The start of Spring Training is only eight days away and the Minnesota Twins still have some holes to fill in their lineup. Puckett’s Pond is here to shine some light on a couple of players who are still available.
The surprising surge by the Minnesota Twins into last year’s playoffs has fans excited for 2018. The injury to Ervin Santana will hurt the team early in the year. However, we’re here to talk about the lineup, not the pitching.
Manager Paul Molitor has a few weapons at his disposal. Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier, among others, hold everything together offensively. The continued emergence of Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario will help but adding a bat will push this team to another level.
The free agency route
Signing Mike Moustakas is very appealing and would help the Minnesota Twins in 2018. However, his price tag is too high and Eduardo Nunez will fit in seamlessly, at a much lower cost.
Nunez is a fun player to watch on the diamond. Minnesota needs to add some veteran impact to their lineup and a reunion with Nunez makes sense. He hit .313 with a .341 on base percentage in 2017 and would help steady the Twins lineup.
He struck out only 54 times in 491 plate appearances. Nunez is no speed demon, but he will swipe a few bases every season and he runs the bases aggressively well. He is a solid defender at third and that will allow the Minnesota Twins to address other needs.
Signing Nunez will allow Miguel Sano to play first base or DH more often. Sano is a budding superstar but Nunez will be an upgrade defensively. Adding him to the lineup will create more opportunities for runs and push this team toward the postseason.
The trade route
The Minnesota Twins can go a different route and make a trade for that impact bat. One phone call the Twins should make is to the Milwaukee Brewers about Jesus Aguilar.
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The only thing Aguilar needs is a chance and Minnesota would be a great fit. Playing as a part-time first baseman/pinch hitter he had a breakthrough 2017 season with the Brewers.
Aguilar mashed 16 home runs with 52 runs batted in 311 plate appearances last season. He played in 133 games for Milwaukee and delivered some big hits for them down the stretch. The Minnesota Twins can use that power to help them get back into the playoffs this season.
Acquiring Aguilar keeps Sano at third base but that’s not a terrible thing. Sano was solid at the hot corner in 2017 committing only 7 errors and showing continued growth. Aguilar has the look of a big time power bat that is a tremendous low-risk, high-reward opportunity.
Next: When will Ervin Santana be back?
Wait, there’s more! Aguilar is still under team control for multiple years so the Minnesota Twins can still add one or both of these players. Minnesota has a chance to do something special in 2018 and they need to seize the moment. Things will only get more interesting from here folks. Stay tuned to Puckett’s Pond to for all of your latest Twins talk.