AL Central Notes: Twins, Falvey, A. Gordon, Yolmer

Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey has done impressive work atop the team’s front office since his hiring in 2016. Considering his success with the Twins and his Boston roots, he could land on the Red Sox’s radar as they seek a replacement for fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. At this point, though, the Red Sox haven’t asked the Twins’ permission to interview Falvey, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic (subscription required). Falvey, for his part, is “very happy” with his current gig, Hayes hears. However, as Hayes writes, the excellence of the AL Central-leading Twins may be costly for the club in a sense. Other organizations could attempt to poach some members of their front office and coaching staff, with Hayes naming three of manager Rocco Baldelli’s top assistants – bench coach Derek Shelton, hitting coach James Rowson and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner – as well as farm director Jeremy Zoll as possible targets for rival teams. Falvey realizes it’s going to be difficult to bring the entire band back in 2020. “As much as I love everybody we’ve brought in, I’ve never been of a mind that you’re always going to retain people,” Falvey told Hayes, adding, “If we’re creating the right environment, we’re growing a lot of people in that room into roles that may not exist here.”

• Back in May, Royals left fielder Alex Gordon considered himself “at about 60-40” to play again in 2020. Four months later, though, Gordon might not be quite as sure. The 35-year-old Kansas City icon told Andy McCullough of The Athletic (subscription) that he wants to distance himself from a trying 2019 campaign before mapping out his future. “Losing 100 games, you’re tired, obviously, there’s going to be days when you’re like, ‘I don’t want to play next year,’” said Gordon, who expressed a desire “to take the grind out of the season before I make that decision.” Gordon has already said he’ll either remain a Royal or retire, while general manager Dayton Moore seems more than willing to bring him back. But sticking around will require Gordon and the team to draw up a new contract, as KC will decline his $23MM mutual option in favor of a $4MM buyout.
• As noted on Thursday, the White Sox would be wise to seek an upgrade at second base during the offseason. Current starter Yolmer Sanchez hasn’t been the answer at the position, having batted .250/.320/.317 with almost no power (two home runs, .067 ISO) in 519 plate appearances. Consequently, Sanchez’s days with the team could indeed be numbered, Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times observes. The 27-year-old’s slated to reach arbitration for the second-last time during the offseason, when he’ll seek a raise over his 2019 salary of $4.625MM, though the club may elect to move on from him instead. Sanchez doesn’t want that to happen, however, as the White Sox are the only organization he has known since he signed out of Venezuela in 2009. ‘‘When I was a little kid, I wanted to play baseball because I loved it,’’ Sanchez told Greenberg. ‘‘I still love it. I played for fun then, and I play for fun now. But I play for the Chicago White Sox. I’ve tried to enjoy every day I’ve spent here. I hope there are a lot more days.’’