The Minnesota Twins – and ten other teams – have fallen into a category described by ESPN’s Jeff Passan as teams that are “most likely to go really big this winter.”
He wrote that his list could change “depending on market dynamics and the whims of ownership.” It’s unclear if the order of the teams listed has any deeper meaning, but the Twins were 10th behind the Mets, Dodgers, Yankees, Giants, Rangers, Phillies, Mariners, Cubs and Cardinals.
Passan also named the Orioles 11th. The Blue Jays, Astros, Brewers, Braves and Tigers are described as teams that “could spend.”
All together, that’s 16 teams. Half the league potentially competing for the best free agents. What’s also unclear is how fast moves will come. Last year the lockout grounded activity. This year, the opportunity for teams to start discussing deals with unrestricted free agents begins at 4 p.m. CT today (Friday, Nov. 11).
The most obvious player the Twins could spend big on is Carlos Correa, who officially opted out of the final two years of his deal with the Twins earlier this week. But a lot of teams need shortstops and there will undoubtedly be a massive, long-term contract attached to Correa so any chance of him returning to Minnesota won’t come cheap.
It’s no secret that the Twins need an ace-caliber starting pitcher. While they have depth with Tyler Mahle, Kenta Maeda, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson and Josh Winder, they do not and have not had an ace since Johan Santana was traded in 2008.
Passan listed the best dozen starters on the market as Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon, Kodai Senga, Chris Bassitt, Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Anderson, Taijuan Walker, Ross Stripling, Martin Perez, Nathan Eovaldi, Jameson Taillon and Jose Quintana, but of those only deGrom, Rodon and Kershaw are ace-level arms.
Kershaw is aging while deGrom and Rodon are expected to get nine-figure contracts, per Passan. So if the Twins can’t develop an ace or trade for one, they’ll have to pay big.
There’s also Justin Verlander, who is old in MLB years and might require a contract in excess of $40 million annually, according to Passan.
Passan’s offseason preview was published Thursday.
Related: Ranking the Twins’ biggest disappointments since 1991
