Minnesota Twins: How the winter so far could affect Twins

Though it has been a slow winter, there have been a host of deals that could give an idea of what the Twins should expect as they head into the free agent market.

The Minnesota Twins are rumored to be interested and talking to a number of free agents that are still on the market. So far, the team has signed a pair of its own. How could the deals already signed affect how the Twins negotiate this winter?

Minnesota Twins deals and needs

The Twins have made two free agent deals thus far with major league contracts involved, and both happened on back-to-back days.

On December 13th, the team agreed to a 2 year, $13 million contract with free agent starting pitcher Michael Pineda. Pineda underwent Tommy John surgery in mid-2017, and he will miss most, if not all, of 2018.

The contract is fairly loaded into the 2019 season, with $2 million paid to 2018 and $8 million to 2019, when Pineda will be back from his surgery. This deal won’t really do anything for the 2018 Twins team unless Pineda is able to return for the bullpen in late season.

On December 14th, the Twins announced a deal with veteran reliever Fernando Rodney (the contract became official on the 15th). Rodney will make $4.5 million with the Twins in 2018, likely as the team’s closer, with an opportunity to make up to $6 million if he earns all of his incentives.

That has been all the Twins have done this winter so far at the major league level, though there have been some minor league contracts signed so far that could end up impacting the major league level.

Let’s take a look at the major league deals elsewhere, starting with rotation members…

Next: Starting Pitching Deals