The Twins have crushed their offseason and will not head into 2018 under the radar. Minnesota snuck into the playoffs last year thanks to the weakness of the AL Central (which is again the case with three teams rebuilding), but won’t surprise anyone this year. Derek Falvey and his front office went into the winter with a clear and concise plan and executed it to perfection.
Minnesota rebuilt their bullpen by adding a trio of quality veterans in Addison Reed, Fernando Rodney and Zach Duke. The Twins also pounced on the Tampa Bay Rays firesale to acquire Jake Odorizzi and also signed first baseman/DH Logan Morrison to provide additional power off the bench and potential insurance against a Miguel Sano suspension.
While the Twins were involved in preliminary talks with Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish, signing either one was always going to be a longshot given the team’s budget. Instead, the Twins waited out Lance Lynn and got him on a cheap one-year deal.
Lynn gives the Twins a fourth quality starter to go along with Ervin Santana, Jose Berrios, and Odorizzi. Santana will miss some time to start the season with a finger injury, so it is important that Lynn get up to speed quickly. The 30-year-old right-hander went 11-8 last year with a 3.43 ERA in his first season back from Tommy John. Lynn picked a good place to settle for one season before seeking out a longer-term deal. He should feast against the watered-down competition in the AL Central.