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Minnesota Twins GM Simulation: Free agents to fill out the roster

By Nate Palmer

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 26: Matthew Boyd #48 of the Detroit Tigers reacts after Tyler Austin #31 of the Minnesota Twins hit a two-run home run during the first inning of the game on September 26, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 26: Matthew Boyd #48 of the Detroit Tigers reacts after Tyler Austin #31 of the Minnesota Twins hit a two-run home run during the first inning of the game on September 26, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WI – OCTOBER 19: Mike Moustakas #18 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with his teammates after scoring a run off of a single hit by Erik Kratz #15 against Hyun-Jin Ryu #99 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game Six of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park on October 19, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

With the bullpen additions set, it is to plan B on the middle infield. The next player I chose to target is recent Colorado Rockies infielder DJ LeMahieu. LeMahieu was known for a long time as a light-hitting defensive second baseman. Then in 2015, LeMahieu broke out as an All-Star second baseman hitting .301/.358/.388. While his performance at the plate was a little down in 2018 his 18 DRS at second base made him an obvious backup plan.

Ultimately, I stopped offering him contracts when the price got to 3 years and $36 million. Looking back I wish I would have kept going on LeMahieu or Lowrie but instead, I began to pivot once again. Part of that pivot was to cover third base.

3B Mike Moustakas

Even with free agency not being real kind to Mike Moustakas last offseason, he still proves to be a quality third baseman. He just finished a good postseason run with the Milwaukee Brewers and maybe he could help do the same thing in the state on the other side of the Mississippi River. Since I am nervous about relying on Sano at this point for anything I want to prep to rely on him as little as possible going into 2019.

Moustakas put together a slash line of .251/.315/.459 good for a .329 wOBA in 2018. He also hit 28 home runs, making him a good candidate to fill the need for an impact bat in the middle of the Twins lineup. I ended up overpaying for Moustakas as I got in a bidding war with the Brewers, but after losing Iglesias, Lowrie, and LeMahieu I wasn’t giving up on Moose.

He became a Twin in this simulation on a 1 year, $16 million contract.

I should mention here that I also had extensive trade conversations about acquireing Jedd Gyorko from the St. Louis Cardinals and Jake Lamb from the Arizona Cardinals but neither of those materialized.

SS Freddy Galvis

After striking out on Iglesias, Lowrie and LeMahieu I still needed to get another infielder for 2019. I was past the deadline to make first bids on free agents or else I would have pursued Asdrubal Cabrera. This is a rule set so that no one can sneak in an unrealistic 1 year, $1 million deal on a player of higher quality than that. Since Cabrera wasn’t pursued at all I turned to Freddy Galvis.

Galvis fits much of the same mold as Iglesias just a tier down from him. Galvis is a career .248/.299/.380 hitter, so nothing spectacular there. His value comes in his defense where he finished 8th in the league with a 7 DRS. Although he is about the flip of Iglesias when it comes to defensive metrics as Galvis ranks much lower in UZR/150 at 19th and -3.8.

Galvis became a Twin with a 1 year, $5 million contract

That brings the simulation to an end so let’s see what the Twins roster looks like at the end of the simulation.

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