The Minnesota Twins have made virtually zero splashes this offseason. Victor Caratini is the only player they handed a two-year deal, and Dodgers castoff Anthony Banda (who cost them nothing) may be the best reliever in the bullpen.
While the Pohlads have not shown any desire to spend money in recent seasons, there’s now a clear opportunity for them to make a splash. The Philadelphia Phillies just paid Nick Castellanos $20 million to go away.
Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
He’s now a free agent, and he’s unlikely to cost much of anything. That’s an ideal scenario for this ownership group, and Jeremy Zoll should be doing everything he can to get Castellanos to Fort Myers.
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Nick Castellanos fixes Minnesota Twins outfield
In the final year of a five-year, $100 million contract, the Philadelphia Phillies have decided they would rather pay Nick Castellanos $20 million not to play for them. He is now a free agent, and it’s unlikely teams will need to pay more than the league minimum ($780,000).
Every team in baseball can afford to sign Castellanos for $780,000, yes, even the Pohlads. That makes his market robust. In reality though, he’s going to choose a spot that makes sense for him to go compete.
The two-time All-Star has twice been an All-Star, and has 43 postseason games under his belt including a six-game World Series loss (2022) to Houston. He started his career in 2013 with the Detroit Tigers, and has played in 1,688 games. To put it bluntly, he’s seen it all.
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Last season Castellanos posted an uncharacteristic 88 OPS+. It was the first time he was significantly below league average since 2016. Still, he batted .250/.294/.400 with 17 home runs. He has a 108 OPS+ over the past five seasons, and brings experience with him.
Beyond just what he has produced, Castellanos is right-handed. That’s something Minnesota doesn’t have in the corners. Both Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach provide a level of redundancy. Emmanuel Rodriguez, Alan Roden, James Outman, and Walker Jenkins all bat left-handed as well.
If Zoll wants to provide new manager Derek Shelton with some flexibility, and a proven winner, he could do a lot worse than Castellanos. Plus, Nick loves himself a good beverage too.
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MN Twins could entice Castellanos
As things stand, it’s hard to suggest that the Minnesota Twins are capable of being a winner in the vein that Castellanos has experienced. However, the AL Central is much more soft than the NL East, and Castellanos started his career with Detroit.
It was curious when the Twins offered arbitration to Trevor Larnach in the form of a $4.475 million deal for 2026. He has been consistently below league average and batted just .250/.323/.404 with 17 home runs last year. It’s a pretty straightforward swap to switch the two out.
Minnesota has looked to deal Larnach in recent seasons but found no one willing to meet their asking price. If the Pohlads want to grab a better player at a cheaper amount, they could save money by using Larnach as a pure salary dump.
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It may take more than the minimum to entice Castellanos with the direction of the Twins, but they could also reallocate some of those saved Larnach funds. If things go belly up, then the Minnesota Twins have yet another trade candidate at the deadline.
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