We're still a few games away from the baseball offseason, but what better time to start talking about it than right in the middle of Game 3 of the World Series? None, of course.
↵Even if some of the fans need time to regroup, the Twins organization is definitely already assessing their needs and wants to make next season a more enjoyable one. One of the major positions they'll be looking to fill this offseason is shortstop, where they had trouble penciling in a single name, let alone ever an effective one. Four different names -- Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Alexi Casilla, Trevor Plouffe, and Matt Tolbert -- made up for most of the 162 games at short this year and none exactly impressed.
↵While there's plenty of speculation that shortstop Jose Reyes will bolt on the Mets, the Twins -- like they've always shrewdly done -- are looking toward a couple cheaper commodities that can potentially help [via Twins Insider]:
↵↵↵The Twins discussed a lot of their offseason wants, needs and hopes, They examined the free agent market, particularly for starting pitchers and shortstops. They are determined to find a reliable shortstop this offseason and players like Ramon Santiago and Alex Gonzalez could be on their radar.
↵
If by reliable they mean a plus 30-year-old that can probably play over 100 games in a season, they may have their guy, but that's about it. Razor Ramon Santiago is a glorified utility man and Alex Gonzalez will be 35-years-old, coming off of his worst defensive season.
↵The Twins are also deciding whether or not to re-sign Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel. The speculation from Twins Insider is that the team will only bring one back to keep the DH spot flexible should Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer need to slip in there on occasion.
↵