Minnesota Twins: 40-man outcasts worth considering

The Minnesota Twins will look to make a lot of moves this offseason and grabbing some other team’s 40-man outcasts in recent roster moves could help.

The Minnesota Twins made some significant additions to their 40-man roster as the deadline to protect prospects from the Rule 5 draft came and went on November 20th. As the Twins also subtracted Alan Busenitz from their 40-man, other teams made tough decisions to do the same with some of their players. That leaves those players potentially available to the Twins and other teams to claim. Here are some names the Twins could consider.

Before completely diving into these names, with the money available to the Twins to spend this offseason all fans are looking for a much bigger splash than some of these names. Depending on how money and players get moved, these players could help round out the Twins roster at a reduced cost. Not to mention there is a possibility that some of these players could be had on minor league deals and provide further depth for the Twins.

1B/DH C.J. Cron

As long as the whole breakout Rays first baseman to the Twins experiment hasn’t totally soured based on Logan Morrison‘s performance last season this makes absolute sense for the Twins. Manager Rocco Baldelli was around the Rays for C.J. Cron‘s breakout 30 home run season that almost doubled his previous season-best total. For a team in desperate need of power and first base help, Cron’s .253/.323/.493 and .816 OPS could be a cost-effective addition for the Twins.

2B/3B/LF Derek Dietrich

In what felt like a bit of a surprising move, the Marlins moved Derek Dietrich off of their 40-man roster. Dietrich is a very similar player to free agent Marwin Gonzalez. A super utility player who has been hitting just enough to provide some tremendous value as baseball becomes more and more position flexible. His flexibility and 2018 slash line of .265/.330/.421 could prove to be valuable for the Twins as he can cover third base and second base, both which are positions of need at this point.

RHP Erik Goeddel

Erik Goeddel feels like a bullpen arm who may just all of a sudden have things click and sustained success come his way at any moment. He had a combined 2.95 ERA between the Mariners and Dodgers in 2018. He also consistently turns in a K/9 over 10 and had a 28.4% K rate in 2018 as wells as a 15.8% swinging strike rate.

RHP Tom Koehler

Tom Koehler is a player many of us likely remember as a relief pitcher we would have loved to add to the Twins bullpen in the middle of 2017. After a shoulder injury holding him out of all of 2018, Koehler was outright released this past week. It is a gamble, but if the 2017 Blue Jays Koehler walks through the door it provides great depth to the bullpen.

OF Jordan Patterson

At first glance, Jordan Patterson doesn’t look like a player that could help meet a need for the Twins, but he is the sort of talent that just seems strange that a franchise would let go. Since 2015 he has always put together an OPS over .800 through the minor leagues. So as the Twins look to add power to their lineup and are in a position where many think they may even trade away one of their corner infielders, Patterson becomes a name that could be helpful for the Twins.

Some of these players may still require a trade if they aren’t eventually outright released, but their designation has opened the door for teams to have serious conversations with them. Any names stand out to you that the Twins should go after?