Offseason Handbook: Searching for Energy Guys Across the League

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In my last piece for Twins Daily, I opined on the downfall of a lineup made up of passive swing technicians, which I summarized as being haunted by the ghost of J.D Drew. While I accept that my premise was hyperbolic to some degree, watching the Twins in 2024 would make any fan mourn for the days of Nick Punto, Carlos Gómez, or heck, even Otis Nixon. There are a few solutions in-house to fix this energy and speed deficit. First there is DaShawn Keirsey Jr, the speedy, tattooed outfielder the Twins have stashed at Triple-A for most of the least two years. Byron Buxton, of course, is an "action guy" for however many games he plays, and Royce Lewis certainly provided a lot of energy prior to his brutal three-month don't-call-it-a-slump to end the year. Today, I want to explore what sorts of external options are out there as the Twins tiptoe into the offseason, without leaving the metaphorical bat on their shoulder.

The first group I identified are both realistic (cheap), and perhaps exactly what the Twins need, as in hitters who are under no pressure to hit, but can help the team in other ways, namely with speed and energy. For fun, I listed the average sprint speed of all the players in question, per Baseball Savant.

• Zach McKinstry IF 28.4 f/s
• Jonny DeLuca OF 29.8 f/s
• Garrett Hampson IF/OF 29.8 f/s
• Amed Rosario IF 29.0 f/s
• Esteury Ruiz OF 29.4 f/s
• Edmundo Sosa IF 29.2 f/s
• Stuart Fairchild OF 29.1 f/s
• Travis Jankowski OF 28.5 f/s
• Cristian Pache OF 28.5 f/s
• Jake Cave OF 27.7 f/s

These guys are barely starting-caliber players, evenwith the platoon advantage. McKinstry is an excellent baserunner who led the league in how often, relative to an average baserunner, they tried to take an extra base, taking off 47% of the time when an average runner would have tried 26% of the time. Not only that, he was successful 26 of the 27 times he tried it. He can't hit, at all, but has defensive utility and has been a thorn in the Twins' side a few times for the Tigers.

Estuary Ruiz led the league in stolen bases in 2023 and spent time in the minors in 2024, after switching teams a few times as a high-profile prospect who scouts worried wouldn't hit. So far, they've been right, but he is just 25. Amed Rosario had some big moments against the Twins, hit .280 last year and is still just 28. Garrett Hampson had a big clutch hit for the Royals and was 3-3 with three RBIs this postseason. He can run, but couldn’t hit even when he called Coors Field home. A Cave redemption arc where there is no pressure on him to hit, only to play hard and fire the team up would, as they say, feed families.

And that’s the appeal of these guys. You won’t expect them to hit, and those are precisely the conditions under which one of these guys can provide a high amount of excess value.

My pick: Jankowski is Dan Gladden redux, and after a poor year in Texas, he won’t cost much more than Gladden did in his heyday.

Next are the middle ground—guys who had enough established value that their teams won't just give them up for nothing. Some are slightly expensive. Others are cheaper, but with upside far beyond what the cheapest group can provide: