Minnesota Twins: A mock simulation gets to the point of unbelievable
A number of FanSided’s baseball sites got together to simulate the offseason. The Minnesota Twins representative has withdrawn. Find out why…
As the Minnesota Twins enter into the offseason, a number of websites have done projections and simulations of the offseason to see how the offseason would go. SB Nation did one at the beginning of November that you can read the initial rules of here.
When contacted about the FanSided simulation, I was initially wary, mainly because often these simulations stray so far off of actual rules and reality of the game that they’re really nothing more than a time suck for the persons participating. I was encouraged by insistence that the process would be run with rules of MLB and actual standing of the teams in mind (i.e. the Minnesota Twins are not going to have a $300M payroll).
After initially making my free agent bids, in fact, I got a message from the representative agent for the process with the commish for the process tagged, encouraging me to stay within what the Twins will do in actuality. I responded citing multiple radio hits and interviews that Twins brass have done to identify their spending plans this offseason and how they could structure heavy spending with young core players being up to 3 years away from arbitration. That seemed to set aside those concerns, and it also reassured me that other teams were likely going to be held to a similar standard.
So I proceeded as if the process was going to be handled on an even level.
Original goals
I wanted to play this close to the Minnesota Twins’ own offseason goals, with a stated goal of getting up to two “elite” arms along with a power bat to work at DH.
Specifically, my targets were Ohtani AND Darvish. The Twins have the ability to acquire more international money than any other team, and I wanted to use that to my advantage to generate an overwhelming offer to Ohtani as well as the ability to offer one of the best contracts for Darvish as well.
As a bat, in pursuing Ohtani, part of my offer to him was going to be the opportunity to DH part time. I also wanted to have the opportunity to have a guy that could fill in at right field for Kepler against a tough lefty if Kepler is struggling against lefties (not something I think will continue, but that’s a whole other article). So while a corner infield type that can slug from the right side might be nice, I was more in the market for an outfielder with RH power.
On top of that, I was going to target at least a closing option in the bullpen, whether through free agency or trade, and then evaluate the market for other relief spots as I believe the market this year will allow for a few solid pieces to come cheaper than expected after the initial market rush happens.
This all kicked off over Thanksgiving weekend, and free agent offers were accepted at that point, but not announced until Tuesday (today), so the trade market was the first area to hit. How did the Twins do in that area?