The Minnesota Twins made quite the splash in free-agency this offseason, bringing back a slew of former members of the team to compete for spots while also signing big name pitchers Phil Hughes and Ricky Nolasco to sizable deals.
But Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN in Minneapolis notes that Minnesota’s current payroll of $83 million is nearly $21 million lower than the average opening day payroll of the last three seasons.
So does that mean the Twins will make one more big move before the entire team is due at spring training Feb. 21?
According to Wolfson, former Texas slugger Nelson Cruz and oft-injured shortstop Stephen Drew, two of the last big names on the market, are not currently options for the club, as their asking prices are too high.
Cruz, suspended by the league for 50 games last year for the use of performance-enhancing drugs, still managed to club 27 home runs in 109 games in 2013.
Drew, a member of the World Champion Boston Red Sox last year, hit .253 in 124 games, driving in 67 runs.
As for two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana, who spent the first eight years of his career with the Twins, he is still the most likely big name to join the club, as Minnesota has had plenty of contact with his representatives. Still, that deal may be a ways off, as they haven’t offered him a contract as of yet.
At last check, Santana was back to throwing off a mound, but wasn’t ready to make a decision about where he’d play ball when he comes back to the league. He’s missed two of the last three seasons with recurring shoulder issues.
