Twins could shuffle infield lineup by adding a former Cubs World Series star

The hot stove is starting to heat up and teams are trying to figure out what the bones of next year's lineup will be so that offseason moves can fill in the blanks.

There are more than a few of those for the Minnesota Twins.

Alex Kirilloff's stunning decision to retire has vacated his spot at first base, and has made addressing what the future looks like even more pressing. Minnesota already had a flimsy plan before Kirilloff retired, and now the team is left without a clear way of making up for his absence.

Carlos Santana was to Kirilloff what Michael A. Taylor was to Byron Buxton in 2023, but he's a free agent this winter and there's no guarantee he'll be back. The fact that he's a Gold Glove winner further complicates things since it seemingly raises his asking price.

Internal options exist but are hardly concrete -- or reliable. Eduord Julien hasn't spent any serious time at first, Jose Miranda is over a year removed from regularly playing there, and moving Ryan Jeffers means shifting the depth issue to a new position.

One option could be looking at free agency, and while it's one that won't make the Pohlads happy it does provide a potentially intriguing option.

Twins could take a look at Anthony Rizzo as Alex Kirilloff's replacement

Take it with the biggest grain of salt you can find, but Bleacher Report introduced the idea that Anthony Rizzo could fill Minnesota's need at first base this winter. Nobody official has connected those dots yet, but to be fair it doesn't take a lot of guesswork to put the pieces together on your own.

It's a hairbrained idea from the standpoint of the Twins are allergic to spending money, but it makes baseball sense.

If Royce Lewis is indeed moved to second base full-time, which looks very likely, then Jose Miranda probably gets penciled in at third with Brooks Lee probably splitting time between both spots. There are plenty of questions about how that might play out longterm but there's no question that it takes Miranda out of the running to platoon at first.

Last year Santana accidentally became Minnesota's everyday first baseman, and Rizzo makes sense as someone to intentionally fill that spot from the jump. He's a few years removed from the production he had with the Chicago Cubs, and he hit just .228/.301/.335 with the Yankees in an injury-shortened season last year.

None of that is particularly good, but what it does do is potentially lower his price. The Twins love to make annual over-the-hill veteran signings to see if former All-Stars have anything left in the tank, and while Rizzo is a little younger than who the team usually goes after he fits the bill.

Bringing Rizzo in would be a gamble, but one that might not cost a lot and would have high upside. He's not going to sign long-term and could parlay a stint with the Twins to get back on the map and earn a bigger contract next offseason. Sonny Gray did this to an exceptional level and it seems Santana might have as well.

There's no guaruntee it happens, but that's the risk Minnesota would be assuming in this hypothetical. And that's all it is right now, a hypothetical, but it's one that could make a lot of sense if an experiment actually happens.

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