The Twins agree to a one-year contract with Carlos Santana to play first base.

The addition of Santana could help replace some of the offensive production that Minnesota lost when it traded second baseman Jorge Polanco to Seattle on Monday. The switch-hitting Polanco batted .255 with 14 homers and 48 RBIs in 80 games last season.

The Twins are looking to go back to the playoffs for the fifth time in eight years. They won the AL Central in 2023 and swept Toronto in the wild-card round before they were eliminated by Houston in their AL Division Series.

ESPN.com

The Twins appear to be pursing a strategy of trying to produce a playoff berth at the lowest possible cost. They are playing in a weak division, and if a team reaches the playoffs, good luck can carry the squad a long way. Keeping costs low allows them to make necessary moves at the trade deadline to try to improve the team for the post-season.

This is the opposite of the Dodgers strategy where they build a dominant team that will plow through the regular season, get a bye in the first round, and get home field through the playoffs. Note that starting in 1987, the Twins and Dodgers have the same number of World Series titles.

I think this is a great example of teams finding the best path through a changing baseball landscape. The last CBA somewhat designed to get teams to spend more money on players, and one way was to give more teams a shot at making the playoffs. This is working in the AL East and AL West, but in weak division like the AL Central, the incentive is not there. Why spend to go from 86 wins to 90 wins if 86 wins might get you in the door? That’s a savings of $40 million (Valuing a free agent WAR at $10).

So more teams in the playoffs doesn’t necessarily mean more money spent to get to the playoffs. I’m curious to see how this strategy plays out.