Minnesota Twins: What the end of the Lockout means for the Twins

It’s over. The lockout preventing us from seeing Minnesota Twins baseball is finally over. And According to Jeff Passan, Bob Nightengale, Ken Rosenthal and just about every other baseball newsbreaker, the League and the MLBPA have agreed to a deal:

The players voted 26-12 to accept the league’s offer, and after a long and stressful process, it seems we’ll be getting baseball and very soon. The league will ratify the deal later today, and the teams will immediately begin diving into free agency, trades, and preparing for the season.

The lockout is over. What lies ahead for the Minnesota Twins?

The season will still be 162 games, starting April 7th with three extra days added on and doubleheaders in between. Spring Training will start on the 18th of March, with player reporting as soon as the 13th.

No more runners on second to lead off the tenth, designated hitters in both leagues, and more rule changes are on the way, but this leaves us with a very key question: Where does this leave the Minnesota Twins?

Well, we’ve talked a whole lot about what the Twins could do once the frenzy starts later tonight, but it’s hard to see what path they will take. The only things we know is that the team desperately needs a shortstop and and starting pitching, and they need to get it quickly.

With so many other teams with the same needs, the team has to move quickly. Money is going to be moving, trades will be flying and the Twins will have to act quickly to add some top talent and avoid being outspent. If they choose instead to go small, sign filler position players, and opt to retool, we’ll know very quickly about their plan.

Regardless of anything else though, baseball is back, the hot stove will soon be absolutely BURNING, and we’ll get to see the Twins play at Target Field this summer.