Minnesota Twins: Three Ways to make the Winter Meetings a Success
Minnesota Twins Winter Meetings Path to Success No. 1: Secure the catching position and adding a reliever.
The first path is a very sensible one that clears up one of the team’s biggest needs: catching. The team cannot go into the season with Ryan Jeffers as the only man behind the dish. The team needs to add at least one more catcher, and there’s no better time than during the Winter Meetings.
Adding a player like Sean Murphy via trade, locking down a reliable starter in Christian Vazquez or Omar Narvaez, or making a big splash with Willson Contreras erases the team’s one gap that they truly 100% can’t in-house.
When you have that one position locked down, you can turn to making other additions that will boost the roster, like a superstar shortstop, more bullpen help, or a right-handed outfield bat. But that shouldn’t be their only move.
If the team adds a major catcher, adding one of the relievers available would be a huge boost for the team. With so many names on the market, just getting one as a start would instantly upgrade a position that was a weakness last year. If the team could do that, the Winter Meetings are a success.
Minnesota Twins Winter Meetings Path to Success No. 2: Land one of the big four shortstops and clear the 40-Man via trade.
The Twins’ current starter at shortstop for the 2023 season is Kyle Farmer with Royce Lewis likely to push him into an infield depth role when he returns from injury. Considering who manned the position in 2022, the team won’t be successful if that drop-off occurs.
I’ll be honest. The Twins have shown no interest in signing Trea Turner, and despite offering multiple offers to Carlos Correa, I don’t expect the superstar to remain in Minnesota. With that in mind, that leaves Xander Bogaerts (whose talks with Boston have stalled) and Dansby Swanson, and the Twins should land one of the two.
With nearly $60+ million available in spending, the team can afford to offer one (or maybe two) large contracts, and if they do plan on spending that money, it needs to be a shortstop. With four main options, scoring one at Winter Meetings would be a great get.
After doing that, their next move could be clearing a 40-man spot. The team has a full boat of players on the roster, and with multiple players with similar profiles (left-handed outfielders and right-handed relievers), the team could take advantage of the close proximity and clear up some space in a trade, bringing back either cash, prospects, or sending out several players for one.
Minnesota Twins Winter Meetings Path to Success No. 3: Make two small, but clear roster upgrades and make progress on Carlos Correa deal
The first two options on this list asked for some pretty big swings. In this third path, the Minnesota Twins address a few smaller concerns, continue to be involved in negotiations, and get the fanbase excited again.
If the Twins were to add a solid closer-type reliever like Craig Kimbrel or Taylor Rogers and maybe pick up a solid right-handed outfielder, they’d show the fans that they were willing to be active in the offseason. If they kept pushing the issue on Correa, it’d be even better.
Twins fans (and Minnesota fans in general) are frustrated, especially given how the team finished last season. Outside of the Lynx, no Minnesota Sports team has won a title since 2003 (Gopher Hockey), and no professional team has won since the Twins’ magic struck a second time in 1991. This franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since 2002. It’s hard.
If the team really showed that they were trying to compete and avoided signing players like Dylan Bundy in 2021, the fanbase would be reinvigorated and have a little more hope. Any of these options would make Winter Meetings a resounding success.
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