First off, the Twins will only have $46 million allotted to non-rookie contracts; this should free up tons of money. I'm not going to get into money that in depth, but I would like to think any of the players I mention as FA pickups would fit within the budget. Soooo, here it is:
1) Biggest, boldest, boldesterest move: Trade for Jurickson Profar. This seems crazy, and it's absolutely not going to happen, but it would be a godsend for the Twins. Profar would shore up the SS position for years to come, provide good offense for the position, and it would just be generally awesome. I'm thinking a package of Rosario and Berrios would get it done.
2) Big, slightly less bold move: Trade for Rick Porcello. The Twins need pitching and Porcello could be had from the Tigers relatively cheap considering his age, that he's under control for two more years, and that his stuff (particularly the usage of his CB) seems to be on the upswing. For Porcello, the Twins could dangle Danny Santana and Jared Burton.
3) Sort of bold move: Sign Garza. He's hovering around 30, but he's been a solid 3/4 starter his whole career. Correia is the "ace" of the staff, and he's clearly a 5.
4) Not bold move: Sign Phil Hughes. He had a 3.88 era on the road. He's 27. Why not do this?
That's it. Three new pitchers and one new SS. Make no mistake, even with a Dodgers-like budget heading into the 2014 offseason, this team would not make the playoffs next year. These moves are to move the team into a position to succeed in 2015. That being said, this is what the team would look like to start 2014:
Rotation:
1) Garza
2) Porcello
3) Correia
4) Hughes
5) Gibson/Deduno/Diamond/Worley
Lineup:
SS: Profar
2B: Dozier
1B: Mauer
DH/LF: Willingham
DH/RF: Doumit
3B: Plouffe
LF/RF/DH: Arcia
C: Pinto
CF: Hicks/Presley
This, of course, is not a pretty Twins line up, BUT the pitching is much improved, the infield and outfield is solid up the middle, and there are pieces that can be easily jettisoned for mid-season/September call ups in preparation for 2015. Around July, I'd pencil this configuration as a perfect world scenario:
1) Garza
2) Porcello
3) Gibson (he takes a step up)
4) Hughes
5) Meyer
(Correia is flipped for a HD-DVD player or a case of OK Soda)
Lineup:
SS: Profar
2B: Dozier
1B: Mauer
3B: Sano
RF: Arcia
DH: Doumit
C: Pinto
LF: Presley
CF: Hicks
(Willingham is trade for the ghost of whatever he could have netted in 2012)
All this, off course, leads to 2015, when Buxton shows up and turns water into wine.
So, that's my plan that will never, ever happen. Yup.
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