5 free agents the Twins should sign after Carlos Santana

Michael A. Taylor, CF

We're almost to Spring Training and Michael A. Taylor is still available, which is pretty surprising given the way he was positioned heading into the offseason.

Taylor was one of the best additions of any team last season, as he came to the Twins as defensive depth behind Byron Buxton and ended up becoming Minnesota's everyday centerfielder. He made the most of the bizarre opportunity, finishing 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.

We had seen this story before, and in years past that ball careens off the wall and the Blue Jays storm back to once again break the Twins postseason hopes. That catch alone made trading for Taylor worth it, but it was also a display of the type of defense he could add to an outfield.

It's why teams like the Angels and Mets were rumored to be interested him early in free agency, but nothing ended up happening. A reunion with the Twins is looking more and more likely, although there are road blocks that might stand in the way. For starters, the Twins are expecting Buxton to actually play the field this year, and rookie Austin Martin projects to be his platoon depth in center.

There's also the question of how to best allocate the remaining offseason funds. If the Twins are going to hand out around $8 million for a free agent outfielder, would that money be better spent on Tommy Pham or Adam Duvall -- or another right-handed hitting corner outfielder?

Familiarity helps Taylor's chances, though, and if the Twins are shopping for free agents he deserves to be on the list.