6 Predictions for Minnesota Twins' Wheelings and Dealings This Offseason

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If you’re reading this article, then you know what the Twins are facing. I won’t bore you with the details of how horrid the team has been the past two years and how the only thing to look forward to is the future. I know that. You know that. And the highlight packages on ESPN show that.

This team is not your slightly older brother’s Twins team. Nope, this is the Twins team that is going to do some things...in the offseason.

Denard Span Will Depart

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Go forth and make highlight plays and be a leadoff man in greener pastures, Denard Span.

As I’m sure many people would say, I believe Span is a good player. He’s by no means great, but he’d crack a lot of major league lineups. The problem is that the Twins have two of the same: Span and Ben Revere.

The question then becomes, who are you taking? Most everyone is going to take Revere. He’s faster, he covers more ground, and he can hit leadoff. He can do all the same things, plus he’s a couple years younger. It may be like trading in your 2010 for a 2013 car, but you’d make that trade every time for the right price.

Matt Capps Will Be Let Go

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I may be biased, but I do like to be right. When the Twins resigned Matt Capps, I didn’t like the move. I had gotten accustomed to Joe Nathan and I sometimes get stuck in my ways, but I kept my mind as open as I could for Matt Capps and he proved me so right.

With the exception of two appearances in the middle, Capps has been on the DL since June 25 with a shoulder injury. He’s only pitched in 29 ballgames this year and only converted 29 saves the past two seasons, after converting 16 in his first half-season with the club. Besides, manager Ron Gardenhire seems content moving forward with Glen Perkins as his closer.

A Starting Pitcher Will Be Signed

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It seems like a general, almost too obvious statement, but it’s true. The Twins will sign a free-agent starting pitcher. It’s almost a necessity, what with how much this club’s starting rotation has gone up in flames over the course of 2012. All five original starters are no longer in the rotation.

I don’t have a real clue who the Twins will sign and I’m not going to pretend like I do. Only Terry Ryan and his friends in the front office know for sure. Fans hope it’ll be a big name and the front office probably does, too. More realistically all that is needed is a pitcher who can stay healthy, get some outs, and get some wins.

A Player Over The Age of 34 Will Be Signed

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We all have our obsessions. I’m obsessed with Bruce Springsteen, Minnesota sports, and the NBC hit sitcom Friends.

The Twins seem to have an obsession with signing older gentleman and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Veterans bring in expertise, professionalism, and hopefully some winning mantras.

Over the past few years the Twins have brought in Jamey Carroll, Jim Thome, Orlando Cabrera, and Tony Batista. Those are only the position players. Some have done great, some not so much. It’s a Twins guarantee that there will be someone 34 or above on the roster.

A Big Name Will Be Rumored

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Sports can sometimes turn into the high school cafeteria, brimming over with rumors. Did you see Joe kissing Josie? Did you hear Pablo is quitting the track team? Did you hear that Joe Mauer wants a trade?

It’s all the same; just we’re sitting at different lunch tables. In the state of Minnesota the rumors could come from the internet, someone blabbing at ESPN, or we just need something to talk about when the Vikings start to lose and the Wild are in a lockout. Hamilton, Greinke, both, or the whole New York Yankees roster; something obscure will be rumored and we’ll entertain the thought for 24-36 hours and if it goes longer we may go see our doctor.

Joe Mauer and Justin Moreau Will Be Mentioned In Trade Talks

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If you enjoy sports more than the casual passerby, you know that salaries can be troublesome. A lot of struggling teams like to salary dump. They just like to clean the slate and start from scratch. A group of people probably think the Minnesota Twins should do just that, and that leads to the dumping of the team's two American League MVPs.

Like in the slide before, these rumors may come out of just pure boredom, but they will come up. Someone will get the rumor going that Mauer or Morneau should be traded. Granted, Morneau may be traded, but not Mauer and definitely not both.

This offseason a lot of things may happen or the club may stand still. That’s how screwed up this organization is: They are too good to totally scrap, but they aren’t good enough to really stand still. My simple warning is don’t believe everything you see.