Handbook Preview: Welcome to the Offseason

This week, we'll be offering up a few details and excerpts from this year's Handbook to whet your appetite. We'll also be unveiling our lineup of featured guest writers, starting tomorrow.

But today, we're giving you the full setup. The image above shows the introduction to the Twins Daily 2020 Offseason Handbook, and you can also find the full text below. This is but one page of many in what will surely be a robust read (last year's edition checked in at 72 pages), but it should give you a clear idea of the general angle and outstanding visuals you can expect.

In January of 2019, at TwinsFest, general manager Thad Levine grabbed a microphone before an assembled crowd of fans and addressed the notion of signing top-tier free agents in the class of Bryce Harper or Manny Machado.

"My view is, the best time to acquire players of that magnitude is when your window to win is wide open,” Levine asserted. "Not when you’ve got your fingers underneath the window and you’re trying to jam the window open. I want to do it when we’re projected to win the Central and we’re ready to put our foot on someone’s throat."

Well... here we are. The window is wide open, no doubt, as the Twins will be favored by most to win the division again in 2020. They already have a foot on payroll-conscious Cleveland's throat. The question, following another crushing postseason sweep at the hands of the Yankees, is how they can use their other foot to take the next step.

As you'll learn in the coming pages, the front office enters this offseason with a wealth of resources at its disposal, with which to pursue a bevy of appealing options on the free agent and trade markets. As you proceed through this Handbook, you'll get a full lay of the land, along with analysis and breakdowns from a variety of voices in the local writing community (and even a former three-time Twins All-Star).

This is your definitive guide. Dig in and craft your own blueprint for avenging the ALDS defeat and bringing a championship back to Minnesota.