A week ago it seemed the Minnesota Twins were packing up and heading out on the offseason. It was a frustrating winter of inactivity, with most of the moves being subtractions rather than meaningful additions.
The team did make some moves though, despite concerns over lost revenue from all of the TV rights drama. Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa came over as part of the Jorge Polanco trade with Seattle while the team also signed veteran slugger Carlos Santana.
On Monday the Twins traded for former Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Manuel Margot to serve as outfield depth and a right-handed hitting option off the bench. That would appear to be the final move the team will make before Opening Day, at least according to comments made by Derek Falvey after the deal was made official.
It sounds like the Twins are done making moves this offseason
Falvey spoke to the media following the trade for Margot and seemed to indicate that it was the last piece of the offseason puzzle. There might still be roster movement, but it will all be internal.
“Realistically, with where our team is, with how the roster now is built out, with the way it looks, obviously we’ll keep monitoring where our roster is, the health of it,” Falvey said. “But this was the primary focus for us over the last little bit. I would say that’s by and large the big-picture items, but we’ll keep an open mind about different opportunities that present along the way.”
It's not terribly surprising, nor is it as disappointing as it once felt. There's no getting around how the Twins cowered in the face of fiscal adversity, but even while playing scared the team managed to pull off a decent offseason haul.
The payroll is around $125 million, and the team had about $18 million in net spending to add seven players via signings and trades. Santana ended up being the most expensive addition at $5.2 million, as the front office found a way to get money back that offset the costs of DeSclafani's salary as well as Margot's.
DeSclafani is owed $12 million but the Mariners sent back $8 million, while Margot's $10 million salary was slashed thanks to the $6 million the Dodgers paid as part of the trade. That means the Twins are on the hook for only $8 million for two players who were technically on the books for a combined $22 million.
That's not bad.
It's still hard to stomach the optics of the Twins retreating into classic frugalness at the first sign of actual postseason hope, but if this is the end result of the offseason then it's hard to call it a failure.