Minnesota Twins likely To Add Via Trade

Today marks the beginning of the Free Agency period, in which free agents are allowed to discuss contracts with teams of their choosing. The Twins have four players that have filed for free agency: pitchers Eddie Guardado and Dennys Reyes and infielders Nick Punto and Adam Everett.

Reyes is the only player who qualified to bring the Twins compensation should he decide to sign a contract with a different team. Of course, the Twins will need to offer arbitration, and it's pretty apparent that they will.

Reyes qualifies as a Type-B free agent, which would bring the Twins a supplementary round pick in return, which will be used in next June's MLB draft.

Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune believes that given the current state of the bullpen, the Twins are hopeful of re-signing Reyes. Reyes has served as the Twins primary left-handed reliever for three seasons, but with the emergence of two left-handed relievers—Craig Breslow and Jose Mijares—it looks like Reyes may no longer be needed in the Twins bullpen.

As of right now, it looks like Mijares is our go-to setup guy with Breslow likely our go-to guy against left-handed hitters. Since Reyes has been nothing more than a LOOGY, I would rather see the Twins acquire a reliever who could push Mijares for the set-up role.

The reliever market seems to be pretty strong this offseason, so the Twins should have no problem with adding a suitable arm. Over the course of the offseason, I have mentioned plenty of names that would be suitable for the Twins to sign.

I know the team will likely try to stay away from a Type-A free agent, due to the fact that they don't want to lose their first-round pick in next June's draft. So off the bat, the Twins likely won't be signing any of these relievers:

• Doug Brocail
• Juan Cruz
• Brian Fuentes
• Bob Howry
• Jason Isringhausen
• Darren Oliver
• Francisco Rodriguez
• Russ Springer
• Kerry Wood
  

With those guys off the table, the reliever market still is pretty strong. The Twins won't give up a draft pick to sign a reliever, so Type-B free agents are still viable options for the Twins to pick up. Here are some realistic options for the Twins to sign without having to lose a draft pick:

• Chad Cordero
• Kyle Farnsworth
• Eric Gagne
• Jason Isringhausen
  
• Brandon Lyon
• David Weathers

Most of these guys have closing experience, which means that handling setup roles should really be no problem. Chad Cordero is a young, talented reliever who is currently recovering from shoulder surgery which is a big risk, but could be a steal if he returns to anywhere near his old form.

Kyle Farnsworth had a terrible second half of the 2008 season, but he really isn't a terrible pitcher. He could be a cheap one or two-year signing. Eric Gagne could also be a steal, however the chances of him returning to a dominating reliever are incredible slim. He may be the biggest risk, highest reward on this list, but I think the Twins will probably stay away from him.

Jason Isringhausen had a bad 2008 season, but his track record shows that he's a very good reliever. Hopefully last season was an outlier and he will return to his old form. David Weathers wasn't great in 2008, but he could be a serviceable option.

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