Early-career extensions have long been a key plank of Cleveland’s team-building strategy, dating back to John Hart’s tenure as general manager in the 1990’s.  On the current team, Jose Ramirez, Emmanuel Clase, and Trevor Stephan are all playing on multi-year extensions, and there are plenty of interesting talents the Guardians might look to lock up for the future.  Steven Kwan is in his first of three years of arbitration eligibility, and Tanner Bibee stands out as the top extension candidate among the Guards’ long list of pre-arb players.  It takes two to tango, of course, so there would have to be an equal desire on the part of any interested players in working out an extension that is acceptable to both sides.

More from the AL Central…

• Michael A. Taylor will undergo scans on his right elbow, White Sox manager Will Venable told reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) today.  Taylor was scratched from the lineup due to what the Sox initially described just as elbow inflammation, but the issue is serious enough to merit more testing.  An injury would be a rough start to Taylor’s stint with the White Sox, as it was less than three weeks ago that the veteran outfielder and former Gold Glover signed his one-year, $1.95MM deal.
• Walker Jenkins suffered a left ankle sprain last Sunday, and Twins GM Jeremy Zoll told The Athletic’s Dan Hayes and other reporters that Jenkins will be set back around one or two weeks.  This might mean Jenkins misses the very start of the minor league season, but the injury is minor enough that the top prospect shouldn’t be sidelined for too long.  The fifth overall pick of the 2023 draft, the 20-year-old Jenkins is considered one of baseball’s elite prospects, and he made it up the ladder for six games in Double-A last season.  Jenkins’ big league debut is probably likelier to happen in 2026 than in 2025, yet a cup of coffee in the Show could be possible this year if Jenkins keeps performing well against minor league pitching.

Feigl, who turned 34 in December, has pitched professionally for over a decade. He spent time in the Atlanta and Texas farm systems without getting to the majors. Feigl logged a couple years in independent ball and pitched well enough to secure a minor league deal with the Pirates last winter. The 6’4″ southpaw was rewarded for his perseverance with an MLB call last August. He made his debut and pitched in mop-up work against the Cubs, surrendering six runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Pittsburgh designated Feigl for assignment after that lone appearance. They ran him through outright waivers and kept him in Triple-A until he elected minor league free agency at season’s end. While his debut didn’t go as hoped, he had a nice year in the upper minors. Feigl pitched 60 innings of 4.05 ERA ball with a 27.5% strikeout rate. He has a 3.27 ERA across 124 Triple-A frames over parts of four seasons.

This includes the possibility that the Pohlad family could pull the team off the market entirely, if no bidder is willing to meet the Pohlads’ asking price.  Hayes wrote in January that there was plenty of interest in the Twins, to the point that the Pohlads felt a sale could be arranged by Opening Day.  That optimistic viewpoint could have been inspired by the Ishbias’ interest, of course, and their departure from the pursuit naturally changes the equation.  In his latest piece, Hayes writes that the Twins expect to “have more clarity on the sale process within the next 30 to 60 days.”

The Ishbias were the only known bidder for the Twins, fueling to the perception that they were also the leading contenders to succeed the Pohlads as franchise owners.  Justin Ishbia was the driving force behind the bid, with the plan being for Justin to become the Twins’ control person while Mat remained the governor of the brothers’ other major sports interests — the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.  Both the Twins and Major League Baseball itself had vetted Ishbia, a process likely streamlined by the fact that the Ishbias (due to their involvement in the White Sox ownership group) were already a known quantity within the league.

As Hayes’ first source described things, there was some feeling among other Twins bidders that the Ishbias were “preordained” within the process, so their departure might now open things up for other candidates to step forward.  The number of other bidders isn’t known, though the source said there were an “adequate” number of suitors beyond just the Ishbias.  While much about the situation remains up in the air, the presence of other bidders indicates there is still momentum towards a sale, even if the process will take significantly longer than anticipated.

In the short term, the biggest significance is that it’s a major setback in the Twins sale process. The Pohlad family announced in October that they were looking to sell the Minnesota franchise, which they’ve owned for four decades. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reported in early January that the Pohlads had received robust interest and were hoping to have the sale finalized by Opening Day. There were reportedly multiple interested parties, but the Ishbias seemed the early frontrunners.

Mat and Justin Ishbia co-own the Phoenix franchises in the NBA and WNBA. While Mat Ishbia is the majority owner of the basketball teams, Justin Ishbia would have been the control person had they purchased the Twins. It’s unclear how far down the road the Pohlads got in negotiations, but they’ll now need to turn their attention elsewhere.

Over the longer haul, this is also a potentially seismic development for the White Sox. Greenberg writes that some people familiar with the situation believe this will be a stepping stone to Justin Ishbia eventually assuming majority control of the franchise from Jerry Reinsdorf. White Sox VP of communications Scott Reifert pushed back against that notion. “White Sox limited partners have received an offer from a third party to purchase their shares in the team, providing liquidity for the limited partners on their long-term investment in the club,” he told Greenberg. “This offer to limited partners has no impact on the leadership or operations of the Chicago White Sox and does not provide a path to control.”

Reinsdorf, who turns 89 next week, has owned the White Sox since 1981. He has owned the NBA’s Bulls since the mid-80s. For more than a decade, Reinsdorf has maintained that his family should sell the White Sox after his passing. He reportedly had conversations with a Dave Stewart-led group about a sale last October. It’s not clear whether those talks made progress, though Stewart joined the A’s in a special assistant role last month.

That process also involved some speculation about relocation. The Sox’s lease at Rate Field runs through 2029. Reinsdorf lobbied for a reported $1 billion in public funding for a new stadium in Chicago’s South Loop last year. As of last October, the White Sox were continuing to pursue the South Loop project.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

• The Red Sox signing Alex Bregman (1:15)
• The Tigers just missing on Bregman (9:35)
• The Cardinals seemingly holding onto Nolan Arenado (12:15)
• The Padres signing Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart (17:40)
• The Blue Jays not getting an extension done with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (20:50)
• The Diamondbacks extending Geraldo Perdomo (31:30)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

• The Twins had a quiet offseason but projection systems have them winning the division. Are they the best team in the AL Central? (38:25)
• Why did the Giants have a quiet offseason apart from Willy Adames and Justin Verlander? Was it ownership reluctance or Buster Posey’s conservative stance? (42:25)

Check out our past episodes!

• Pete Alonso’s Deal, And Potential Landing Spots For Bregman and Arenado – listen here
• Jack Flaherty Back To Detroit, Max Scherzer, And What’s Next For The Padres – listen here
• Ryan Pressly To The Cubs, Bregman’s Future, And Jurickson Profar – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

“Almost” is the key word in that sentence. Of those four active outfielders with more DRS than Bader over the last eight years, one is Byron Buxton. Buxton also ranks second to Bader in OAA, and on a per-game basis, Buxton far outpaces Bader in both metrics. On top of that, Buxton is the superior hitter, with an .844 OPS and 129 wRC+ over the past six seasons. And, of course, Buxton just so happens to be the starting center fielder (and the longest-tenured player) on the Twins – the same team with whom Bader signed a one-year, $6.25MM contract earlier this month.

When the Twins signed Bader, one might have thought his primary role would be as a backup for the oft-injured Buxton. Bader is rather injury-prone himself, and both players might benefit from splitting time at the demanding defensive position. Yet, it seems as if that won’t be Bader’s only job. On Monday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that the righty-batting Bader is expected to take over for either Trevor Larnach or Matt Wallner in a corner spot when the Twins are facing a southpaw starter. To that point, manager Rocco Baldelli told Helfand that Bader was more likely to play left field than right, given the outfield dimensions at Target Field.

Earlier today, Dan Hayes of The Athletic provided further details about Bader’s role in Minnesota. Hayes writes that the Twins will have the 30-year-old play left field “regularly,” and he will see “a significant amount of playing time” at the position.

Perhaps the Twins are hoping that Bader’s bat will play up if he has the platoon advantage more often. After all, his career 109 wRC+ against left-handed pitching would look perfectly acceptable in a corner spot. Then again, his offense has dropped off in recent years; his 95 wRC+ against lefties from 2022-24 might be more representative of the kind of hitter the Twins will get in 2025. Thus, the best way for Bader to contribute as a left fielder is to do what he does best: provide top-tier defense. Considering his strong track record in center field, one would think Bader could thrive at an easier defensive position. Indeed, it might take him a bit of time to adjust to the new role (he’s only played 13 MLB games in left) but his elite range and strong arm should play anywhere in the outfield. What’s more, his declining sprint speed – it has dropped in each of the past three years, going from the 97th percentile to the 74th – should be less of a concern in left. All told, left field still isn’t the best place for a player of Bader’s skill set, but if the Twins are concerned about starting Larnach (career 60 wRC+ in 187 PA vs LHP) and Wallner (career 44 wRC+ in 108 PA vs LHP) against lefties, it’s not the worst idea to prioritize defense in left field instead.

With all that said, Bader could still end up playing most of his games in center field. After all, Buxton has not started more than 87 games in center in a single season since 2017. So, there is little doubt the Twins signed Bader to be an insurance policy for Buxton. Yet, it seems as if that wasn’t the only reason, and Bader is going to be more than just a well-compensated backup in Minnesota. When Buxton needs a day off, the Twins will hardly lose a step (defensively) in center. Meanwhile, on days when Buxton and Bader are both patrolling the grass, this team will have one of the best defensive outfields in baseball, regardless of who’s standing in right.

“He’s going to play a lot,” Baldelli said, as relayed by Nightengale. “That’s really the best way of saying it. The kind of hitter that he is, this isn’t a platoon situation. I think he’s going to play.”

The Twins spent the majority of the offseason hoping to find a steady presence at first base after Carlos Santana departed for the division-rival Guardians in free agency, and now it appears they’ll turn to France to be just that. Even as France is coming off a down season in 2024, it’s not hard to understand why they decided to make that bet. After a lackluster rookie season with the Padres back in 2019, France broke out in 2020 and was traded to the Mariners midseason. He went on to have a strong three-year run in Seattle where he slashed .285/.355/.443 (129 wRC+). He made occasional cameos at both second and third base but mostly settled in as the club’s regular first baseman, even earning an All-Star nod at the position in 2022.

Unfortunately, France began to struggle after that. Though he played in 158 games for the Mariners in 2023, his production was only pedestrian as he hit just .250/.337/.366 with a 105 wRC+. Five percent better than league average isn’t bad, but also falls below expectations for an everyday player at a bat-first position for a contending club. It seemed as though France’s disappointing 2023 may just have been a flash in the pan early last year, as he entered 2024 hitting a robust .251/.329/.403 (117 wRC+) in his first 61 games of the season. Unfortunately, France suffered a fractured heel in mid-June of last year that sidelined him for two weeks, and he looked like a different player upon his return as he hit just .225/.285/.336 (73 wRC+) the rest of the way last season.

It would hardly be a surprise to hear that France, who entered the season with a career .309 BABIP but managed just a .255 BABIP following his injury, was hampered by the lingering effects of that injury throughout the latter part of the season. France himself acknowledged the role his injured heel may have played in his struggles last year, but didn’t want to entirely blame his injury.

“When you don’t have a foot, it’s hard to do things,” France said, as relayed by Nightengale. “I don’t want to put all the blame on that. There was a lot that went into it. I tried a different style of training that offseason trying to revamp my swing. It didn’t work out the way I thought it would. This offseason, I spent a lot of time just getting back to the basics of things. When I simplify hitting and just get back to being myself, I’m a pretty good hitter.”

With France seemingly being given a shot to prove himself healthy and effective out the gate in 2025, that leaves the Twins’ plans for Edouard Julien and Jose Miranda in question. The pair are headed into their age-26 and -27 seasons, respectively, and each has had significant success in the majors in the past as well as notable struggles. The duo seemed likely to handle first base for the Twins in 2025 without an external addition, but now that France is in the fold as the nominal starter at the spot in the lineup it’s unclear if either Miranda or Julien will have a path to consistent playing time. Both have experience elsewhere on the infield (Miranda primarily at third base, Julien at second) but are questionable defenders at those spots and may be better suited for a first base/DH role.

Of course, even without a clear path to playing time on Opening Day it’s easy to imagine either or both players getting significant reps this year. Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, and Royce Lewis have all struggled to stay healthy during their time with the Twins and trips to the injured list for either Correa or Buxton could open up playing time on the infield for Miranda or Julien to take advantage of. A trade of an established hitter like Willi Castro could change the playing time picture in Minnesota, as could under-performance by either France himself or someone like top prospect Brooks Lee.

FEBRUARY 11: The Twins are in agreement with infielder Ty France on a one-year contract, pending a physical. It’s a non-guaranteed major league deal that places the Equity Baseball client on the 40-man roster and reportedly pays him at a $1MM rate if he breaks camp with the team. France will fill the roster spot that was recently vacated when Minnesota placed lefty Brent Headrick on waivers and lost him to the Yankees.

France, 30, was an All-Star with the Mariners in 2022 but has seen his production dip over the past two seasons. From 2020-22, the former Padres farmhand mashed at a .285/.355/.443 clip despite playing his home games in perhaps the most pitcher-friendly setting in MLB: Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. Weighting for that disadvantage, wRC+ pegged him at 29% better than average with the bat.

The 2023 season brought about a downturn, but France was still slightly better than average in the box, batting .250/.337/.366. He declined further in 2024, however, hitting just .234/.305/.365. That came despite a midsummer DFA from the Mariners and subsequent landing with the Reds, who play in one of MLB’s top hitters’ parks. It was only 195 plate appearances, but the change in venue didn’t bring about a return to form for France, who’ll now look to bounce back with the Twins.

At his best, France has shown 20-homer pop with plenty of doubles and good bat-to-ball skills. Last year’s decline was in part due to a 21.6% strikeout rate, but from 2021-23, France kept that number down to 16.4%. He doesn’t walk much (career 6.5%), but his contact skills and line-drive approach have typically propped up his batting average and led to solid on-base marks.

Defensively, France has experience at first base, second base and third base, though he’s not a strong option at any of the three spots. From 2021-22, he looked to be improving considerably at first base, drawing positive marks from Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average alike. Those grades slipped in 2023, and defensive metrics panned him as one of the worst defenders in the sport this past season.

Notably, France did miss time with a fractured heel; it stands to reason that could’ve hobbled him at the time of the injury in June and lingered throughout the season. At the time of the injury, France was hitting .251/.329/.403 (117 wRC+). His strikeout rate was up, but the results were still strong overall. Upon reinstatement from the IL just 11 days later, France fell into a deep swoon and batted .220/.285/.336 in a sample of 298 plate appearances.

Adding some right-handed depth to the lineup has been a priority for the Twins this winter. They recently brought in Harrison Bader to both back up Byron Buxton in center field and to serve as a platoon option with lefty-swinging corner outfielders Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner. France adds a second right-handed bat, one who’ll either supplant Jose Miranda as the favorite for reps at first base or perhaps just slot into a multi-player rotation between the infield corners and designated hitter.

Carlos Correa will be the Twins’ primary shortstop, but the rest of the infield is fluid. Royce Lewis is in line for regular time at third base, but the Twins have at least worked him out at second base as well. That’s in part because top prospect Brooks Lee — a natural shortstop — is seen as a better defender than Lewis at the hot corner. The presence of Lewis and Lee has pushed Miranda from third base to first base. The Twins also have second baseman/first baseman Edouard Julien in the mix, though the former top-100 prospect is looking to rebound from a down year at the plate in 2024. Utilityman Willi Castro can play virtually any spot on the diamond. The additions of France and Bader will likely push former top prospect Austin Martin from a bench role to a regular job in Triple-A.

Adding France into the mix only gives the Twins more options and safeguards against potential injury. Speculatively, that depth could also come into play in preparation for a late-offseason trade, though president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said recently that after focusing heavily on the trade market throughout the winter, the Twins saw more paths to upgrade in free agency. That didn’t appear to be in the cards for much of the winter, as the Twins have been up against a serious payroll crunch with the team up for sale, but it seems ownership recently gave the green light to upping the 2025 budget on a series of short-term deals. The Twins have added France, Bader ($6.25MM) and Danny Coulombe ($3MM) in the past week alone.

Phil Miller of the Star Tribune was first on the signing.

Ramirez has played for six different teams at the MLB level over his 12 seasons in the Show, with two different stints with the Rays accounting for 377 1/3 of his 849 career innings.  The second of those stints ended when Ramirez elected free agency last October, following a season that saw him post a 4.35 ERA over 20 2/3 innings.  Tampa Bay twice designated Ramirez for assignment and outrighted him off its 40-man roster over the course of the 2024 campaign, with Ramirez both times choosing to remain in the organization rather than testing free agency.

A starter and a swingman earlier in his career, the 34-year-old Ramirez has now settled into a role as a multi-inning reliever, though with plenty of ups and downs in his performance.  He seemingly got his career back on track with a 2.92 ERA in 86 1/3 innings with the Nationals in 2022, only to follow that year up with an ugly 6.41 ERA in 60 1/3 frames with Washington and Tampa in 2023.  His 2024 numbers represent something of a middle ground between those previous two seasons, but Ramirez benefited from a tiny .136 BABIP, and he allowed five homers in that small sample size of 20 2/3 innings.

Ramirez brings plenty of experience and innings-eating capability to the table, so he could be a useful pitcher for the Twins to keep around as a Triple-A depth option.  The Twins have a fair number of in-house bullpen options ahead of him on the depth chart, however, and Ramirez could possibly exercise his contract’s opt-out clause before Opening Day if he doesn’t feel he’ll get a clear opportunity for playing time in Minnesota.

Henriquez, 25 in June, came up through the minors as a starter but has been kept mostly in a relief role for the past two seasons. To this point in his career, he has thrown 31 innings in the big leagues over 19 appearances, including one start. He has allowed just 2.90 earned runs per nine in that small sample. His 18.2% strikeout rate is subpar but his 6.1% walk rate and 53.1% ground ball rate are both strong numbers.

He made 34 Triple-A appearances last year, just three of those being starts, logging 55 innings overall. In that time, he had a 3.44 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 53.8% ground ball rate.

That was a pretty decent season on the farm but he exhausted his final option year, meaning he’s now out of options going into 2025. That got him squeezed off the Minnesota roster when the Twins needed to make space for their signings of Danny Coulombe and Harrison Bader.

For the Marlins, they are clearly not targeting a competitive year in 2025. Their offseason has mostly focused on subtractions, as they have traded controllable players like Jesús Luzardo to the Phillies and Jake Burger to the Rangers.

Their bullpen is fairly wide open. They traded Tanner Scott, A.J. Puk, Bryan Hoeing, Huascar Brazobán and JT Chargois at last year’s deadline. Now Anthony Bender is the only reliever on the club with more than three years of service time and Andrew Nardi is the only other guy over the two-year line. In short, Henriquez has much better odds of sticking on the roster in Miami than he did with a competitive club like the Twins.

If he manages to hold onto a spot, he’ll be affordable and controllable for quite a while. He has less than a year of service time, meaning he’s still at least two years away from arbitration and six years from free agency. Though of course, that all depends on him performing well enough to avoid another DFA from his new club.

Curry, 26, was claimed off waivers from the Guardians in August. He has 147 innings of big league experience with a 4.35 ERA, 15.7% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. He tossed 60 2/3 minor league innings last year with a 6.97 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate.

The Marlins will now have a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Curry, whether that’s a trade or some fate on waivers. He was once a notable prospect in the Cleveland system, which could intrigue some clubs. Over 2021 and 2022, he tossed 219 2/3 innings in the minors with a 3.28 ERA, 28.7% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. He was then kept in the big league bullpen in 2023 before struggling last year.

Curry still has an option remaining, so he could be kept as minor league depth if any club is willing to give him a 40-man spot. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he would provide the Marlins with some non-roster depth. He has less than three years of service time and doesn’t have a previous career outright, meaning he won’t have the right to reject an outright assignment.

It’s possible that the Twins made this move on account of the calendar. Teams around the league can start using the 60-day injured list to open roster spots once pitchers and catchers report to camp. That means it will be harder to pass a player through waivers unclaimed in the coming days, as all clubs open their respective camps. The Twins seemingly tried to open a roster spot just ahead of that unofficial deadline but didn’t succeed.

Headrick, 27, will now join a new club for the first time in his career. He was selected by the Twins in the ninth round of the 2019 draft and worked his way up to the majors. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2022 to keep him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft.

His 2024 was largely wiped out by injury. After just two Triple-A appearances, he landed on the minor league injured list with a forearm strain. He didn’t start a rehab assignment until late August. He finished the year with 19 1/3 innings tossed on the farm and another three in the majors. Prior to that, he seemed like a viable rotation depth option. Over 2022 and 2023, he logged 183 1/3 innings in the minors, mostly as a starter. In that time, he had a 3.88 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate.

After his mostly lost season, the Twins tried to pass him though waivers but the Yankees are intrigued enough that they have grabbed him. It’s possible that they will want Headrick to focus more on relief work. That would be a reflection of his injury-marred 2024 but also the situation in the Bronx. The Yankees have a crowded rotation and are reportedly trying to trade Marcus Stroman. But their bullpen has just one lefty in it right now: 35-year-old groundballer Tim Hill.

Headrick does still have one option remaining, so the Yanks don’t need to guarantee him an active roster spot. But if he’s healthy and pitches well, he could come up and fill a clear need in the bullpen.

White, 25, was just claimed off waivers last week. Once a notable prospect in the Rangers’ system, he was designated for assignment by that club in December. He went to the Reds in a cash deal before then going to the Yankees via waivers.

The past two years have been rough for him. He has a 16.71 ERA in his tiny sample of seven big league innings. His 4.90 ERA in the minors over 2023 and 2024 was better but not great. That was in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but his 18.3% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate in that time weren’t great numbers.

Prior to that, White had been one of the top pitching prospects in the league. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he tossed 115 2/3 innings in the minors with a 3.42 ERA, 34.1% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate.

The Yankees will have to trade him or put him on waivers in the coming days. White still has an option year remaining and less than a year of service time. Given his past prospect pedigree and the aforementioned opening of the 60-day IL, some club will likely find a spot for him. DFA limbo can last a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would need to come together in the next five days.

For now, it adds up as a $9.25MM boost to the Twins’ payroll.  President of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that the spending space came about after Twins chairman Joe Pohlad “greenlighted….the ability to add a little bit here to this team.  I think that’s a credit to them and certainly a tick up for us that allows us to add a little bit more to this roster that we feel already had a good base, but now we’ve clicked off some of those needs.”

While $9.25MM is a fairly modest sum by modern baseball standards, it underlines the narrow budget that Falvey and GM Jeremy Zoll are believed to have been working under for much of the winter.  Past reports indicated that the Twins’ 2025 payroll was going to roughly match their approximate $129.6MM payroll (hat tip to RosterResource) from last season, and the club’s lack of activity for much of the offseason was due to the difficulty in trying to both add to the roster while also shedding some unwanted contracts.  Christian Vazquez ($10MM in 2025) and Chris Paddack ($7.5MM) were two of the impending free agents widely viewed as trade candidates as Minnesota tried to balance the books.

It’s safe to assume the front office is still open to offers for either Vazquez or Paddack, though the Twins’ need to deal at least one of the two players doesn’t quite seem as glaring as it did even a few weeks ago.  The trade market in general, Falvey said, has somewhat cooled, which is perhaps why Minnesota turned its attention to free agents like Bader and Couloumbe to address needs.

“I think teams are a little more focused internally now as they’re ready to ship off to Arizona and Florida and try to get things squared away [for Spring Training].  Some of those last remaining free agents, I think that’s been the vast majority of the noise,” Falvey said.

The Twins’ outfield needs could explain why they stretched the budget to bring in Bader, who now fills a key role as the fourth outfielder.  The right-handed hitting Bader can both back up Byron Buxton in center field if Buxton again runs into injury problems, plus Bader can spell the left-handed hitting Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach (Minnesota’s other projected regular outfielders) when a southpaw is on the mound.  Falvey revealed that the Twins had been targeting Bader for several seasons before finally landing the former Gold Glover this winter.

RosterResource currently projects Minnesota’s 2025 payroll at around $146.4MM.  It seems possible the number could still increase a little further, as Falvey said the team is considering other upgrades, even if minor league deals could end up being the preferred course of action to bring in roster depth.  A veteran first baseman on a non-guaranteed deal is a potential target, as this hypothetical player would bring some experience to a first base mix that currently consists of Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien as the top options.

Coming off a season where they sent three teams to the ALDS and had a fourth club narrowly miss the postseason, the AL Central enters 2025 in its strongest position in years in spite of the White Sox breaking the single-season record for losses last year. That strength comes with heightened expectations, however, and clubs like the Tigers and Royals that have been mired in lengthy rebuilds in recent years are looked at as genuine contenders entering the season for the first time in a decade or more. Meanwhile, the Guardians and Twins hope to keep their perpetual playoff contention going and the White Sox will look to show signs of life despite being mired in what could be a lengthy rebuild of their own following their disastrous 2024 season.

Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Cleveland Guardians

It’s been a busy offseason in Cleveland with plenty of turnover on the roster. The club’s biggest free agent move was reuniting with longtime ace Shane Bieber on a two-year deal with an opt out after 2025, but they also reunited with longtime first baseman Carlos Santana for his third stint with the club and inked veteran reliever Paul Sewald to a one-year deal as well. Those three free agent moves have been supplemented by a number of notable trades. They shipped out the contracts of Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw to Toronto in separate deals and flipped first baseman Spencer Horwitz (acquired in the Gimenez deal) to the Pirates for Luis Ortiz to bolster the club’s rotation.

In addition to those roster upgrades, however, they’ve also made a handful of sell-side trades including a deal that sent first baseman Josh Naylor to the Diamondbacks. The club also parted ways with right-hander Nick Sandlin as part of the Gimenez trade and shipped righty Eli Morgan to the Cubs in a separate deal. Overall, the Guardians managed to substantially upgrade their rotation after the unit struggled with depth in 2024 and cleared plenty of salary off their long-term books, but did so at the expense of an offense that loses two everyday players in Gimenez and Naylor as well as some of the club’s bullpen depth in Sandlin and Morgan.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals have followed up their breakout 2024 season by continuing to spend in free agency, and kicked off the winter’s free agent market by agreeing to a new three-year deal with veteran right-hander Michael Wacha. Wacha’s return to the rotation gave the club the starting depth they needed to trade right-hander Brady Singer to the Reds in order to acquire infielder Jonathan India and provide Bobby Witt Jr. with additional protection in the lineup.

Those early offseason moves were the most significant of the winter for Kansas City, though they’ve stayed busy by adding closer Carlos Estevez to their bullpen on a two-year deal and re-upping with swingman Michael Lorenzen to provide competition for youngsters Alec Marsh and Kris Bubic at the back of the rotation. It’s a strong group of offseason moves on paper, though it’s somewhat troubling that the Royals haven’t properly addressed an outfield group that was bottom-three in baseball by wRC+ last year.

Detroit Tigers

For much of the offseason, it appeared that the Tigers were largely standing pat as the club entered the holiday season with veteran starter Alex Cobb’s one-year deal as their only notable addition. Since then, however, they’ve added two more notable free agents who didn’t see their markets develop as much as expected. They’ve bolstered the lineup with Gleyber Torres on a one-year deal that kicked Colt Keith over to first base and Spencer Torkelson into a bench role, but most notable of all is the club’s reunion with Jack Flaherty on a two-year deal that includes an opt out after 2025.

After shipping Flaherty to Los Angeles last summer before catching fire down the stretch, plenty of fans have wondered what the Tigers’ run through the postseason last year might have looked like with Flaherty alongside Tarik Skubal at the front of the rotation. That question could now be answered in 2025, and with no significant subtractions from the club’s roster this winter it’s difficult to argue the Tigers haven’t improved headed into the coming season.

Minnesota Twins

It’s been a very quiet offseason in Minnesota. From the outset of the offseason, there’s been reports of the Twins’ payroll being more or less maxed out and the club needing to move salary in order to make notable additions. Those trades haven’t materialized to this point, despite rumors swirling around top players like Pablo Lopez as well as more ancillary pieces like Christian Vazquez and Chris Paddack.

That hasn’t completely stopped the Twins from making moves, however. In the past week, they’ve signed Harrison Bader to back up oft-injured star Byron Buxton in center field while adding southpaw Danny Coulombe to the bullpen as a replacement for Caleb Thielbar. They also managed to swing a trade for former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya with the Dodgers when he was squeezed off of the 40-man in Los Angeles, though Cartaya has yet to so much as make his debut in the big leagues to this point. Whether they can add a bat to the lineup who can help replace the production of Max Kepler and Carlos Santana, however, figures to depend on the club’s success at swinging a sell-side trade to clear salary.

Chicago White Sox

As a firmly rebuilding club, the goals of the White Sox offseason look quite different to the other clubs in the AL Central. With that being said, however, they’ve generally done quite well in achieving those goals. Their most notable move, of course, was shipping southpaw Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox in a Winter Meetings blockbuster reminiscent of the Chris Sale trade following the 2016 season. In exchange for Crochet’s services, Chicago landed a pair of top-100 prospects in catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery as well as infielder Chase Meidroth and right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez.

That excellent return for two years of Crochet aside, the club’s offseason has mostly been defined by adding shorter-term ancillary pieces who could potentially be flipped at the trade deadline in July. Matt Thaiss, Cam Booser, Mike Tauchman, Austin Slater, Bryse Wilson, Josh Rojas, and Martin Perez all fit this category to one degree or another, with the latter five names all being signed to inexpensive one-year deals that should make them easily affordable for even budget-conscious contending clubs this summer should any of them play well enough to justify a trade.

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Despite having the lowest cumulative payroll of any division in the majors, the AL Central has had a fairly busy offseason with every team having made at least a couple of noteworthy additions. The Guardians have continued their eternal balancing act of the present and future by improving the roster’s biggest weakness in 2024 while shedding significant salary, while the Royals and Tigers both made notable (if somewhat modest) additions to the rosters that catapulted them to surprise contention last year. The Twins have made a handful of minor moves as they hope their deep roster can rebound from the steps backward some key players took in 2025, while the White Sox jump-started their rebuild with a major trade and added a number of low-cost veterans with an eye towards more trades this summer.

Of the five NL Central clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Bader, 31 in June, is a glove-first guy. From 2018 to 2024, he has been credited with 75 Outs Above Average, the top mark among all outfielders for that span. His tally of 48 Defensive Runs Saved in that stretch is only marginally less impressive, putting him sixth in the majors overall.

His offensive contributions have been less consistent, and more muted of late. From 2018 to 2021, he hit .244/.325/.420 for the Cardinals. That production translated to a 101 wRC+, meaning he was just 1% above average. Since he also stole 38 bases in that time and provided his aforementioned strong defense, he was a very valuable player in that stretch.

But in recent years, his batting has been a notch or two below that. Over the past three seasons, he has bounced from the Cardinals to the Yankees, Reds and Mets, hitting .239/.284/.360 for a wRC+ of 79. The glovework has still be strongly rated in that time and he swiped another 38 bags over those three years, but the diminished offense has naturally tamped his overall contributions.

On the whole, he has still been a useful player, even though the bat has been subpar. FanGraphs credited him with 3.7 wins above replacement over the past three campaigns, with at least 1.0 fWAR in each. Last year, he got into 143 games for the Mets. He hit 12 home runs and stole 17 bases. His batting line of .236/.284/.373 led to a wRC+ of just 85, but he was still worth 1.3 fWAR thanks to his speed and defense.

Bader seems likely to fill the role that Manuel Margot had in 2024. Margot appeared in 129 games for the Twins last year, though he was only in the starting lineup for 70. He spent a bit of time in all three outfield positions, doing some pinch hitting and pinch running. He stepped to the plate 343 times and hit .238/.289/.337 for a wRC+ of 79. He was once a strong glove-first outfielder like Bader, though the defensive metrics have soured on him over the past three years.

The Twins have a strong everyday center fielder in Byron Buxton, though he has struggled to stay on the field in his career. He has never played more than 140 games in a season and only once gone past 102. Last year, he got to that 102 number, which was just the second time in his career playing more than 92 games in a season.

As such, the Twins have seemingly made it a mission to have a strong center-field-capable fourth outfielder on the roster. They acquired Michael A. Taylor for the 2023 season, Margot last winter and are now going with Bader for 2025.

By having Bader on the roster, the club has some cover for if Buxton requires time on the injured list again. They also don’t have a surefire designated hitter, so it’s possible that Buxton serves as the DH with some regularity. Buxton is an excellent defensive center fielder himself, so that would rob him of some of his value, but having Bader take his spot in the field would at least mean there’s no downgrade out there. Going that route on occasion could perhaps allow Buxton stay a bit healthier than in some other years, thus staying with the club for a larger chunk of the season.

With Max Kepler hitting free agency, the Twins project to have Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach in the corners. Bader can spell those two on defense occasionally and also perhaps platoon with them, as he hits from the right side while Wallner and Larnach are lefties with notable career splits. Bader had reverse splits in 2024 but has hit .249/.314/.461 against lefties in his career for a 109 wRC+. That’s compared to a .239/.303/.367 line and 84 wRC+ against righties.

The Twins also have Willi Castro and Austin Martin as guys who could figure into the outfield mix, but they are also capable of playing the infield. Like with Buxton in the outfield, there are some health concerns on the dirt, as Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and José Miranda have had notable injury concerns over the years.

It’s been a pretty quiet offseason for the Twins overall, with the front office apparently working under some notable constraints. The 2024 payroll dropped by about $30MM compared to the previous year, which was apparently due to the ongoing uncertainty with their broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group. This year, the Twins are having MLB handle their broadcasts, which is likely to bring in less revenue than their previous arrangement. On top of that, the club is currently for sale. It’s possible that the current owners prefer to keep the long-term books fairly clean, leaving the future spending decisions to the new ownership group.

Going into this week, the Twins hadn’t made a significant trade nor agreed to sign a free agent to a major league deal. They have ramped up their activity, relatively speaking, by giving one-year deals to Coulombe and Bader this week. Bader’s deal does have a mutual option, but those are almost never picked up by both sides. They are essentially just an accounting measure to kick some of the spending to the end of the season.

For much of the offseason, it seemed as though the club might have to clear some payroll to make moves, perhaps by trading someone like Christian Vázquez or Chris Paddack. It remains to be seen whether that is still the case or if they found enough coins in the couch cushions to simply make these additions without subtractions.

There are still some viable infielders and starting pitchers in free agency, but the outfield market has been more picked over. As of a couple of weeks ago, Jurickson Profar was last outfielder still unsigned who profiled as a clear everyday player. He signed a three-year pact with Atlanta, leaving mostly part-time, role-playing types on the market.

Since then, a number of those players have signed fairly similar one-year deals. Austin Hays got $5MM from the Reds, Ramón Laureano got $4MM from the Orioles and Randal Grichuk got $5MM from the Diamondbacks. Those guys can all play center in a pinch but Bader is clearly above them defensively, which has perhaps allowed him to come out ahead. For clubs still looking for outfield help, Mark Canha, Alex Verdugo, Jason Heyward and David Peralta are some of the guys still out there.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Twins were signing Bader to a one-year deal with a mutual option. Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported the $6.25MM guarantee. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune had the specific salary breakdown. Heyman had the specifics on the buyout escalators and the assignment bonus.

Henriquez, 25 in June, has spent most of the past three years on the club’s roster. He came up as a Rangers prospect, getting added to that club’s 40-man roster in November of 2021, keeping him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft. Texas traded him to the Twins a few months later alongside infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the March 2022 deal to acquire catcher Mitch Garver. Henriquez spent 2022 and 2023 as a depth arm but was non-tendered after the latter of those two seasons. He re-signed on a minor league deal going into 2024 and was back on the 40-man in late April.

Over those three years, he didn’t get much major league action. He has 31 innings pitched at this point with a 2.90 earned run average in that small sample. His 18.2% strikeout rate is subpar but his 6.1% walk rate and 53.1% ground ball rate are both strong.

His numbers in the minors have been somewhat similar. A starter earlier in his career, the Twins have mostly kept him in a multi-inning relief role for the past two seasons. In 2024, he logged 55 innings over 34 Triple-A appearances with a 3.44 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 53.8% ground ball rate.

Despite the decent results, Henriquez was likely running out of time on the roster. He exhausted his final option year in 2024, meaning the Twins would no longer be able to move him to Triple-A and back with such fluidity. As such, he got bumped off the roster today. Minnesota will now have a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next, whether that’s a trade or some fate on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would have to take place in the next five days.

Though the Twins couldn’t find room for him, it’s possible another club is willing to grab him. As recently as June, Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs ranked Henriquez as the #27 prospect in the Twins’ system, suggesting he had a future as a decent middle reliever. If some club is willing to give him a roster spot now, he has less than a year of service time, meaning he comes with a possible six seasons of club control.