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At the end of the 2018 Major League Baseball season the Minnesota Twins had a trio of main narratives. First and foremost, this was a team that took steps backwards after a Wild Card appearance the season before. Secondly and thirdly were the double-headed monster representing lost seasons for cornerstones Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. Lost in all of this though, was the year another member of the current core endured. Max Kepler played 156 games and there remain plenty more questions than answers.

As the postseason rolls on, we're getting closer to the World Series, and you know what that means: Offseason Handbook Day is almost upon us! (Preorders will receive their copies next Tuesday.)
Today, we're excited to bring you a couple of big updates, including our star-studded list of guest contributors.

The Twins are facing the most pivotal offseason they've had in ... well, maybe ever. They have a team still young and on the verge of taking a next step, and they have unprecedented payroll room – maybe as much as $60 million – to help that team take that next step. The ninth annual Twins Daily Offseason Handbook will help you chart the decisions the team will be making to get ready for the 2019 season you can preorder now to get it first.

The Twins are still waiting for the official word from Joe Mauer on whether or not he’d like to continue his playing career, but anybody who saw the final game of 2018 knows the writing’s on the wall.

And it’s in big, bold letters.

Again, nothing’s been decided yet, but let’s just assume Mauer calls it a career. Then what? First base might be the one spot on the diamond in which teams can get the most creative. Just take a look at how a couple of the teams still alive in the postseason treated the position this year.

The AFL season’s first week was a little lacking on opportunities for Twins pitchers and the well-known name among their position players is currently missing in action (for good reason), but a couple of outfielders had big games to stand out amongst their organizational peers. The hometown prospect also notched one of the Salt River Rafter’s two victories on the week in extra innings.

At the All Star break in 2017, I wrote up an article discussing the Twins Core Four. During the Twins recent poor seasons, there was a lot of hope tied to these four Twins prospects who were now playing in the big leagues. As the 2017 season was nearing its completion, and the Twins were marching toward the playoffs, I wrote that the Twins might just have a Core Seven. Three other prospects that didn’t come up with quite the hype as the top four, but were still borderline Top 100 prospects too. Here we are, one year later, and the Twins front office has a lot of big decisions to make, and potentially a lot of money to spend. How do these seven players factor into this offseason?

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' managerial search including Rocco Baldelli and Hensley Meulens, Miguel Sano making headlines for the wrong reasons again, the ever-changing use of relievers in the playoffs, and reviewing preseason over/under picks for each AL team. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.

There are more things tying the Twins and Brewers together than geographic proximity.

Both are mid-market teams with finite resources. Both have struggled in recent years to get over the hump in their respective divisions. And in attempting to do so, both franchises have reinvented themselves, under the leadership of baseball's two youngest head executives.

This year, we've seen Milwaukee's vision come to fruition. As general manager David Stearns and the Brewers extend their run into late October, Derek Falvey and the Twins are looking on.

From the Kansas City Royals bullpenning their way to the World Series to the Tampa Bay Rays breaking out the opener, reliever usage has become the most revolutionized element of baseball over the past five years. No matter how a manager decides to deploy his relief corps, one thing is certain: You need a good bullpen to win.

Earlier, Nick Nelson took stock of the Twins relievers and detailed the importance of building a badass bullpen. Today, we’re going to take a deeper look into the numbers and try to identify some potential upgrades.

While Twins 2018 draft pick Michael Helman is just 22-years-old, baseball has kept him on the move in recent years. The infielder from Lincoln, Nebraska, has played in Hutchinson (Kansas), College Station (Texas), Elizabethton (Tennessee), and Cedar Rapids (Iowa). And, he just completed his first camp in Ft. Myers (Florida).

Recently, Twins Daily caught up with the talented second base prospect and 11th round pick in 2018. Get to know a little more about him on and off the field.

With the baseball season being so long, a down year can really drag on a fan. On the plus side, playing 162 games generates plenty of memorable moments, even in a forgettable season. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look back and sharing some of my favorite highlights from the 2018 season.

Today we’ll take a look back at a couple guys who provided plenty of excitement: Eddie Rosario and Willians Astudillo.

Coming off a 78-win season, the Minnesota Twins took a step backward from their postseason berth in 2017. With the same core intact, and significant added talent throughout the offseason, it was a relatively unexpected result. With the AL Central remaining down, and an opportunity for the core to put up a more expected result in 2019, winning shouldn’t be far off for this collection. Given the circumstances, this offseason is a big one for the hometown nine, but how do they go about executing on that?