3 moves Twins should make (and 2 to avoid) after signing Carlos Santana
The Twins have a few different ways they can keep the momentum going.
After waiting all winter to make a deal, the Minnesota Twins are finally splashing in the offseason pond.
Minnesota traded All-Star second baseman Jorge Polanco to Seattle on Monday, a deal that helped set up the signing of Carlos Santana on Friday. It was a week of bookended action, but it shouldn't be the end of the wheeling and dealing.
The Twins have been criticized for not properly following up the team's best postseason run since 2002. Rather than actively improve the roster, fears over lost future revenue thanks to uncertainty surrounding a TV deal forced the team to slash its payroll.
As a result the team has sat out most of the offseason while watching free agents like Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, Tyler Mahle and others leave. It didn't exactly inspire a ton of hope among Twins fans, but it seems things are finally moving.
Rather than slowing down after signing Santana, the Twins have a few things they can do to keep the momentum building.
3 moves Twins should make (and 2 to avoid) after signing Carlos Santana
Re-sign Michael A. Taylor
After the Twins traded Jorge Polanco to the Mariners, Jon Herman floated the idea of the team reuniting with Donovan Solano. It's another free agent, though, that Minnesota should be calling up to see if he's interested in coming back for another season.
Trading for Michael A. Taylor was one of the best moves the Twins made all season last year. The initial idea was that he'd create one of the best defensive pairings in baseball with Byron Buxton, but he ended up becoming the team's starting centerfielder. Buxton was hurt all year, and while he played games he didn't play well and didn't see the field. He was a complete afterthought -- which isn't ideal, nor expected to be the case this season -- which created a chance for Taylor to step up.
He did exactly that, turning in key defensive plays while hitting more home runs than he ever has and posting the second-best OPS+ of his career.
Taylor fit the billing of a classic under-the-radar Twins offseason addition, and it looked like he was going to parlay that into a nice free agent deal this winter. With pitchers and catchers reporting in two weeks, Taylor remains unsigned despite some interest from a few different teams.
Minnesota should jump to the front of that line. If the price is right, which is key, bringing Taylor back would add another right-handed bat to the outfield while providing some insurance for Buxton in center. No one is expecting the extreme nature of last season, but having Taylor back provides all the same benefits it did when Minnesota traded for him a year ago.
Don't bring back Donovan Solano
This one hurts, but the addition of Carlos Santana pretty much negates any need to bring back Donovan Solano.
It could be argued that signing Solano was the best $2 million a team spent last season, as the veteran exceeded expectations and became an important piece of a team that marched to the ALDS. He filled in at first base while Alex Kirilloff go healthy, moved over to second base to fill in for Jorge Polanco, and even served as DH in certain lineups. Everything the Twins needed Solano to do he did, but it seems that chapter is now closed.
Santana will effectively fill the Solano role, as he adds depth behind Kirilloff at first and will likely be the Twins everyday DH. He also offers more potential power than Solano does, so almost every argument for why Minnesota should bring him back is moot. Perhaps the cherry on top is the fact that while he'd be on the cheap end, the Twins might want to spend every penny it can at other positions -- specifically outfield depth.
It's truly a bummer as Solano made it clear he wants to come back to Minnesota next season. There's a chance he does, but all signs seem to indicate that the signing of Santana ends the possibility of a reunion with Solano.
Sign a right-handed hitting outfielder
This one is a little complicated if the Twins end up bringing back Michael A. Taylor, as it could create a redundancy. If the Twins re-sign Taylor, though, he'll once again provide depth in center behind Byron Buxton -- who is expected to play a lot more than he did last season.
Minnesota would still have a need for corner outfield depth, but would also need someone who could provide more power hitting than Taylor. This branches the debate off into a few different possible directions.
Let's say the Twins do bring Taylor back. He's a right-handed hitting option, but one who lacks the power that someone like Adam Duvall might be able to bring. Duvall has plenty of offensive issues he needs to work through, but he's more of a traditional slugger than Taylor plus he can play either corner of the outfield.
If the Twins don't being Taylor back, that creates an even bigger need to find right-handed hitting. Austin Martin is expected to be on the Opening Day roster, but it's unclear where he'll spend the majority of his time. While he's capable of playing center and provides an alternative to Taylor, he might play the infield more than he does outfield.
Duvall becomes an even more intriguing option with the second scenario, but he's by no means the only right-handed hitting outfield option. Tommy Pham, Clint Frazier, and Enrique Hernandez would all be potential fits as well.
Don't trade Max Kepler
At least, not yet.
Before the Twins traded Jorge Polanco there were rumblings that Max Kepler could be included to beef up Minnesota's return package. At the time we were all under the belief that the team was trying to find a No. 2 starter to replace Sonny Gray which ended up not being the case.
The Twins were fine dumping Polanco's salary and getting back high-upside pieces like Justin Topa, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Anthony DeSclafani -- the latter of whom will replace Kenta Maeda, not Sonny Gray, in the starting rotation.
With Polanco gone, Kepler is now the most valuable trade currency the Twins have and the best option might be to hang onto him until the trade deadline in July. There's already interest in the right fielder, as the Mariners inquired about the mega-deal that had been talked about in which Polanco and Kepler were packaged together. Minnesota reportedly nixed that idea which indicates a willingness to hang onto Kepler for the time being.
It makes sense on a few different levels. Kepler is a perfectly fine right fielder, one who is a productive part of the Twins lineup. There's also not a solid succession plan in place the way there was for Polanco at second base, as Matt Waller makes sense but is occupying left field. Trevor Larnach would be an option, but the best be ton him might be to wait and see if he helps create a logjam of outfield talent that makes Kepler expendable at the deadline.
Basically, why burn the currency now when you don't have to and it could appreciate in value over the next few months.
Figure out how Jose Miranda fits into the future
This one isn't a traditional move, but it's something that needs to get bumped higher up the priority list now that things are starting to level out.
Minnesota traded Jorge Polanco, signed a veteran free agent, and have things mostly in order heading into Spring Training. Now is the perfect time to figure out what exactly is going on with Jose Miranda and how he fits into the future.
Last year injuries and poor play boxed Miranda out of a starting job at third base. Barring some nightmare scenario where he gets hurt again, Royce Lewis is going to be the Twins everyday third baseman for the foreseeable future. Miranda moved to third from first base, which is going to be occupied by Alex Kirilloff when he's healthy.
We've been asking ourselves this since the end of the season, but where does Miranda fit? That's something the Twins need to figure out this spring.
With questions about Kirilloff's health, Miranda could slide back over to first and provide some depth there. Kyle Farmer and Edouard Julien are expected to see time there, as could Carlos Santana, but there's room for Miranda if he proves himself next month. The same could be said for third base, although he's purely rotational depth behind Lewis and nothing more.
One way or another the Twins need to figure out how Miranda fits into the future and it's an item that should move up the To Do list after the signing of Santana.
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