How the Twins could shake up the Winter Meetings action

This story was excerpted from Do-Hyoung Park’s Twins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

No, the Twins will not be waiting with bated breath for the Juan Soto decision that seems to be dictating all the chatter around the leadup to these Winter Meetings -- well, outside of the baseball world’s natural curiosity at where he’ll end up, at least.

And no, the Twins don’t really seem to have one or two clear areas of deficiency in their roster picture that could drive their conversations when the baseball world convenes in Dallas for the sport’s annual gathering.

But amid the backdrop of a refresh to their entire group of hitting coaches in response to a disappointing finish to their 2024 season, a rapidly improving division around them, and an offseason that seems to be moving much more quickly than others in recent memory, the Twins have the opportunity to further shake things up if they so desire -- likely through trades.

But what areas could they target, and what might they be willing to give up? Those questions don’t necessarily have clear answers this offseason -- but perhaps they’ll get a better idea as this coming week unfolds.

Key events

• Sunday, Dec. 8: HOF Classic Baseball Era Committee results released
• Tuesday, Dec. 10: MLB Draft lottery
• Wednesday, Dec. 11: Rule 5 Draft

Club Needs
A right-handed bat or two … somewhere
There’s no specific positional need here, considering the Twins’ glut of flexibility to rearrange their players around both the infield and outfield, due largely to Willi Castro, Austin Martin and Michael Helman all being extremely versatile. But they would benefit from at least one affordable right-handed bat unless they want to lean on Martin and Helman as platoon options.

Kyle Farmer and Manuel Margot were regulars to play in place of Edouard Julien and Trevor Larnach in 2024, and both of those righties are gone. Manager Rocco Baldelli has always made efforts to shield his young left-handed hitters from southpaw pitchers -- and they currently don’t have a ton of options.

First base, perhaps?
The section from the first point about there being no strict positional need still applies, as the Twins don’t need a first baseman, even after the departure of Carlos Santana and retirement of Alex Kirilloff. That’s because they still have Jose Miranda and Julien, for both of whom first base is not a primary position, but still theoretically within the skillset.

With that said, it would be a steep defensive drop-off to go from the defending AL Gold Glove winner at first to a less-skilled infielder playing out of position, and if the Twins are able to find a reasonably priced addition, this is the position that would make the most logical sense.

Potential trade candidates
We did a deeper dive into this as part of the newsletter earlier this week, but creative trades seem to be, by far, the most likely avenue through which any meaningful changes will come to the Twins’ roster this offseason.

Christian Vázquez and Chris Paddack are veterans making a combined $17.5 million this season on expiring deals, and if the Twins are to establish some payroll flexibility, that would seemingly be the place to start -- though there’s clearly some question as to whether the club could get meaningful value in return while shedding that salary.

Bigger splashes could involve the Twins digging into their deep stable of infielders, or, perhaps more likely, their glut of pitching depth (a rarity in their recent history). Starters Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober are just entering arbitration and will start getting more expensive soon, while relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax might never see their trade value get higher.

Prospects to know
The big names on the hitting side this season are outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez (the club’s No. 2 prospect, No. 29 overall) and the multipositional Luke Keaschall (Twins’ No. 3, No. 63 overall), both of whom are coming off surgical procedures but should be ready to impact the Majors at some point in 2025, assuming continued performance.

The pitching pipeline should also continue to churn in 2025, with Marco Raya (Minnesota’s No. 5) now on the 40-man roster and having gotten a cameo in Triple-A to finish last season. He and Andrew Morris (No. 6) should headline the next group of pitchers to serve as the next men up if (when) the need arises over the course of 162 games.

Rule 5 Draft
The Twins’ front office still hasn’t made a selection in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft since 2017 (when they selected Tyler Kinley), and given their aggressive use of their 40-man roster to maintain roster flexibility, there would seem to be a high bar. They do have some interesting prospects left exposed to being selected away from the organization, with catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar and outfielder Kala'i Rosario among that group.

Burning question: How will they narrow down their direction?
This is a bizarre offseason canvas for the Twins, because for the first time in recent memory, there’s no one glaring area of deficiency on the roster -- but, at the same time, the unit as a whole can clearly stand to be improved, as evidenced by the end to their 2024 campaign. They likely can’t be significant factors in free agency due to their financial constraints -- so where will they focus their energy? And how much of that will be proactive, versus reactive?