Minnesota Twins rumors: Josh Donaldson still communicating with Twins

The Minnesota Twins have been in, out and everything in between on the third baseman this offseason, but they’re still trying to bring him to Minnesota.

The drama between the Minnesota Twins and Josh Donaldson keeps building as we head deeper into the offseason. As the last impact free agent on the market, Donaldson has forced many teams to hit the pause button on their offseason plans as he attempts to get the highest number possible for his services.

As for the Twins, that pursuit seemed to come up empty-handed after offering a four-year deal to Donaldson in excess of $100 million, then being “pessimistic” about their chances to land him. But just as it seemed like everyone would move on, KSTP-TV’s Darren Wolfson reported that the Twins are still in on the 34-year old and are still having communications on almost a daily basis.

At this point, many fans would probably like to see the Twins move on and pursue some of the “impact pitching” they proclaimed they would pursue this winter. As the Twins have struck out on many of those targets, they’ve shifted their focus to Donaldson, who would help beef up one of the best lineups in baseball, but also add steady defense to an infield that struggled in that regard in 2019.

But the pursuit of Donaldson has been a mess with the Twins, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals all offering similar offers to “The Bringer of Rain.” The Nationals possibly took themselves out of the running in the past week signing Howie Kendrick, Starlin Castro, Asdrubal Cabrera and Eric Thames, but as they look to replace the MVP-level production of Anthony Rendon, Jon Heyman of MLB Network that the Nationals have kept their offer open.

There’s also the hints that Donaldson would prefer to return to the Braves, but Wolfson noted that the idea of teeing off on the American League Central pitching staffs is more appealing to Donaldson than the National League East, which has three solid contenders in the Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves (and also has Jake deGrom looming for the New York Mets).

This soap opera has dragged on and Wolfson also said that the Twins expected to have closure on this two weeks ago. With nothing going on the Twins’ radar, it’s possible that Donaldson has thrown a wrench into their plans, but if they can somehow plug him into their lineup, it would be a positive spin to an underwhelming offseason to date.