The Twins' $100 million commitment to Byron Buxton figures to be their biggest of the offseason. But the Twins still have plenty of less expensive decisions to make, too, including a handful Tuesday.
Eight current Twins are eligible for contract arbitration this year, and the Twins must decide by 7 p.m. Tuesday — the deadline for offering all major league players contracts for 2022 — whether they want to spend the money to keep them. With Buxton agreeing Sunday to a seven-year deal — an official announcement of his contract figures to come Tuesday — the Twins still must consider the likely price tags for plenty of others, chief among them All-Star lefthander Taylor Rogers, who figures to earn more than $6 million in his final year before free agency.
In addition to Rogers, five other members of the bullpen are arbitration-eligible: Tyler Duffey, Caleb Thielbar, Danny Coulombe, Juan Minaya and newcomer Jharel Cotton, claimed off waivers earlier this month. Catcher Mitch Garver is eligible as well, and though MLB doesn't announce the exact cutoff, it's believed that infielder Luis Arraez has just enough service time to qualify, too.
According to best-guess estimates by mlbtraderumors.com, those eight players would combine to earn roughly $20 million if the Twins keep them all, with Garver and Duffey likely topping $3 million apiece. With their 40-man roster completely full, it's feasible that the Twins would nontender one or two of the less-valuable relievers just to free up space for future trades and signings.
Last year, the Twins chose not to offer outfielder Eddie Rosario a contract, since they expected his salary to exceed $10 million, nor reliever Matt Wisler.
The Twins could also simply sign each of their veterans to new one-year contracts, as they did all at once at the nontender deadline last December, though there was no indication Monday that any such agreements are in place.
That might be because the sport is bracing for a shutdown beginning Wednesday night, when the collective bargaining agreement expires and team owners are expected to lock the players out until a new agreement is reached.
