The dormant volcano erupts
The Past Week on Twinkie Town:
- After a very quiet offseason, the Twins hot stove erupted with signings of…Danny Coulombe and Harrison Bader. Ben Jones and Matt Monitto have more on these two major moves.
- Jonathan Gamble takes a look at the best Twins shortstops.
- With the 2025 Hall of Fame class announced a few weeks ago, Zach Koenig looks at how the Twins faced off historically against the inductees.
- Brandon Brooks recaps the week in the AL Central in the Rival Roundup.
Elsewhere in Twins Territory:
- Non-roster invitees to spring training were announced, including infielder Luke Keaschall and pitcher Andrew Morris. Phil Miller at the Star Tribune has more on Keaschall and Morris, as well as the rest of the invitees.
- In case you were wondering how the Twins managed to find enough change in the couch cushions to make these free-agent signings last week, Dan Hayes at The Athletic covered the discussions in the front office that led to the increase in team payroll for 2025. ($)
- Nick Nelson at Twins Daily looks at how front-office moves have clashed with Rocco Baldelli’s tendencies to go to his bench early.
- Tom Schreier at Zone Coverage checks in on what Austin Martin is looking to improve on in the 2025 season.
In the World of Baseball:
- In the week before the Super Bowl, not much was happening in the world of baseball. Except that free-agent slugger Pete Alonso agreed to a two-year, $54 million deal with the Mets and is returning to Queens. The contract includes an opt-out after the first year.
- In other exciting news, pitchers and catchers have already started reporting, with players already arriving at Spring Training facilities in Arizona, as Cubs players reported to the team on Saturday. Twins pitchers and catchers will report to Fort Myers on Thursday, with the first full-squad workout scheduled for Monday. Baseball season has begun!