The Table Setter, Jan. 16, 2024: Messrs. Worldwide

No time of the year is more exciting than mid-January, especially during a polar vortex. Will your car start when you leave your home? Will you develop frostbite on your fingers if you don't wear gloves outside? Does your girlfriend still love you? (Sorry, I'm projecting my insecurities, disregard that last part.)

While this challenge to our very existence is occurring in the natural world, most of us have the privilege of subjecting ourselves to a mind-numbingly excessive amount of sports-centric entertainment to distract ourselves. The NFL playoffs are in full swing, the NBA and NHL seasons are nearly halfway finished, and MLB free agency is, well, technically happening. Not much has occurred in the past few days, but transactions and other newsworthy tidbits are floating by every so often. Let's jump into the news, courtesy of the fine people at Twins Daily.

Twins Sign Eight International Amateur Free Agents
Jan. 15 marked the opening of the international free agent signing period. Although the players signed will need to undergo immense training through the minor leagues and other developmental programs, finding MLB contributors through the IFA market is one of the pillars for organizations forging sustainable, long-term success. Here are the eight players the team signed:

• Misael Rodríguez, SP
• Yoel Roque, P
• Eduardo Beltré, OF
• Merphy Hernández, OF
• Daniel Manzueta, P
• Daiber De Los Santos, OF
• Alver Medina, IF
• Enyer Cepeda, P

Of the eight, Beltré (ranked 39th by MLB Pipeline) and De Los Santos (8th) are the standouts of the bunch. According to pundits, De Los Santos might have the best overall raw tools in the class and could fit the "Five-Tool Player" archetype at a young age. The most appealing aspects of his game are fast hands, a powerful arm, and plus raw power. The 17-year-old plays shortstop and projects to have the tools to stay there through the high minors and (potentially) even in MLB. 

Beltré is a prospect with a lower ceiling but a higher floor than De Los Santos. He mixes potentially elite defensive prowess in center field with an aggressive approach at the plate and the potential to develop a multitude of plus tools during his development. Immediately, this profile evokes Michael A. Taylor, the Twins' primary center fielder last season. Yet, Beltré could have his power be a more consistent and feared aspect of his game. It's much too early to feel sure of that, but the makings of a rangy slugger are there.

Other Notable International Amateur Free Agent Signings

• The San Diego Padres landed the No. 1 international prospect, Leo De Vries, signing him to a $4.2-million bonus. De Vries is often compared to Cleveland Guardians star José Ramírez (though, to keep us all grounded in the uncertainty of this endeavor, Ramírez himself signed for $50,000 in 2009).
• The rest of the top-five list is rounded out by Paulino Santana (Rangers, $1.3 million), José Perdomo (Braves, $5 million), Fernando Cruz (Cubs, $4 million), and Adolfo Sánchez (Reds, $2.7 million).
• Cruz, who signed with the Cubs for $4 million, is the cousin of former MLB All-Star Starlin Castro.
• Vladi Miguel Guerrero (son of Vladimir Guerrero and half-brother Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) signed with the New York Mets.

Dusty Baker Stays in MLB
Late Monday evening, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the San Francisco Giants hired Baker as a special assistant. Baker, who became a Giants coach almost the moment his playing days ended and managed the team from 1993-2002, will return to the organization to work with the team's president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, and assist president Larry Baer with miscellaneous ownership duties.

Baker is 74, so while it makes sense that he no longer feels up to managing a team's 26-man roster throughout a long season, it is nice to see one of the most prominent Black managers in MLB history stay in the game. Baker lives in Sacramento, California, so there is a plausible chance he will also take on an advisory role with the Giants' Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. 

Middling Shortstop Market Could Pick Up in Activity Soon
After being spoiled with some of the most loaded free-agent shortstop classes in MLB history the last handful of offseasons, fans have grown accustomed to unsustainably enormous deals being handed out to numerous shortstops every winter.

Unfortunately, this year's free-agent shortstop talent collection (headlined by Tim Anderson and Amed Rosario) is shallower than the kiddie pool that led to Betty Carver's husband's demise in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. [Ed. note: Look, film is the literature of our generation and I'm not going to stop a writer from alluding to a reasonably important one. Me, personally, I don't know how shallow that pool was, and I apologize if this reference constitutes a spoiler. Google tells me the movie's been out long enough that it's your own fault if you wanted to see it but haven't. Tim Anderson and Amed Rosario are rough headliners for a free-agent positional class, is the point.] We are less than one month away from spring training, and the number of reasonable landing spots for the two shortstops mentioned (and less desirable options like Elvis Andrus, Nick Ahmed, and Brandon Crawford) has become paper-thin.

Anderson was linked to the Los Angeles Angels in November. Although Anaheim is a challenging environment to thrive in (unless your last name is Trout or Ohtani, which Anderson's doesn't seem to be), the acquisition would make sense, as Anderson could play the role of a stopgap, allowing the franchise the opportunity to further develop the 22-year-old Zach Neto at Triple A or to move around the versatile Luis Rengifo.

Earlier this offseason, Rosario was rumored to be a possible target for the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. Yet, with both teams trading for or signing infielders (Vaughn Grissom for the Sox; Isiah Kiner-Falefa for the Jays) this past month, it appears Rosario is no longer an option for either franchise. Teams like the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, and Pittsburgh Pirates make sense as potential suitors for the remaining available free-agent shortstops, but with the clock ticking and open roster spots dwindling, the final dollar amount earned by shortstops this offseason could be catastrophically low.

Miscellaneous Twins Notes

• Joe Mauer has 83.3% of the Hall of Fame vote over 135 confirmed ballots. Mauer needs 68.9% of the vote to become the Twins' first first-ballot Hall of Fame since Kirby Puckett was elected in 2001. Both were career-long Twins. 
• Former Twins Bartolo Colón (0.6%) and Torii Hunter (4.7%) have been eliminated from Hall of Fame contention. Hunter still has a chance to stick around on next year's ballot, though, if his support ticks up fractionally.
• Forgotten Star and Twins Daily have collaborated to make a beer that will be featured at Winter Meltdown (get your tickets here by becoming a Caretaker). 
• Is Logan Gilbert the perfect trade candidate for the Twins to pursue? JD Cameron analyzes that question in his most recent piece here at Twins Daily.

What do you think of the Twins' international amateur free-agent signings? Do De Los Santos or Beltré excite you? Do any of the other free agents stand out to you? What type of impact do you think Baker will make with the Giants, who seem so much adrift at the moment? Where will Anderson and Rosario sign? Join the discussion and comment below.