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There are so many similarities between the Twins offense and the Yankees offense in 2019 While the Yankees have the names that are known nationally, hopefully this series can put the names of several Twins players into the limelight. As we eagerly look to tonight’s Game 1, lets take a look at two powerful, prolific, historic offenses and see where the teams have some advantages. Most would predict that the teams will score a lot of runs, so get to know some of the guys to watch.Let’s take a position-by-position look at this Twins/Yankees series. Catchers Twins: Mitch Garver (28) - .273/.365/.630 (.995) with 16 doubles, 31 HR, 67 RBI (0 playoff games) Yankees: Gary Sanchez (26) - .232/.316/.525 (.841) with 12 doubles, 34 HR, 77 RBI (18 playoff games) Summary: Simply looking at 2019 numbers, it’s clear that Garver had the better season of these two. After hitting seven homers last year, he set out to hit the ball in the air more often in 2019, and he did that. Likewise, he went to work on his defense last offseason and has made himself into an adequate defensive backstop. That is where Garver gains the edge over Sanchez as well. Advantage: Slight edge to the Twins. First Base Twins: CJ Cron (29) - .253/.311/.469 (.780) with 24 doubles, 25 HR, 78 RBI (3 playoff games) Yankees: DJ LeMahieu (31) - .327/.375/.518 (.893) with 33 doubles, 26 HR, 102 RBI (5 playoff games) Summary: CJ Cron had a terrific, powerful first half of the season with the Twins. Unfortunately a thumb injury before the All Star break cost him two IL stints and really sapped him of his power much of the rest of the season. LeMahieu can play all over the infield, but he’s found most of his playing time in the second half at first base. He should receive strong consideration for MVP as he was such a huge piece for the Yankees all season. Advantage: Edge to the Yankees. Second Base Twins: Jonathan Schoop (27) - .256/.304/.473 (.777) with 23 doubles, 23 HR, 59 RBI (12 playoff games) Twins: Luis Arraez (22) - .334/.399/.439 (.838) with 20 doubles, 4 HR, 28 RBI (0 playoff games) Yankees: Gleyber Torres (22) - .278/.337/.535 (.871) with 26 doubles, 38 HR, 90 RBI (5 playoff games) Summary: We will find out on Friday morning whether or not Luis Arraez will be on the ALDS roster or not. He had such a positive impact on the team immediately after his promotion. The quality of his at-bats is veteran-like. Schoop’s at-bats may not be as pretty, but look at the numbers. He has had a solid season despite losing playing time. Regardless, Torres is an All-Star at a very young age. Sure, about 1/3 of his homers came against the Orioles, but he had a fantastic season and plays solid defense too. Advantage: Edge to the Yankees. Third Base Twins: Miguel Sano (26) - .247/.346/.576 (.923) with 19 doubles, 34 HR, 79 RBI (0 playoff games) Yankees: Gio Urshela (27) - .314/.355/.534 (.889) with 34 doubles, 21 HR, 74 RBI (5 playoff games) Summary: Sano put up monster numbers in 2019 despite his season not starting until May 15th. He had his week of extreme struggle, but since then, he has been pretty well locked in. He’ll be making his postseason debut because he missed the 2017 Wild Card game with a broken tibia. Urshela did play in the 2017 postseason, for Cleveland. He’s been a backup player the last few years in Cleveland and Toronto. He got an opportunity to play in 2019 because of the Miguel Andujar injury, and he took full advantage. Advantage: Edge to the Twins. Shortstop Twins: Jorge Polanco (26) - .295/.356/.485 (.841) with 40 doubles, 22 HR, 79 RBI (1 playoff game) Yankees: Didi Gregorius (29) - .238/.276/.441 (.718) with 14 doubles, 16 HR, 61 RBI (19 playoff games) Summary: Gregorius missed the first half of the season due to Tommy John surgery. He returned in the second half and never got on a great roll. That said, he can be great, and he certainly has hurt the Twins in recent years. Polanco had a terrific, breakout season in 2019. He had a big first half and earned his first All-Star appearance (and start). Advantage: Slight Edge to the Twins. Left Field Twins: Eddie Rosario (28) - .276/.300/.500 (.800) with 28 doubles, 32 HR, 109 RBI (1 playoff game) Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton (29) - .288/.403/.492 (.894) with 3 doubles, 3 HR, 13 RBI (5 playoff games) Summary: Because of injury, Stanton was limited to just 18 games at 72 plate appearances in 2019. But if he’s healthy, the former MVP can have a huge impact in this series with his power. Rosario had a rough second half, but just looking at his numbers (except that OBP), he put together another solid season for the Twins. Staton has played in five postseason games. Rosario played in just one, but he homered in that game. Advantage: Push. The edge would clearly go to the Yankees if not for the injury factor. Center Field Twins: Max Kepler (26) - .252/.336/.519 (.855) with 32 doubles, 36 HR, 90 RBI (1 playoff game) Yankees: Brett Gardner (36) - .251/.325/.503 (.829) with 26 doubles, 28 HR, 78 RBI (52 playoff games) Summary: Gardner has played in 52 playoff games in his long Yankees career. He has really changed his game in the last couple of years from a slappy, on-base hitter to a power guy. If Kepler had stayed healthy and had played at all in the last three weeks, the edge would likely go to Kepler in this “matchup.” He had a huge breakout year. His health is the lone question. Advantage: Push Right Field Twins: Marwin Gonzalez (30) - .264/.322/.414 (.736) with 19 doubles, 15 HR, 55 RBI (30 playoff games) Yankees: Aaron Judge (27) - .272/.381/.540 (.921) with 18 doubles, 27 HR, 55 RBI (18 playoff games) Summary: Judge missed some time early in the season but returned to put up Judge-like numbers again. I have Gonzalez listed here, but he could play some at first base, and if he does someone like Jake Cave or LaMonte Wade could play right field. In addition, Gonzalez missed the final handful of games due to his oblique tightening, but he expects to be back. Advantage: Edge to the Yankees Designated Hitter Twins: Nelson Cruz (39) - .311/.392/.639 (1.031) with 26 doubles, 41 HR, 108 RBI (41 playoff games) Yankees: Edwin Encarnacion (36) - .244/.344/.531 (.875) with 18 doubles, 34 HR, 86 RBI (26 playoff games) Summary: This “matchup” pits two members of the 400 Home Run club. Both have been prolific power hitters for years. Both have missed time with injuries in 2019. Encarnacion is expected to return to the Yankees lineup for the playoffs after missing time with an oblique injury. Advantage: Slight Edge Twins Bench Twins: The Twins will likely have a bench that includes Jason Castro, Willians Astudillo, Jake Cave, LaMonte Wade (and Jonathan Schoop, if Arraez is healthy). Yankees: The Yankees will likely have Austin Romine as their backup catcher. Guys like Luke Voit (21 HR), Cameron Maybin and Clint Frazier will also possibly be on the bench. Mike Tauchman is another possibility if he is healthy. Overall Twins: .270/.338/.494 (.832) with 318 doubles, 307 HR, 939 Runs Yankees: .267/.339/.490 (.829) with 290 doubles, 306 HR, 943 Runs Advantage: Even Summary: Expect to see a lot of home runs, a lot of runs scored. Or, because baseball can be funny sometimes, maybe we will see a series of pitcher’s duels. Click here to view the article

While the Hot Stove has cooled down on any Brian Dozier rumblings, news out of the Twin Cities has the Twins interested in adding other depth to their roster. MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger is reporting the Twins have touched base with multiple agents for position players and this includes former Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista. A conflicting report from the Star Tribune's LaVelle E. Neal III says the speculation surrounding Bautista needs to cool down. He's "hearing the Twins aren't interested in him." So which report is correct and does signing a free agent slugger fit with the Twins' current direction?For a rebuilding organization, it might seem like a bold strategy to add a veteran player. Last winter, reports had Bautista seeking a contract extension of over five years and $150 million. The 36-year old made multiple DL stints this year as he battled toe and knee issues. He played in 116 games but he saw a decline in his power and his defensive skills continue to be an issue. This was the third time in the last five seasons where Bautista failed to play over 118 games. Back in 2011, he led all of baseball in slugging percentage (.608) and OPS (1.056). However, those totals have dropped in recent years as he batted .234/.366/.452 in 2016. It seems more likely for Bautista to stay with an AL squad where he can spend some of his time as a designated hitter. Minnesota already has the likes of Miguel Sano, Joe Mauer, Kennys Vargas and Byung-Ho Park potentially getting at-bats at DH. Adding Bautista to this mix could make this a little crowded. Minnesota's current outfield projects to include Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler. All of these players are young and there's no telling what kind of performance the team will coax from their young core. Bautista could provide some insurance in the corner outfield and a veteran voice in the locker room. KSTP's Chris Long interviewed Derek Falvey about the possibility of adding Bautista to a rebuilding organization. "We'll continue to monitor all potential avenues for players, whether it's free agents or trades," he said. "I wouldn't shut the door on any player out there right now, even if it was slightly unconventional." In recent years, players like Nelson Cruz and Dexter Fowler have been open to unconventional deals. Both of them signed one-year contracts to increase their value before becoming a free agent again. It sounds like Bautista would be open to this idea but he'd want the one-year deal to be worth more than the $17.2 million qualifying offer he turned down. Since he rejected Toronto's qualifying offer, Bautista also comes tied to a loss of a draft pick. Minnesota's first overall pick is protected but the Twins would be forced to surrender their next highest pick. That pick would be the fifth pick of the competitive balance round between the first and second round. Under the old regime, Minnesota was willing to do this when signing Ervin Santana. Conventional wisdom would have to think Bautista is searching for a big payday. After an unconventional path to the big leagues, it took him until late into his 20's and early 30's to establish himself as a consistent MLB regular. As an aging slugger, this could be one of his last opportunities to sign a multi-year free agent contract. For Twins fans, Bautista has been a nemesis since Target Field opened. He's hit .349/.429/.895 with 14 home runs and five doubles in 21 games. His 1.324 OPS at Target Field is his highest mark at any ballpark where he's played more than five games. It doesn't seem like Bautista would be a perfect fit in Minnesota, even on a one-year deal. With a draft pick tied to him and Bautista continuing to age, it would certainly seem unconventional considering the Twins current state of affairs. What are your thoughts on a potential Bautista signing? Do the Twins need more veteran players? Is he worth giving up a draft pick? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. News came out on Thursday evening that Edwin Encarnacion has signed a three year, $60 million contract with Cleveland. Encarnacion's season came to an end at the hand of Cleveland in the playoffs this year. After pushing their way into the World Series and coming up short in a Game 7 against the Cubs, Cleveland is adding a major impact bat, arguably the best bat on the free agent market.Things have been interesting this offseason in the American League Central. Let’s check out where the four teams are and what more they might want to do. Might as well start with the defending AL Central and American League champions. CLEVELAND Signing Edwin Encarnacion is a big deal. Mike Napoli is a nice player and continues to show great power but Encarnacion is one of the best hitters in baseball. He has a tremendous eye. He puts the ball in play, and he can hit the ball a mile. You have to wonder if Chris Colabello knew about this signing when he agreed to a minor league deal with the team earlier in the week. Cleveland had been pretty quiet this offseason to this point, but they should have been. They have terrific starting pitching. Their bullpen is stacked. They have a terrific lineup that will now only be enhanced in the middle. Not only is Cleveland trying to defend their AL Central crown, but this is the kind of move that makes them a legit World Series contender again. DETROIT The Tigers are that team that could go in either direction. In the last couple of offseasons they have lost the two 2016 Cy Young Award winners (Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello). Justin Verlander may have deserved the American League Cy Young Award in 2016, and Jordan Zimmerman missed a lot of time in the first season of his huge contract. But Miguel Cabrera is still there. Ian Kinsler and Victor Martinez aren’t getting younger. They did trade Cameron Maybin right after the conclusion of the season, but they have been quiet. There were rumors of them dealing JD Martinez, but at least to this point it hasn’t happened. Unless they are surprisingly able to keep all of their pitching healthy, it’s hard to think they can compete with Cleveland. Are they good enough right now to be a Wild Card contender? Maybe. KANSAS CITY The Royals added outfielder Jorge Soler from the Cubs, but to do so, they traded Wade Davis, one of baseball’s best closers. The Royals, after representing the American League in the World Series the two previous years, went backwards in 2016, finishing 81-81. During the Winter Meetings, there were a lot of rumors about the Royals looking to make some trades involving some of their talented players that are about to get expensive.To this point, Davis is the only player they have traded. They haven’t done much in free agency either. They brought back Drew Butera. Rumors have seemed to quiet in Kansas City. Maybe they are going to spend to keep their talent. I doubt it. They’re going to have to make some tough decisions on players such as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakus, Lorenzo Cain and others. They do still have a strong bullpen, even with the loss of Davis. CHICAGO The White Sox were one of the biggest winners at the Winter Meetings. They were able to trade Chris Sale to Boston in exchange for baseball’s top prospect Yoan Moncada, a triple-digit throwing phenom in Michael Kopech, and two more solid prospects. The next day they traded outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals in exchange for their three top pitching prospects (Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning). There continue to be rumors that they are making every attempt to trade Jose Quintana (for another king’s ransom, and understandably so). Could they also trade third baseman Todd Frazier? And I’m a little surprised that they haven’t already traded closer David Robertson. Clearly they are not looking to compete for division titles the next couple of years, so there really is no reason for a top closer. With the closer market as it has been this offseason, Robertson should be able to bring back another nice prospect haul. The White Sox are punting the next couple of seasons to take a run with a new core in a couple of years. They went from one of baseball’s worst minor league systems to having one of the top ten systems in baseball. They also signed lefty Derek Holland to take Sale’s spot in the rotation (no, he’s obviously not replacing the production of Sale, but he can be a solid contributor. MINNESOTA So, what have the Twins done, coming off of their 103-loss season in 2016? Well, first they hired Cleveland’s assistant GM Derek Falvey to change the direction and lead the organization. Then he hired Thad Levine - previously the long-time assistant GM in Texas - to be the team’s new General Manager. The new regime went into the offseason aggressively. They targeted Jason Castro and were able to sign him. It was a clear sign that things will be different in the Twins front office. Castro hasn’t hit well the last three years, but he’s consistently been a top pitch-framer. The thought is that what he does with the bat is a bonus. However, if he can convince the home plate ump that borderline pitches are strikes instead of balls, he will help his pitching staff. There have been Brian Dozier trade rumors since the season came to a merciful ending, maybe even earlier. Things are pretty quiet right now. It could mean that talks have backed off. It could be that the Twins and Dodgers are giving each other the Christmas weekend to collect their thoughts. Who knows? It could be the calm before the sto… trade. The Twins are a few years ahead of where the White Sox are trying to get. Their high-level prospects are here. They took their lumps in 2016. You’ve heard it before, but the Twins have the talent to win ten more games in 2017 than they did in 2016 just by the progression of the likes of Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Jose Berrios, Ryan Pressly, JT Chargois. Over the next couple of seasons, the Twins will likely also get contributions from several of the following: Mitch Garver, Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Jay, Nick Gordon, Fernando Romero, Felix Jorge, Kohl Stewart, Jake Reed, Nick Burdi, Trevor Hildenberger and more. Will they all pan out? Of course not. That’s not how it works. Surprisingly, there has been little talk about Ervin Santana this offseason. Teams know what they are getting in him, and the fact that Jason Hammel is currently the best free agent starting pitcher on the market, you would think there would be more interest in a quality pitcher at a reasonable rate for just two years. Do the Twins need to trade Brian Dozier this offseason? Absolutely not. If they don’t get a package that Falvey/Levine are thrilled with, they should hold on to him. As much as it might be fun to see a 2018 rotation including Berrios, De Leon, Romero and Gonsalves, the Twins should absolutely expect to get more than just one pitcher with four MLB games under his belt for a guy like Dozier. The Twins won’t compete with Cleveland in 2017, but they should be greatly improved. Short-term, it’d be far better to keep Dozier and Santana. Long-term, which is clearly the more wise, logical view that the front office should be looking at, most would say that adding a couple of top prospects to help them in 2019 and beyond is the more important goal. The other thing to remember for Twins fans (and for the other teams), there is still a lot of offseason to go. The White Sox are likely to trade at least one more start (Quintana, Roberton, Frazier). The Twins are still quite likely to make a trade involving established veterans for near-MLB ready talent. Detroit? They probably should start selling off ,but maybe they won’t. Kansas City could also trade some of their stars. Cleveland might be done, but they are also in the catbird seat. The Encarnacion signing certainly indicates to their fans that they’re looking to be even better than they were in 2016. It just feels like there is still a lot more to happen, transaction-wise, in the American League Central following the holidays. Who knows, maybe even during the holidays! Click here to view the article

Brian Dozier came to town on Monday. The power-hitting second baseman was in DC at the Winter Meetings for a marketing, promotional event for Under Armour. However, with his name mentioned in all kinds of trade rumors, it certainly brought about reason for more talk. But on Monday it appears it was all talk for the Twins new front office, and throughout baseball. There weren't any major transactions announced on Monday, but there was plenty of talk, and much of it was in the American League Central. As always use this thread to share rumors and transactions throughout the day as you hear new information. Of course, if the Twins do make a transaction, we'll post that in an article as quickly as we can.The Winter Meetings are often a place where there is a lot of talking, but there aren't necessarily a lot of transactions. That was the case Monday, but a lot of the talk centered around the American League Central. Here's the rundown from Monday as we look forward to Tuesday at the Winter Meetings when we expect some of these talks to turn into official transactions. The big talker from Monday was the Chicago White Sox. It appears they are going into full rebuild mold. It looks like they are attempting to follow the plan of the cross-town Cubs. Names like Todd Frazier, Adam Eaton and others could be on the move. However, the Chris Sale rumors really heated up on Monday night. It was reported that the Nationals and White Sox are a long way down the path toward a deal that would involve Chris Sale. The White Sox would likely receive elite pitching prospect Lucas Giolito and top outfield prospect Victor Robles, and maybe more. The Nationals appear resigned to the fact that in two years Bryce Harper will leave for major money as a free agent, so they are going to go for it. A rotation with Max Scherzer, Chris Sale and Stephen Strasburg at the top of it would give the Nationals a real shot. With Mark Melancon signing a four-year, $62 million deal to be the Giants closer on Monday, the market for top closers has been set. Aroldis Chapman is said to be looking for six years (though I can't imagine him getting it). Kenley Jansen is going to also get huge money, likely from either the Marlins or the Dodgers. With that as the backdrop, the White Sox should certainly look to deal their closer, David Robertson. He's signed at a fair price for the next two years, and if the White Sox are selling, they don't really need an elite closer. Also last night, rumors came out that Cleveland was very much in on former Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion. Despite getting to the World Series, Cleveland didn't have many elite hitters. They had several very good hitters, but Encarnacion would give them an elite bat in the middle to team with Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana to give them a very good lineup to go with their very good pitching staff. They would not only be the favorites in the American League Central, but a favorite to return to the World Series. The Royals certainly are making it known that they need to sell off some of their top talent. It appears they are making attempts to deal outfielder Lorenzo Cain. As Brandon Warne often says, Cain can provide young Torii Hunter defense while providing veteran Torii Hunter offensive production. He was hurt some in 2016, and his defense will soon start to go in the other direction so now is the time to deal him. Back to the closer discussion, the Royals are also said to be dangling Wade Davis. Davis was hurt in the second half of 2016, but he could command a huge return. The Cubs are said to be interested. Jorge Soler's name has been mentioned though I would think that the Cubs would have to add at least one, and maybe two, more pieces. DAILY DOZIER UPDATE Dozier appeared on MLB radio, and Derek Falvey was on earlier on Monday. Both were certainly saying the right things, especially when meeting with local Twin Cities media. Dozier made it clear that he would like to be part of the solution in Minnesota. He's invested a lot of time, work and passion into becoming a great player with the Twins. He wants to stay. But at the same time, he is intrigued by the rumors and says he has paid attention. He wants to win. He wants to be loyal. And he understands the business side of the game in which a 100-loss team needs to add as much talent as they can, even if it means difficult decisions. For his part, Falvey is saying the right things too, which isn't easy. He isn't flat-out lying and saying that nothing's going to happen. He talks about the respect that Dozier has earned and deserves, but he does so while clearly getting a lot of interest from teams on the second baseman. There wasn't a lot of new information on Monday. Jon Heyman pointed out that he learned the Yankees have inquired about Dozier. It's good to hear some specific names of other teams, even if just to let the Dodgers think that they need to up their offer if they really want to acquire Dozier. The Yankees added a lot of talent last summer from their trades of Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. Certainly Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge would likely be unavailable. But would pitching prospects like Luis Severino or lefty Justus Sheffield be available? Sheffield is the brother of Jordan Sheffield whose name has been mentioned as a possible return from the Dodgers. James Kaprelian is another pitching prospect of note. Clint Frazier is their top prospect, according to MLB.com. He came to the Yankees in the Andrew Miller deal and played in AAA the second half of the year. The Twins like their talented outfielders from Georgia high schools! An outfield of Kepler, Buxton and Frazier would sure be fun to watch grow! Gleyber Torres came from the Cubs in the Chapman deal. The shortstop was one of the top prospects in the Arizona Fall League and is a top shortstop prospect in the game, ranking even higher than Nick Gordon. A middle infield down the line of Torres and Gordon would sure be nice. They both would start 2017 in AA Chattanooga. This is likely just wishful thinking as I doubt Torres is be available. Let's be honest. Outside of Brian Dozier talk and rumors, things have been very quiet on the Twins front, as it has been throughout baseball through one official day of Winter Meetings will that change on Tuesday? Here's the question for you to discuss and answer in the comments below - along with discussing other rumors of the day - In your opinion, what are the odds that the Twins trade Brian Dozier a.) before the end of the Winter Meetings on Thursday, or b.) this offseason? Discuss below, and take the Twins Daily Twitter survey by clicking below. Click here to view the article