Minnesota Twins: Three Ways to make the Winter Meetings a Success

It’s finally December. The year is getting colder, but in Major League Baseball, the hot stove is just beginning to heat up. Free agency has already seen a few major splashes, but as per usual, the Minnesota Twins have exercised their typical patience. Fortunately for Twins fans, with December comes the Winter Meetings, a time for an abundance of hope.

At these meetings, MLB teams and agents typically have a lot of discussion over free agency, trades, and other issues in a sunny location. This year in San Diego, the Twins (who are in the midst of a pivotal offseason), need to have a successful Winter Meetings to set the tone for rest of the Winter.

The Minnesota Twins need an active Winter Meetings in order to have a successful offseason.

Last season, there was no Winter Meetings due to the lockout, but this season, teams will have plenty of things to do amidst what expects to be one of the busiest offseasons in recent memory. For the Minnesota Twins, a successful Winter Meetings can be a huge boost for a very apathetic fan base.

What does a successful Winter Meetings look like? Well, no one is expecting the Twins to make three or four splashy signings, but the team can follow a few different paths to make their time in California a success and start the offseason off right.

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.