Brandon Woodruff, SP
This one is a little outside of the box, especially since it's an investment in 2025 rather than an immediate upgrade next season. Woodruff was on the Twins radar -- at least on the radar of Twins Twitter -- but he's expected to miss all of next season after undergoin surgery this offseason on his throwing shoulder.
It's undeniably risky, but also feels like a classic Twins move. There's a chance Woodruff never regains the type of prowess he had before the surgery, but there's also a chance he bounces back as a Cy Young candidate in 2025. Woodruff is an ace when he's on his game, and he would be an equal match with what the Twins are losing in Sonny Gray -- if not being a total upgrade.
That's what we're dealing with in Woodruff, which makes the risk seem worth it.
Minnesota doesn't have the best luck with those sorts of deals, though. There's too small of a sample size with Chris Paddack to determine if a similar plan worked with him, but the Twins weren't expected him to be an ace when he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Tyler Mahle is another guy who comes to mind when thinking of the gamble the Twins would take by signing Woodruff, as it would require a long-term deal but one that the team is already punting on a year of productivity with.
He was due to make $11 million and the Brewers decided to move on, which suggests the Twins might be able to get a potential ace to pair with Pablo Lopez on an incredible deal.