The Minnesota Twins should be searching for corner outfield help, and one player that should be on their radar is Mitch Haniger. However, is he worth a three-year/$45 million deal?

ESPN’s Buster Olney reported Thursday night that Haniger is drawing interest from teams and is expecting to receive a contract in the three-year/$15 million range annually.

There's a lot of interest in outfielder Mitch Haniger, and in some corners, an expectation that he'll get at least three years in a contract, in the $15m range annually.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 1, 2022

Haniger is a solid player, who can hit for power – though he will be 32 next season, and missed a large chunk of 2022 with an ankle sprain. Is investing $45 million into a corner outfielder who’s aging and only played 57 games last season the correct decision?

Minnesota had the most injuries out of any MLB team last season. Because of all those injuries, the Twins were unable to hang in the divisional race come September. Had they stayed healthy, I truly believe they would have won the AL Central.

It’s not like this was a one-time thing for Minnesota; they’ve dealt with their fair share of injuries over the last couple of years. It’s why we say each offseason to target players who have a track record of staying on the field.

Since 2017:

Mitch Haniger – 530 GP – 2,314 PA – .263/.337/.480/.817 – 107 HR – 126 OPS+

Jose Abreu – 812 GP – 3,521 PA – .287/.350/.502/.852 – 152 HR – 130 OPS+

Biggest thing that stands out immediately is the GP. Gotta keep Haniger healthy with the DH.pic.twitter.com/2fr1IVX6mb

— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) December 4, 2022

To Haniger’s credit, he did play 157 games in 2021, but was that the last time he will reach that number? By the time his contract is up with the Twins, he will be 34, and that’s a lot of money to be paying a corner outfielder at that age.

There are other options on the free agent market, like Tommy Pham, Andrew Benintendi, Cody Bellinger, Andrew McCutchen and Trey Mancini.

Not all of these guys have an extensive background playing right field, but they can play other positions in the outfield. There just isn’t a lot of great right field free agent options (other than Aaron Judge).

That leaves you with a few possibilities:

1. Trade Max Kepler/Trevor Larnach/Alex Kirilloff (for pitching)
2. Sign one of these guys – move Larnach to right
3. Just roll with what you have

Reasoning:

1. Moving one of these guys improves your pitching – opens the door to sign corner outfielder
2. AK can play right, but having him at first is best – Larnach does have experience playing right
3. Keep it simple – don’t shuffle guys out of their comfort zone

The Twins have guys who can play around the outfield, which is a luxury to have. The goal is to find a corner outfielder at a good price. You can move Larnach around the field if you need to but keeping Kepler as your fourth outfielder is the best-case scenario (if a trade doesn’t occur).

The Twins have talented outfielders on the roster, but they’re unproven. They need to find someone this offseason, but it has to be a smart acquisition and not a make-a-move-to-make-a-move type of deal.

Haniger is good, and if he stays healthy, maybe he’s worth that kind of money. However, since the Twins have struggled with injuries in the past, it’s best to stay away from an aging outfielder who missed 60 percent of the 2022 season.