Minnesota Twins without a shortstop so far this offseason

Catching up on some of the free agent signings from recent days:

• Dansby Swanson, Cubs, 7 years, $177 million
• Justin Turner, Boston Red Sox, 2 years, $21.7 million
• Michael Brantley, Houston Astros, 1 year, $12 million
• J.D. Martinez, Los Angeles Dodgers, 1 year, $10 million
• Joey Gallo, Minnesota Twins, 1 year, $11 million

Swanson was the last high-priced free agent to come off the board. As you can see from the list above, some of the late-career veterans are starting to sign short-term contracts. Brantley decided to stay where he's been in Houston. Turner went from Los Angeles to Boston, while Martinez when from Boston to Los Angeles. The two essentially swapped places.

My main takeaway on Swanson: The Twins are left without a shortstop to this point in the offseason. They sought to retain Carlos Correa, but they were outbid by the San Francisco Giants. Swanson seemed to be their fallback, but he chose to come to the North Side of Chicago.

Now, Minnesota is in a fix. The best free agent shortstop left on the market is ... probably Elvis Andrus, who had a resurgence with the White Sox at the end of 2022, but it's far from certain that the 34-year-old veteran can sustain that level of play moving forward.

The Twins ended up with Gallo to plug an outfield spot, while the Sox signed Andrew Benintendi on a five-year deal. That's a little surprising. At the start of the offseason, no one would have been shocked if Gallo had landed on the South Side on a short-term deal. The Twins seemed more likely to make a multiyear splash on somebody, either an outfielder or a shortstop.

I must say, I did not want Gallo on the Sox. He's a boom-or-bust player, and while I fully acknowledge that he could hit 40 homers for the Twins and make me eat my words, the Sox already have a little too much boom-or-bust in their everyday lineup.

The Sox were better off signing an outfielder who sets a higher floor at his position, and Benintendi is that guy. Gallo simply is not. 

Who are the top remaining free agents? Well, I wouldn't say there's anyone left you would call "top of market." Besides Andrus, Jean Segura and Brandon Drury are still out there as infielders. Michael Conforto is available for anyone still interested in an outfielder. Jurickson Profar would be an option for a team seeking an all-purpose type. Nathan Eovaldi is probably the best starting pitcher still out there. Need a closer? I'm not sure Craig Kimbrel will ever regain his "future Hall of Fame" form, but he's available.

Carlos Correa signs 13-year deal (!) with San Francisco Giants

Carlos Correa

The San Francisco Giants swung and missed in their attempt to sign Aaron Judge, who was the biggest free agent on the market this offseason.

Give the Giants credit. They dusted themselves off and took a big swing at the second-biggest free agent available. This time, they converted, reeling in All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa with a 13-year, $350 million contract.

Thirteen years!

Correa is 28 years old, a superstar in the prime of his career. I don't doubt for one second that Correa is going to be tremendously productive during the front half of that contract. The back half? We'll see. The deal takes him through his age-40 season. He might not be so good by then, but if the Giants win the World Series while Correa is still an elite player, I'm sure they can live with it.

The thing about Correa is, he was a free agent last offseason, too. He signed with the Minnesota Twins for three years, $105 million -- with an opt out after each season. After one season with Minnesota, he opted out and bet on himself. Now, he's cashed in big.

I've heard that Correa was looking for a 10-year deal last year. The Cubs were among the teams interested, but ultimately, nobody was willing to give him that length of contract. Had a team offered him that, they'd probably have Correa under contract for nine more years at this point.

Instead, he went back on the open market and got himself 13 years, after two other prominent shortstops signed for 11 years -- Trea Turner in Philadelphia and Xander Bogaerts in San Diego.

It just goes to show that the price for these elite players only tends to go up. Some of these teams that are waiting for the price to come down to levels they are "comfortable" with, that's just a failing strategy.

Now, Dansby Swanson is the top remaining shortstop on the market. He's a good player, but he's not a franchise changer like Correa or Turner.

However, I won't be surprised if some team gives Swanson the contract that Correa should have gotten last season.

Baseball Prospectus releases Top 101 prospects list; six White Sox included

As White Sox pitchers and catchers report to Glendale, Arizona, today, any optimism surrounding the team has to do with the future and the Sox's much-improved farm system.

Baseball Prospectus on Monday released its list of Top 101 prospects, and the Sox have six players listed. That's significant, because I can't remember the Sox ever having more than two or three players named.

Here's how BP lines 'em up:

5. Yoan Moncada, INF
10. Lucas Giolito, RHP
30. Reynaldo Lopez, RHP
36. Michael Kopech, RHP
89. Zack Collins, C
97. Alec Hansen, RHP

In case you're interested but too lazy to click the link, the four guys ranked ahead of Moncada are St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes, Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson, Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi and Philadelphia Phillies shortstop J.P. Crawford.

Moncada ranked second (behind Benintendi) in Baseball America's Top 100, which was released Friday. BA was not as high on Giolito, however, ranking him 25th. The publication liked Collins better, ranking him 56th. Lopez (31st) and Kopech (32nd) were in similar territory on BA's list, which did not include Hansen.