Cubs might have gifted the Twins a perfect hitter to help turn offense around

Setting aside the Minnesota Twins destruction of a very bad Chicago White Sox team, the offense has left a lot to be desired so far this season.

Not only have things been sluggish out of the gate, the lack of pop at the plate for the Twins has started to take a toll on pitchers who are otherwise doing all they can do. Pablo Lopez has put together a handful of solid starts so far this season but owns a 1-2 record largely due to the fact that he can't get any run support. Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack are in the same boat, and even the bullpen is starting to wear out and bear the brunt.

Minnesota's historically bad start on offense also highlights how foolish it was that the team did so little to add in the offseason. Guys like Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana, and Manuel Margot were all given sizable contracts by Twins' standards but combine to be worth around -1.5 WAR so far this season.

Farmer is hitting .071 while Margot owns a 55 OPS+ through the first 21 games of the year and there doesn't seem to be much to suggest that will change. Minnesota finally lifted its team batting average above .200 but that's a) such a low bar to clear and b) thanks to playing a horrible White Sox team, which won't happen every night.

The Twins need to figure something out, and Chicago's North Side rivals might have given Minnesota a solution.

Cubs DFA potentially perfect hitter to help Twins start turning the offense around

On Tuesday the Chicago Cubs DFA's first baseman Garrett Cooper, which doesn't seem super significant until you realize how well he might fit with the Twins.

It's not exactly the sexiest solution, but this isn't The Show and the Twins have shown a reluctance to spend their way out of trouble. That's why the idea of Cooper being brought in might be a tough sell, but it makes enough sense for Minnesota to at least consider making an exception.

Cooper is hitting .270/.341/.432 this season in 37 games, which is basically Babe Ruth-ian compared to how the Twins' offense has been performing. Specifically, Cooper should be compared to Carlos Santana who is the guy he'd fill in for if he were to be brought in.

Santana has been abysmal this year, slashing an atrocious .141/.225/.156 and has hardly lived up to the billing of being a veteran slugger who adds power to the lineup. That was the gamble -- and sales pitch -- Minnesota's front office made when they brought him in after trading Jorge Polanco and so far it's been a total bust.

That's also where things get complicated. Frugalness defined the offseason and the Twins are already paying around $5 million to Santana. Would they add to that total and bring in Cooper, even if it's a relatively inexpensive deal? Beyond that, the question becomes if the Twins would send Santana down to make room for Cooper knowing he was one of the higher priced free agent additions -- as absolutely depressing as that is to say.

Cooper might feel like a band aid on a much larger open wound, but the healing needs to start at some point and action must be taken. The Twins are going to get important bats back in the lineup when Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis return, and we saw what some time away did for Max Kepler.

Hoping and wishing that in-house talent will fix the problem is already a failed strategy. Bringing in Cooper might be somewhere in the middle between sticking to that Very Bad plan and not spending too much to try and turn things around.

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