With the Twins remaining mostly quiet in free agency, Minnesota should consider the services of recent outrighted Jonathan Villar from the Baltimore Orioles.
Villar is reportedly on outright waivers after Baltimore was unable to find a trade partner. The 28-year-old middle infielder is projected to earn $10.5 million in the final year of arbitration, and the Orioles have apparently deemed him expendable.
In 162 games last season, Villar slashed .274/.339/.453, with 24 home runs, 62 extra-base hits, 111 runs scored and 40 stolen bases. In the field, Villar played 111 games at second base and 97 at shortstop. His 4.0 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was the best of any Orioles position player last season.
With Jonathan Schoop a free agent, the Twins could sign Villar as a super utility option to pair with Luis Arraez around the diamond.
His speed would be a welcome addition on the Twins, as Minnesota had the worst stolen base rate in baseball last season with Byron Buxton accounting for 14 of the teams’s 28 steals.
With Villar on waivers, any club can put a claim in but that team must immediately add him to their 40-man roster and assume his projected salary in arbitration. Currently, the Twins only have 37 players on their 40-man roster, so they have vacancies to fill.
If he clears waivers, then he’ll be a free agent and a team can sign him to a new contract.
Minnesota made a similar move last winter when they claimed C.J. Cron off waivers from Tampa Bay. They also signed Schoop after the Milwaukee Brewers didn’t tender him a contract, despite having a year of team control remaining.
It’s more likely the Twins wait until Villar becomes a free agent and then sign him to a team-friendly deal, if they’re even interested, and that could possibly include an option to get out of the contract if they don’t see him as a long-term fit.
