Earlier this offseason, the Minnesota Twins came out and publicly admitted a couple of interesting plans. The type of behind-the-curtain information that we aren’t normally privy to.
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It started when president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told media members on the record back in November, that the Twins were planning to cut about $25-$30 million in player payroll this offseason, citing ongoing questions surrounding how much revenue they will receive from TV and streaming broadcasts in 2024.
Minnesota Twins still plan on trading veterans for right price
Next, the Twins revealed plans to trade aging (but still talented and coveted) veterans, from positions of organizational strengths, in order to keep salaries down but still improve in areas of need, like SP and CF. Specifically, they named Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco, among others, as the most likely to go.
One thing the Twins won’t do, though, is trade them for prospects. Falvey has made it clear to teams and media that they want to deal MLB help for MLB help.
Multiple team sources said the Twins won’t simply dump the salaries of [Polanco, Kepler and Kyle Farmer].The Twins instead are looking to swap need for need, which means the club could head to spring training or even into the season with one too many infielders.
Dan Hayes – That Athletic
Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco both participating in Twinsfest
Yet, here we are a couple of months later, with Spring Training now looming, and both Kepler and Polanco remain Minnesota Twins. Not only that, but both guys are currently listed on the team’s roster of players who will be participating and signing autographs at this weekend’s annual “Twins Fest” gathering at Target Field.
Yes, there are are a lot of Twins players who will be there, including most of their best big league pitchers and position players. But it’s also important to not that the team’s president of baseball operations didn’t publicly announce most of the other names as guys he is actively trying to trade away, either.
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There are four players that the Twins have up for grabs, publicly. Kepler, Polanco and backup catcher Christian Vazquez will all be present at Target field on Friday and/or Saturday. Kyle Farmer is the only of the four announced trade assets that will not be a Twins Fest participant.
If you want Kepler’s autograph, right before he is traded (apparently), be at the first base lounge with $30 from 10:45 to 11:45 on Saturday. For Polanco and Vazquez, bring $20 to the Skyline Suites from 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM the same day.