The $159 million the Minnesota Twins spent on payroll this season ranked 16th in the majors, just $4 million shy of the league average. Only $44 million of that went to the pitching staff. That’s a key number considering how the 2022 MLB season played out.
Of the 12 teams that made the playoffs, eight of them were among the ten biggest spenders on pitching. The two clubs that made the playoffs despite spending less than the Twins on pitching were the Guardians ($31 million) and Rays ($43 million), who both have a good reputation for developing in-house talent.
Cash allocated to pitching in 2022 (teams in bold made the playoffs – Guardians and Rays didn’t make the top 20).
- Mets – $134 million
- Dodgers – $120 million
- Yankees – $110 million
- Padres – $110 million
- Blue Jays – $99 million
- Phillies – $91 million
- Red Sox – $81 million
- Astros – $80 million
- White Sox – $80 million
- Braves – $80 million
- Nationals – $77 million
- Cubs – $73 million
- Cardinals – $72 million
- Giants – $72 million
- Rockies – $65 million
- Diamondbacks – $56 million
- Mariners – $50 million
- Rangers – $48 million
- Angels – $45 million
- Twins – $44 million
Look what teams are still alive. They’re big spenders: Yankees, Astros, Padres and Phillies. The Yankees and Astros ranked 3rd and 8th, respectively, in pitching spending, while the Padres and Phillies rank 4th and 6th, respectively.
The final four in 2021 were among the eight biggest spenders on pitching, too.
Having an ace and a high-end No. 2 starter is critical in the postseason. The Twins haven’t had an ace since they traded Johan Santana to the Mets in 2008, and the arms on the current staff are oft-injured Sonny Gray, rookie Joe Ryan and Tommy Mahle, who pitched in just four games between two stints on the injured list after the Twins acquired him from the Reds.
With no signs of an ace in the farm system, the Twins are probably going to have to spend big money this offseason to get an elite arm or continue drawing straws with hopes that they don’t pick the short one they way they did in 2022 when they went with quantity over quality.
How many of these guys will the Twins have in the 2023 rotation?
- Sonny Gray
- Joe Ryan
- Tommy Mahle
- Dylan Bundy
- Chris Archer
- Kenta Maeda
- Bailey Ober
- Josh Winder
- Louie Varland
- Simeon Woods Richardson
- Chris Paddack
Bundy and Archer are likely gone after inking one-year deals. Gray (Twins have a $12 million team option), Ryan and Mahle are probably locks, and so might be Maeda as he returns after missing the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. Paddack said he won’t be back until August, while Ober, Winder, Varland and Woods Richardson are all decent prospects who could challenge for a spot.
But none of those names qualify as an ace, and they’re certainly not on the level of Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Zack Wheeler, Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish or Blake Snell. Those seven guys, by the way, are all pitching for teams still alive in the playoffs.
No team spent more on infielders than the Twins. The $69 million given to infielders was highlighted by Carlos Correa’s $35 million deal, which ate up 22% of the team’s payroll. If Correa doesn’t return on a new deal, the Twins have no reason not to fork over a giant offer to one of the top starting pitchers on the free agent market.
Jacob deGrom is expected to opt out of his contract with the Mets and he’s the best of the best when healthy. Justin Verlander will be 40 when the 2023 season begins but he will probably win the AL Cy Young. Carlos Rodon, who piled up 237 strikeouts for the Giants this season, is another high-end option if he opts out of his contract.
Another option could be Chris Sale, who hasn’t been healthy in three years. He had Tommy John surgery in 2020, missed most of last year with a ribs injury and most recently fell off his bike and broke his wrist. He’s expected to opt out of his contract with the Red Sox and be ready for 2023.
In his last somewhat healthy season in 2019, Sale struck out 218 batters in just over 147 innings. In 2018 he had 308 strikeouts and recorded the final out of the World Series for the Red Sox.
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