Minnesota Twins: 5 Free Agent Batters to pursue
By Nate Palmer
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.