Minnesota Twins: 3 Top Free Agents for the Twins to Consider

The Minnesota Twins never looked right in 2021. On April 11th, they lost an 8-6 game to the Seattle Mariners, putting them at 5-4, and Twins fans began to worry. They were never above .500 again, finishing the year 73-89. With a division-winning roster coming into the season, so what went wrong?

The answer is basically everything. The rotation ranked 13th in the American League with a 5.18 ERA, and the bullpen wasn’t much better, ranking 12th with a 4.39 ERA. The offense, supposed to be the strength of the club, was merely average, scoring 729 runs which put them 7th in the A.L.

This doesn’t mean the Twins need to tear down the roster. They still have a lot of talent and play in a relatively weak A.L. Central. But to be competitive, there’s a lot to improve on going into next season. These improvements won’t be made overnight. Moves are going to have to be made to improve all facets of the roster and some of these moves will need to be free agent acquisitions.

The Minnesota Twins can bounce back as a contender if they make some big free agent moves.

According to Spotrac, the Twins have an estimated 2022 payroll of about $90 million, about $29 million short of the $119 million they spent this past season. However, just in 2020, the Twins’ payroll was up around $145 million, so it’s fair to say ownership might be okay with spending around $50 million this offseason. That gives the club enough resources to make a few splashes, three of which I discuss here.