With 'heavy lifting' done, Jake Odorizzi unlikely to return to Twins

The Twins' winter shopping spree might be over.

After signing five major league free agents to contracts worth roughly $42 million, Derek Falvey said Wednesday that "the heavy lifting is done" in restructuring the Twins' roster for the 2021 season. The Twins' president of baseball operations declined to comment on specific players, but it seemed to indicate that the chances of re-signing Jake Odorizzi, an All-Star two summers ago, are negligible.

Odorizzi, the 30-year-old righthander who won 22 games and posted a 4.11 ERA in 66 starts with the Twins over the past three seasons, is believed to be seeking a multiyear contract worth in excess of $10 million per season.

Asked whether the Twins, who signed lefthander J.A. Happ to a one-year, $8 million contract in January to help replace Odorizzi and veteran lefthander Rich Hill, have enough starting pitching, Falvey said. "I'm excited about the starting group that we have," he said. "I feel like we have some good depth, some young guys coming, guys we're excited about [who] didn't get a chance to see as much last year."

He named Randy Dobnak, Devin Smeltzer and Lewis Thorpe in that category, and "we'll have some other conversations about other potential guys as well as nonroster fits and others that will compete. But I feel really good about our pitching right now."

It's unclear what that means for free-agent relievers Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard, and whether the Twins, who already have added Hansel Robles ($2 million) and Alex Colome ($6 million) to their bullpen, are interested in bringing either veteran back. Romo saved five games in six chances in 2020, albeit with a 4.05 ERA, while Clippard posted a 2.77 ERA while holding batters to a .202 average.

"We've got a lot of our significant expenditures done, but we are in conversations maybe with some ways to round out the roster, or other potential fits at a lower-dollar amount," said Falvey, who also signed Nelson Cruz and Andrelton Simmons for the everyday lineup. But "the big-ticket items for our group, I think we have completed at this point."