Top 5 free agent destinations for Trevor Bauer
The Twins made another quick exit from the postseason this year, despite getting the kind of starting pitching they’ve longed for in the playoffs from Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios. With Derek Falvey and Thad Levine leading the front office, the franchise has left behind the past penny-pinching ways if it means adding pieces to maximize a winning window (Nelson Cruz, etc.).
A trade for another starting pitcher is surely possible, as the deal to get Maeda from the Dodgers last offseason worked out nicely. Jake Odorizzi could be brought back cheaply after an injury-plagued short season, but a bigger move may be in order if the Twins want to hold off the White Sox and Indians in the AL Central.
Falvey spent time in the Indians’ organization before coming to the Twins, overlapping with Bauer there. The two are professed to be good friends, as Falvey was considered a “pitching guy” in Cleveland.
Bauer is not likely to take a discount to sign somewhere. And with what the market for him will bear. even with economic uncertainty for teams, he won’t have to. The Twins can selling winning (back-to-back division titles) and an effort to win, and maybe Bauer’s personality is just what the clubhouse needs to loosen things up and end a long-running drought without as much as a win in a postseason game.