Winter meetings in Nashville have begun and it is traditionally a time when Major League Baseball executives put plans in place for free agents, trades and building out their rosters for the following season.
Speaking to Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News Wednesday, Minnesota Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey talked about how the team is coming together during an offseason where they hope to build on the success of (finally!) winning a playoff series, those high expectations, and the potential trade talks he's having with other teams.
"It's a fun time right now, coming off of last year obviously when you talk about the group that's already returning," said Falvey. "When you think about Royce (Lewis), guys like Eddie Julien who emerged at the end of the year and they join some established guys already on the team. So it's exciting to think about how we can round that out through the course of the winter."
Falvey said so far, the Winter Meetings have not had much movement, something he blames on slowness with signing some of the top free agents on the market such as Shohei Ohtani who is expected to command one of the largest, if not the largest, free agent deals in MLB history. But even with his high demand, the progress has been slow and that's slowing everything else down.
Falvey says most trade talks won't start until that market gets established, but says the Twins are ready once that happens.
"We've set up really good conversations with a number of clubs on if something were to break, if something moves in the right direction, we're set up and prepared for the right conversation to help the Twins," Falvey said.
Buxton Back In Center
Byron Buxton appears to be fully healthy and ready to take on centerfield in 2024 according to reports from the Twins.
"That's great news for us," Falvey said. "He came in last week, he was in Minnesota at Target Field and did a workout for us. Got cleared completely by our doctors who said he's fully recovered from the surgery he had at the end of the season. He's progressing to baseball activities here soon over the later portion of this week and into next week."
Buxton, when he did play this past year and even in 2022, mostly was a designated hitter and didn't play at all in the field. When healthy, Buxton is a Gold Glove caliber centerfielder and it left a huge asset of his game on the bench. Falvey says they have every intention of putting him back in centerfield for 2024.
"He's preparing to play centerfield. That's his focus, that's our focus," Falvey explained. "Hopefully we can get him back to where he needs to be but the smile on his face and the way the doctors talk about how he's felt I think is a really positive sign for us."
Payroll Lowered For 2024
The Twins have already lost three pitchers to free agency including Cy Young finalist Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Emilio Pagan. Falvey has said this offseason that the team will reduce payroll from where they were in 2023 and that means some players won't be back.
Is that a reason for fans to be concerned? Falvey doesn't think so and says the organization has built depth.
"When we look at our team, some of this is natural ebb and flow of a roster," says Falvey. "When you have Royce Lewis and Eddie Julien and Matt Wallner, sometimes those guys are taking at-bats from maybe a free agent that did come off the team. Ultimately, that wasn't the case in previous years. That's a good sign. That's the health of your roster."
Falvey did mention the TV issues facing the team. With no contract with Bally Sports who reportedly paid the team $54.8 million in the last year of that deal, Falvey says there's no choice but to look at the budget.
"Obviously some uncertainty around the TV situation as it's been discussed and the revenue situation around that," Falvey says. "Ultimately, we look at this team and think the core of it as-is as we look at it on the field is really good. We did lose some of those pitchers, they were tremendous for us last year. But seeing Chris Paddack in the playoffs and what he did for us, and the upside that he brings to our rotation. To join the likes of López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Louie Varland. You know, this is a group where we're entering the offseason with a healthier, overall roster then we have at different times in my past."
Speaking of Varland, will he be a starter in 2024 or continue to work out of the bullpen?
"I hesitate to put any ceiling or limitations on him because every year he's gotten better," said Falvey. "Our view of this is we're going to continue to prep him as a starter. He pitched nicely out of the bullpen late in the season. That's often true when you get young guys who were starting for the year and you get into the playoffs. And you might not fit perfectly into the rotation. But I think he can continue to develop as a starter. That's his focus, that's our focus now."
Twinsfest, Tickets and License Plates!
It's a big day for Twins Territory. Tickets for Twinsfest, spring training and regular season games are now on sale.
More than 40 current and former Twins players and coaches, including Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Pablo López and many others, will be on hand for the two-day offseason extravaganza on January 26-27, 2024.
"So many of our players love to come back. It gives them that juice going into spring training to remember and see all the fans back here around Target Field," Falvey said.
Get ticket information for Twinsfest here, along with spring training and all 81 regular season games here. It is the first time the Twins have made all three available at the same time.
There is also a new Twins license plate that is available in Minnesota. That was just announced by the team this week. The plates will be available for purchase online at drive.mn.gov or in person at Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services locations throughout the state.
The Minnesota Twins Community Fund special license plate features the club’s iconic, interlocking “TC” logo and the bold new “M and North Star” mark, along with a proud declaration that “This is Twins Territory” – all in a crisp design accentuating the Twins’ legacy red, white and navy color palette.
In addition to typical vehicle plate fees, the Twins’ special plates require an annual $30 contribution to the 501c3 nonprofit Minnesota Twins Community Fund; all proceeds will support the fund’s mission to enrich communities by supporting the healthy development of children and families.
“We are excited to give Twins fans a fun new way to express their love of our team, while also empowering Minnesotans to create a brighter future for our youth,” said Kristin Rortvedt, the executive director of the Twins Community Fund and the Twins’ senior director of community engagement. “The important dollars raised through these plates are a direct investment in our next generation, enabling the Twins Community Fund to use the games of baseball and softball to inspire not just great athletes, but great humans.”