Twins miss out on Tyler Glasnow as pitchers are starting to fly off the market
Maybe he was never a serious option, but the starting pitching market is beginning to move.
We're officially in the thick of the MLB offseason but the Minnesota Twins remain in neutral when it comes to their offseason plans.
So far the only move the Twins have made is walking over to the window to watch free agents leave to sign with other teams. Kenta Meada and Sonny Gray both left at the beginning of December while Emilio Pagan followed not long after. Tyler Mahle and Dylan Florio have also left, with Andrew Stevenson going so far as to leave the country to find work.
Not every free agent the Twins have watched walk has been an impact guy, but it's hard to not look at the optics of the market starting to move and Minnesota standing pat and not get a little frustrated. Starting pitching is the biggest need the team has this winter, especially with how good it was this past season, but so far nothing has happened to help replenish talent.
The market continued to move late in the week with two potential Twins targets getting plucked by other teams -- one of which being a little more frustrating than the other.
Twins are missing out on starting pitching market
On Thursday the Los Angeles Dodgers chased giving Shohei Ohtani a $700 million by trading for Tampa Bay Rays ace Tyler Glasnow. He was kicked around as a potential target for the Twins, although it's hard to say how serious they were about getting him. At one point the Cincinnati Reds were among the supposed finalists to trade for Glasnow, though, which felt like a pretty clear indication that the Twins should get involved.
The Dodgers trading for him makes the pill easier to swallow, but it doesn't make stomaching the Twins lack of movement much fun.
It wasn’t just Glasnow who landed somewhere other than Minnesota on Thursday, as two other pitchers found new homes as well. Mahle, who the Twins traded two top prospects for in 2022, signed a $22 million deal with the Texas Rangers while Jack Flaherty signed with the Detroit Tigers.
That’s now two starters the Twins could have pursued that Detroit landed, as the Tigers began their offseason by signing Kenta Maeda to a $24 million deal.
Flarhety is a gamble but a high-upside one that felt like a classic Twins make-good free agent signing. It was a pricey deal, with the Tigers shelling out $14 million for one year which is very rich for the Twins blood, but even that is a cause for some anxiety since it might indicate the market is moving away from Minnesota.
The Twins have been rumored to be looking at the trade market to find starting pitching, but weren't involved in the Glasnow action. They also like to take fliers on guys in free agency, yet Flarhery signed with a rival. Historically Minnesota lets the market settle before making a move -- to a great deal of success, it's worth pointing out -- but the lack of action has fans wondering if we're all being set up for disappointment.
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