Twins need to act this offseason like window for winning is open now — because it is

Hopefully a few days have been enough for you to recover from the Twins' exit from the postseason. It's time to wonder what 2024 will bring — or should bring. Because, now, the Twins have really done it: They have raised expectations.

They won the American League Central and are equipped to rule the division for the next few seasons. They ended that blasted 18-game postseason losing streak that was the longest in North American professional sports. They also won their first playoff series since 2002. Check, check and check.

They have a mix of reliable veterans and young players with upside. Their window to win is now wide open.

It's time to expect more. It's time to check more boxes. It's time to add a couple of pieces — while praying for better health — to make a deeper postseason push.

On Friday, a few players stopped by Target Field to pack their belongings and start the offseason. The tears that were shed following their Wednesday night loss to Houston in the Division Series have since dried on the clubhouse carpeting. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey met with reporters to go over the season and look ahead to what should be an interesting offseason of roster moves. There's not a lot of heavy lifting that needs to be done, but there is work to do.

"We feel we have a good base to work with," Falvey said.

They have their long-sought frontman for their starting rotation in Pablo López, who was 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA and is under contract for the next four seasons.

They have their long-term answer at closer in Jhoan Duran, the hardest thrower in the game.

We finally have seen the sparkling play of Royce Lewis who has a .913 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in his first 70 games in the majors.

They have a star at shortstop in Carlos Correa.

They have a should-be star in Byron Buxton, who had knee surgery Friday that could yield major results.

In addition to Lewis, Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner, Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan are all 20-somethings who flashed during the season and have plenty of upside.

Ryan Jeffers turned the corner behind the plate.

Trevor Larnach and Jose Miranda should be given more chances.

Top prospects Brooks Lee and Austin Martin should debut next season. Falvey spoke glowingly of Martin's defense in center field, enough to speculate that he could be an option next season in the unfortunate event that Buxton still can't play there.

So what changes need to be considered? Falvey said that their free agent rankings and list of trade targets have been compiled by his staff, but his offseason strategy has not been determined. The thing about offseason plans is that they often change based on the market. Who believed that Correa would return to the Twins at the start of free agency last offseason?

But when spring training opens next February, hopefully the Twins will have found a replacement for righthander Sonny Gray, if he departs via free agency. A Correa-like pivot is possible, but most first-time free agents want to benefit from years of working to get to that point. With Kenta Maeda also expected to leave as a free agent, the Twins will need to address their starting pitching depth beyond the expected core of López, Ryan, Ober and Chris Paddack. Louie Varland wants to return to starting but, man, his stuff sizzled coming out of the bullpen.

While the offense improved as the season went along, they could use another bat. If there's a 2019 version of Nelson Cruz available, Falvey must make a call.

This all could be tricky, as the Twins are one of several teams with uncertain television rights futures that could affect their 2024 payroll. But the Pohlad family should realize the opportunity they have to fund a winner.

A lot of good things happened for the 2023 Twins. Now they must add to the mix to sustain AL Central dominance and push harder in the postseason.

Because now, expectations are higher.