Twins officials are in Nashville this week for baseball’s winter meetings.
General Manager Terry Ryan says the focus is pretty clear: Minnesota will focus on finding starting pitchingin the ongoing quest to get out of the American League Central cellar.
According to the Star Tribune, likely targets include Atlanta’s Jair Jurrjens, a former All-Star, ex-Nationals ace John Lannan, as well as Joe Blanton, Kevin Correia, Joe Saunders and Francisco Liriano.
FOX Sports North’s Tyler Mason takes a look at the five biggest offseason needs for the Twins. Pitching is the clear-cut No. 1 area of concern, but so is finding competition for third-baseman Trevor Plouffe, who struggled after suffering an injury midway through last season.
As for Twins trade bait, Ryan told Sirius XM Radio that the newlywed Joe Mauer will NOT be traded.
Outside of the Twins situation, there are hundreds of storylines to watch this week as the Hot Stove League comes to full boil. Peter Gammons of MLB.com lists his Top 10 — which is topped by the pitcher who would look great in an “M” cap: Zack Greinke.
