Previewing the Minnesota Twins 2017 Potential Arbitration Eligibles

The Minnesota Twins will have a number of players who are eligible for arbitration this offseason. Could any of them end up non-tendered?

When the offseason comes, the Minnesota Twins will have some decisions to make on a number of players when arbitration deadline comes in early December.

Kyle Gibson

Certainly the most intriguing arbitration case on the team will be that of Kyle Gibson. If you would have asked in April-July whether Gibson would be tendered a contract for 2018, the answer would have been a resounding negative response. On August 1st, Gibson checked in with a 6.08 ERA and 1.71 WHIP over 18 starts and 94 2/3 innings, with a 45/62 BB/K ratio, allowing 16 home runs.

Then Gibson went on a solid 2-month run in August and September as the Twins surged into a playoff position. He made 11 starts, throwing 63 1/3 innings, with a 3.55 ERA and 1.26 WHIP, posting a 15/59 BB/K ratio and allowing just 8 home runs.

Gibson is likely going to cost in the range of $4-6M at least in arbitration, and finding a guy who can do what Gibson did the last two months of the season at that salary is near impossible. However, the first four months of the season are not negated by the final two.

With multiple young pitchers knocking at the door like Stephen Gonsalves, Fernando Romero, Felix Jorge, Aaron Slegers, and Dietrich Enns, along with guys like Zack Littell and Kohl Stewart having spent significant time in the upper minors in 2017.

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