Minnesota Twins: 5 undervalued free agent hitters to pursue
Mark Reynolds, 1B
Age on Opening Day: 34
2017 Salary: $1.5 million (originally a minor league deal)
2017 Stats: .267/.352/.487, 593 PA, 30 HR, 2 SB, 11.6% BB, 29.5% K
Info: The original master of an idealized swing, Reynolds was an athletic third baseman who had a planed swing way back in 2007 when he came up to the major leagues. He had plenty of power, but he also struck out a ton.
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Before strikeout records started getting broken every other season, Reynolds made plenty of news in 2008-2010 when he struck out over 200 times every season. Even though he didn’t get 200 in 2011, he missed by just 4, striking out 196 times. Of course, he also hit 141 home runs in those 4 seasons as well, averaging just over 35 per season.
Reynolds found his way to a part-time role and platoon role for most of the last half decade, playing with 6 teams over the last 5 seasons before 2017. After hitting well in part-time play in 2016 with the team, the Rockies brought Reynolds back on a minor league deal in 2017.
When Ian Desmond went down early in 2017, Reynolds proved to be a more-than-adequate replacement, offering a power bat in the middle of the lineup that was suffering from a missing Desmond and an underperforming Gonzalez.
Reynolds would likely be able to be had for a single year, likely in the $5-7 million range. He also hits from the right side, which is a bonus.
Next: Santana gets first shot at HOF ballot
So which of these do you think the Minnesota Twins should pursue? Comment below!