The retirement of Joe Mauer freed up an annual $23 million alloc

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — ation from Minnesota’s payroll and the free agent market remains wide open with spring training just a week away.Now Scott Schebler Jersey , though, is not the time for the Twins to spend. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine of the front office are instead focused on pushing several underperforming young players for more.Don’t mistake the upcoming season for a teardown, not with Nelson Cruz as the offseason acquisition on a $14 million salary, but the Twins aren’t exactly on the verge of a World Series. Their relatively quiet winter said as much, along with the hiring of 37-year-old Rocco Baldelli as the youngest manager in the major leagues.“Buying wins just through free agency is a little bit of fool’s gold,” Falvey said. “You need to invest in the group that you have, and I feel really good about ours.”That starts with center fielder Byron Buxton and third baseman Miguel Sano, the long-linked duo of 25-year-olds that has a long way to go to reach franchise cornerstone status. Both players had a particularly rough 2018 season, a setback that, fair or not, contributed to the firing of manager Paul Molitor after a 78-84 finish.One of the first items on Baldelli’s to-do list was to travel to the Atlanta area and the Dominican Republic to start getting to know Buxton and Sano.“Just getting down there and spending just a little bit of time and having a meal and giving them the chance to talk about the things that they want to talk about, I think, was very important,” Baldelli said.With Cruz, C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop, the Twins have added three players who’ve each hit the 30-homer mark within the past two seasons. Cron also came with an established relationship with Baldelli, who came from the coaching staff with Tampa Bay, where Cron played in 2018.“Rocco’s the man,” Cron said. “I have nothing but good things to say about him.”The first pitchers and catchers workout is set for Feb. 14 in Fort Myers http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , Florida.NEW LOOKCron will replace Mauer at first base. Schoop will take over at second base for Brian Dozier, one of the seven veterans traded last summer in the dismantling triggered by a disappointing start that saw the Twins fall to 12 games out of first place by the Fourth of July. The addition of Cruz ought to make the biggest impact. The six-time All-Star, who will serve as the primary designated hitter, averaged 41 home runs over the last five seasons. The 38-year-old was targeted for his presence in the clubhouse, too, which could prove particularly helpful for his fellow Dominican, Sano.ROOKIES TO WATCHDespite the focus on developing players, the Twins are not actually that young. They probably won’t have any position players under 25 on the opening day roster. All-Star Jose Berrios, who is 24, is the only significant player in that age bracket. Thus, no legitimate 2019 American League Rookie of the Year candidates will be in camp.Two of the organization’s top prospects, however, will be there as non-roster invitees: shortstop Royce Lewis and outfielder Alex Kirilloff. Lewis, the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, and Kirilloff, the 15th overall pick in the 2016 draft, each finished last season with Class A Cedar Rapids.THEY’RE SETTwins starters were only 22nd in MLB with a collective 4.54 ERA last year, but the rotation looks stable. Berrios, Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi each made 32 starts last season George Foster Jersey , with Odorizzi carrying the strongest potential for improvement after a career-worst 4.49 ERA in his first year in Minnesota. Though injuries limited him in several seasons, recent signee Martin Perez first cracked the rotation with Texas in 2012. Michael Pineda, who sat out last year to complete the rehab of his elbow following Tommy John ligament replacement surgery, has 687 strikeouts in 680 career innings and will make a guaranteed $8 million.THEY’RE NOTThe most unsettled spot is the closer role. Newcomer Blake Parker handled that last season for the Los Angeles Angels, and Trevor Hildenberger, Trevor May and Taylor Rogers each recorded saves after Fernando Rodney was traded last summer. Addison Reed has the most ninth-inning experience. Those five relievers are near-locks for the opening day roster, but there are still two or three bullpen spots open.ON DECKIf Buxton can get back into a groove, Max Kepler can increase his power and 2018 team MVP award winner Eddie Rosario can pick up where he left off last summer, the Twins would boast one of the most skilled outfield trios in baseball. Baldelli’s moves will be worth watching over the coming weeks, too, for clues about how the bullpen and the lineup will be arranged leading up to the season opener on March 28 against Cleveland. Although Robinson Cano is ready to return from an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, his comeback is doomed to be short-lived. Even if the Seattle Mariners qualify for the postseason, Cano will be ineligible to participate.Meanwhile, in Houston, Roberto Osuna is fresh off a 75-game banfor violating Major League Baseball'sdomestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. And he's ready, willing and permitted to help the Astros win a second straight World Series championship.Something seems wrong, no?If the question is how much cynicism MLB is willing to tolerate, there is.For their part Tom Seaver Jersey , Cano and the Mariners would undoubtedly love to be together if the team does indeed make its first postseason since 2001. He betrayed everyone's trust when he got popped for using a banned masking agent,but he's still a $240 million megastar who had been going strong (see his .825 OPS) even at the age of 35.However, this isn't about what's best for Cano and the Mariners.Mark Cunningham/Getty ImagesAlong with harsher regular-season penalties, postseasonbans became an official part of MLB's and the MLB Players Association's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program in 2014. That promised an additional blow to violators' wallets. It would also bar them from redemption on baseball's biggest stage."Our hope here is that the adjustments that we鈥檝e made do inevitably get [the number of violators] to zero," said MLBPA chief Tony Clark, per the Associated Press (via theNew York Times). He added: "I am hopeful that players make the right decisions that are best for them, for their careers and for the integrity of the game."Clark may be getting his wish.Per Baseball-Almanac.com, there were 21 PED suspensions in 2012 and 2013 alone. There have been only 22 since 2014. Not surprisingly, none of the players involved was traded to a contender later in a given season.Which brings us back to Osuna and a cringe-worthy situation that might be avoided in the future.Since the details of his case are being kept under wraps, only so much is known about how, exactly, the former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander has found himself in hot water. But there is a clear timeline:May 8:Osuna isarrested and charged with assault of a female victimMay 17: According toVjosa Isai and Wendy Gillisof theToronto Star,Osuna is ordered to stay away from a specific Toronto building, not communicate with his alleged victim and not consume alcohol or possess weaponsJune 18:Osuna's attorney, Domenic Basile, confirms to Betsy Powell of Star that the charge revolves around an "alleged domestic abuse" for which Osunawill plead not guiltyJune 22:MLB concludes its investigation, and Commissioner Rob Manfred hands Osuna the third-longest suspension under its domestic violence policy, which went into effect August 2015July 30:Following supposed "unprecedented" due diligence, the Astrosacquire Osuna from the Blue JaysAugust 6:Osuna returns to the moundWhile Osuna's suspension is over Paul Konerko Jersey , his criminal case is not.According to Matt Young of theHouston Chronicle, the All-Star closer has a court date in Toronto on Sept. 5. Basile plans to seek a postponement and a "peace bond," which would result in the charges being dropped in exchange for Osuna's promise that he will stay on good behavior.If that doesn't pan out, things will proceed and possibly result in Osuna being convicted and/orbarred entry from the United States.In the meantime, the Astros have a public relations nightmare on their hands.There's no taking issue with the actual content of the trade. Houston only sent three spare assets (right-handers Ken Giles, David Paulino and Hector Perez) to Toronto in exchange for Osuna, who's still only 23 and under team control through 2020.Still, general manager Jeff Luhnow sought to get out ahead of the inevitable backlash. Thus came astatement that expressed confidence that "Osuna is remorseful" and that he'll "fully comply with our zero tolerance policy related to abuse of any kind."Luhnow's bit on "zero tolerance" was rightfully panned as being blatantly disingenuous, however. The bit about Osuna being remorsefulearned a pointed clarification from Basile. Via ESPN's Buster Olney:Buster Olney Buster_ESPNRoberto Osunas lawyer speaking about the word quot;remorsefulquot; that was used by the Astros in reference to their new reliever: quot;My client is not remorseful of being guilty of any criminal activity,quot; Basile said Wednesday. quot;Hes obviously remorseful of the circumstances.quot;Luhnow may have been hoping that his team and its fans would graciously accept Osuna, but there's been some hesitance for both. Ace pitcher Justin Verlander referred to the trade as a "tough situation." When one female fan expressed her frustration on social media, the reaction was swift and severe."Astros fans have always stuck together," the fan told Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. "It was crazy to see how this trade tore them apart a little. Everyone took a side."But then, it's doubtful that Luhnow and the rest of Houston's decision-makers ever thought everything would be hunky-dory after they went ahead with the trade. Or even cared, for that matter.They're poker-faced pragmatists whose chief concern is winning another World Series.Since there's no guarantee that Osuna's legal situation will keep him on the field beyond 2018, that was almost certainly the Astros' primary motivation in trading for himnow rather than waiting until after he had cleared his suspension and/or his name. If it ends with Osuna getting the last out in the World Series, they're not going to be quick to regret it.This isn't the first situation of its kind that MLB has encountered in the years since it implemented its domestic policy. That distinction belongs to Aroldis Chapman, who still bears a scarlet letter after his girlfriend told police he choked her during an argument inOctober 2015.But even with him, there's no comparison to Osuna.Elsa/Getty ImagesChapman hadn't been charged when the New Yankees first acquiredhim from the Cincinnati Reds in December 2015 http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-paul-konerko-jersey , and he ultimately never was. And while the Chicago Cubs eventually traded for him in July and he helped them win their first World Series in 108 years, that was after the flame-throwing lefty had already served a30-game suspension.Granted, Major League Baseball may never be able to implement a perfect domestic violence policy鈥擣anGraphs' Sheryl Ring wrote an excellent rundown of the complications on that front. But for the sake of its reputation with the legions of baseball fans withactualzero tolerance policies for such matters, theunparalleled cynical nature of the Osuna trade should have the league scrambling to try to do better.Given the latest circumstances, the most apparent way to do that is by copying the postseason ban portion of the Joint Drug Agreement and pasting it onto the domestic violence policy. If it must only come in tandem with a specific regular-season suspension threshold鈥攕ay, 50 games鈥攖hen so be it.If nothing else, it would add another layer of deterrence for players. It could also help prevent trades like one that sent Osuna to Houston, in which the acquiring team elevates baseball matters above basic human decency.Understand, this isn't about drawing a moral equivalence between the transgressions of Cano and Osuna.Assuming hisexcuseof trying to treat a medical condition is as bunk as it sounds, Cano was only trying to improve his ability to entertain. He just didn't do so in a way that MLB has deemed appropriate.Relative to that, an alleged act of violence against another human being is more severe.Ultimately, this is about what MLB must do to be both a lucrative institution and one that its fans can be proud of. To this end, more compassion and a little consistency would be a good start.