Falvey gets green light to build around Twins' top players

ORLANDO, Fla. -- What was a “hope” and a “goal” earlier this offseason is now a stated plan. The Twins’ front office expects that it has leeway to add to the Major League roster without trading away key pieces to make payroll room.

So despite extensive rumors, Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton are not on the trading block. That doesn’t mean the Twins won’t get calls about their three most prominent players. And it doesn’t even necessarily mean none of them will be dealt. But in the strongest terms yet, Twins president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey said Monday at the annual Winter Meetings that he has clearance to build around that core rather than subtracting from it.

Falvey had said all offseason that that was his goal, but until recently he did not have the direction from ownership that he could execute it. And while some specific details are still unknown, the front office is now comfortable saying explicitly that it will not have to trade one of its highest-paid players in order to fill the needs that the team has.

“I said this at the [General Managers’ Meetings in November], I was hoping to find a way to build around the core that we have,” Falvey said. “I think we have that ability now to try and navigate through that. And we’ll figure out exactly what that looks like through the course of the offseason.”

It’s unclear how much flexibility the Twins will have. Reports have suggested that, even with the announcement that the stars will stay, the Twins will not approach their 2025 payroll, which began the season in the neighborhood of $140 million. Current estimates have them somewhere around $95 million before any additional offseason moves, leaving a wide range of possible landing spots.

The Twins' most obvious, glaring need is in the bullpen, after they traded away five of their top relievers at last season’s Trade Deadline. Falvey and general manager Jeremy Zoll acknowledged that that need will be addressed both from within and from without. Some starting pitching candidates will likely end up pitching in relief, but the club also expects to add some bullpen help from outside the organization. Minnesota has added one reliever so far this winter, right-hander Eric Orze.

“Some of it is going to have to come from outside, some of it is going to be guys stepping up,” Falvey said. “There’s no question. You’re not going to have an entirely filled bullpen from external. You’re going to have some guys that are already in that group. But I would say that, as it stands right now, we’re going to look to add to it.”

Beyond that, the Twins could use one or two bats to deepen their lineup, with first base a particular opportunity to upgrade. They would likely look for a right-handed hitter, given a plethora of left-handed-hitting options at the corner outfield and designated hitter spots. They also have Kody Clemens, a switch-hitter who is better from the left side, and Edouard Julien as internal candidates for first base. Zoll indicated that the club is not likely to look to move one of its outfield/DH players -- such as Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach -- to first.

“Obviously bullpen feels like the area that, after we went through what we did at the Deadline, rebuilding that group and reinforcing in that space I think would give us a chance to push forward,” Zoll said. “And then on the offensive side, another bat or two with some thump, with some impact, to bolster a group that we’re excited about and that young core that we’re excited to keep growing with.”

A recent projection placed the Twins as an 82-win team in 2026. And while there’s not much value to projections before most free agents have signed, the number seems to track with how the front office views its current roster. It’s a group that has weaknesses, but also has pieces to build on.

That’s a big part of why the decision was made to add to the roster for next season, rather than moving into a full rebuild.

“It was always on my mind that we would find a way to retool our group on the fly, reset things that were payroll-based certainly, the Carlos [Correa] deal in particular, but add to a group that we thought we could go build around to compete,” Falvey said.