Minnesota Twins: 2 Glaring Needs This Offseason
How will 2023 be different? Let's start by looking at the Twins' two biggest glaring needs this offseason.
Who Plays Shortstop?
After one season with the Twins, Carlos Correa is headed back to free agency. He says he's interested in staying in the Twin Cities, but his reasoning for why the Twins should keep him might be a bit flawed:
Carlos Correa explains to Jim Rich how the Twins can secure him for the 2023 campaign. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/BHnBYKSjM9
— FOX 9 Sports (@Fox9Sports) September 29, 2022
Correa says if he goes to the mall and he really wants something, he asks how much it costs and he just buys it. "If you really want something, just go get it."
Yes, affordability is no problem when you make $35M a year.
Make no mistake, the Twins were able to "purchase" Carlos Correa in the 'shortstop store' last offseason because he was 'on sale.' There were a number of other elite star shortstops on the market, and he and his agent Scott Boras waited too long to make their move, so the price came down.
But the Twins aren't the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Yankees; without a sale price again, it's questionable if they'll be able to afford him.
Young phenom Royce Lewis could be the long-term answer at short if Correa leaves, but he's out until about June after suffering another crushing ACL injury shortly after his callup. Can the Twins bank on him after that?
Getting Players Healthier
The Twins' injury problems were at an all-time high in 2022. The aforementioned Royce Lewis was just the most devastating; there were also recurring injuries that just wouldn't heal for the likes of Alex Kirolloff, Byron Buxton, Sonny Gray, Trevor Larnach and many others.
They hope that they started the process of finding a way to keep players healthier by dismissing head athletic trainer Michael Salazar after the season. Something just wasn't being done to keep these guys on the field. Can a new medical training approach help?
President of baseball operations Derek Falvey says better offseason conditioning programs will be looked at as a start. From there, crossing their fingers and hoping for better injury luck would be a good next step.
Other needs include deciding what to do at catcher (they're moving on from Gary Sanchez), and in the outfield (does Max Kepler stay? Will Kirilloff or Larnach be healthy enough?).
Many questions facing the Twins this offseason, and they'll undoubtedly be kept busy in the 'affordable' aisles of the free agent market, plus the trade market.
Photo: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
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