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Minnesota Twins: 8 free agents the team should try to sign this offseason

By Matt Smith

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Kelvin Herrera #40 of the Washington Nationals throws to a Baltimore Orioles batter in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park on June 21, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Kelvin Herrera #40 of the Washington Nationals throws to a Baltimore Orioles batter in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park on June 21, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – SEPTEMBER 03: Asdrubal Cabrera #13 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws out a runner at first base against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on September 3, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Asdrubal Cabrera

If Lowrie doesn’t end up in Minnesota, Asdrubal Cabrera would be a good Plan B, if not just as good of a Plan A. Similar to Lowrie, Cabrera hasn’t gotten a whole lot of league-wide love. Yet, he’s been pretty good! Since 2015, he’s slashed .272/.329/.450 while averaging 19 home runs per year.

He’s played a mix of 2B and SS each of the past few seasons, but if he found his way to the Twins, he’d probably spend the large majority of his time at second. Cabrera, again like Lowrie, could be a good candidate for a 1-3 year deal, which would cover until Lewis is able to debut, making him another logical option for the Minnesota Twins to explore at 2B.

In terms of how popular he may be, it’s tough to say. There’s a fair number of teams that could be in the market for a second baseman, but without any top tier players at the position available this offseason, there’s no good way to say which of the numerous mid-tier options teams will gravitate to. Many teams, Twins included, will likely work with several different second basemen and eventually work their way down to one guy as their top choice.

Joe Mauer

Last, but certainly not least, Joe Mauer should be on the watch list. The team should try to ease Tyler Austin into being a full time starter and see how that goes, but they need another first baseman as the roster stands, even if it was purely as a backup. Mauer fits in perfectly here.

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I believe he still has some production left in the tank, and his calming presence in the clubhouse is always going to be valuable. We all know what Mauer’s story is, so I don’t feel that I need to get too far into reasons why he should be brought back, but I’ll mention that one of the prevailing reasons fans may not think Mauer should come back is because it would lessen the meaning of the beautiful moments in the final game of the 2018 season.

While that’s probably true, think of why those moments did mean so much. Players like Joe don’t come around very often, and if we can hold onto him for even one more season, we should be happy to do so. He can still produce, would fit in well at first in splitting time with Austin, and would be a strong asset to team culture. If Mauer wants to keep going for another season, the Twins should make it happen.

Next. Minnesota Twins offseason blueprint. dark

Summary

There you have it, 8 players that the Minnesota Twins should target this offseason. Kelvin Herrera, Cody Allen, Brad Brach, and Joe Kelly would be great additions to the bullpen, while Marwin Gonzalez, Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Joe Mauer would be nice boosts to the lineup. Free agents will be allowed to beginning signing on Saturday, November 3rd, so we should start hearing more rumors soon. It’s likely that most players will take at least a few weeks to sign somewhere, but if things go well, the Minnesota Twins will land a handful of the guys mentioned in this article.

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