The offseason is getting slower and slower every year. With teams, players and agents able to remain in constant communication with one another, the Winter Meetings have lost their utility as a central meeting place in the offseason. This early December get together used to be the hub of the hot stove, and a lot of the big deals were done during the week of the Winter Meetings.
Of course, COVID meant that the Winter Meetings were remote anyways, this year, further precluding an onslaught of announced moves during that week.
The, there is the way that free agency is approached. An emphasis on analytics both in player evaluation and budget management has steered front offices away from spending large amounts on free agents, unless they are historic talents. The combination of these factors has turned free agency into a staring contest, waiting for players to drop their prices instead of GMs getting into bidding wars. All this while trades are more difficult given the added value given to low cost, internal talent and prospects.
When you finally take into account that the Twins are not a team with a lot of gaping holes, there really is no urgency to patch them. Moves aren’t being made by many teams, but some of the most high profile maneuvering happens to have come from their own division, and failing that, surrounding the position the Twins are seemingly in the most dire need of: starting pitching.
The Twins have added one player that will be on the active roster next year, in Hansel Robles, and have cleared the path for their bounty of outfield prospects, but haven’t made any of the big moves everyone loves this offseason. That’s not indicative of anything, though. It doesn’t mean the White Sox outgamed the Twins, it doesn’t mean they are cheap. Heck, it doesn’t even mean they are practicing some sort of tactical patience. It’s just the way the off-season goes these days.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
