Offseason Status Update: Standing Still as Spring Approaches

[Nick Nelson]

It's been a while since we last checked in with a report on Twins offseason activity and we've got a whole lot of nothing to get you updated on. (Which is, in itself, the story of the winter for this team.)

Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz and Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images (Pictured: Anthony Misiewicz and Diego Cartaya)

These status updates are intended to serve as periodic recaps of the team's latest moves, rumors and headlines, helping keep in the loop those who don't follow Twins baseball closely during the offseason. Needless to say, there hasn't been much to cover this winter, and that rings truer than ever as we head into the home stretch of hot stove season.

In the three-plus weeks since I last checked in to comment on the roster's lack of turnover in a new year, here's a recap of everything the team has done:

• Traded minor-league pitcher Jose Vasquez to the Dodgers for minor-league catcher Diego Cartaya. 
• Signed left-handed pitcher Anthony Misiewicz to a minor-league contract.
• Signed a bunch of teenagers comprising the organization's newest international free agent class.
• Reached final agreement on contracts with all of their arbitration players.

While not especially significant, all of these moves are interesting in their own way, and there have also been some noteworthy rumors percolating in the Twins sphere. So let's get up to speed on everything you need to know with spring training now just a few short weeks away.

Twins Acquire a Former Top Catching Prospect from Dodgers in Diego Cartaya
Two years ago, ahead of the 2023 season, Cartaya was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 14 prospect in all of baseball. Since then, his stock has fallen far enough that Los Angeles designated the 23-year-old for assignment earlier this month to make room for newly signed Hyeseong Kim on their roster. Minnesota jumped to head of the waiver line by making a trade, sending rookie-ball pitcher Jose Vasquez to Los Angeles in exchange for Cartaya.

Even compared to the low-stakes swap earlier in the offseason that sent Jovani Moran to Boston for Mickey Gasper, this trade is very minor in magnitude. Vasquez has a good arm but is a true lottery ticket and wasn't really on the prospect radar for the Twins. Cartaya's inability to succeed in the high minors has greatly diminished his shine. But it is conspicuous that the Twins now have four catchers on the 40-man roster (4.5 if you want to include Gasper as semi-depth). This depth-building could be setting the stage for a trade, as we'll cover shortly.

 

Anthony Misiewicz Joins the Bullpen Mix
Much like Mike Ford earlier this offseason, Misiewicz is a minor-league signing that seems more consequential because of his MLB experience, and his potential ability to fit in at an area of need for the Twins. The scarcity of compelling left-handed options for the Twins bullpen is one of the most pressing questions facing the unit. Misiewicz, a 30-year-old journeyman, instantly becomes the most established pitcher in that mix.

In 115 MLB innings for five different teams, Misiewicz has posted a 4.67 ERA, but also a 3.92 FIP while averaging a strikeout per inning. He spent most of last year with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, where he struck out 29% of opponents. He might not look like the strongest candidate for a big-league role, and he'll need to earn his way onto the 40-man roster, but when the top alternatives as southpaw relievers are Kody Funderburk and Brent Headrick, the addition of Misiewicz is definitely notable.

 

Twins Add Wave of International Talent to System
When the international signing period opened on January 15th, the Twins announced a bunch of deals with young players hailing from places such as the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia and Haiti. Twins Daily's J.D. Cameron put together a comprehensive review of this international free agent class, highlighting some key takeaways:

• Aggressive approach and strategic flips: The Twins maximized their $7.55M bonus pool by signing 24 international prospects. Their proactive and flexible approach saw them flipping outfielder Teilon Serrano and infielder Dencer Diaz from other organizations.
• Top prospects to watch: Standouts include Santiago Castellanos, a Venezuelan pitcher with a 97 mph fastball, Santiago Leon, a skilled shortstop with a patient offensive approach, and Carlos Taveras, a promising 16-year-old outfielder with power potential and defensive versatility. (The Taveras signing has not been made official so it's unknown whether something is up there.)

Many years will pass before any of these players factor in for the Twins at the major-league level, but we can expect to see some of their names creep into top prospect lists before long.

Vázquez, Cease Mentioned in Padres Trade Rumors
Tangible rumors have been few and far between for the Twins, who've been forced to sit on the sidelines while other clubs have loaded up. As such, the recent rumblings of trade discussions between the Twins and Padres – via reporting from Dan Hayes and Dennis Shin of The Athletic – have garnered plenty of attention. 

Two specific names mentioned in the story are Christian Vázquez and Dylan Cease. The Twins are known to be shopping Vázquez and his salary, and the Padres are known to need a catcher. It's a make-sense match, outside of the belief that San Diego is in a similar position as the Twins: unable to add payroll. That's where Cease, who is set to make about $13 million in his final year before free agency, could come into play. 

Cease is a legitimate frontline starter and arguably an ace, so he would clearly require a lot more in return than Vázquez and his negative asset value. Hayes has also emphasized that while scenarios involving Cease have been discussed, such a deal is unlikely to materialize. Nevertheless, the very idea of Minnesota's front office targeting someone like Cease indicates that perhaps they still do have higher-profile aspirations in the late stages of this offseason.

Arbitration Agreements Bring Clarity to Payroll Picture
The Twins finalized contracts with all of their arbitration-eligible players, giving us a clear view of the payroll outlook this year. (Well, as clear as it can be.) The projection currently sits around $135 million, which would put them at or slightly above their limit, as we've come to understand it.

Recent quotes from general manager Jeremy Zoll suggest that the front office may not feel obligated to further cut payroll from where it currently stands. That's somewhat encouraging, but it doesn't mean they're able to add at all. At least until they can move away a salary like Vázquez or Chris Paddack or Willi Castro. 

Derek Falvey told reporters last week that he feels "like it’s the midway point to the offseason. We have a lot more work to do.” Alas, with TwinsFest now behind us and February around the corner, spring training is suddenly less than three weeks away. There isn't that much time left to shake up the status quo, but this front office under Falvey is has definitely shown a penchant for late surprises.

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[Whitey333]

Falvey?  He probably could have been a good politician as he is good at talking out of both sides of his mouth.  I truly hope that if and when the Twins are sold that Falvey, Baldelli, and the GMs are shown the door.

[rdehring]

Always enjoy reading your articles, Nick.  Thanks.

As far as the state of the Twins is concerned, count me among those who believe the team is in a good place heading into spring training.  My only wish is that those March games begin soon and a lot of them are on tv?

[NYCTK]

17 days until pitchers and catchers report, but we're 88 days since the start of the offseason. That means the Twins front office took a nice 70 day break if they're halfway through the offseason. Good for them! 

[Gamblerssoftball]

Signing a free agent, regardless of who is left out there, is not likely to happen. But there's plenty of time to make a trade or two, which I think is likely. They have routinely waited until it's close to spring training. And, who knows, some clarity regarding ownership might change the path forward. Patience is still required.

[LambchoP]

Anyone else even remember an off-season without adding one single new major league player? Man, new owners cannot come soon enough. Aside from a complete teardown and rebuild, nothing could be worse than this. We can dream on a Cease trade, but we're not getting him. I'm guessing a third place finish in AL Central. A ton of prospect debuts and seeing what we have in terms of young talent before new owners change up the team next off-season.

[Joshua Kraayenbrink]

24 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Always enjoy reading your articles, Nick.  Thanks.

As far as the state of the Twins is concerned, count me among those who believe the team is in a good place heading into spring training.  My only wish is that those March games begin soon and a lot of them are on tv?

Per the Twins.TV announcement, 5 of them will be broadcast on the new platform free of charge so anyone can get a feel how the streaming works.

[jmlease1]

I hate the "wait wait wait" until the end of the off-season and try to bring someone in at the last minute who didn't get the contract they wanted or spinning a late trade. not sure it helps the team prepare well to scramble the basket just as spring training starts or in the middle of it. But this is what we get with the self-imposed payroll limitations the Pohlad's have imposed on the team after botching their tv and streaming rights, demonstrating a fairly unimpressive business track record, and general unwillingness to invest in the team.

I'd like Falvey and Zoll to be more aggressive, but they're certainly limited by ownership, and since everyone in Twins Nations knows about their limitations the rest of the league does too and I'm sure they're using that to try to chisel trades out of the twins that don't land well for us on a talent standpoint as they use our financial limits against us. few teams in the league are actually stupid and/or incompetent any longer (FL? CWS...who have new decision-makers, and may have gotten it together? Angels? Mets are a little like the old Yankees, but can buy their way out of trouble. Oakland has an even worse ownership than the Twins, but their baseball staff isn't bad. Colorado? Are they stupid or just in a rebuild?)

I did like the Cartaya move, but it's very low wattage. I like the twins squad quite a bit, in part because I do think some of the collapse late last season was a bit fluky. I like our pitching staff. But this team is aching for a RH corner OF/1B/DH bat, and those guys were on the market, but we had no money for it. because of ownership. And I guess because management couldn't figure out how to shed salary/make a deal early enough to move Paddack/Vazquez to free up cash. I'll put that 70% on ownership, 25% on management, 5% on the rest of the league for (smartly) looking to squeeze the Twins.

I hope the sale comes soon, the twins start the season winning, the fans come back to Target Field, and we find some positivity. making a good trade to fill a hole would be a good start.

[Mark G]

Congrats to the FO for beefing up the entire farm system!

Wait, don't we have one more team to beef up?  🙄

[NYCTK]

4 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Mets are a little like the old Yankees, but can buy their way out of trouble.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. How dare you? The 2020-2023 Mets were perhaps that, but they then hired, arguably, the best executive in baseball. David Stearns gonna lead my Mets to the promised land. 

 

[mikelink45]

Amazing - you were able to write an entire article about nothing - the Twins have not given you much to work with.  At least Law gave us three players in his new top 100 list.  Not new, but interesting.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

<ctrl> C, <ctrl> V

[NYCTK]

Just saw a tweet really driving home how inactive this Twins Organization has been. Courtesy Brooksgate on the nazi's social media site: 

AL Central Teams in Free Agent Spending the last 2 Off-seasons 

Royals 13th overall - $117M

Tigers 17th overall - $84M

White Sox 21st overall - $58M

Guardians 22nd overall - $57M

Twins 29th overall  - $8M

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Count me in the group that thinks we’re not in a bad position with the team we have.  There are pretty good players in most positions on the team and I’m only in favor of acquiring players that will tangibly improve the team.  As much as a bunch of signings would get us all excited, those players haven’t really been out there for the price we are willing to pay.  I think there is a trade or two coming, perhaps not a big one, but something will happen on the fringes that might help us more than we think it will.  Willi Castro was a nothing acquisition a couple of years ago and the Carlos Santana pickup was widely criticized as well.  I’m looking forward to the season starting because just like fishing, a day with it is inherently better than a day without it.  

[Vanimal46]

21 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Just saw a tweet really driving home how inactive this Twins Organization has been. Courtesy Brooksgate on the nazi's social media site: 

AL Central Teams in Free Agent Spending the last 2 Off-seasons 

Royals 13th overall - $117M

Tigers 17th overall - $84M

White Sox 21st overall - $58M

Guardians 22nd overall - $57M

Twins 29th overall  - $8M

The last 2 offseasons have been incredibly boring. All we can hope for is new ownership taking over ASAP. It’s not exactly inspiring to be a fan of a team striving for 85 wins every year. 

[High heat]

I really can’t blame the FO, you went into the offseason at or over budget and the entire league knows it.  
 

I do think there is some moves left to be made and after the December flurry of moves the teams with $ seem to have there rosters set.

 

There is still some semi intriguing FA if any $ can be found or reallocated. 
 

I actually like Rizzo as an option at 1B to go with Miranda. Remon Laureano as a 4th outfielder. 

[Doctor Gast]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

Whoa, whoa, whoa. How dare you? The 2020-2023 Mets were perhaps that, but they then hired, arguably, the best executive in baseball. David Stearns gonna lead my Mets to the promised land. 

 

Just wondering, are you a spy for the Mets?

[NYCTK]

1 minute ago, Doctor Gast said:

Just wondering, are you a spy for the Mets?

I wish. 

[Trov]

I am personally not concerned about lack of moves, unlike some.  The roster has the ability to be a good team, but it needs health and consistency.  The biggest hole will be back up to Buck when he gets hurt.  Last year the team had a complete collapse of offense late in the year, mainly brought on by injury and Lewis getting in worst slump of his career. Miranda, who helped carry team in June and early July had injury pop up in his back, and then was unplayable the rest of the year.  Jeffers did what he does and is possible all-star, or unplayable as well.  September he was unplayable. Castro went from all-star to unplayable as well. You add in a few bullpen blow ups at very bad timing and the team just fell off a cliff. 

Will they be favored to win the WS of course not, but they never will be, not unless a true salary cap gets put in. Point is, team has the possibility to do something if the players can be a little more consistent.  Everyone seemed to crash all at same time in September. 

[NYCTK]

1 minute ago, Trov said:

...not unless a true salary cap gets put in.

MLB needs a true salary cap so that we can reach levels of parity seen in the NFL.

Wait a minute. 

[Doctor Gast]

The 2.5 catchers are not MLB-ready & shouldn't be counted on to contribute to this year's team. But even so, leave it up to Falvey he'll showcase his shiny new acquisitions by giving them every opportunity to play & keep playing even when they are lousy. 

Julien at 2B & Gasper as utility on our active roster, We are in deep trouble. If this is what we have to look forward to. We just as well pack it in.

I hate this time of year because all offseason you hold your breath hoping that FO won't make any stupid moves. And then this is the time of year they spring it on you & it deflates you like a balloon.

[sweetmusicviola16]

39 minutes ago, Trov said:

I am personally not concerned about lack of moves, unlike some.  The roster has the ability to be a good team, but it needs health and consistency.  The biggest hole will be back up to Buck when he gets hurt.  Last year the team had a complete collapse of offense late in the year, mainly brought on by injury and Lewis getting in worst slump of his career. Miranda, who helped carry team in June and early July had injury pop up in his back, and then was unplayable the rest of the year.  Jeffers did what he does and is possible all-star, or unplayable as well.  September he was unplayable. Castro went from all-star to unplayable as well. You add in a few bullpen blow ups at very bad timing and the team just fell off a cliff. 

Will they be favored to win the WS of course not, but they never will be, not unless a true salary cap gets put in. Point is, team has the possibility to do something if the players can be a little more consistent.  Everyone seemed to crash all at same time in September. 

I am probably one of the few but I'm not in favor of salary caps. Why should anyone be limited to what they can make? If Soto can find someone to pay him 700 and whatever million why can't he go for it? Yes these numbers boggle my mind and I can't even comprehend them. But we shouldn't be limiting anyones making as much as they can. It likely only produces other problems with a cap. My honest opinion is a bigger problem for the sport is when teams like Mia, Pit, Cin go about spending little or nothing year after year. How does a cap fix that?

[Doctor Gast]

19 minutes ago, Trov said:

I am personally not concerned about lack of moves, unlike some.  The roster has the ability to be a good team, but it needs health and consistency.  The biggest hole will be back up to Buck when he gets hurt.  Last year the team had a complete collapse of offense late in the year, mainly brought on by injury and Lewis getting in worst slump of his career. Miranda, who helped carry team in June and early July had injury pop up in his back, and then was unplayable the rest of the year.  Jeffers did what he does and is possible all-star, or unplayable as well.  September he was unplayable. Castro went from all-star to unplayable as well. You add in a few bullpen blow ups at very bad timing and the team just fell off a cliff. 

Will they be favored to win the WS of course not, but they never will be, not unless a true salary cap gets put in. Point is, team has the possibility to do something if the players can be a little more consistent.  Everyone seemed to crash all at same time in September. 

Neither am I. Miranda can really mash if you keep him healthy. Keep him from overusing his shoulder at 3B & keep him at 1B will do wonders & put him on the right track to reach his ceiling. That said I wouldn't count on not having any blimps along the way & I wouldn't count on Julien or Gasper to be a backup so we need a bonafide backup either in the system if not a cheap outside trade option.

Jeffers does have the stamina to be even an equal tandem catcher so we need a bonafide promising young MLB-ready catcher to spell him & gain valuable experience to help ease him into a more demanding role in the future. We have no such player in the system so we need to trade for one. 

I'm not concerned about Bucks backup, Keirsey will be a much better & viable option both offensively & defensively than Margot. Castro was a bench player but he was overused at SS &CF which caused the crash, With Keirsey as CF backup that'll take a lot off of Castro's back & hopefully Correa & Lee will be healthier so Castro won't be as needed there, relieving more of Castro's burdens. So IMO will be better than ever.

So if kept basically the same with minor upgrades I'd be very happy. If start messing with the core then we'll be in trouble.

[NYCTK]

4 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

I am probably one of the few but I'm not in favor of salary caps. Why should anyone be limited to what they can make? If Soto can find someone to pay him 700 and whatever million why can't he go for it? Yes these numbers boggle my mind and I can't even comprehend them. But we shouldn't be limiting anyones making as much as they can. It likely only produces other problems with a cap. My honest opinion is a bigger problem for the sport is when teams like Mia, Pit, Cin go about spending little or nothing year after year. How does a cap fix that?

The common response is a Salary Floor, but I'm with you. I think they'll, rightfully, explore expanding the revenue sharing. But I also wouldn't be surprised to see them put in requirements to dip into that revenue sharing pool either.

The Athletics, Pirates, and Marlins have no business getting the $200 million check from MLB. Frankly, neither do the Twins right now though they're far from the biggest offender and we SHOULD expect to see a change in direction once ownership changes hands. 

 

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, NYCTK said:

17 days until pitchers and catchers report, but we're 88 days since the start of the offseason. That means the Twins front office took a nice 70 day break if they're halfway through the offseason. Good for them! 

TC Bear and the front office traditionally hibernate from the end of the World Series until just before TwinsFest.

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Count me in the group that thinks we’re not in a bad position with the team we have.

You mean the team that finished in 4th place and then lost Kepler and Santana to free agency?

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Amazing - you were able to write an entire article about nothing - the Twins have not given you much to work with. 

They could probably re-brand to TwinsMonthly during the offseason and we wouldn't notice.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

You mean the team that finished in 4th place and then lost Kepler and Santana to free agency?

Yes.  Kepler is addition by subtraction.  Santana will be missed.  However, there are plenty of players that would seem to have potential for a little bit (or in a few cases, a lot) of growth left in the tank.  

[sweetmusicviola16]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

Neither am I. Miranda can really mash if you keep him healthy. Keep him from overusing his shoulder at 3B & keep him at 1B will do wonders & put him on the right track to reach his ceiling. That said I wouldn't count on not having any blimps along the way & I wouldn't count on Julien or Gasper to be a backup so we need a bonafide backup either in the system if not a cheap outside trade option.

Jeffers does have the stamina to be even an equal tandem catcher so we need a bonafide promising young MLB-ready catcher to spell him & gain valuable experience to help ease him into a more demanding role in the future. We have no such player in the system so we need to trade for one. 

I'm not concerned about Bucks backup, Keirsey will be a much better & viable option both offensively & defensively than Margot. Castro was a bench player but he was overused at SS &CF which caused the crash, With Keirsey as CF backup that'll take a lot off of Castro's back & hopefully Correa & Lee will be healthier so Castro won't be as needed there, relieving more of Castro's burdens. So IMO will be better than ever.

So if kept basically the same with minor upgrades I'd be very happy. If start messing with the core then we'll be in trouble.

My honest opinion is we are vastly improved with Keirsey. I'd be very happy with the Castro of 2024 again, even with the late season dropoff. And yes use some of the milb depth we have to obtain a promising franchise C. We have pieces to use for this besides our top 5 prospects. We have Paddack, Julien, we can even use Vazquez. We both value Vazquez but for the right return he's very much available. We have Gabriel Gonzalez. There are other prospects that should be cashed out on instead of watching them crash and burn here.

I'm one who would still like to have seen a significant FA upgrade to this team. I'm not talking Bregman or Alonso. I don't even want them here. The guy I would have liked is still available. I get that he is a risk and isn't likely available to start the season. That guy is HaSeong Kim. He would do so much to stabilize our infield. I value defense more than most. He would allow us to get some of our other infielders some time at 1B without hurting the rest of the infield. I also know the chance of this team signing Kim has about a tenth of 1% chance or less. But I'd love this move for this team. If Paddack, Vazquez and Julien were used for a legitimate catcher we would easily have the money for Kim too. Just my opinion.

[jud6312]

This article is timed perfectly: I'm heading to Vegas for work at the end of this week and will be hitting the under on the 84.5 wins the books seem to have them on.

 

Unless, of course, they do something to actually improve the team in the next 72 hours.