3 Twins free agents who remain unsigned and need to be brought back
By Josh Hill
A theme of the Minnesota Twins offseason has been a frustrating return to frugality.
Bally Sports North and its bankrupt parent company can be thanked for that, as the loss of television revenue caused the Twins to reduce the payroll this winter. The optics of that happening just a month after the most successful postseason run since 2002 weren't great and haven't aged well in the time since, but it means the team needs to get creative in how it adds meaningful pieces to the roster.
One potential path could be to bring some players back. As the market continues to settle, a handful of Twins free agents remain unsigned and it could make sense to bring them back on affordable deals.
3 Twins free agents who remain unsigned and need to be brought back
Michael A. Taylor
When the Twins traded for Michael A. Taylor last season, nobody knew the load he'd have to carry. The idea was that he'd provide some defensive depth but ended up becoming Minnesota's everyday centerfielder when Byron Buxton's health once again became an issue.
In his stead, Taylor put together a respectable season. He finished the year with a career-high in home runs and posted the second-highest OPS+ of his career. He was also a defensive gem throughout the year, and potentially saved the Twins season with a masterful play in the AL Wild Card series. Buxton didn't play a single game in the field, and Taylor accepted the burden in stride and played his way into what we all thought would be a nice free agent contract.
That still hasn't come, despite reported interest from the Mets, which means his market might be settling back to where the Twins could grab him to fill a need in center.
Why he might not be back: As great of a fit as Taylor would be coming back to Minnesota, money and circumstance could prevent it. The Twins are already strapped for cash, and Taylor's market value is around $7M AAV, which isn't that bad until you compare it to what Austin Martin would cost.
Martin is expected to make the Opening Day roster, and he fills the need for depth center at a fraction of the cost. Ideally Byron Buxton returns to being the everyday centerfielder for the Twins and Martin is able to platoon.
Lest we forget, there's already been interest from other teams and the Twins would not be a hard to outbid this winter.