Believe it or not, the Twins have been pretty successful in free agency when they’ve actually gone out and made deals. The team has had a long list of failures on the free agent market over the years, but almost all of them have been low-cost, low risk guys like Livan Hernandez, Joe Crede, or Rondell White. Sure, they didn’t produce, but they didn’t cost much money or really hurt the team that either. On those rare occasions where they went out and spent some bucks for a top tier player, it has worked out pretty well. As an added bonus, the Twins have managed to find a few players who became stars despite a miniscule price tag.

Here, in my humble opinion, are the Top 6 Free Agent signings in Twins history:

#6: Jim Thome, DH

This was originally going to be a Top 5 list, but I couldn’t leave Thome off. He was brought partly as a low-cost, late-inning pinch hitting option and partly as a sideshow attraction, in the theory that fans would pay to see a future Hall of Famer chase 600 home runs. Not only did he succeed on both counts, he actually because the team’s most productive hitter in 2010, with a .283/.412/.610 line and 25 homers. After Justin Morneau went down with a concussion, Thome became a major presence in the lineup that helped the team to the playoffs. He earned $1.5 million in 2010, and he was brought back for $3 million in 2011 (though the Indians ended up paying a portion of that money). (more…)