Putting a wrap on the Twins' '23 season 

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The Twins’ 2023 season lasted longer than it did in either of the previous two years, thanks to the success that led to a division championship, a snapping of the record playoff losing streak that stood since ‘04 and the organization’s first playoff series win since ‘02.

But on Friday, as we do after the end of any campaign, we had a chance to sit down for an informal, on-the-record chat with president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli for a full end-of-season postmortem, discussing some of the factors that led to the season that just ended and a handful of topics pertinent to the offseason to come.

Clearly, the biggest news that came from that session was the upcoming surgeries for Byron Buxton and Alex Kirilloff, but we touched on a wide array of other topics, too.

Here’s what you should know from that discussion:

Royce to stick with infield
The Twins are preparing for next season with the idea that Royce Lewis will be the starting third baseman, Baldelli said.

He could take some grounders at shortstop, too, so that he could be ready as a backup option for Carlos Correa, but even with a crowded infield group that could further grow with the eventual promotion of No. 2 prospect Brooks Lee, the Twins do not have any intentions to try Lewis in the outfield again.

“I can't talk to five years from now; that would be irresponsible for me to do so,” Baldelli said. “But I consider Royce an infielder at this point. I consider Royce, going into the offseason and next Spring Training, getting ready to play third base. That's where we'll start the conversation with him.”

What will center field look like?
The Twins are preparing Buxton to play center field again in 2024, but as they found out this year, it’s a good idea to have a safety net. That’s what Michael A. Taylor was when they acquired him -- and Taylor ended up starting 126 games in center field.

With Taylor bound for free agency, Falvey brought up Willi Castro and Austin Martin as players the Twins expect to play some role in center field. Perhaps they could think about bringing Taylor back, or finding another consistent option to preserve the positional versatility of both Castro and Martin -- but it seems the Twins aren’t going to put all their eggs in the Buxton basket.

“These guys are going to all play a role for us,” Falvey said. “What that looks like, exactly, on our roster, is TBD. Hopefully Byron is also playing a role in that mix, and we'll see what else.”

Varland to the bullpen? They’re not ruling it out
Louie Varland was initially reluctant to move to a bullpen role down the stretch, and made his reservations known both internally and externally.

That happened with the expectation that Varland would return to starting in 2024 -- but the Twins don’t want to make a call on that just yet, both Baldelli and Falvey said. They’re glad he now has experience doing both at the highest level, but it did affect their perspective to see Varland up to 100 mph with his fastball with a cutter that gave hitters fits out of the bullpen.

“I think he has the ability to be an elite reliever,” Baldelli said. “I don't want to make any bold statements. I’ll talk to him soon. What he showed out of the bullpen was special. It's hard to look away from that and not at least think about that going forward. I'll just say that.”

Full coaching staff expected to return
There’s always a chance that the Twins’ coaches will field calls from other organizations who want their talents, but Falvey and Baldelli said the expectation is that the entire coaching group will return for the 2024 season.

“I absolutely do,” Baldelli said. “I think we have a great group and am very thankful for all their efforts and the way they elevated our players this year.”

Kepler, Polanco option decisions coming
One of the first orders of business this offseason will be the club options the Twins hold on their two longest-tenured players, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler, who both had strong seasons and remained key contributors to the Twins’ success down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Polanco’s option is $10.5 million; Kepler’s is $10 million. Did they perhaps help their cause to remain Twins by answering some questions about health and performance this season?

“Maybe to some degree, but I also think we walked in with a lot of confidence in both those guys,” Falvey said. “So maybe more external questions than internal questions for us. You know, those are two really good players. And so I think we know we've known those guys longer than probably almost anybody in that room.”