After a panifully quiet offseason, the Minnesota Twins seem to finally be kicking things into gear.
The team traded Jorge Polanco, acquired four players and freed up some money to sign slugger Carlos Santana. It was the first truly meaningful free agent deal the Twins reached this winter, amid other various high-upside lottery ticket signings the team has made.
Signing Santanta can't be the last big move the team makes, though. Minnesota traded Nick Gordon on Sunday but it feels like they need to make another meaningful move. It could be that the next deal the Twins dabble in is a mixture of the Santana deal and lottery ticket deals like Josh Staumont and Zack Weiss.
Rumors: Twins are 'keeping tabs' on two former All-Star pitchers
According to MLB insider Jon Morosi, the Twins are among a handful of teams keeping an eye on free agents Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen.
As many @MLB camps open this week, the Padres, Pirates, Twins, Cubs and Rays are among clubs keeping tabs on rotation depth options, including free agents Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) February 11, 2024
Both of these guys are comfortably in the category of being classic Twins fliers the team likes to take a chance on this time of year. Syndergaard has the Thor lore of everything he did with New York Mets, but it's been tough sledding ever since he left.
After falling off his peak, Syndergaard pitched 88.2 innings in 18 starts between stints with the Dodgers and Guardians. He posted a 6.50 ERA with just 56 strikeouts, which is the exact opposite from where he was with the Mets but is why he makes perfect sense as one of the Twins classic make-good veteran additions.
Lorenzen isn't quite as extreme as Syndergaard but he also fell on some hard times with the Phillies last year. He was an All-Star with the Detroit Tigers and kicked things off in Philly by throwing a no-hitter agianst Washington but he proceeded to post a 5.51 ERA in 11 games and didn't really factor much into the Phillies' postseason run.
Something to consider is that Minnesota isn't the only team keeping an eye on these two guys. Not only that, but teams like the Cubs and Rays being interested -- teams looking to bolster legit postseason chances -- suggests that there's something to the idea of these guys bouncing back.
It's always a gamble, and the success rate isn't that high, but the Twins have managed to be very intentional with the veteran lottery tickets they take. Carlos Santana is the latest example of that but it sounds like he might not end up being alone.