To Our Readers: Thank You!

As always, we are extremely grateful for everyone who swings by Twins Daily on a regular basis to read, comment and converse. This community wouldn't be what it is without you – especially those who contribute their own blogs and help moderate our message boards. You guys rock.

But we're feeling an extra level of gratitude this year. Our latest Offseason Handbook was a smashing success, exceeding any expectations we had in mind.

For the first time, we made the decision to offer this year's Handbook (our eighth iteration) for free with a donation option. It was a tough call, because so much time goes into researching, writing and designing the product, but ultimately we felt this model was more in line with our overarching vision. We don't want any barriers blocking people from accessing our content. In the past, we have considered but rejected the ideas of paid memberships and premium perks at Twins Daily for this very reason.

So a donation-based system made more sense, even if it meant making less money. And it was an extremely reaffirming experience because so much generosity shined through. Thus far, more than 650 copies of the ebook have been downloaded, blowing away past totals. A huge number of people elected to contribute despite having no obligation to do so. Some really went above and beyond. That was truly awesome. Thank you.

The goal for Twins Daily was always to create a destination for independent and community-driven news, analysis and conversation that could earn enough revenue to sustain and grow, while remaining completely free for readers. At times, this has proven very challenging. Online niche content can be quite difficult to monetize and frankly it doesn't help that the Twins have lost 90-plus games in four of the five years since we've launched.

But you all continue to drive us forward, and your kind donations will help fuel our ongoing mission of pumping out Minnesota Twins content with a level of consistency, depth and quality that cannot be matched by any other outlet. Already you have probably seen some new features on the site, like the revamped Organization Chart and the new Free Agent Tracker. We hope to bolster these offerings while continually expanding our coverage.

And we are really dang excited about that. Probably as excited as we have been at any time since we first rolled out this site.

It's a reinvigorating time for Twins fans. A new regime is in place, and their first move was an aggressive strike on their top free agent target.

They mean business, and so do we. Thank you, again, to everyone who has downloaded, donated and helped spread the word. We'd love to be your first stop for everything Minnesota Twins during this critical offseason and beyond.

If you haven't yet gotten your copy of the 2017 Offseason Handbook, you can still do so here, free if you please. The first step of our Twins Daily Offseason Blueprint, signing Jason Castro, has already played out. Get yours to see what else we suggested and to formulate your own plan.