After the Winter Meetings were slower than usual, the market is expected to pick up and movement is expected to start happening across the league.
That's already started, with Juan Soto getting traded to the Yankees at the end of the Winter Meetings and the first major move after being Shohei Ohtani's $700 million deal with the Dodgers. While all of that action and more has been happening, the Minnesota Twins have mostly sat on their hands waiting for things to settle.
Historically that's been the front office's plan of attack, and it's worked out great. Since 2020 the Twins have traded for Kenta Maeda, Sonny Gray, and Pablo Lopez while signing Carlos Correa in free agency -- all deals that happened after the calendar turned to a new year. It seems that will once again be the aproach, especially with a reduced payroll, but it's causing some anxiety among fans who are watching the market slowly flood with competitors.
One of those teams is the Kansas City Royals.
Already the Royals are showing an interest in Lucas Giolito and Marcus Stroman, two pitchers who are perfect fits for the Twins and seem like decent targets. Kansas City's crossover with the Twins shopping list doesn't end there, though, as a couple of other potential targets are also on their radar.
Royals might steal some free agent pitchers away from Twins
Add two more potential Twins targets to the list of pitchers the Royals are reportedly interested in. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand noted on Monday that Kansas City is looking at guys like Michael Wacha and Jack Flaherty in addition to Giolito and Stroman.
The Royals are indeed interested in Marcus Stroman, as @JonHeyman reported, but Kansas City is casting a wide net in its search for pitching. Per sources, the Royals have also had discussions with Lucas Giolito, Michael Wacha and Jack Flaherty.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 11, 2023
No offense, but what exactly is Kansas City hoping to achieve here. Obviously everybody wants to begin the season as competitvely as possible and it's not insane to think that a team projected to be middling could surprise everyone and pop.
Just look at the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, who rode a hot rookie and a solid team that was well managed all the way to the World Series. Are the Royals really on that level, though?
To be fair, there's a lot to like about the talent Kansas City has. Bobby Witt Jr is a star on the rise and guys like Vinnie Pasquantino, Nick Pratto, and MJ Melendez are all young players who will essentially be entering a critical third year together. Matt Quatraro is a second-year manager but one who has the promise of delivering on what he helped the Tampa Bay Rays do during his time there.
Let's also consider that just about anyone is capable ofa capitalizing on the AL Central chaos -- except maybe the White Sox -- so anything is possible.
Minnesota feels like it's in a much better spot to contend for a World Series but never say never in this division. Kansas City could also use the reduced payroll the Twins are dealing with against them, luring in some of these free agents on richer deals for potentially a similar circumstance.
Perhaps thes guys aren't actually that hight on the Twins wish list, even if they all make sense as targets. As antsy as we're all getting waiting for Minnesota to make a move, it's worth pointing out that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have rarely missed, and there's some solace to be had in that.