NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. – The winter meetings wrapped up Friday without any major deals, but the week certainly had its share of attention-grabbing moments. The Red Sox landed Chris Sale. The White Sox took a step back by trading Sale and Adam Eaton but added an arsenal of top-end prospects. The Cubs traded for proven closer Wade Davis. And closers Mark Melancon and Aroldis Chapman got a whole lot of money from new employers.
• There are still deals out there to be made, and the Twins will be among clubs looking to build momentum from discussions they had during the week. "I think we laid the groundwork for a lot of productive conversations with teams and potential free agents," Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey said.
• At the top of the list is a potential trade involving second baseman Brian Dozier. The Dodgers are among teams showing interest in the former All-Star, but there were rumblings late Wednesday that Los Angeles is trying to re-sign third baseman Justin Turner before using their trade chips elsewhere. If the Dodgers fail to sign him, they'll have to trade for a third baseman. A couple of other teams are rumored to be interested in Dozier, but have not been identified at this point.
• What meant the most to Falvey and GM Thad Levine was being able to meet with many of their employees this week. This baseball convention brought Twins officials from across the country under the same roof.
"The most productive element of this was the time to spend with our scouts and our group that was here," Falvey said. "We hadn't had the chance to meet with them in person yet." The Twins hope to have their coaching staff in place in a couple of weeks. Then they will turn their attention to minor league staff assignments.
La Velle E. Neal III
