Speaking with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio on Sunday, Twins general manager Thad Levine confirmed that the team is in the market for major pitching upgrades. Levine revealed that the Twins are actively talking with the agents for available starters Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb, among others, as well as representatives for various relievers (all Twitter links). The executive specifically pointed to Darvish as “a priority,” and he used the same word to describe soon-to-be free agent Shohei Ohtani.
“He’s a unique free agent, but we don’t know a lot about him personally yet,” Levine said of Ohtani. “It’s exciting for us because we have a chance to sign a player like him. He’s a top priority for us.”
The three-week sweepstakes to sign Ohtani, a Japanese pitching and hitting superstar, appears likely to commence at the start of December. Had the 23-year-old Ohtani waited until the age of 25 to come to the majors, he would have been in line to sign a mega-deal, which may have ruled out a serious Twins pursuit. But the collective bargaining agreement will limit Ohtani to a low-cost minor league contract this offseason, thereby giving all teams some chance to sign him if they’re willing to pay a $20MM posting fee to his Japanese organization, the Nippon Ham Fighters, for his services. While money isn’t going to guide Ohtani’s decision this offseason, it’s notable anyway that the Twins have the third-most bonus pool space available ($3.245MM). That won’t hurt them in their chase, of course, but they’ll have to sell Ohtani on how he’d fit into their organization and city.
Interestingly, there has been speculation that, because of the good relationship they forged in their homeland, Ohtani and Darvish, 31, could end up with the same team this winter as a sort of package deal. Landing the pair would be an enormous boon for anyone, including Minnesota, which snapped a six-year playoff drought in 2017 despite an underwhelming showing from its rotation. Twins starters ranked 19th in the majors in ERA (4.73) and 22nd in fWAR (7.7) last season, so the need for quality hurlers to complement Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios is obvious.
Considering Darvish could pull in the richest contract of the offseason, many would expect him to land outside of small-market Minnesota’s price range. However, the club is well positioned to make a bold strike in free agency this winter, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained earlier this month. The team itself seems to agree, judging by the established free agents it’s currently pursuing, and it’s worth noting that Levine is already familiar with Darvish from their time together in Texas.
When the Rangers landed Darvish out of Japan in 2012, Levine was their assistant GM. That experience might help during Ohtani’s recruitment, as could the fact that the Twins aren’t exactly set at designated hitter. By most accounts, Ohtani has enough offensive talent to collect regular at-bats in the majors, so he could emerge as the DH for a Minnesota team that only received average production there from Robbie Grossman and Kennys Vargas last season.
If they are able to pull off getting Ohtani and Darvish, they would go from battling for a wild card to battling for the division.
Slow down Joey, Darvish hasn’t showed up in big games & Ohtani has played against any real competition!!!!!!
Look at the track record for Darvish, not a couple games. Also, with Ohtani, there is a reason every single club wants him. They made the playoffs last year and you can’t think that adding these 2 would make them worse, correct?
@Joe Kerr
The reason every single team wants him is the contract. Bang for the buck. With him signing for so cheap its s no lose situation for any team with huge upside.
Its no guarantee he becomes a stud pitcher and every team does not want him for any other reason
Yes and no. I’ll use Nishioka as an example. He was had for cheap, but not every team wanted him and there wasn’t this much hype around him either.
Talent level matters. He’s a SP who averages mid to upper 90s on the FB. He has a four pitch mix and good command. I know at least two of his offspeed are considered as potentially plus pitches.
If there was no cap on him, then yes less teams would be involved. I still think all teams would like to have him though. Same can’t be said for a Nishioka.
Nothing is guaranteed, but it’s not just the cheap contract that makes him a great option. He seems to be very talented as well.
Say no to drugs good sir
Nice to see the Twins in the hunt for some top tier free agents.
I don’t think the Twins have a realistic chance at Otani. It is so misleading for writers to say that money is not going to be a factor. SALARY is not going to be a big factor because of the collective bargaining agreement and international spending caps, but MONEY is going to be a huge factor. Something tells me the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area isn’t going to be the kind of media market that offers Otani the secondary earning opportunities such as major endorsements that he will need to offset his salary limitations. I think New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are his most likely destinations in that order between international spending cap of the teams there and local media opportunities.
It will absolutely play a role in his decision. What’s interesting is that we have so little info on Ohtani’s overall priorities and concerns outside of that brief memo. Are those secondary earning opportunities the biggest factor, a major factor, or merely a partial factor? We simply don’t know. All logic points to the yanks, but I somehow feel he lands elsewhere.
“What’s interesting is that we have so little info on Ohtani’s overall priorities and concerns outside of that brief memo.”
Here are 2 good insights
si.com/mlb/2017/04/06/shohei-ohtani
japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/11/11/baseball/japane…
He doesn’t care about the endorsements he’ll get in the US, because his endorsements in Japan are insane, and him playing in MLB will magnify that.
Plus endorsement money in baseball is pretty low compared to other sports. Believe Ortiz was the top MLB player in endorsements and he “only” got 6M per year. Posey and Cano are like 3M.
To put it into context, Roger Federer is 60M per year, Lebron 54M. So yeah, endorsements will increase his income but I’m guessing the majority of his money will still be from Japanese endorsements that he already has or adds to.
WHen i lived in japan, ichiro and matsui were on ads and products everywhere.
Being an MLB Star is huge money!
Still, best to land on the West Coast, so Japanese fans can more easily attend the games.
I believe his secondary, marketing income will be from Japan, using his status as a MLB player. I doubt it matters for that purpose what city he plays in. If money is not his main objective, he would be joining the Twins as their window of opportunity is opening.
Mauer banked after he won MVP, and is still a household name. He was on everything, and he is not even the real outgoing face of the team. It can happen to anyone anywhere.
Despite what the article states, Minnesota is not a small-market team. They are mid-market. 15th largest media market in the country. Their TV contract sucks for a few more years, but there is plenty of money.
Who says everyone wants to live in murder capitals of the country, Chicago, NY and LA? Players can still get national endorsements playing in Tampa, if they’re good enough.
Does Ohtani speak English? If not, endorsement deals won’t matter anyway.
I think everyone who responded to my comment grabbed onto endorsements which was the only example I gave of secondary earning opportunities. Include appearances and personal product placement, corporate events, parties, the list goes on and on… The money opportunities in a top media market are massive compared to the opportunities in Minnesota and Washington State among others. And they will be more than a negligible factor in Otani’s decision.
“Does Ohtani speak English? If not, endorsement deals won’t matter anyway.”
“He chats easily among the Japanese players. He practices his improving English with the gaijin (American players).”
si.com/mlb/2017/04/06/shohei-ohtani
With all due respect I think the designation to small market was in reference to designation under the CBA. And I’m going to go out on a limb and guess he wouldn’t be living in the crime ridden areas of NY, CH, LA, Tampa or even Min for that matter.
If you look at it as the Twins signing two top-half of the rotation players for an average of $13M a year, it makes sense
Selling Minnesota is the hard part.
Seems on the surface there are only a few easy sells for one reason or another. Seattle, Texas, San Francisco, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees seem like easier sells. Would love to see smaller market teams in play given he’s basically a 20m posting fee. Any of the other markets and there would have to be something behind the scenes for Otani that doesnt appear obvious on the surface.
Any team that can offer Ohtani the opportunity to both pitch and bat and that is in an area with a large Asian population would be a fit.
LA, SF, Chicago, DC, SD, Seattle, Houston, and Boston are the top cities in percentage of total population.
Agreed. As nice as Minneapolis is, I don’t see what the compelling draw will be for Ohtani. Especially compared to Seattle, NY, California, Chicago, or Texas.
Yeah. MSP would be a better sell if we had at least a legitimate Japanese store.
They have Mitsuwa in Chicago, United Noodle doesn’t really compare.
Just take Ohtani to Target. He will be a Twin by checkout.
If you’re referring to Target Field then make sure you show him the variety of food choices. If you’re referring to the retail store I’m sorry to tell you that other teams can take him to the Target in their city too.
Doubt it. But it does depend on the location and target store. Some are as run down as Wal-Mart.
Considering Ohtani’s non-traditional questions, it might not be. In one he wants to know how he’ll fit into a community. Sell him on Minnesota Nice.
Completing deals with both Darvish and Ohtani could immediately improve the Twins for the 2018 season or it could be a mediocre improvement if names like Berrios, Santana or Ohtani don’t pan out or lost to the DL. However the cards fall, it will also bridge the gap for our young starting pitchers like Gonzales, Romero, Felix Jorge, Kohl Stewart, Blayne Enlow to gain experience and wait for the cream to rise to the top. Beyond picking up both Darvish and Ohtani the Twins still have some trade chips
in Gordon, Alex Kirilloff, Wander Javier, Lewin Diaz for a 28 year old reliever to grow with our up and coming bullpen help.
I will be surprised if the Twins get a top tier. I don’t see Ohtani picking the Twins.
Twins will get a top tier free agent. Maybe not Darvish and maybe not ohtani but they’ll make a big acquisition or two
This is the kind of balls I wish the Os came close to having. They are sadly in on neither. A rotation of Bundy, Gausman, Ohtani, and Darvish could be awesome. Tillman on a one year small deal to compete with Castro for 5th spot.
your problem is that
they have too many contracts on the books
The O’s spend the money on the offense, but when it comes to pitching they can’t afford an ace like Darvish
i don’t see why ANY team would not be in on ohtani, given that he has all the talent in the world and will cost about as much as any of their top prospects would once that posting fee is out of the way.
i mean, there are some obvious reasons a team might appeal to him (opportunity to hit, jp community to make him feel at home, good coaching etc), but nobody REALLY knows exactly what he wants. what does a team have to lose by trying? plenty players have made surprising choices before.
like, yeah, it’s probably a complete waste of time for maybe the reds to try at him. but if i’m in charge of the orioles or the twins, teams that conceivably could give him at bats and who believe they have a chance to compete, i pursue him until it becomes clear he doesn’t want to play there.
I think it’s refreshing to see a team you wouldn’t otherwise see, in the hunt for top FA’s.
People need to chill out about Ohtani especially the Yankees fans. If money was a big factor then he should’ve just waited a year and a half to get paid more when those teams go through bidding wars. If he really wanted to go to the Yankees why didn’t he just told his agent that’s where he wants to go and will make it official on December 1st instead of telling all MLB teams that will post the 20 mil to write an essay on why Ohtani will be a great fit for their teams? For all we know the Dodgers, Twins, Red Sox, Rangers and Mariners can write a better one than the Yankees. Also if he wants more money then does that mean the Rangers get him? Because I mean the Rangers got a little more money than the Yankees. So to me there could be so many factors, don’t assume it’s gonna be the Yankees because all the baseball experts picked them to get him. My pick is the Dodgers just because they been scouting him since he was in high school I believe.
Yeah but the Yankee fans said they want him so they get him. Those are the rules. Everyone knows that.
If you had to choose a team to maximize your winning and earning potential over the next decade, it would be the Yankees. Deal with it bitter Yankee haters!
And, if it _is_ about money, wouldn’t teams like StL and CHC, who have money they won’t be able to spend, be able to flip $250,000 chunks for something of value?
“People need to chill” he said and then proceeded to write an unchill paragraph speculating a notion that pretty much everyone already agrees on (that money is not the most important factor).
lol
The Yankees and dodgers are probably the best choice for him to make more money in endorsements. So that’s a way to make up millions that he is losing.
He has said money isn’t an issue, so the Yankees and Dodgers are not necessarily the best fits for him.
yanks02026 didnt say that it was neccessarily the best fit. just the best choice to make money from endorsements
Forbes 4/11/17…highest MLB endorsement…Buster Posey at $4mm, 2nd is
Miguel Cabrera at $2mm. Kershaw…$800,000…another big market player…Boston and David Price…$550,000. Unlike real estate, endorsements are not about location, location, location.
Living in Detroit, I never saw a single Ichiro endorsement. Which National sponsorship deals did he sign? Most players only get endorsement deals in their own cities and all cities offer them.
Ichiro’s image is on tons of stuff in Japan.
He’s also on plenty of commercials.
Othani will be wearing pinstripes just in time for the holiday celebrations !
Oh the White Sox are getting huh, cool. 😉
Minnesota got rid of their pinstripes years ago…
They also discussed trades for relievers like Brad Hand from the Padres and Zach Britton from the O’s. The Twins seem to be making a serious push to go deep in the playoffs in 2018.
Champagne taste with a beer budget.
Ohtani and Darvish with the Twins? Oh yaaa…you betcha.
I feel sorry for the team that offers Darvish a 5-7 year contract. After watching his time in Texas, I still don’t feel he’s an ace anymore. He might be a serviceable number 2-3, but I wouldn’t pay him the kind of money you’d give King Felix. Guy has never won more than 16 games in a season in MLB.
Wins are a team stat for the most part. Besides, 16 wins is still real good.
I know off the top of my head that I’m 2015 the King won 18 games.
you made an ok point until you brought up wins lol. and 16 ain’t bad for wins
Gonna laugh my ass off when Ohtani goes somewhere other than Yankees. Would be even funnier if he went to Red Sox
That’s almost just as bad as going to the Yankees..
Exactly what I said in the other post!!
Seriously. Use one to pitch the club to the other. Brilliant. *See my comment in prior Ohtani post*
At least the FO is being upfront about the effort, the can realistically get either one
Falsely and Levine can get the fans’ hopes up all they want but the bottom line is the Twins are owned by one of the cheapest families in all of sports. There ain’t no way the Pohlads will ever sign off on acquiring Darvish or Arrieta or any of the other top tier FAs. It doesn’t fit their organizational philosophy of low cost, pitch to contact type of pitchers. And anyhow, good luck trying to sell Ohtani on coming to Minnesota … isn’t enough Japanese culture here for him.
Twins ownership have repeatedly said they will give the ok to spend whatever money is needed if it makes sense. This is not Carl in the Metrodome. Those days are long gone
Please enlighten us all on how much “Japanese culture” is required. If that was his priority, wouldn’t he just continue playing in Japan?
You can live in New York, Chicago, Seattle, or Los Angeles, and get by, using only Japanese.
Frequenting Japanese stores and restaurants, buying Japanese books, and having Japanese friends…
In Minnesota, it is pretty “slim pickings” for that kind of stuff.
My wife is Japanese, and we drive to Chicago at least yearly to visit the Japanese store.
Japanese folks who are stuck here have to do the same thing.
Have Tony-O talk to him as a ballplayer from another country who was embraced by the community, received loyalty from the team and ended up making MSP his adopted home. I’m sure there are other former and current players who can also add their voices ( probably NOT Park or the SS from Japan) . And I wouldn’t limit the endorsements of this area and their fans to just baseball; there’s plenty to be added by football, basketball and hockey athletes. Also have some firm and lucrative endorsement deals laid out by some major Minnesota based organizations. If they can land BOTH Ohtani and Darvish., Santana can be traded to a team that misses out on these two guys for younger and cheaper pitching.
Yeah because no other organization would have a Tony O story. Also, ridiculous to suggest stressing the team loyalty and then dumping Santana once signing these guys.
Team loyalty does not mean that the Team will refuse all trades.
I don’t think that anyone knows exactly what will ultimately drive Ohtani’s decision, but we can gain some insight from the questions that his agents are asking of teams and his actions in the past. 60 Minutes did a great report on him earlier this year (I recommend anyone interested in learning more about this unique young man to watch this report). And as a Twins fan, I believe that we have a realistic chance to convince him to come here.
It appears he is driven to be the best baseball player that he can be – – he wants to show the world that he can both bat AND pitch at a very high level. He can DH for the Twins right away and we certainly need him to pitch for us.
The single greatest thing that the Twins can offer Ohtani is a chance to pitch and bat with a young up and coming team that could contend for some time with the right pitching addition (I.e him).
Trust and comfort appear to be very important to him. If he is as close to Darvish as we are led to believe and Darvish trusts Thad Levine as much as we are lead to believe then that should be a plus for the Twins – – and should be reflected in the Twins open and honest response to Ohtani’s agent’s questionnaire.
When you watch the 60 Minutes episode you see Ohtani spending all his time at the ballpark, in a baseball dorm (the Twins have a nice new one in Fort Myers), or walking in between the two (in his winter coat in Sapporo, Japan which looks a little like Minnesota).
I’m not sure exactly how the Twins best help him stay connected to the Japanese community back home, but there are plenty of international companies based in the twin cities that do business in Japan and we have a retired ambassador to Japan (Mondale) that can help Levine and the Twins with ideas there.
Twins fans have good reason to hope on Ohtani. Maybe even Darvish and Ohtani. The biggest issue might be who is going to wear #11.
Twins fans are rooting for you Thad!!
This is a joke, right??
You’re his shrink I guess. I know how to get free agents- dig up Walter Mondale and get him involved. That’s the clincher for Ohtani. What an idiotic post
Ohtani will be a Yankee. A Twin??? Hahaha
This makes no sense. The Twins will not sign any big name free agent and will trade away Brian Dozier. They are not just one or two players away to be an elite team..
Stop it MLBTR, just stop it.
You’re building up my feeble hopes as a Twins fan. If this comes true, I will apologize…but when it doesn’t I will be crushed. Damn you.
<3