The Minnesota Twins will go into 2021 looking to end the longest postseason losing streak in the history of the four major North American sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL).
While this could call for a big splash over the winter to get the Twins over the hump, Executive Vice President and Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey said the team is “likely done adding big-ticket contracts” this offseason.
“We’ve got a lot of our significant expenditures done, but we are in conversations maybe with some ways to round out the roster, or other potential fits at a lower-dollar amount,” Falvey said in a Zoom call announcing the signing of Nelson Cruz. “But “the big-ticket items for our group, I think we have completed at this point.”
The Twins started the offseason by non-tendering fan-favorite Eddie Rosario, saving the team roughly $9 million in the process. With the extra money, the Twins went to work re-signing Cruz to be their designated hitter and signing shortstop Andrelton Simmons to bolster their infield defense.
The Twins also added to their bullpen by bringing in new closer Alex Colome and reliever Hansel Robles.
The biggest story to come out of this news, however, will be what happens in the starting rotation. With Jake Odorizzi still on the free-agent market, it’s unlikely he’ll return to the Twins in 2021.
That means the Twins will likely have Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda, Kenta Maeda, and free-agent acquisition J.A. Happ fill out the first four spots of the rotation. Falvey mentioned Randy Dobnak, Lewis Thorpe, and Devin Smeltzer as candidates for the fifth spot, but would also “have conversations” for some non-roster candidates.
In any event, it does not appear the Twins will have an ace up their sleeve as they head to spring training on Feb. 18.
