Minnesota Twins: 5 Free Agent Batters to pursue

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CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 21: Byron Buxton (C) of the Minnesota Twins is greeted by his teammates after hitting a home run against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning in game two of a doubleheader on August 21, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

The Minnesota Twins finished the season with a top-10 offense. Here are some suggestions on how the offense can take the next step in 2018.

The offseason is underway for the Minnesota Twins and the rest of major league baseball. As soon as Tuesday, November 7th players can begin signing with new teams. Fans across Twins territory are hopeful that the Twins will make some significant additions to a team who surprised many by becoming one of the American League Wild Card teams this past season.

It was about this time last year that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were just beginning to get settled into their roles in Minnesota. There was a lot of work to be done and free agency was only a fraction of that work. It is safe to say that many were disappointed in the lack of impact moves that were made.

Jason Castro and Chris Gimenez were the two signings the Twins made from a position player perspective. Both Castro and Gimenez were signed for their defensive attributes as much as their offense. Neither wowed us with their bat, but were both good in the roles they fill on what turned out to be a potent Twins lineup.

It is almost hard to say that the Twins lineup was lead by any single or handful of players in the lineup, as the lineup as a whole performed well. We saw Miguel Sano lead out of the starting gate. Joe Mauer was pretty steady all season long. There were also great performances from younger players like Jorge Polanco, Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton among many others.

The lineup finished 7th in the majors with 815 runs scored. The Twins were also 9th in batting average (.260 average), 7th in on-base percentage (.334 OBP), and 6th in walk rate (9.5%). Just an incredible showing by a lineup that had plenty of question marks to open the season.

This offseason, while there isn’t a lot of improvement needed to the lineup there is one role that has become a glaring need. The Twins could really use a right-handed bat with some pop to give days off to the likes of Mauer, Rosario, and Max Kepler throughout the season. Here are a variety of guys that the Twins could look to in free agency to fill that role in their lineup.

Carlos Santana

If the Twins were able to lure Carlos Santana to Minnesota he would fill a bigger role than what was outlined in the opening of this post. Since moving away from catching, Santana has spent most of his time as either a first baseman or designated hitter but has been used in the outfield a little as well. If the Twins were able to sign Santana it would be mainly for his bat.

Santana hit .259/.363/.455 this past season with 23 home runs. As a switch hitter, he would give the Twins plenty of line up flexibility and most importantly be able to hit right-handed against left-handed starters. His splits versus left-handers and right-handers are nearly identical. Making it certain that the Twins would not have to worry about platooning or subbing Santana based on pitcher handedness.

Signing Santana would be a long-term move. For 2018 he would mainly DH and be able to sub in for Mauer at first base and maybe even one of the corner outfielders from time to time. When Mauer’s contract is up he could easily slide in as the everyday first basemen come 2019. Santana will come at a price. MLB Trade Rumors predicts he will sign in the neighborhood of 3 years $45 million. It has also been announced that the Indians are extending him a qualifying offer, adding just a little more to any team’s price tag that would choose to sign him away from Cleveland. Santana just might be the type of hitter that is worth the price tag.

Melky Cabrera

Melky Cabrera is another switch-hitter that the Twins would be stealing from a division rival if they signed him this offseason. The veteran isn’t quite the same player that came up with the Yankees but he has proven that he can continue to contribute at the major league level after his 2017 season that was split between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals.

This season Cabrera hit .285/.336/.423 while nearing his career high in home runs at 17. His splits are also very even making him a potential starter against any pitcher. In his early years in the league Cabrera spent a lot of time in center field, but in the later stages of his career finds himself play the corner outfield positions.

Cabrera is coming off of a season where he made $15 million and that is clearly too rich for the Twins to sign. That also isn’t realistically the contract Cabrera will sign at this point in his career. Instead, if the Twins were able to sign him to a 1-year contract at anything $7-8 million or less that might be worth it to fill the right-handed bat role the Twins need.

Austin Jackson

Austin Jackson very well may have put in the season in 2017 that exemplifies exactly what the Twins need in their lineup this year from a right-handed 1B/OF/DH. Jackson followed in the footsteps of two other successful part-time players for the Indians, Rajai Davis and Mike Napoli, and looked to turn back the clock on his career. Jackson started his career as a coveted prospect and had two seasons of .298 and .300 batting average but this year blew that out of the water.

In his limited role, Jackson was able to hit .318/.387/.482 and hit 7 home runs in 318 plate appearances. Defensively, he saw time at all three outfield positions. At the end of the season, he was thrust into the starting lineup with Michael Brantley’s injury and held down his spot in the lineup.

The concern with pursuing Jackson this offseason is that everyone has seen the 2017 season he turned in. Everyone will see the value in having Jackson on their bench so there could be a small bidding war for his services and this is a position on the Twins roster where they shouldn’t overpay. His outfield flexibility and performance at the plate would fit well as the Twins try to rest Kepler and Rosario against left-handed pitching.

Mark Reynolds

Mark Reynolds has spent the past two seasons with the Colorado Rockies and emphasizes the “power” aspect of power right-handed bat. At age 34, Reynolds is reaching the later part of his career but proved that he still has something in the tank. In 2017, Reynolds batted .267/.352/.487 and drove 30 home runs over the fence. He was certainly helped by some great home field advantage as he hit 21 of those 30 home runs in the homer-friendly confines of Coors Field.

For the Twins, Reynolds role would primarily be as a DH with some occasional days at first base to give Mauer a day off. The negative side of Reynolds is he is very similar to some of the big bats the Twins currently have. While he will have the potential to give a ball a ride over the fence, he will also swing and miss a lot. Reynolds has gone over 200 strikeouts multiple time in his career and in 2017 struck out 175 times.

As just outlined, Reynolds would not be a perfect player but could fill a very important role on the Twins bench. He also would likely come at a discounted rate. This past season he only made $1.5 million. After a 30 home run campaign, it can be expected that number will increase but teams know who Reynolds is and it likely won’t skyrocket.

Danny Valencia

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Danny Valencia is a player Twins fans are familiar with. He makes it on this list because, like Reynolds, he will come at a price that should easily fit into the Twins offseason plans. After some early struggles in his career with the Twins and the Boston Red Sox, Valencia has turned in a pretty decent baseball career. In 2017, Valencia hit .256/.314/.411 and hit 15 home runs.

Most of Valencia’s seasons have found him with a batting average between .280 and .300. And this past season with the Seattle Mariners he filled the role of 1B/OF/DH just as the Twins would be calling on him to do with this signing. In 2016, Valencia still saw time at third base which could prove valuable in limited stints with Sano’s leg in question with his looming surgery.

The whole hope of this signing would be that limiting Valencia’s at-bats would boost his performance. Twins fans are no stranger to a Valencia hot streak. A couple of those on a cheap contract could help the Twins solve some of their struggles against left-handed pitching.

Next: Twins 5 Free Agent Pitchers to Pursue

Your turn, who was missed that you would like the Twins to make a run at to fill out their lineup?

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