Minnesota’s Free Agent Targets Become Clearer Following Arbitration Deadline

Jeremiah Graves — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:18:08 -0500

Twins general manager Bill Smith had better have the Pohlad’s checkbook ready. As Tuesday night’s 11 p.m. deadline for teams to offer arbitration came and went, it officially sounded the real opening bell on free agency. Don’t get me wrong, I know that free agents, all 171 of them, have been able to sign with teams since November 20th, however, teams rarely sign any Type-A or Type-B free agents prior to the arbitration deadline. If a team signs a player prior to the deadline, the other team will undoubtedly offer arbitration to recoup their losses in the form of draft picks. Tuesday’s deadline, however, was the last opportunity for teams to offer arbitration to free agents. Any players who were offered arbitration now have one week to determine whether or not they’ll accept. Any players who were not offered arbitration just became a whole lot more attractive on the free agent market. The opportunity to sign high-profile players without surrendering draft picks makes them all the more appealing. As such, I’ve taken a look at some of the popular targets for the Minnesota Twins this offseason who were NOT offered arbitration by Tuesday night’s deadline. All of these players who—reportedly and/or hopefully—are on the Twins’ offseason radar are now available, without the added cost of a draft pick. Let the games begin…

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Bleacher Report - Erik Bedard

Minnesota’s Free Agent Targets Become Clearer Following Arbitration Deadline