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They concluded a disappointing 2021 season with a 7-3 win over the Royals on Sunday in Kansas City, sending them into an important offseason, which is sure to be filled with uncertainty. expire in early December, and ongoing negotiations are expected to slow the offseason movement. For the Twins in particular, there are a lot of decisions to be made about where they plan to go.
While manager Rocco Baldelli has publicly stated that he plans to compete next season, and while president of baseball operations Derek Falvey has avoided the word “rebuild” in favor of words like “retool” and “refresh”, there is a lot to do to make this team competitive again.
“We have work. We have work. We know that. We’re going to own it in the future. We owe it to the fans. We owe it to the organization. We all know that,” Baldelli said. think everyone in our locker room knows that right now. No one is getting around that. We owe it to the Minnesota Twins fans to do better in the future, and we’re going to walk on this offseason and get there.
While the Twins have touted the improvement in the second half of the season as cause for optimism – the team went 14-13 in August and 15-15 in September / October – they were sunk by their start to the season. Thu. April 17 was the last day they spent third place or above the AHL center standings, and by the end of May they were ten and a half games away from the lead. the division.
“There wasn’t much that went well for us,” said third baseman Josh Donaldson. “The second half of the season we played better, but there will definitely be areas that need to be improved and really trying to find those answers.”
First and foremost, the Twins need to rebuild their pitching rotation. While the Twins have started this season relying on both José Berríos and Kenta Maeda to anchor their rotation next year, that won’t be the case.
Berríos was dealt on the trade deadline amid this season’s poor team play for a set of prospects, and Maeda underwent Tommy John surgery. Michael Pineda will also be a free agent at the end of the season, leaving the Twins with no veterans on staff heading into the offseason. Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan should be in pencil, but both are rookies with little experience.
“It would be easy for me to sit here and say, ‘Yeah, we’ve got to sign five number 1s and trade for these guys,’” Donaldson said. “In theory, it’s great. It is much more difficult to do in fact. You need to have someone who is willing to sign on with your team, and that obviously takes money to do that as well. And then if you’re trying to trade for guys you have to have coins that the other teams want and then you have to be prepared to let those coins go.
While the Twins have a lot of trading chips and have a solid core of players, how much they might want to tap into to build for the future is another question. In addition to their rotation, other pressing needs include the shortstop, as well as the bullpen.
Could the Twins trade Byron Buxton, potentially for a pitcher? The Twins were unable to reach an agreement on an extension with Buxton earlier this summer, and he will enter next season with only a year left on his contract.
On Saturday, Buxton said he wanted to end the season strong and would “keep the door open” regarding overtime. He said the possibility of an exchange was something that crossed his mind but it was “nothing that worries me”.
In good health, Buxton has put on an MVP-caliber season. The problem was he was only on the field for 61 games, and the center fielder pledged to use the offseason to add a nutritionist to help fight inflammation and focus on care. of his body to make sure he can stay on the ground.
But while the Twins have a strong farming system, which they restocked at the trade deadline this year, many of those players won’t be able to move on early next season just yet, and if so, the Could Twins explore what they could get for their top player in a season when they might not be as competitive as they would like?
In the offseason months, we should find out.
If there is a lot to do at the front office to clarify this offseason, there is also the question of technical staff.
After bench coach Mike Bell passed away in spring training, the Twins will be looking to fill the position. Major League coach Bill Evers has been Baldelli’s sounding board this year, but he is retiring after 46 years in professional baseball. Evers’ departure is unlikely to be the only change in the coaching staff.
After one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory, this is shaping up to be a compelling offseason at 1 Twins Way.
“I fully anticipate this offseason, we’ll try to find a way to improve for 22 and beyond,” said Falvey. “I approached each of the last three offseason, coming back even after 17, with an approach (of) ‘How do I find a way to improve now and in the future?’ We are talking about sustainability. To do this, you need to keep an eye on the short term and the long term. But we will invest in this team next year, for sure.
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