The 2021 MLB season has come to a close, and the Atlanta Braves were crowned World Series champs. Free agency will open up on Nov. 7, but what do the Minnesota Twins need to address if they want to perform better in 2022.

Minnesota is in an interesting position heading into free agency. The Twins have close to $50 million to spend before they hit the luxury tax, but their track record suggests they won’t spend anywhere near that kind of money.

Minnesota has three areas of need:

1. Starting Pitching
2. Shortstop
3. Bullpen Arms

Entering the 2021 season, there were question marks about the starting rotation, but it wasn’t viewed as a major problem. You expected Kenta Maeda to regress after a CY Young performance in 2020, but he fell off significantly in 2021. They also had José Berríos and Michael Pineda as their two and three.

There weren’t high expectations for Matt Shoemaker and J.A. Happ, but no one envisioned them to suck that much. I mean seriously… Willians Astudillo almost looked better, and he was throwing a cool 40 MPH.

Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan are probably locks to be a part of the starting rotation, but who are the other three pitchers?

Griffin Jax could potentially snag the final spot if the Twins were to trade for or sign two starters? The whole thing is up in the air, but bottom line, the starting pitching needs work.

Pineda is a free agent this offseason, and it feels like a forgone conclusion that he’ll be returning next season. Pineda loves Minnesota, and the Twins didn’t deal him at the trade deadline, which speaks volumes. For what it’s worth, his brother is in the Twins’ minor league system too.

Before the season started, the Andrelton Simmons signing seemed like a good move. He’s one of the best defensive players in baseball, and he’s been an average batter throughout his career.

Breaking News: the experiment failed.

I don’t care that he’s been nominated for another Gold Glove because he was that bad offensively.

There are plenty of potential replacements in free agency this offseason, and we’ll be sure to cover any potential players the Twins could sign. If Minnesota fails to address the need in free agency, it means they’re comfortable with Austin Martin or Royce Lewis filling that role in a year or two.

Halfway through the season, the bullpen was a glaring issue. In the first half, the Twins bullpen ranked 25th in baseball with an ERA of 4.91. I don’t know what they did in the second half, but they improved to 12th and posted an ERA of 3.80.

Minnesota has plenty of bullpen arms, but it’ll be interesting to see what they decide to do with Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers – both who’ve been a staple of that group for a long time.

Minnesota has plenty of options this offseason, and the decisions they make will signal how they feel about their prospects, and if they think can compete for the playoffs.