3 things the Twins need to address this offseason to avoid disaster next year

As the dust settles on the Minnesota Twins gnarly collapse at the end of the regular season, attention is turning toward what the future might have in store.

Hopefully it's not another historic meltdown, something that is serving as a gentle hum of anxiety as the Twins enter another winter where ownership seems unwilling to spend to make the team better. While the Pohlads are reportedly putting the team up for sale, a new owner won't step into the fold for quite some time, which means the Twins will remain a frugal franchise for the time being.

That doesn't change the fact that there are some pretty big things the team needs to address if it wants to avoid another disaster next season. The fact that ownership is actively standing in the way only makes things harder.

3 things the Twins need to address this offseason to avoid disaster next year

Refresh the bullpen outside of the core guys

Coming into last season the Twins' bullpen was ranked as one of the best in the entire league. By the end of September it was one of the worst and a major reason for the historic collapse.

Griffin Jax was a revelation all season, becoming one of the best relievers in baseball but everything around him was pretty much awful. Jhoan Duran's velocity dipped and his ERA fluctuated, Brock Stewart got hurt and Justin Topa didn't make his debut until it was already too late.

Meanwhile, offseason additions like Josh Staumont and Steven Okert didn't even finish the season the roster while Caleb Thielbar and Jorge Alcala imploded.

It was a giant mess, and Minnesota needs to find a way to refresh things around Jax -- especially if he somehow ends up becoming a starter. Free agency might be a tough sell given the payroll restrictions, so looking at the farm system could be what happens here. Either way, something needs to change because the Twins can't afford to go through another season with a haphazardly glued together bullpen.

Figure out a plan at first base

This is now the third straight offseason where the Twins are Homer Simpson thinking about the monkey with cymbals when it comes to answering questions about the situation at first base. Alex Kirilloff is hurt and will probably get non-tendered, Carlos Santana is a free agent, and there's no immediate solution in the minors.

Jose Miranda makes the most sense as an internal option that won't cost the Twins much, which unfortunately is a mindset that colors all of the team's decision making this winter.

Miranda showed some bounce back potential last season, especially during his record-setting hitting streak, but lacked consistency late in the year. The best option could be paying a little to bring back Santana, who might win a Gold Glove for his defense this year and has the ability to be a power hitting option.

Keep an eye on how Luke Keaschall recovers from Tommy John surgery. He's someone who fits the bill as a top prospect the Twins could lean on, but it all depends on where he's at when the season starts.

Find a replacement for Manuel Margot

When the Twins traded for Manuel Margot last offseason, the idea was that he'd be a power hitting insurance policy for Byron Buxton. None of that ended up happening, as Buxton thankfully stayed healthy for most of the season, but when he went down Margot wasn't what Minnesota needed.

Margot finished the season with a -0.6 WAR and went an abysmal 0-for-30 as a pinch hitter. He started the season off by bunting with two outs and the bases loaded in a game against Milwaukee which set the perfect tone foe his year. The cherry on top of all that was Margot becoming a defensive liability.

The Twins need a Buxton insurance policy every season, even if they don't end up using it, but they also need a reliable bat like what Margot was supposed to be. What complicates things is how Minnesota is unlikely to spend on a replacement. It could be that Michael A. Taylor is brought back or the Twins could try to land Harrison Bader, but something needs to happen to replace Margot and the bar for whoever steps into his shoes is pretty low.

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