Two pieces of the Twins puzzle for 2024 are in place.
The team announcing Thursday that they are picking up the one-year options for outfielder Max Kepler and infielder Jorge Polanco, the team's most-tenured players.
Kepler and Polanco have been teammates since they became roommates after signing with the Twins in the 2009 international class.
They were both 16 years old at the time.
Kepler and Polanco signed mulit-year contracts in 2019, and terms for next season will earn both at least $10 million.
Next year in the final year of Kepler's contract with the Twins, who have another team option for Polanco for 2025.
The move was not unexpected, especially toward the end of the 2023 season when both were playing their best baseball of the year.
It didn't start out that way.
Kepler had just two hits in his first six games, and had a batting average as low as .189 in late June.
But he caught fire after that, leading the Twins with 24 home runs.
Knee and hamstring njuries limited Polanco to only 80 games in 2023, but he was healthy enough to play a key role in the final two months of the season when the Twins surged to the AL Central championship.
The next major move for the Twins comes on Monday when they are expected to make a qualifying offer to pitcher Sonny Gray, who many believe will reject the deal and test free agency.