5 free agents the Twins should sign after Carlos Santana
Signing Carlos Santana was a great move, but it can't be the last one the Twins make this winter.
By Josh Hill
We complained a lot about how slow the offseason has been for the Minnesota Twins, but things have finally started to get going.
Trading Jorge Polanco was a move we all knew would happen, but in shipping the All-Star out to Seattle it freed up some cash for the team to add some positional depth. That ended up being veteran slugger Carlos Santana, and the move happened to align with the Twins finally landing a TV deal that massaged the payroll a bit.
Adding Santana was a great move, and one that we could look back on this time next year as a steal. It can't be the last move the Twins make, though, not if they're trying to be serious about contending for a World Series this year.
It's been a slow market, but Minnesota has more wiggle room with the payroll than it did a few months ago and some of the same players who made sense then are still available.
5 free agents the Twins should sign after Carlos Santana
Adam Duvall, DH/OF
One name that has already been linked to the Twins is veteran slugger Adam Duvall.
Last year with Boston, Duvall slashed .247/.303/.531 with 21 homers with 58 RBIs in 92 games. That's decent power the Twins could benefit from adding to the lineup, although there could be an argument that it creates a redundancy with Carlos Santana. Then again, is it really that big of a problem to have more power in the lineup?
Santana and Duvall can handle DH duties, but they'll be occupying different areas of the field if they pay defensively. The upside with Duvall is that he can play all three outfield spots, which means the Twins would have some much-needed depth behind Byron Buxton. Austin Martin already projects to be on the Opening Day roster -- at least, he should -- and adding Duvall into the mix gives Minnesota a nice centerfield platoon to work with.
Where Duvall might add the most value is corner outfield, specifically in right field behind Max Kepler. There are still some pieces the Twins can move around, which could result in Trevor Larnach ending up playing behind Matt Wallner in left. Minnesota has Willi Castro and Nick Gordon to help in right, but getting Duvall and adding his power to the mix seems like a higher upside option.