Opportunity Season Isn't Over Yet for Twins

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Twins Daily

If the Twins' offseason feels unfinished, that's because it is. With roughly three weeks remaining before players report to Fort Myers, the front office has made it clear that the current roster is more of a foundation than a final product. Minnesota is comfortable waiting, watching, and pouncing when the right opportunity presents itself.

That mindset was reinforced again over the weekend, when general manager Jeremy Zoll spoke openly about the next phase of roster building.

“I think that feels like the most obvious opportunity for us to find ways to raise the floor and improve the club,” Zoll said, “so we’ll keep working on that and figure it out.”

“There’s also obviously trade opportunities that could come about, so I think the trade market is starting to open up more as some of the dominoes are falling across the rest of the league,” said Zoll. “So whether that is free agency or trade, we’ll just have to see as we keep working through these next couple weeks.”

The key phrase there is "raise the floor". This is not a front-office hinting at a blockbuster. Instead, the Twins appear focused on incremental improvements that stabilize the roster and protect against the volatility that defined last season. Bullpen depth remains the most obvious need, but it is far from the only one.

Zoll also made sure to remind everyone that patience has paid off before. Last winter, three major-league signings came after TwinsFest, well into the portion of the calendar where many fans assume the heavy lifting is done. Under the Derek Falvey-led front office, there have been many winters when the team’s biggest moves came late in the game. For fans, it can be tough to see the long-term vision, but there have been positive late additions in recent years.

“We're really optimistic that we're going to have some good chances to be opportunistic here over these next few weeks before we head down to Fort Myers, to keep finding ways to supplement the club, complement it, strengthen the bullpen, and find any other creative ways to put the best team on the field for this year,” he said.

That optimism matters, especially given the constant questions surrounding payroll. While exact numbers remain murky, both Zoll and primary owner Tom Pohlad strongly suggested the Twins are not locked into their current spending level.

“We’re going to continue,” Pohlad said. “The clock doesn’t stop until Opening Day, right? For better or worse, Derek and Jeremy have a history of adding pieces late. I’m sure you are going to continue to see that. We know that we have to continue to improve the bullpen, and we’re going to continue to be opportunistic about creative pieces that can improve this team across the field.”

'Creative' is doing a lot of work there, and it offers a clue as to how the Twins may operate. Rather than simply adding salary, Minnesota is well-positioned to trade from its areas of strength. Starting pitching depth is an obvious example. Even after injuries and innings management are considered, the organization has more viable arms than rotation spots. That depth can be leveraged to address needs elsewhere, without weakening the core.

Another area to watch is left-handed-hitting corner outfielders. The Twins have an abundance of similar offensive profiles, particularly from the left side, and not all of them will have everyday roles. Trevor Larnach seems like an ideal trade candidate, but other names (like Matt Wallner) might have more trade value. Packaging from that surplus could help bring back bullpen help or versatile depth pieces that fit the front office’s preference for flexibility.

All of these messages point to a familiar Twins approach. The roster that reports to Fort Myers will not look drastically different, but it likely will not be identical, either. Small additions, depth moves, and calculated trades have long been a part of this regime’s playbook, especially late in the winter when prices soften and options expand.

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Do you support the front office’s strategy? What moves do you think fit within their payroll flexibility? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Brandon]

Considering how little Falvey has to work with, He has done a good job so far plugging holes.  Cartini C Bell 1B, Arcia or the guy from Boston as the backup SS, and Rogers for the pen.  We need more pen but we can get it. All for around 17-18 million so far with only 7 million committed for 2027.

[old nurse]

I hear there is a Twins BOGO free sale on corner outfielders. Yup Buy One,Get Outman free

[Blyleven2011]

The long term vision  , how can anyone see a long term vision when they sign players late and cheap that no other team has made an offer to  ...

There is no long term vision on 1 year contracts , I'd rather have the young players play for our long term 6 year future ...

[ziggy]

Well, the two years they went full measure by signing Donaldson and Correa was exciting and fun while it lasted.  It's a shame that neither signing aged very well.

This offseason is the Twins' business model and that's that.

[Whitey333]

Well they did sign a few good or at least decent players late off season last year.  So what good does it do to sign players other teams don't want to 1 year contracts?  What kind of a commitment or indication of planning is that?  Seems rather foolish.  So what if you get a couple decent players and make no commitment to them or the team?  They still finished 70-92 last year with record low attendance.  We have missed playoffs 4 of last 5 years and played very boring undisciplined baseball.  Falvey has been here 10 years.  In that time we have only had one year with 90 or more wins.  This is progress?  Even if they sign more players to one year deals it doesn't show any commitment to winning and it's sustainability for the Twins.

[Western SD Fan]

Let's look at this offseason holistically first, then drill down to the minutiae of what has actually happened.  I have seen signs that maybe the people at 1 Twins Way may finally have a clue on the damage that they have done to their own reputation and the fanbase.  There have been reports this week that Tom Pohlad called approximately 50 former season ticket holders to ask why they haven't renewed and apparently received some colorful feedback from some recipients.  I also look at the signings of Caratini and Bell as showing that they are going to make an effort to compete this year.  Until now, I would suggest this is more spending that many people on this forum (including myself) expected out of the team given the overall landscape in baseball (upcoming lockout).

A cynical person would suggest that the Pohlads are finally protecting their investment.  Someone must have finally got their attention that the majority of the Twins value is in reputation, goodwill, and other intangibles and not the physical assets they possess.  By killing their reputation, they are killing their value to when they finally do sell the team.

As for the bullpen, good bullpen pieces are fairly hard to find.  We can look at last year that the Yankees, Blue Jays (even after acquiring Varland) had shaky bullpens and they definitely had more to spend than the Twins do.  Even the Dodgers traded for Stewart because they needed additional help.  All of that to say that bullpens are typically an emerging beast that you are always tinkering with and trying to improve.  I can see some spring training invites, some minor league contracts signed, and some additional low-cost contracts given out to round out the bullpen.  

[LastOnePicked]

"I still see a clear opportunity to be opportunistic," said the timid lion, who hasn't scored a real kill in well over three decades.

[Mahoning]

He said raise the floor, not the ceiling.

[DJL44]

I am sure there will be many more opportunities for the Twins to pick up other teams discards on the waiver wire.

[Whitey333]

Same old bs from Falvey year after year.  In present form this roster is full of many has been, many can't miss top prospects that haven't come close to making it, adding players to 1 year contracts, picking up leftovers from the mlb dollar store.  So far that plan of Falvey really hasn't produced much.  Also when the payroll was the highest in the AL Central in the $150 million range he did a lousy job of distributing those dollars.  Yes I believe they can be contenders in 2026.  Contenders with the White Sox for last place.

[tony&rodney]

We all liked how well Bader, France, and Coulombe performed compared to expectations. They were critical contributors to the Twins winning 72 games. This post is suggesting that the Twins aren't done adding and might find the players needed to repeat last year. Apparently 72 wins is a goal.

[Original_JB]

What starting pitching depth? That's when you have a 1, a 2, and 4 3s, not 2 2s and a handful of 5s

[Brandon]

15 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

The long term vision  , how can anyone see a long term vision when they sign players late and cheap that no other team has

made an offer to  ...

There is no long term vision on 1 year contracts , I'd rather have the young players play for our long term 6 year future ...

The guy on the 1 year contract will either be replaced after the trade deadline or season by a top prospect likely a top 100 prospect.  That's the long-term vision thingy we are talking about.

[Pat]

Same old, same old.

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

The guy on the 1 year contract will either be replaced after the trade deadline or season by a top prospect likely a top 100 prospect.  That's the long-term vision thingy we are talking about.

Don’t expect the people here to understand that concept 

[Twinsrtheworst]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

The guy on the 1 year contract will either be replaced after the trade deadline or season by a top prospect likely a top 100 prospect.  That's the long-term vision thingy we are talking about.

Unfortunately most of the commenters can’t see past the tip of there nose.

[bean5302]

Why would the team be focused on raising the floor? The floor isn't the problem. Neither is the ceiling. The problem is the lack of middle ground. The meat of good teams haspPlayers the team can count on to produce that solid 2 WAR contribution as a position player. They're not flashy MVP guys, they're the bread and butter of a playoff caliber team.

The floor of this team is 100 losses. The ceiling is 92-ish wins. Getting some AAAA cast offs or 1 WAR guys to get the Twins to a 95 loss team floor while simultaneously reigning in the ceiling to 87 wins isn't of any value.