Are the Twins a mystery team among the 4 Trevor Story is reportedly choosing from?
There aren't many people who look at the current Minnesota Twins roster and think it's good enough to contend in the American League, but what matters here is what Trevor Story thinks of them.
Story will soon decide which team he'll sign with as a free agent, and it's down to the Giants, Red Sox and two mystery clubs, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.
Superstar SS Trevor Story choosing one of 4 teams soon. Giants, Red Sox and 2 others remain in mix. Prioritizing winning. Apparently considering a short-term positional move, if necessary.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 18, 2022
The Twins did just ship Josh Donaldson and the $50 million remaining on his contract to the Yankees, so they certainly have the money to spend. And trading last year's first-round pick Chase Petty to the Reds for a frontline starting pitcher in Sonny Gray is a decent indication that the Twins are trying to win now.
Minnesota is also reportedly among a number of teams showing interest in Oakland starting pitchers Sean Manaea or Frankie Montas.
#MNTwins, after freeing up $ in the smart Donaldson trade, are investigating some of the bigger players on market. They are talking to the A’s about Montas/Manaea. Conforto another possibility.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 18, 2022
The A’s are receiving a ton of interest in Montas and Manaea. Interested teams had hoped there’d be a deal by now but there’s just a lot to consider. Both have understandably high price tags, esp Montas, not a free agent until after next year. NYY MInn CWS KC STL many more in.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 18, 2022
Montas is 28 years old and finished sixth in the American League Cy Young vote last season after he struck out 201 batters in 187 innings while posting a 3.37 ERA. Manaea is 30 years old and posted a 3.91 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 179 innings last season.
Earlier this week, MLB Network's Joel Sherman said he's been texted by multiple MLB executives who would "put money" on Story ending up with the Twins.
"There's kind of an information super highway in baseball and as soon as this trade was made last night I got multiple texts from executives that were like, 'I'll put some money on Trevor Story ending up at shortstop for the Minnesota Twins,'" Sherman said.
If the Twins add either Montas or Manaea, they would have a pretty solid projected starting five, joining Sonny Gray, Dylan Bundy, Joe Ryan and either Bailey Ober, Randy Dobnak or Griffin Jax.
Minnesota's bullpen could use some proven arms, but it too isn't awful so long as Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers are good, and Jorge Alcala takes a step in the right direction.
Minnesota's lineup could be good, but there are a bunch of caveats and questions about injury proneness and consistency from the likes of Byron Buxton, Gio Urshela, Max Kepler, Miguel Sano, Gary Sanchez, Alex Kirilloff and Jorge Polanco, among others.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.