Twins Video
As the calendar pages flipped from November to December, from January to February, the Twins front office remained idle, constrained by payroll limitations and a challenging market. Their moves amounted to low-scale additions on the fringes: minor-league signings, meager trades, a Rule 5 selection.
These offseason status updates I've been publishing every few weeks have not been terribly interesting to write, and I'm sure not to read either. Now, in mid-February, with spring training officially underway, we've finally got some meaningful moves to cover: a relative flurry of free agent signings after ownership reportedly green-lighted a small spending increase on their way out.
Let's break down the club's latest acquisitions and their roster ramifications as we close out our offseason coverage and officially flip the page to spring training.
Coulombe Bolsters Minnesota's Bullpen Strength
The team's first major-league signing of the offseason reunited them with a familiar face: left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe. The 35-year-old previously spent parts of three seasons with the Twins before featuring in the Baltimore bullpen in 2024-25. He has posted outstanding numbers when healthy throughout that span.
Coulombe will earn $3 million on his one-year deal, making him the second-highest paid member of the Minnesota bullpen behind Jhoan Durán ($4.13 million). While a lefty reliever was one of the roster's most obvious needs coming into the offseason, it was interesting to see such a substantial investment here given the strength of the Twins' relief corps and the question marks surrounding Coulombe at age 35, coming off an elbow injury.
The front office seems focused on building a bullpen with the depth and quality to be an overwhelming strength for the Twins. Not a bad idea, based on what we saw from Cleveland last year. If Coulombe stays healthy and pitches up to his standard alongside the likes of Durán, Griffin Jax, Cole Sands and Louie Varland, this unit could be beyond formidable. But nowhere do these kinds of "ifs" loom larger than in the volatile world of MLB bullpens.
Bader Brings His Brilliant Glove to Twins Outfield
Last week, four different righty-swinging outfielders signed within the span of a few days. Harrison Bader got the biggest contract of the bunch, and in the surprise of the offseason, it was the Twins who gave it to him. Minnesota's front office did what it took to land the former Gold Glover, inking him to a $6.25 million deal with incentives and a mutual option. This signing on its own amounted to more than just about anyone expected the Twins to spend in the free agent market.
Clearly, the Twins were adamant about rostering a true standout center fielder behind Byron Buxton – akin to Michael A. Taylor in 2023 – after last year's reinforcements proved lacking. Bader can play defense at the level of both, which is a rare trait. But the flip side is that he isn't much of a hitter, even against left-handed pitching, which negates the value of his platoon fit.
With their modest influx of available funds, the Twins front office prioritized pitching and defense over offense, despite the lineup being arguably their biggest point of scrutiny and uncertainty. Spending nearly $10 million on Coulombe and Bader left them with little left to address first base, so they bought a lotto ticket.
Twins Acquire France to Compete at First Base
Following a season where Carlos Santana was one of the team's biggest stabilizing forces, producing 3.0 fWAR and winning a Gold Glove at first, the Twins have lined up as his heir apparent Ty France, who produced negative-0.9 fWAR with staggeringly bad defensive metrics last year. He has also posted a .688 OPS over the past two seasons, though the 30-year-old previously showed some ability at the plate as an All-Star with 20 home runs and 83 RBIs in 2022.
France is far from guaranteed to win the starting first base job or even to make the team; his MLB deal was as close to a minor-league contract as you can get, giving him a 40-man roster spot but with a paltry non-guaranteed $1 million in salary. But it seems clear the Twins going to put him at the head of the line given his experience compared to alternative options like José Miranda, Edouard Julien, Mickey Gasper and Willi Castro. "He's going to play a lot. That's really the best way of saying it," declared Rocco Baldelli at Twins camp on Saturday.
My friend Giles Ferrell put it best in calling this a "low-risk, low-reward pickup." It's a shame the Twins couldn't have found a way to secure a little more offensive upside at this position, which is already rife with defensive downside. But France at least brings a track record to the table.
Henriquez, Headrick and Helman Are Victims of Roster Crunch
To make room on the 40-man roster for their new signings, the Twins lost two pitchers and a position player. Right-hander Ronny Henriquez was claimed off waivers by Miami, and left-hander Brent Headrick by the Yankees, while utilityman Michael Helman was traded to St. Louis in exchange for cash.
None could be considered devastating losses, but each player had his own level of promise and potential value. Keeping any of the three in the organization would be nice, but I suppose it speaks to the perceived quality of Minnesota's talent that their roster casualties are in demand elsewhere. Here's an updated look at Twins' (full) 40-man with the additions of Coulombe, Bader and France.
Twins 2025 Roster and Payroll Projection
Below you can find my attempt at predicting the Opening Day 26-man roster in the wake of these moves. Barring injuries, I think this is how the Twins would like things to take shape. Lee and France are listed as backups, but I foresee them both rotating through very frequently at different positions (Lee at second and short, France at first and DH) with Miranda seeing time at third and Julien seeing time at first.
We all know that for this Twins front office, the offseason doesn't end until Opening Day. It's possible there could be more moves to come, although team officials have signaled that they're done in free agency. If the Twins do indeed hold onto all of their current players, they'll be poised to enter the season with payroll in the $140 million range. That's enough to win. Time to go on the field and do it.
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