NASHVILLE — When the Twins reached out to teams about potential trades over the three days at the MLB winter meetings, the primary response was: "Stay in touch." "What we continue to hear on the trade front, just to be very candid about this part, is 'Hey, we have interest in some of your players. We'd like to talk about these guys, but we have to wait on a few other things to happen' or free ...

It may be some time still before the Twins know where their television home is — and thus, how much revenue they'll be getting from their new deal — creating some uncertainty for the front office as it tries to attend to the Twins' offseason needs. It was a relatively quiet Winter Meetings for the Twins — and much of Major League Baseball, as well — though Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said that uncertainty hadn't changed their preparation or approach to the meetings in any way. The Twins' deal with Bally Sports North concluded at the end of last season and the Twins expect to get less than they received for their telecast rights — around $55 million — in their new deal.

Sonny Gray has departed for St. Louis. Kenta Maeda will make his new home in Detroit for the next couple seasons. “Losing those guys is tough, but you don't want to have the exact same club every single year,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. Twins starters finished the season with a 3.82 earned-run average — first in the American League — helping carry the team to a first-place finish in the Central division.

The Twins got better-than-expected news on a pair of players they're relying on to play first base next season after both had surgery this fall. The Twins were expecting Alex Kirilloff to need a labrum repair in his right shoulder. The same goes for Jose Miranda, who dealt with a shoulder issue that plagued him all of last season. Upon his visit to the surgeon, the Twins found out that Miranda wouldn't need a repair or a major surgery but rather just a cleanup in his right shoulder.

Now, one of Minnesota's own—Saint Paul, to be exact—rounds out the Twinkie Town top five with a landslide victory. Now five years retired (where does the time go?!), it will be interesting to see Minnesota Joe's first-year vote presence on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Byron Buxton made his way to the Twin Cities last week for an important check-up, seven weeks out from a surgical procedure to excise the plica in his troublesome right knee. Dr. Christopher Camp was there, as was Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta and major-league strength and conditioning coach Aaron Rhodes. “They felt like he was moving around about as well as they had seen him move around in a long time, which was great,” Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. Indeed, the news on the star center fielder — and yes, the Twins are expecting Buxton to play his natural position again come next season — sounded about as positive as it could be at this time of year.

Combined with their stated intention to enter next season with a significantly lower payroll than last year, it's a strange vibe for a team that won the division and a playoff series last season with the league's best starting rotation. Back in 2019 and 2020, the Twins augmented a strong offense with a roughly league-average pitching staff en route to consecutive A.L. Central Division titles. The midseason acquisition of Sonny Gray in 2022 and the offseason trade for Pablo Lopez last winter were the most prominent of a series of moves designed to drastically improve the starting rotation.

Emilio Pagan has also signed with the Cincinnati Reds, receiving a two-year, $16 million contract. Cory Provus has officially been announced as the TV play-by-play announcer for the Twins. In more interesting news, Provus also announced that there will be no blackouts next season in the Twins' not-yet-determined TV deal.

The Minnesota Twins are no different. But when I think of the Minnesota Twins, there is one player who has earned a special place in all of our hearts. For those who need a refresher, Punto was drafted by the Twins in 1997 but did not sign. Fortunately, six years later (to the day!), the Twins acquired their guy from the Phillies for Eric Milton and the world was at peace.

The Los Angeles Dodgers relied on several outfielders to navigate their way through the 2023 season and once again have to dive into the free agent or trade markets to replace that production. David Peralta, Chris Taylor, Jason Heyward, James Outman, Mookie Betts, Jonny DeLuca and Trayce Thompson factored into the outfield mix this past season, but the Dodgers would be better off finding some more stability.

Kenta Maeda sees a lot of the Old English "D" on jerseys and caps in Japan. "I think a lot of people in Japan are already wearing hats and jerseys not knowing it's the Detroit Tigers, just for the looks." Maeda spoke from Japan through translator Daichi Sekizaki during a Zoom news conference Thursday night (Friday in Japan) after agreeing this week to a $24 million, two-year contract with Detroit.

With chances for better pay, greater stability and increasing investment, college baseball might offer an appealing alternative for MLB coaches.

The Cincinnati Reds made their first splash of the winter, securing a 2-year, $16 million deal with Minnesota Twins free agent reliever Emilio Pagán.

On the back of a heater that averaged 95.8 mph and a tiny HR/FB rate of just 5.3%, Emilio Pagan limited opponents to just a .553 OPS across 69.1 brilliant innings for the Minnesota Twins in 2023. It was good enough to earn him a contract valued at two-years and $16 million with the chance for bonuses to add on to that, per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal - with the Cincinnati Reds the ones who'll be cutting the checks. The Reds bullpen struggles were well documented last year. Despite a respectable-enough 4.11 ERA (16th overall among relief units), their underlying numbers were quite concerning.

The St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a three-year deal with veteran starter Sonny Gray, the team announced on Monday, marking one of the first big contracts dished out in this year's free agency period. Gray, entering his 12th season in MLB, reportedly reached a deal worth $75 million, per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Gray joins Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson as new faces in the Cardinals' rotation, as both veterans signed one-year pacts to head to St. Louis. "We were hoping to sign a couple of pitchers we knew we could count on for innings," John Mozeliak, the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, said during a news conference Monday, per ESPN.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for 2024 is out, and one name on it will certainly catch the eyes of Minnesota Twins fans.

The team and Lee Health announced a 10-year partnership that will rename the team's minor league facilities Lee Health Sports Complex.

Bally Sports North will continue to televise Minnesota Timberwolves games through the end of the 2023-24 season, under a tentative ruling issued Wednesday by a federal bankruptcy court judge in Houston, and the Minnesota Wild will likely receive the same assurance in the next week or so. But at season's end, the NBA and NHL teams will find themselves in the same predicament as the Minnesota ...

Detroit Tigers assistant hitting coach James Rowson has been hired as the hitting coach for the Yankees. He has a relationship with Aaron Judge.

Arraez finished the season with an MLB-best .354 batting average.

Baseball players’ free agent contracts often act like a reward for past performance rather than a solid bet on future contributions. Sometimes the fully guaranteed deals work out; other times injury or a quick drop-off in skills can saddle a team with a long-term millstone. One entrepreneur, Mark Grenader, said he thinks he can combine …