The Table Setter, Jan. 19, 2024: Is the Twins Roster Set?

[Cody Christie]

Minnesota’s front office has made no secret that veteran players are on the trade block, but nothing has come to fruition this winter. With spring training a month away, will the Twins head to Fort Myers with the current roster?

 

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota’s television future is still in the air, but Amazon invested over $100 million in Diamond Sports Group earlier this week. This influx of money might allow the Twins to sign a one-year pact to return to Bally Sports North for the 2024 season, before MLB takes over a more significant role in broadcasting for 2025. There are still no guarantees regarding how much money the Twins will make from television revenue next season, and many teams, like Minnesota, have been hesitant to spend money without a long-term revenue source. 

During the Winter Meetings, Derek Falvey talked about the Twins looking to clear salary space by trading veteran players like Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Kyle Farmer, or Christian Vázquez. The team hasn’t made any significant moves, and little has changed with the team’s roster since I wrote an initial roster projection over one month ago. Minnesota has held firm in its trade demands for veteran players in the past, so one has to wonder if the roster might be set for the start of spring training in less than a month. 

That quartet of veteran players can help the Twins win next season, and it only makes sense for the club to move one of them if it improves the team. Falvey has shown extreme patience in the past to wait out the free-agent market and add players, even after spring training has begun. It can be frustrating for fans to wait for the team to make moves, but the current roster is already favored to win the division without making another move. 

A 47-Year-Old Reliever?
Fernando Rodney pitched for the Twins in 2018, when he was a 41-year-old, and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2019. Yesterday at the Athletic, Sam Blum wrote about Rodney continuing to pitch in Mexico, hoping to get another opportunity at the MLB level. During his career, he has earned over 320 saves, been elected to three All-Star Games, and won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019. 

According to Rodney, he can still hit the low-to-mid 90s with his fastball, which might be enough to get a shot with another MLB team. His best pitch is his changeup, which doesn’t take a lot of velocity to be effective. Other pitchers have appeared in games in their upper 40s, including Jamie Moyer (49) and Phil Niekro (48). He continues to walk batters at a high rate, which might be the only thing holding him back from reaching his ultimate goal. 

Big League Camp Invites
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson reports that the Twins are inviting 1B/DH Aaron Sabato and C Pat Winkel to big-league camp, after both finished last season at Double-A Wichita. Minnesota selected Sabato with their first-round pick in 2020, out of the University of North Carolina. Last season, he hit .221/.329/.430 (.759) with 19 doubles and 12 home runs before posting a .905 OPS in the Arizona Fall League. The Twins selected Winkel in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, from the University of Connecticut. In 88 games last year, he hit .266/.362/.424 (.787) with 16 doubles and 10 home runs. The Twins will make other invite announcements in the coming weeks. 

What other players will get invited to camp? Should the Twins try to add Rodney? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

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[Cory Engelhardt]

They do have 38 players on the 40 man, and that's before potentially trading any of their veterans that have been rumored. There will be more additions, guaranteed. 

I just don't what kind of additions :)

[CRF]

It's a hard pass on Mr Crooked Hat. No thanks. We can't possibly be that desperate.

[IndianaTwin]

Has the roster ever been set at this point? No matter the budget constraints (or lack thereof), this FO has always done a significant amount of its work after this date.

(And I'm okay with that. I find it easier to walk through life without having my shorts in a wad over a perceived lack of activity by the FO.)

[stringer bell]

I would venture a guess that a free agent signing or two will happen. The most glaring spots to add are 1) rotation 2) bullpen 3) center field capable outfielder and  4) RH bat capable of playing either/or first base or corner outfield. That said, I don't think any of their moves will be page 1 type moves, unfortunately including adding to the starting rotation.

The latest piece in mlbtraderumors.com states that Diamond/Bally's is making an offer to televise Twins games in 2024. I expect the price tag would be considerably lower than last year's $54M. I am in the camp that would like resolution on a TV deal sooner rather than later. It seems likely that whatever deal is made will only be for 2024 and much like player contracts, it can't be a bad deal if it's only for one year. 

[IndianaTwin]

And see! They just signed Matt Bowman to a minor league deal. 😀

(Now I'll try to figure out who Matt Bowman is.)

[Karbo]

I highly doubt this is the roster come the start of the season. I would expect a trade at some point, probably before ST starts. I also think there will be a minor league contract or two with invites to ST.

[Dman]

They are not done, but I don't see a big move coming like some people are hoping.  I still think they trade Polanco unless the market for him just isn't there.  I think per usual they add around the margins.  If they do trade Polanco they have the ability to get a starter on a one year deal in the 10M or slightly better range.  I don't see payroll going much past where it is right now unless the TV deal is better than expected.  

This FO tends to make late offseason value moves and I think they like the roster they have and they appear somewhat more willing to see what the young talent can do rather than spend big.  We'll see what happens by the end of February but I don't think they are done.

[stringer bell]

13 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

And see! They just signed Matt Bowman to a minor league deal. 😀

(Now I'll try to figure out who Matt Bowman is.)

Sounds to me like he is pretty likely to be a Twin sometime this summer. He's recovered from TJ surgery and has a more reliable than not track record prior to that. I wouldn't be surprised if Bowman has an opt-out in his contract and he will make more than league minimum.

[farmerguychris]

Glad to see Sabato getting an invite to spring (has he been there before and i missed it?).

Have heard a lot about him - most of it not great - but would be nice to see how he does against this higher level of pitchers.

[old nurse]

Lopez, Gray, and Odorizi were all traded later than today’s date.  The roster is nowhere near set.

Bowman is likely a pitche the Twins think they can tinker a little with and get a little more speed and an improved off speed pitch and make an all star out of

[D.C Twins]

18 minutes ago, farmerguychris said:

Glad to see Sabato getting an invite to spring (has he been there before and i missed it?).

Have heard a lot about him - most of it not great - but would be nice to see how he does against this higher level of pitchers.

I don't have high hopes for Sabato..... 

[Fatbat]

The FO is active and probably in the midst of preliminary talks to get a substantial list of deals to start negotiating sometime, possibly in March. We should be prepared to hear about out favorite minor leaguers get ST invites but also be prepared to talk about a block buster minor league signing as well as a minor MLB deal to add to the 40 man. Or not. 🤷‍♂️

[Craig Arko]

Probably not.

[umterp23]

A month from now boys will be back at S/T and I believe some moves will be made during 1st week of games at the latest if we consider them off-season moves to shore up roster.  If Buxton, Kirillof and Miranda are not having any issues, then your roster for non-pitching side is most likely set as is.  Pitchers not so much

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, farmerguychris said:

Glad to see Sabato getting an invite to spring (has he been there before and i missed it?).

Have heard a lot about him - most of it not great - but would be nice to see how he does against this higher level of pitchers.

He's been invited to big-league spring training in 2021, 2022, 2023, and now 2024. 

The news in the Doogie tweet is Winkel getting an invite. The Twins really like Winkel, both offensively and defensively. Will be interesting to see if they also invite Chris Williams, Noah Cardenas and Andrew Cossetti. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

There will be an addition or two to the roster. Maybe even a trade or two. It just remains to be seen what kind of talent it is. I am on the verge of giving up that the trades and signings will be major needle movers however. Big names cost big money and or highly rated prospects.

NO to Rodney. LOL

[sweetmusicviola16]

I'm actually OK this time if the signing of an SP is the Ryu or Lorenzen type. Or the trade is the Odorizzi type we made back in the day. I'm good with the talent we have at hand, they are a solid bunch. But that being said we do need some depth and insurance behind these guys.

[IndianaTwin]

3 hours ago, farmerguychris said:

Glad to see Sabato getting an invite to spring (has he been there before and i missed it?).

Have heard a lot about him - most of it not great - but would be nice to see how he does against this higher level of pitchers.

The time has come at last to find if we can see Mr. Sabato's true identity. 

[ValleySpringsFan]

Sure, the Twins could bring back Fernando Rodney, but it'd be a sign that, "this year, we're just playing for funsies" Twins could also sign Big Sexy and Boomstick while they're at it. Big fun!

[Jacksson]

Looking ahead = Those big 4 players mentioned could ALL end up being traded with the roster flexing as a result of what players are received in return.  Polanco, Farmer, Kepler, Vasquez (in that order) are either gone by opening day or by the trade deadline.  In order to make those moves, another one or two teams may have to be involved in trades.  The way to get to that point is to target the player(s) you want and work backwards from there to find a way to get that done.  But then again the Team has people they PAY to construct a roster.

[GV14218]

“That quartet of veteran players can help the Twins win next season, and it only makes sense for the club to move one of them if it improves the team.”  Actually it makes sense to move one or more of these four players if it reduces the team’s total 2024 salary expenditures.  The Twins are a business, tricky broadcast revenue questions remain, and the bottom line is … well, the bottom line.  

[Blyleven2011]

On 1/19/2024 at 10:22 AM, Fatbat said:

The FO is active and probably in the midst of preliminary talks to get a substantial list of deals to start negotiating sometime, possibly in March. We should be prepared to hear about out favorite minor leaguers get ST invites but also be prepared to talk about a block buster minor league signing as well as a minor MLB deal to add to the 40 man. Or not. 🤷‍♂️

There is currently 38 players on the 40 man roster  , yes there is still room but when the addition come is anyones guess ???

FO should have started working on trades way back in general managers meeting  and at the winter meetings  ...

I'm sure they did ,  but waiting for other teams to decide and figure out what they need from the Twins  ...

Hate that the owners of all the effected teams are crying about the lost revenue  ...

I was in business  , I lived by this quote ...

You Can't  Make Money All of the Time  But You Better Make Money  Most Of The Time  .... 

Now is the time to lose money during the regular season  and make it back in a deep run off the playoffs and world series  appearance ... 

 

[NotAboutWinning]

33 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

There is currently 38 players on the 40 man roster  , yes there is still room but when the addition come is anyones guess ???

FO should have started working on trades way back in general managers meeting  and at the winter meetings  ...

I'm sure they did ,  but waiting for other teams to decide and figure out what they need from the Twins  ...

Hate that the owners of all the effected teams are crying about the lost revenue  ...

I was in business  , I lived by this quote ...

You Can't  Make Money All of the Time  But You Better Make Money  Most Of The Time  .... 

Now is the time to lose money during the regular season  and make it back in a deep run off the playoffs and world series  appearance ... 

 

This! The Twins organization should be able to weather one season of uncertainty without a significant step backward in payroll. Once the media future is set, they can make the needed adjustments. Feels like they were living paycheck-to-paycheck and panicked when the plant was idled for two weeks. If they do not have the resources to get through a year of uncertainty, perhaps they should get out the the the sports ownership business!

[Blyleven2011]

3 minutes ago, NotAboutWinning said:

This! The Twins organization should be able to weather one season of uncertainty without a significant step backward in payroll. Once the media future is set, they can make the needed adjustments. Feels like they were living paycheck-to-paycheck and panicked when the plant was idled for two weeks. If they do not have the resources to get through a year of uncertainty, perhaps they should get out the the the sports ownership business!

I was going to state that also but I've stated it so many times we need an owner that loves and wants to win games ... 

This ownership should sell because they can't keep up with the Joneses

They could get nearly 2 billion for a team they paidsaround 45 million ...

The Timberwolves wolves sold for what 1.6 billion and they were only valued at 1.2 billion  , I feel the Twins are worth more than the Timberwolves  sold for ...

[Fatbat]

37 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

I was going to state that also but I've stated it so many times we need an owner that loves and wants to win games ... 

This ownership should sell because they can't keep up with the Joneses

They could get nearly 2 billion for a team they paidsaround 45 million ...

The Timberwolves wolves sold for what 1.6 billion and they were only valued at 1.2 billion  , I feel the Twins are worth more than the Timberwolves  sold for ...

I can’t imagine a day that the Pohlads don’t own the Twins but what a glorious day that would be.  If they would have just said two things as a team (official statement) after the playoffs. “Even tho our media revenue is uncertain at the moment, we are committed to winning the world series. We will do whatever it takes to capitalize to our current management and players to bring home the only trophy that matters to our fans.”  

[Blyleven2011]

52 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

I can’t imagine a day that the Pohlads don’t own the Twins but what a glorious day that would be.  If they would have just said two things as a team (official statement) after the playoffs. “Even tho our media revenue is uncertain at the moment, we are committed to winning the world series. We will do whatever it takes to capitalize to our current management and players to bring home the only trophy that matters to our fans.”  

Amen