With the World Series (and the 2019 season) officially set to come to an end no later than Wednesday, the baseball landscape will feel quite different for next week's installment of the Twins Inbox, when free agency will officially be underway and qualifying offer decisions will have been made regarding eligible players.

That means the offseason -- and all of the significant personnel decisions that will soon entail for the Twins -- is right around the corner. Before that happens, let's dive into one final round of your questions regarding the team and how that offseason process might look for the defending American League Central champions.

Why not both?

It's no secret that if the Twins hope to sustain their 2019 success into next season and surpass it with a deeper push into the postseason, they need help in the starting rotation. With four of Minnesota's five starters from last season potentially headed for free agency, the Twins have plenty of space to fill with some combination of re-signings and acquisitions. Chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine have said they will consider both the trade market and free agency in their pursuit of starters, and it's tough to imagine the need being filled without using both in some capacity.

There's financial flexibility for a splash in free agency, with only four players (Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Marwin Gonzalez and Nelson Cruz) inked to guaranteed contracts for 2020, with a decision to come on Martin Pérez's club option for 2020. But given both the amount of proven help that could be needed in the starting rotation and the Twins' prospect depth throughout the organization, tapping the trade market is realistic.

The Twins had the No. 8 farm system in baseball in August, according to MLB Pipeline. Many of their top prospects like Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Brusdar Graterol and Trevor Larnach are at or nearing the Major Leagues, and it could be tough -- but not impossible -- for the Twins to make a blockbuster deal involving one or more of those players that could play a role in extending this window of contention beyond the next few years. But as far as a move for, say, a solid mid-tier starter from a non-contender goes, the Twins have plenty of outfield and pitching depth and upside to work with in the lower or middle levels of the Minors, headlined by No. 4 prospect Jordan Balazovic.

It's a fair question, given that 2019 appeared to finally be top prospect Nick Gordon's chance to break through into the Major Leagues. Gordon had been ranked among the top 10 prospects in the organization since his selection with a first-round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, and after a tough adjustment to Triple-A in 2018, he was protected from the Rule 5 Draft last offseason and followed that up with a strong .298/.342/.459 season in Rochester.

Gordon was briefly sidelined with a left adductor strain when his opportunity finally came in May with injuries to the Twins' infield depth, and Luis Arraez took the opportunity and ran with it. But I think that in the short term, there's certainly still a chance for Gordon to surface with the Twins.

As you mentioned, the Twins currently have plenty of middle-infield depth at the Major League level in Arraez and Polanco, who should be the club's starters up the middle next season, with Ehire Adrianza and Marwin Gonzalez available as depth options. But Gordon is still only 24 years old and is coming off one of his better seasons at the plate in professional baseball. Injuries can strike at any time, and having a top prospect waiting in the wings to fill the gaps is a luxury that can't hurt a championship-caliber team.

Consider also that Jonathan Schoop will enter free agency this offseason, with Adrianza and Gonzalez set to follow next year, so there should be at-bats in the middle infield to go around. It's fair to ask the question of whether it will benefit the Twins in the long term to have two light-hitting infielders like Arraez and Gordon in their plans, but it appears too soon to worry about that before Gordon has even seen a pitch in the Major Leagues.

Falvey has said that his philosophy is that once a prospect hits the upper levels of the Minors (Double-A and Triple-A), anything can happen from a timing standpoint as far as a promotion to the Major Leagues. We saw that last season, when Arraez played just 16 games with Triple-A Rochester due to his quick promotion from Double-A and his immediate success in the Major Leagues.

Much could depend on how Lewis and Kirilloff, the organization's two top prospects, respond to another year of Major League Spring Training and more at-bats in the upper levels of the Minors in the spring, and injury considerations at the Major League level will obviously play a significant role, as there are no clear openings at shortstop or in the outfield for the time being.

I think there's an outside chance that one or both could surface late next season, but there's still no rush on either top prospect. There are also other prospects that could get the call ahead of Lewis (Gordon) and Kirilloff (Brent Rooker, Luke Raley, Zander Wiel) if they're not deemed ready.

For one, neither needs to be added to the 40-man roster for protection from the Rule 5 Draft this offseason. In addition, neither had the smoothest transition to Double-A last season, with Kirilloff posting a .756 OPS and Lewis notching a .649 OPS. With that said, they both heated up late in the year, as Kirilloff clubbed four homers for Pensacola in the postseason and Lewis was named Most Valuable Player of the Arizona Fall League after hitting .353/.411/.565 in 22 games for the AFL champion Salt River squad.

Briefly
The Twins cleared space on their 40-man roster on Monday by outrighting infielder Ronald Torreyes and outfielders Ian Miller and Ryan LaMarre. All three had only appeared with the Twins in September due to a number of position player injuries. Miller and LaMarre were acquired via in-season trades with the Mariners and Braves, respectively, while Torreyes was signed to an $800,000 deal last offseason after he was non-tendered by the Cubs.

To fill one of those spots, the Twins claimed right-hander Matt Wisler off waivers from the Mariners on Tuesday. Wisler, 27, had a 5.61 ERA in 44 appearances for the Padres and Mariners as a reliever and opener in 2019, but also struck out 63 batters in 51 1/3 innings. He relies heavily on a slider that he threw a career-high 70.5% of the time last season, generating a 40.8% whiff rate.

The moves leave Minnesota's 40-man roster at 38 players, with Byron Buxton and pitcher Sean Poppen yet to be activated from the 60-day injured list. The Twins still have six players -- Jason Castro, Michael Pineda, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, Jonathan Schoop and Sergio Romo -- who will come off the 40-man when free agency officially begins five days after the conclusion of the World Series.