Inbox: Which Twins FAs may return in 2021?
Do-Hyoung Park
@dohyoungparkThis has been a fairly quiet part of the news cycle for the Twins. They don't have many finalists for the major end-of-season awards, they only had one option to handle (Sergio Romo's) and no significant qualifying offer decisions to make.
That makes this a perfect time for another edition of the Twins Inbox. The last Inbox featured more of a big-picture look at Minnesota's situation at the start of the offseason. This week, we'll get a little bit more granular with individual situations and decisions that the club could face in the coming weeks and months.
Percent chance each Twins free agent is re-signed?
-- @SeanMaertens
I won't try to arbitrarily attach a number to each, but I do like this question as a means to quickly run through every departure. I'll list them in decreasing order from most to least probable to return in my mind.
• Nelson Cruz: There's mutual interest in a reunion. The 40-year-old was the most consistent element -- by far -- of an offense that underperformed in 2020, and his clubhouse presence remains both joyful and invaluable to a club that should be teeming with young players in the coming years. The question is if the sides can come to an agreement on years and money.
• Tyler Clippard: The biggest area of need is in the bullpen, and Clippard proved a solid veteran with playoff experience who was extremely stingy in allowing baserunners and should be available on another short-term deal.
• Ehire Adrianza: With the Twins losing all of their utility depth to free agency, there's definitely a need for a surehanded defender around the infield, particularly with injury concerns at all four positions. Adrianza is well-liked, well-spoken, has a solid glove and can fill in capably at all four positions. It really helps that he can play a good shortstop.
• Sergio Romo: The Twins declined his option, but he's another veteran presence that the club clearly trusted in the late innings who might be available on a short-term deal at a discount. That late-inning experience is more important because of Taylor Rogers' 2020 struggles.
• Trevor May: He unlocked some of his best stuff in the last two years under the tutelage of Wes Johnson and the entire pitching braintrust, but this is his first time in free agency and he could be seeking some security. The Twins have some interesting young arms and many holes to fill on the roster, and a bigger commitment to a reliever might hamper that.
• Jake Odorizzi: Much like May, Odorizzi was hoping for a payday this offseason but now faces uncertainty due to the COVID-19 situation -- and it also didn't help that Odorizzi spent most of his walk year on the injured list. A reunion could be more likely if Odorizzi is willing to take another one-year, prove-it-type deal, but the Twins also have some big arms waiting in the wings.
• Alex Avila: The veteran backstop was a solid presence around the clubhouse and showed strong plate discipline, as usual, but the Twins have one of the highest-ceiling catching duos in the Majors with Ryan Jeffers and Mitch Garver. Prospect Benjamin Rortvedt could also push for the Majors in the near future.
• Marwin Gonzalez: The positional versatility and big-game experience were quite important to the Twins for the last two years, but there wasn't much left in the bat in 2020, and Gonzalez's inability to fill in at shortstop and Minnesota's glut of outfield depth doesn't leave much of a fit on the roster.
Jim Pohlad seemed to take extra strides this year compared to other owners in ensuring that most labor within the organization received their wages in the pandemic. What's his continued vision for equity, and especially in diversifying the organization to better reflect the city?
-- @labuzamovies
Great question. As you mentioned, owner Jim Pohlad and his family not only kept the Twins' front office intact through the challenges of COVID-19, but he also ushered the organization into a visible role of local leadership with messaging around racial equity and voter participation, and the Pohlad Family Foundation's pledge of $25 million to local social justice causes should be felt in the community for years to come.
I can't specifically speak to Pohlad's vision, but in conversations throughout the summer, it became clear that many of the powerful voices in the organization -- from Dave St. Peter down to Derek Falvey and Thad Levine and assistant general manager Daniel Adler -- have had these conversations. They revolve around not only about how to continue refining the hiring processes to boost candidates from diverse and nontraditional backgrounds, but also regarding how to rethink elements of the organization and its positions to build on the strengths of those backgrounds while fostering professional growth in the baseball arena.
One step that you may have seen was the series of diversity roundtables that the Twins debuted during the shortened regular season in which the organization highlighted the experiences and skills of women and people of color among its ranks and debuted a front office mentorship program that they hope will encourage more diverse candidates to apply for such openings in the near future. There is, of course, plenty of room to build on that, but it's a visible step forward.
I feel based on some of the signings the Twins have made the last couple seasons, do the Twins get aggressive again this winter at the catcher position and sign someone like J.T. Realmuto or James McCann to a multiyear deal?
-- @KarterKudrna33
That doesn't sound too realistic to me. Realmuto is the complete package at catcher, to be sure, but I don't think he gives the Twins enough of an improvement over Jeffers or Garver to merit such a large commitment of time and years.
There's just no need for the Twins to splurge at that position when they have so many immediate holes on the pitching staff and two cost-controlled catchers with high offensive potential. It's true that Garver struggled in 2020, but his '19 performance was truly historic -- not an exaggeration -- and that potential is rare. Jeffers is the complete package and should be the young fixture of the catcher position in Minneapolis for years to come.
Which young prospects might we see wearing a Twins uniform sometime in 2021?
-- @craig_hagen
Jeffers is a no-brainer. Brent Rooker, Alex Kirilloff, Travis Blankenhorn, Jhoan Duran and Edwar Colina are pretty much locks to contribute at some point in my mind, since the majority of that group debuted in 2020 and Duran spent the entire season at the alternate training site.
I'd also give pretty good odds to Trevor Larnach, Royce Lewis, Jordan Balazovic and Dakota Chalmers, all of whom haven't yet debuted but are also on the cusp of making an impact. Note that Falvey said that both Duran and Balazovic were expected to contribute to the 2020 team before the COVID-19 situation put all normal plans on hold. It feels like Nick Gordon has been on the cusp of the Majors for a long while before he hit setbacks in the last two years, and there does look to be a fit for him on this roster, too.
The Twins are at an interesting inflection point because the club is in the middle of its perceived contention window, when many clubs would be looking to put the finishing touches on a core group (as Minnesota did before the 2020 season). Instead, the Twins could have a shuffling of that core as the new generation of talent makes its impact on MLB. It'll be interesting to see how much the Twins rely on their youngsters, especially since they all lost a full season of development in the Minor Leagues.