One trade, one signing Twins should make

After winning their first playoff series in more than two decades, the Minnesota Twins have had a rough offseason losing 2023 Cy Young Award finalist pitcher Sonny Gray and another piece of their starting rotation in pitcher Kenta Maeda. Helping lead the Twins to the sixth-best ERA in the MLB last season at 3.87, the Twins will need to look outside the organization to replenish the bottom of the rotation.

Their offense heavily relied on the long ball as they were tied for third place in the MLB with 233 home runs while leading the MLB with 1,654 strikeouts. With most of the offense returning, the Twins will need to figure out who fits the long-term plans offensively and make some deals accordingly as spring training inches closer. 

Here's one trade and one signing the Twins should make this offseason. 

Trade: Deal second baseman Jorge Polanco to the Toronto Blue Jays

With rookie second baseman Edouard Julien breaking onto the scene in 2023 and proving to be more than capable of handling MLB, he has made veteran second baseman Jorge Polanco expendable.

After having a career year in 2021, Polanco is coming off of back-to-back injury-riddled seasons that have limited him to a .244/.341/.427 slash line with 64 extra-base hits and 104 RBI in 184 games played.

Due to make $10.5M this season and a club option for $12M in 2025, Polanco is likely to be the odd man out in Minnesota's infield. 

Trading Polanco to the Blue Jays for a package centered around a pitcher like Nate Pearson and utility man Cavan Biggio is a deal that benefits both teams. 

The Blue Jays get a switch-hitting middle infielder to add to their lineup in Polanco, and the Twins receive a former top pitching prospect who could potentially see work as a starter or out of the bullpen in Pearson, and a hitter who can play almost every position in Biggio for a fraction of the price.

Signing: Add rotation depth by signing starting pitcher Mike Clevinger

With Gray and Maeda both leaving this offseason, the Twins have three starting pitchers left from last year's playoff squad and a few others who are major question marks health-wise like pitcher Chris Paddack.

While they will likely won't find someone to replace Gray's production, they can find an arm who knows the division while also coming off a solid season in 2023 in pitcher Mike Clevinger.

Clevinger went 9-9 with a 3.77 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 110 strikeouts in 131.1 innings pitched for the Chicago White Sox last season. 

The Twins saw plenty of him when he was with the Cleveland Guardians. From 2017 to 2019, he was one of the best pitchers in the American League, putting up a 38-18 record with a 2.96 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 513 strikeouts in 447.2 innings pitched.

Clevinger has two seasons under his belt since recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2021 and has shown that he can still be a dependable pitcher. 

Joining a rotation with pitchers Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, he won't be expected to shoulder the load and could thrive as a fourth option.

Spotrac's calculated market value has Clevinger valued at a contract of around $14M a season.