Twins Rank 5th in MLB as 2020 Offseason Spenders

The #Yankees pumped $385M of new money into 3 players this offseason (Cole, Gardner, Chapman), while the #WhiteSox took a big step forward in their building process, locking in their youth, and adding from elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/eSCKWWdBTn

— Spotrac (@spotrac) February 28, 2020

Spotrac.com is a site I got ahold of just before launching this website back in 2017 and it will forever be one of my favorites. If you ever have questions on payroll, salary cap, or anything on contracts in professional sports, you need spotrac.

We’ve talked for many years, wishing the Minnesota Twins would start spending the money required to field a good baseball team. We’ve been dreaming of a Minnesota where one Joe Mauer contract doesn’t hamstring the franchise for 10 years.

Well according to Spotrac, the Minnesota Twins are the 5th highest spender of all MLB teams this offseason, spending a total of $164 Million on keeping ($30M) and bringing in talent ($134M). That number includes any extensions or resigning of current players OR money used in free agency to acquire new players. It does NOT include money spent to avoid arbitration or in it. You can see the full list here.

Most of that $164M is being used to cover Josh Donaldson’s new $92M contract over the next 4 years. $30M of it was spent to extend Miguel Sano, who will cover the other corner of the infield.

That leaves $42M, if my math is ok this afternoon. Most of that was used to keep Michael Pineda ($20M) and Sergio Romo ($5M), while bringing in Homer Bailey ($7M), Alex Avila ($4.25M), Rich Hill ($3M) and Tyler Clippard ($2.75M).

Are you wondering why you don’t see Kenta Maeda? Well, he was traded here so he wouldn’t be on this report anyway. Even if traded players were listed, it’d be tough to find Maeda’s money. Most of his salary is being paid by the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. The Twins will only pay him $680K for his services. They also received $10M back in straight cash homie, for that trade.

While I’m happy to see the Twins at the top of these spending reports, instead of bringing up the ass-end, like they always have…. let’s not pretend the Pohlads are now spending money like the major markets.

Currently, the Twins rank #17 in MLB payroll, helping the #18 Chicago White Sox cut the league exactly in half. They’re projected salary is $132 million for 2020. Last year, they spent $125 million on payroll.

Hopefully, the Twins are setting us up for another trade deadline deal to snag a bona fide #1 starting pitcher because the Pohlad investment for this top MLB club, still lacks the last big push it will need to bring in another World Series.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan