Minnesota Twins: Which players are free agents this offseason?

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 10: Sergio Romo #54 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning of the interleague game at Target Field on September 10, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Nationals 5-0. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 10: Sergio Romo #54 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning of the interleague game at Target Field on September 10, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Nationals 5-0. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 18: Jake Odorizzi #12 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of the game at Target Field on September 18, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 18: Jake Odorizzi #12 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of the game at Target Field on September 18, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Jake Odorizzi

2019 stats: 15-7, 3.51 ERA, 178 K, 53 BB, 1.20 WHIP in 159.0 IP (30 GS)

There is no better time than the present for Jake Odorizzi to hit free agency. After an uninspiring first season in Minnesota, the right-hander broke out in a big way under the tutelage of new pitching coach Wes Johnson and the result was the 29-year old being selected for his first All-Star game.

In a way, the Twins might be lucky that Odorizzi didn’t continue his blistering pace through the first three months of the season where he went 10-3 with a 2.73 ERA before going on the injured list with a blister in a July 2 start against Oakland. Since then, Odorizzi couldn’t maintain his ace-like performance, going 5-4 with a 4.42 ERA in his final 14 starts of the season.

Odorizzi did manage to straighten the ship out during his final handful of starts during the regular season and turned in a strong effort against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS which put the Twins in position to come away with a victory. However, the Twins need to decide which version of Odorizzi is the one they would get in an extension.

Complicating matters is the potential for the Twins to offer him a qualifying offer at $18 million, which could either be accepted by Odorizzi or require draft pick compensation for him to sign anywhere else. It all depends on what the Twins see here and what they would like to do moving forward.