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For real, what are they waiting for? Image courtesy of Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Some moves require abstraction, an extended philosophical debate to understand how a player will fit in with their new team. Many articles will attempt to understand this. Beyond the apparent positional need on hand, one’s skill set, cost, and clubhouse fit are all crucial considerations, potentially providing as much impact as their on-field play. There is no such issue with Omar Narvaez. The Twins have stepped as close as possible to revealing their interest in Narváez as Derek Falvey will ever admit. After implying The Great Gary Sánchez Experiment flopped, Falvey—as smothered in his lawyer-talk sauce as possible—said we should “probably anticipate” the Twins looking at a catcher platoon with Ryan Jeffers. “Ryan had a really good year against left-handed pitching,” he continued. “That’s a good sign. I’m not saying he’s exclusively a platoon (player), but there is an opportunity to match up going forward.” Narvaez is the only opportunity. Seriously, Willson Contreras and Christian Vazquez—the two other best free agent catchers—hit from the right side of the batter's box, while Sean Murphy—the next former Athletic and biggest name in the backstop trade arena—also enjoys right-handed privileges. Any of those three players would be great additions, but their overlapping righty-ness with Jeffers would negate platoon efficiency and the Twins under Falvey love efficiency. Beyond his left-handed capabilities, Narváez fits the mold of a Twins catcher: a framing expert who can provide enough jolt with the bat to make you mutter “not bad for a catcher” more than a handful of times a season. His offense slipped in 2022–a .305 slugging can never look good—but his bat failed him in 2020 as well, and it recovered for an adequate .266/.342/.402 line in 2021. Even if this dead cat never bounces, a defensive specialist in Jason Castro’s mold is far from a roster curse. Jeffers has yet to play with such a teammate in his Twins career. Since 2021 when the Twins anointed him as the future, the 25-year-old awkwardly matched with the similarly skilled Mitch Garver, the fun, yet limited Willians Astudillo, the offensively dreadful Ben Rortvedt, the aforementioned Sánchez, and the Wario-shaped Sandy León. All of those players, ranging from poor matches to overwhelmed in an important skill critical to winning baseball games, fail to compliment Jeffers in the way Narváez can. It’s not exactly the smooth 2019 duo of Castro and Garver, but it could come close. Other baseball minds agree in the combination; the Fangraphs blurb about Narváez states that “...at this stage, he’s a backup catcher best paired with a righty-hitting starter, which might relieve some of the physical burden of catching from both parties and create more overall production at the position.” It’s like they were thinking of the Twins while writing. Of course, the Twins must involve themselves in negotiating, politicking, and a great deal of boring phone calls about trades and signings that never happen before they can admit defeat and simply sign a necessary player. Throw in the Carlos Correa Conundrum reserving the majority of Minnesota’s attention, and their periphery will likely remain blocked until Falvey is sick of hearing Scott Boras’ awful jokes for eight hours a day. Once that happens, the Twins should probably sign Omar Narváez. It makes too much sense, right? View full article

The Twins must make multiple moves if they want to contend in 2023. Here is the blueprint I would follow for the perfect offseason that sets up a rebound to contention. Image courtesy of Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports Minnesota's front office has a clear shopping list to improve the Twins for 2023. Shortstop is the team's most significant need, especially with Royce Lewis out until the season's second half. Luckily, there is a strong crop of free-agent options, but plenty of other teams could be looking for an upgrade at shortstop. Also, there is always room to add more frontline starting pitching and to supplement other spots on the roster (catcher, right-handed power bat). Here is how the Twins can address all of those needs. Lineup: Correa Returns to Supplement Youth Movement There have been a few times in Twins history when the club had the flexibility to sign one of baseball's best players. Carlos Correa was tremendous during his first season in Minnesota, and the Twins should spend big to have him return. It will likely take a nine or ten-year deal for over $300 million. The Twins can be creative with their contract offer to Correa and frontload the deal, so the end of the contract is more palatable. To create more financial flexibility, I have the team trading Gio Urshela and Max Kepler for prospects. Minnesota will turn third base over to Jose Miranda, and a trio of young outfielders is waiting to take over in the corner spots. Omar Narvaez is the other essential addition, as he offers a natural platoon with current catcher Ryan Jeffers. Bench: Adding Right-Handed Power Trey Mancini is the most significant addition to Minnesota's bench as he offers an upgrade compared to Kyle Garlick. The Twins lineup is loaded with left-handed hitters, and Mancini adds a corner outfield option that is right-handed. Nick Gordon and Gilberto Celestino proved their value during the 2022 season, and Jeffers can switch to a platoon role. Rotation: Adding an Ace Minnesota has many starting pitching options for next season, but there is no true ace at the top of the rotation. The Twins' front office needs to go out of their comfort zone to sign Carlos Rodon to a similar contract that Robbie Ray signed last winter (5-years, $115 million). There have been concerns about Rodon's health in the past, but he's been one of baseball's best pitchers over the last two seasons. His addition also adds more depth to the rotation for when injuries eventually strike. Bullpen: Internal Options Spending money on the lineup left little room for changes to the bullpen. Kepler or Urshela could be used to acquire a package that includes a potential bullpen arm. However, the Twins are getting back Jorge Alcala, and there are other young options to add to the mix. Bailey Ober and Cole Sands will be needed in the rotation sometime next season, but they can be used to piggyback Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle to start the year as they return from injury. Minnesota will trust Jorge Lopez to return to form and can be relied on in critical late-inning situations. Other players will shuffle between St. Paul and Minneapolis, but getting rid of Pagan will help the club from the season's start. Final Payroll Minnesota's 2022 payroll was around $142 million, depending on the source. The team will see a slight bump in payroll next year, especially if the front office can justify signing Correa and Rodon to long-term deals. Some of the dead money mentioned below will also be tied to last year's payroll, giving the team more flexibility. Is this the best possible outcome leading into the 2023 season? Twins Daily also allows you to make your own offseason blueprint. Feel free to create your own roster and share it in the forums with an explanation. View full article

It’s beyond safe to say that things didn’t go well for the 2022 Minnesota Twins at the catcher position. They traded the starter, wound up with an unhealthy up-and-comer, and not even a change of scenery could help a former Yankee. Now how do they get the most out of the position? How about a platoon? Image courtesy of MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL / USA TODAY NETWORK Gone is Mitch Garver. Gone is Gary Sanchez. Gone is Sandy Leon. Gone is Caleb Hamilton. The Minnesota Twins lone catcher on the 40-man roster entering free agency is Ryan Jeffers. He spent much of 2022 on the shelf after an injury, but he’s the early favorite to start the majority of games in 2023 for Rocco Baldelli. Jeffers was seen as more of a bat-only prospect that scouts wondered if he could stick behind the plate. The Twins scouting department felt otherwise, and thus far he’s impressed defensively. We’ve seen glimpses of the good bat, particularly the power, but nothing to substantiate certainty at this point. Looking at a position not often associated with offense, and one where the free agent market remains relatively bleak, Minnesota could be tempted into a platoon situation behind Jeffers. No one is looking for a left-handed thrower behind the plate, but the left-handed hitters currently available aren’t exactly sure things either. Given former Athletics back stop Stephen Vogt announced his retirement, there are just three lefty bats on the open market: Omar Narvaez Maybe the cream of this crop, Narvaez is soon-to-be 31 years old and owns a career 100 OPS+. His .597 OPS in 2022 was a career-worst, and despite an All-Star appearance with Milwaukee last season, he was both injured and ineffective. As one would expect, he has been a better hitter over the course of his career against right-handed pitching. Although not a significant power guy, Narvaez has ripped 47 of his 51 career dingers off of righties. Having made just $5 million last season and coming off a down year, his price should be easily attainable. Tucker Barnhart After spending eight seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Barnhart joined the Detroit Tigers in 2022. He’s never been a great offensive player, and he’s topped double-digit home runs just twice in his nine-year career. The 64 OPS+ this season with Detroit was a career-worst, and the .267 SLG was truly unfathomable for a guy that played 94 games. His .705 career OPS against righties is well above the .580 OPS mark against lefties, however, and that could salvage some of his production. Jason Castro Not only does this seem unlikely from a return-to-Minnesota perspective, but Castro was contemplating retirement going into 2022 and then wound up having knee surgery ending his season. Castro played just 34 games this year for the Astros and in only 66 games during 2021. He had proven a solid track record of health when he signed with the Twins back in 2017, but it’s been downhill since, the 'normal' trajectory for catchers after they hit 30. The options at catcher are almost always relatively bleak, but limiting it to just free agents and focusing on a left-handed bat doesn’t paint a pretty picture either. View full article