2021’s Most Important Twins Acquisition

[Ted Schwerzler]

As we barrel through the virtual Winter Meetings and on down the path of the Major League Baseball offseason, the Minnesota Twins will certainly make some key free agent acquisitions. The 26-man roster is not yet filled out, but it’s a guy already inked to a deal that’s the linchpin for 2021.Last offseason Derek Falvey and Thad Levine methodically added talent to Rocco Baldelli’s AL Central division winning roster. After a Postseason sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees, another step forward was the goal in 2020. It wasn’t until mid-January that the big domino came, but it was a gargantuan move. Minnesota had handed Josh Donaldson a four-year deal worth at least $100 million.

 

Fast forward to where we are now and it’s Donaldson who remains the most integral acquisition for Minnesota in 2021. His debut season with the club was always going to be truncated due to the impact of Covid-19, but it wound up being just 28 of 60 games in which he competed. For a Twins team with aspirations higher than another early bouncing, it has to get better than that.

 

From 2013-16 Donaldson played in no less than 155 games for the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays. He was a pillar of health, winner of an MVP award, and a superstar in every sense of the word. Calf issues reared their head in 2017 allowing him to play in just 113 games and splitting time in Canada and Cleveland the following year, he competed in just 52. A resurgence took place in 2019 with the Braves, playing in 155 games, but those same calf problems came up last season with Minnesota.

 

Donaldson is a hitting savant, and he spends as much time perfecting that part of his craft as he does honing his glove skills that make him amongst the best in the game defensively. He hasn’t posted an OPS south of .800 since 2014, and his .900 OPS with Atlanta in 2019 was what Falvey and Levine signed up for.

 

After producing as the Bomba Squad in 2019, Minnesota’s hope was that they would again bludgeon the opposition. Leaving the yard on a consistent basis, even a step forward in pitching should’ve been seen as icing on the cake for a team driven by their lineup. Unfortunately, that’s not how things went, and dealing with injuries left Baldelli’s club consistently coming up empty later in games and more reliant on a well-rounded approach.

 

In the year ahead Minnesota will need Donaldson more than any other asset they acquire. Sure, the designated hitter role is not decided, and the rotation is not filled out, but no single asset will compare in value to what the Bringer of Rain is expected to contribute. He’s the key to the infield defensively, and he’s a heart-of-the-order bat that should set the table for a team with lofty expectations.

 

Realistically, and despite what revenues were this past season, Minnesota should be in a period of addition. The window is wide open and capitalizing upon that is a must. Even with that reality, the likelihood of another $100 million contract simply isn’t logical. Minnesota got that guy, and now they need him to contribute. Keeping Josh Donaldson healthy, and then getting the expected production from him in the year ahead, is more impactful than anything else this club can do before the games begin to count.

 

Baseball is not the individually dominated sport that basketball is, but there’s no player more directly responsible for the overall success and opportunity in Twins Territory than the new father is carrying on his shoulders. Here’s to hoping that dad strength comes through in all 162.

 

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[Linus]

We will all be regretting this contract soon. I do already. The Twins are never going to hand out out multiple big free agent contracts so this is your guy for the next three years.

[mikelink45]

I don't want to criticize the Twins for making the move.  I thought it was great - but I do question multi-year contracts  I like the aging curves in this old fangraph blog - https://blogs.fangraphs.com/hitters-no-longer-peak-only-decline/

 

I think about players like Pujols that really harm their team because they are being paid for what they did before the contract and not what they are doing under the contract. Age 35 is a major declining point (Cruz is an exception to everything - so far). At the price of these players the idea of paying for two good years with pay for declining production makes absolutely no sense.

 

 

 

[dbminn]

Nice article, Ted. 

 

I still think Buxton is the #1 player necessary for a successful season. Donaldson is #2. It's close.

[tony&rodney]

Josh Donaldson was a great move last winter. Of course I say this because I shamelessly put on every post, "Why not Donaldson" and "He makes the Twins team better." Still feel that it was a solid move - didn't anticipate Covid-19.

This year i feel like Liam Hendriks is the player to sign. A reliever is more of a risk but Rogers and Duffey are really tough in the 7th and 8th inning. Joe Nathan redux.

The other player that seems interesting to me may not be as good as the picture. Ketel Marte might be a real good player in a lineup like the Twins. He can spell three important positions in the middle of the field and spot start elsewhere twice a week.

In any event, the Twins do need to make a splash in 2021, whether through a dramatic signing (Bauer), modest (Hendriks), or through a trade. We can hope. Right?