Pitchers and catchers for the Twins will report to Fort Myers, Florida, in two weeks for their first spring training session; however, don’t be shocked if the team takes longer to complete a big trade.
With only reliever Josh Staumont signed as a free agent thus far, the Twins are still searching the trade market for further pitching depth. Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey issued a warning, saying transactions might not be finalized until training camp starts.
At TwinsFest last weekend, Falvey declared, “This is going to be one of those years where you could see more transactions across the industry once people arrive at their facilities.”
Over the winter, the Twins saw trade interest in a number of their position players, most notably right fielder Max Kepler and second baseman Jorge Polanco. The Twins have cut payroll by almost $30 million, and it has always appeared that trades would be a more likely route to major additions than free agency.
“I would tell you we’re exploring a ton of things,” Falvey stated. “For that to operate, there must be overlap and two sides. There are many more side discussions between buyers. Two teams that appear to be competing for the same position must discuss how their paths might cross in the event of a major league deal.”
The main goal of the front office is to add pitching. The Twins lack a lot of established starters, but they did rely on their depth last season. The Twins’ No. 6 starter is most likely Brent Headrick or Simeon Woods Richardson, after the first five starters (Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, and Louie Varland).
The Twins are more likely to look for starting depth that could challenge Varland at the rear of the rotation because they don’t have any clear trade candidates who could bring in a front-line starter. After Sonny Grey and Kenta Maeda left via free agency, they anticipate Paddack, who recovered from Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2023 season, to play a significant role.
Leave a Reply