Minnesota Twins Free Agent Profile: Could the Twins actually land Gerrit Cole?

The Minnesota Twins are in the market to acquire “impact pitching” but can they land the biggest prize in the free-agent market this winter?

The secret is out when it comes to the Minnesota Twins’ winter plans. After a season in which the starting rotation took a nosedive after the first couple of months, the Twins will be looking to fill the holes in their starting rotation. Normally, this would just be a matter of replenishing from within as Minnesota has historically has built its farm system around strong starting pitching.

The Twins’ current situation is much different than in year’s past, however. With a World Series caliber lineup already in place, the Twins are looking for someone to get them over their 15 seasons without a playoff win hump.

That led the team to declare a search for “impact pitching” in the days after their latest playoff sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees and what more of an impact could be made by going after the biggest fish in the pond?

That, of course, would be Gerrit Cole, who has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball over the past two seasons. With an American League Cy Young Award likely coming in the next couple of weeks, Cole is hitting free agency at the right time as the 29-year old should draw interest from every team that is even sniffing the playoffs at this point.

So could the Twins pull off a stunner and bring Cole to Minnesota? And what would Cole bring to the table? In the first of a series of pieces, we’ll take a look at what made Cole so good and if the Twins can pull off the shocker of the offseason.