 million in 2018. Bud Norris ERA 3.59, K/9 10.46, BB/9 3.28, FIP 3.99, xwOBA .321, Avg. exit velo 86.6 In recent years, Norris has made the transition from OK starter to pretty good reliever, most recently for the St. Louis Cardinals. At 6'0", 215 pounds, Norris has a more stocky, thick body, and it’s reflected in the type of reliever he has become. Norris offers a hard, flat fastball the averages 95 mph which he combines with a cutter, his best pitch. Norris generated an outstanding 58 percent groundball rate on his cutter. Opposing hitters managed just a .117 ISO against this pitch and a wRC+ 64. Norris has retained an encouraging level of consistency in his two seasons of relief work, putting up almost identical K/9, BB/9, FIP, and xFIP between 2017 and 2018. He could slot into the back end of the Twins bullpen as a setup option, or even close games in a pinch. Norris earned $3 million with the Cardinals last season. Brad Brach ERA 3.59, K/9 8.62, BB/9 4.02, FIP 3.67, xwOBA .284, Avg. exit velo 86.8 Brach is an interesting name. He’s been one of the most consistent mid-tier relievers in recent seasons, amassing 4.3 fWAR over his last four seasons (Taylor Rogers was the only Twins reliever to amass over 1.0 in 2018). Brach is a large human, at 6’6" 215 pounds. He has a track record of excellent consistency in his last five seasons, pitching at least 60 innings in each with an ERA never surpassing 3.59. Brach offers a hard fastball which averages 94.5 mph, a slider, and a changeup. Brach’s fastball took a step back last year, losing some velocity and effectiveness. He also has some of the most worrying peripherals, his K/9 decreasing from 10.48 to 8.62 in the last two seasons, while his BB/9 has climbed from 2.85 to 4.02. He made $5.2 million with Atlanta in 2018. Adam Warren ERA 3.14, K/9 9.06, BB/9 3.48, xwOBA .344, avg. exit velo 86.8 The 31-year-old Warren is another solid option for the Twins. Warren has a track record of success, similar to Brach, amassing 4.8 fWAR in 3 excellent seasons with the Yankees. Warren has good, not great velocity to go with a good not great fastball. He generates most of his value from his slider, which, uniquely, he throws slightly more than his fastball, around 32 percent of the time. This is interesting considering the Astros success leveraging the breaking pitches of their staff to increase effectiveness. Warren made $3.3 million with the Mariners in 2018. Despite the Twins failing to land a bigger name FA reliever, there is still plenty of talent available on the FA market. Who would you like to see the Twins sign or trade for in the coming weeks? Click here to view the article

After inking Blake Parker to a one-year deal worth just north of $3 million, the Minnesota Twins 2019 projected payroll looks to be somewhere near $97 million. In 2018 Derek Falvey and Thad Levine fielded a team that cost $129.56 million as of Opening Day. Right now, there’s projected to be $30 million shy of that number, and if that isn’t cause for concern, it should be. Knowing that, it’s time to figure out how the money gets spent.Payroll and spending are significant points of contention for small and mid-market clubs across Major League Baseball. Fans should always implore billionaire owners turning exorbitant profits to dole out more cash. Spending for the sake of doing so isn’t wise but asking for more talent to be acquired during competitive cycles is certainly a fair ask. Right now, the Twins find themselves amid a terrible division with a leading team that has taken substantial steps backwards. Given the internal talent and proximity of prospects, a window of opportunity has certainly begun to crack. Thus far the organization has acquired the services of Jonathan Schoop, C.J. Cron, Nelson Cruz, and Parker this offseason. That’s a nice foursome of talent and there’s no denying the roster is in a better place now than it ended a season ago. Given the amount of deficit between year over year payrolls however, there’s real need for the dollars to be put to work. On the free agent front there’s a dwindling number of options for Minnesota left to explore. Offensively things look all but set, and there should be plenty of reason to be content with that notion. If we’re talking about pitching additions, then there’s still opportunity to do more. Right now, Rocco Baldelli has four of the five rotation spots all but set in stone, with ample possibilities when thinking about how to round it out. That group could be bolstered with the depth addition of a veteran starter, and that’s an area to explore. A more pressing need still would be in the form of a reliever capable of possessing a high amount of reliability. Assuming the Twins won’t be vying for the services of Adam Ottavino or Craig Kimbrel, the duo of Cody Allen and Brad Brach are plenty intriguing to this writer. Allen is just 30 years old and while he’s coming off a down year, the numbers prior to that are all promising. Dating back to 2012, the Indians former closer had never posted an ERA north of 2.99 until he was hit with a 4.70 mark in 2018. The strikeout stuff is there (11.5 K/9 career) and his 3.5 BB/9 rate is hardly a concern. Velocity loss was a real thing for Allen last season, but his durability remained in- tact and a bounce-back year could be in store. If he could be had on a one-year deal worth something like $10 million that’s a contract Minnesota should sign up for. Another former closer, Brad Brach is nearly three years older, but should be available on a bit lesser of a deal. His strikeout rates aren’t as high (9.5 K/9 career) and his 4.0 BB/9 is a tad high. However, he too has shown an ability to be a durable back-end option, and his 1.52 ERA down the stretch for Atlanta helped to calm some questions about what went wrong in 2018 with Baltimore (4.85 ERA). Pairing Brach with Parker and Addison Reed would give the Twins a trio of established vets that all have an ability to emerge as better than they’ve recently been. Coming off a $5.16 million payday in 2018, netting Brach at $6 or $7 million on a one-year pact seems doable. Should Falvey target either of the relievers, Minnesota’s payroll creeps up near $110 million. Adding a starter probably does a bit more for the overall total, and a Keuchel acquisition would certainly push things near the $120 million total. It’d be a shock if the Twins were in on the former Astros ace, but this could be a situation in which they emerge as somewhat of a surprise suitor. Keuchel would represent a boost to the rotation, and a $20 million average annual value wouldn’t break the Twins bottom line. He’s not the 2015 version of himself at this point, but he’d be an anchor in the rotation and has long been a command wizard while giving up a bit on the strikeout front. The Twins could offer Dallas a three-year $60 million contract and feel good about what they’d be getting. Any way you cut it, I’m coming up with a number somewhere between the $110-120 million range should the organization add another free agent. A desired step back in payroll from the highest in history is a fair ask, but relative to revenues, it’s much more sensible to at least continue with the same water mark. In closing whatever deficit would be left, Minnesota has three key internal options that could be looked at in terms of spending. Jose Berrios will soon embark upon his age 25 season and has already compiled just under 400 big league innings. He made his first All-Star game in 2018 and has the makings of a staff ace. The Puerto Rican native is in the final year of arbitration eligibility and can become a free agent in 2023. If I’m the Twins, now is the time to make sure you’ve got cost savings on this type of a talent. An extension buying out his arbitration years would give Berrios a nice payday, while giving the team some long-term savings. Another payday could then still happen as Berrios would be 29 when he hits free agency for the first time. The two more polarizing options internally come in the form of Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton. Both former top prospects have flashed what was once expected of them, but neither has put it all together. A new coaching staff in place, and yet another offseason of reset, this is probably the last time the Twins will be in an advantageous situation regarding either of their contracts. Both players hit arbitration for the first time in 2019, with Sano becoming a free agent in 2022 (with Buxton a year later due to his service time manipulation in 2018). Should the Twins have belief that the best is yet to come, now is the time to strike. An extension for Sano would come on the heels of a season in which he posted just a .679 OPS, was demoted to Single A, and played in just 71 games. It would be reflective of a belief that there has been buy-in to the conditioning program this winter, and that the new manager would be able to unlock and develop his potential. Should the Dominican post another .916 OPS like his rookie year, or .859 mark as an All-Star in 2017, any chance of a team-friendly deal likely goes out the window. The same logic applies to Buxton in that we saw 28 dismal games and there’s only room to go up from there. Byron was both hurt and ineffective for the majority of 2018. Coming off a September in which he felt scorned, a nice payday would likely help to smooth things over with the front office. Although he’s yet to display his September 2017 performance over a long stretch, that type of talent is the thing MVP’s are made of. Should Baldelli be able to get even a high percentage of his potential from the Georgia native, Minnesota will be looking at a player excited about hitting free agency as soon as possible. Putting a bow on all of this, Minnesota has a good chunk of change yet to dole out. Grabbing one more free agent and then allocating the extras to some expected cornerstones would be a nice way to wrap up the period in which there is no baseball. We have another month or so until players report to spring training, but how the front office decides to navigate that journey remains one worth watching. Click here to view the article

A lot has changed in a week. The Twins made a trade. And the Twins have fallen in the races for the American League Central and for the wild card. The team is now under .500 after a tough series, getting swept in Los Angeles, coupled with great play from Cleveland and Kansas City. They are 5.5 games back of Cleveland now, and four games behind second-place Kansas City. They are also four games back of Kansas City for the second wild card spot. The Rays are in between. The Twins are not out of it, but man, in one week they have gone from buyer to potentially selling.After reviewing the National League teams last week, Nick reviewed the AL West teams yesterday. STANDINGS Boston Red Sox 56-47 New York Yankees 53-46 1.0 GB Tampa Bay Rays 53-49 2.5 GB Baltimore Orioles 48-53 7.0 GB Toronto Blue Jays 47-54 8.0 GB The Yankees are currently sitting in the first of two wild card positions, a half-game ahead of the Royals. The Rays are a half-game out of the second wild card spot. The Orioles are 4.5 games back, and the Blue Jays are 6.5 games back. THE BUYERS Unlike other divisions that we have highlighted, the AL East has three of their five teams which could fit into the buyers’ category. The Red Sox are already making moves. They released Pablo Sandoval, eating millions upon millions of dollars in salary. They called up top prospect Rafael Devers, and they traded a couple of prospects for former Twins infielder Eduardo Nunez. Last week, the Yankees made a big move, adding third baseman Todd Frazier and closer David Robertson from the White Sox. They are believed to be in serious talks with the A’s regarding Sonny Gray. The Rays don’t have the economic means to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees for high-priced talent, but they’ll certainly be on the phone a lot over the rest of the week. Also noteworthy, any rumors (real or imagined) a few weeks ago that Chris Archer might be available are certainly untrue now. As the Twins continue to fall behind Cleveland and Kansas City and are further out of the wild card race, the Twins could find interest in the likes of Ervin Santana, Brandon Kintzler and even Jaime Garcia in the AL East. THE SELLERS That leaves two teams that should fit into the sellers category, the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles That the Orioles are only a handful of games under .500 is pretty impressive when you consider their starting pitching. Kevin Gausman is 7-7 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP.Wade Miley is 4-9 with a 5.69 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.Ubaldo Jimenez is 4-6 with a 7.19 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.Chris Tillman is 1-5 with a 7.01 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP.My guess is any of those pitchers would be available. Gausman, the #3 overall pick in the 2012 draft, would cost quite a bit and he would be intriguing in the long-term. The other three could be had for very little. The Orioles do have a couple of intriguing relievers. 31-year-old Brad Brach has been very good in the late innings. In 43.1 innings, he has a 2.70 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He’s got 46 strikeouts over 43.1 innings. Side-winding Darren O’Day is also likely available. Though he’s posting a 4.67 ERA over 34.2 innings, he has 43 strikeouts. Zach Britton has missed most of the season. He was the best reliever in baseball a year ago, but he’s only had limited time since returning and hasn’t yet returned to dominance. The Blue Jays The Jays got off to a terrible start. Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitski have missed significant time with injury. They lost Edwin Encarnacion to Cleveland and Jose Bautista got off to a miserable start. Bautista might be of interest since he’s come on a bit and his contract is up after the season. The name that Toronto should be throwing out is 1B Justin Smoak who, frankly, hasn’t been very good until this year when he has become a huge power hitter. Sell high. As it relates to the Twins and their need for pitching, the Jays probably aren’t a likely partner. They do, however, have Marcus Stroman who is one of those pitchers that has incredible talent and years of team control remaining. He’s the kind of guy that a team will be willing to give up a lot for, a couple of high-ranking prospects and more. Francisco Liriano hasn’t been particularly good (5.99 ERA, 1.67 WHIP), but he’s rumored to be of interest for the Royals. Marco Estrada (4-7, 5.52 ERA, 1.49 WHIP) does have 118 strikeouts in 109.1 innings. He could be intriguing. J.A. Happ is 3-7 with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He’s pretty Jaime Garcia-like. SUMMARY As noted, the Twins have gone from buyer to we’ll-see, and there’s a chance they could be sellers by the deadline on Monday. That change likely means that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine will not go overboard in terms of what they’d be willing to give up right now. However, if they still are buyers, there are some players, particularly a few bullpen guys, who the Twins could have some interest in acquiring. Click here to view the article