Astros are annoyingly linked to two former Twins players in free agency

Free agency winds are slowly starting to pick up to fan the flames of the offseason hot stove, as teams around MLB begin to march into winter with the goal of making meaningful additions. Well, most teams are as the jury is still out on what exactly the Minnesota Twins plan on doing.

Whether the Twins like it or not, player movement is going to start happening and for fans that will likely mean watching guys we fell in love with last year put on new uniforms. With an anemic payroll, again, Minnesota's front office is handcuffed in terms of moves it can make which likely spells the end of the line for guys like Max Kepler.

Carlos Santana is also a free agent this winter and there's a decent argument to make that his stock went up. He took the torch from Michael A. Taylor as an offseason depth signing who assumed an everyday role, and ended up winning a Gold Glove along the way.

The Twins have a massive need at first base, but if they're going to entertain the idea of bringing him back then it sounds like they might have some competition.

Twins fans won't like where Carlos Santana and Jorge Polanco are being linked in free agency

MLB.com's Brian McTaggart went over some potential free agent targets to keep an eye on for the Houston Astros and tossed out a few guys Twins fans might be pretty familiar with. Not only did he mentioned Santana's name as a potential target but added in Jorge Polanco as well.

It's a love-hate sort of things for Twins fans as anyone going to Houston gives instant ick. Santana ending up there isn't hard to make sense of as the Astros ranked near the bottom of the league in OPS among first basemen. The real stinger is Polanco, who had a terrible year in Seattle but seems like he has plenty left in the tank to turn back into the guy Twins fans knew and loved during his All-Star heights.

To have that happen with the Astros would be a kick in the shins that Twins fans don't need this offseason.

What makes it harder to swallow is that there's no real way for the Twins to block Polanco from going to Houston. At least with Santana there's a need at first base he'd help fill and it makes sense to dip into what little funds the team has to bring him back.

Polanco was traded -- or more accurately salary dumped -- because of a logjam in the infield that still exists. It creates a rock-and-hard place situation where no Twins fan wants Polanco to keep tumbling but nobody wants to see him bounce back with the Astros.

Really what this does is remind everyone who bleak this winter threatens to be for Minnesota. Here we are on the cusp of the Hot Stove SZN and the best fodder is about former players signing with other teams. That's a direct result of how unserious everyone thinks the Twins are about actually adding this time of year, as the biggest surprise out of all this would be seeing the team open the checkbook to try and get better.

More Minnesota Twins news and rumors