Best Twins Free Agent Signings

The Twins are a notoriously cheap team. So we've had to dig through the transactions archives to come up with more than a few meaningful free agent signings.



Jack Morris - He pitched 10 innings of shutout ball to help the Twins win Game 7 of the World Series. I don't think the Twins could have imagined a better scenario when they signed him eight months earlier, making him one of the highest paid players in the game. (at $3.7 mil) After winning 18 regular season games, becoming an October legend and making a boatload of money, the hometown kid signed with the Blue Jays. (Where he would win more championships and make more money, but not pitch as well).


Chili Davis - Another signing that helped the Twins win in '91. Davis came over from the Angels where he hit only 12 bombs and 58 RBI, but Andy McPhail must have seen something in his eyes. For when 31 year old designated hitter put on that Twins uniform, Davis caught fire. He complimented the Twins lineup to the tune of 29 homers and 93 RBI.


Dave Winfield - After 19 years in the majors, Winfield had finally won a title. And he certainly did his part: he hit .290/26/108 while the Blue Jays rolled to their first World Series win. So with that under his belt, all Winfield needed to do was get his 3,000th hit. So in December of '93, he decided he'd do it less than a mile from where it all began, the University of Minnesota. He got his 3,000th hit, but he was in his 40's and put up his least productive numbers of his career. The future Hall of Famer was then sold to Cleveland for a nice dinner.


Paul Molitor - Molly was a distinguished baseball player, spending 14 fine seasons in Milwaukee, which would have been hell on most Minnesotans. At age 36, Molitor finally broke free and went to ......Canada. Well, it was obviously better than Milwaukee, because he promptly won his first World Series title with those Blue Jays. With that out of the way, Molitor only needed to collect his 3,000th hit to finish his Hall of Fame resume. Gosh, this is sounding familiar. But seriously, he played really well in 1996 on an otherwise lousy team. As the primary designated hitter, he hit .341 with 113 RBI. And that was about the last time the Twins had a 'primary designated hitter'

Oh, and he also mentored a young Ron Coomer...... who turns out to be not young at all! He was 29 in 1996.


Terry Steinbach - The A's catcher took a page out of Winfield and Molitor's book and came to close out his career with his awful hometown team. The Twins weren't very good the last three years of the 90's, but Steinbach didn't hurt the team. He certainly wasn't blocking any prospects. And he helped teach Brad Radke the finer points of the game? Sure, let's go with that.


Other notables:

Mike Marshall - Former Cy Young winner played three seasons with the Twins in the late 70's. He was a closer and pitched well, earning 21 and 32 saves in '78 and '79, respectively. He even garnered MVP votes in 1979. More importantly, this is thought to be the time when he came up with his stress-free pitching techniques.

Carl Willis - The Big Train was a key member of a solid bullpen in 1991.

Juan Barenguer - El Gasolino, Senor Smoke, whatever you want to call him. The energetic Barenguer was a fan favorite on the '87 team, the year he won 8 games out of the 'pen.

Rick Aguilera - Aggie was traded to Boston for Frankie Rodriguez during the '95 season. The Twins then re-signed him prior to the '96 season, and then inexplicably turned him into a starter.

Otis Nixon - 39 years old in 1998. The Twins were rebuilding, had been terrible for the past five years, should have been getting younger, but then signed a 39 year old centerfielder. This move officially made them the oldest team in the majors. He hit .297 as their leadoff hitter.

Mike Redmond - Capable back-up to Joe Mauer's weak and easily broken body.

Tom Kelly - TK was released by the Brewers in 1971 without playing in a major league game. He finally appeared in 1975 and hit .181/1/11. That is his career line. The Twins must have been impressed, because they brought him back as a coach and he worked his way up to manager; now his baseball philosophy has become Twins gospel.