5 non-tender players Twins should take a gamble on

We've officially reached the MLB offseason, and the hot stove is starting to heat up.

The trade market is expected to get moving closer to the Winter Meetings next month, but there's already been movement in the free agent market as front offices around the league slowly start to work.

One of the first milestones was the non-tender deadline last Friday. Teams had until then to decide whether to hang onto players who were arbitration-eligible, and more than a few notable names hit the market as a result.

Minnesota ended up tendering seven players, with the future of Kyle Farmer still very much up-in-the-air. Decisions still need to be made in the form of what final salaries will look like for the seven players the Twins tendered, but players who were non-tendered elsewhere could become intriguing candidates for Minnesota to add this winter.

Mike Ford, 1B/DH

Ford feels like a classic Twins target, as he's an aging veteran slugger who just turned in an impressive bounce back season. Last year with the Seattle Mariners, Ford appeared in 83 games and finished the year with a 122 OPS+ while slashing .228/.323/.475 and mashing a career-high in home runs.

He's bounced around a bit in his career, but he's still only 31-years-old and fills a few different holes in the Twins lineup. Ford is a natural fit at DH, but has experience playing at first base -- something that could come in handy with questions about Alex Kirilloff's health.

The expectation seems to be that Kirilloff is on track to start the season healthy, but it's the same uncertain road the Twins were on last season with him. He'll definetly play in 2024, but just like last winter the team needs to figure out how to add depth at a thin position.

Donovan Solano ended up being a huge addition that filled the need, and Ford could keep that streak going.