The Minnesota Twins have already said, in their words, that they don't want to trade superstar outfielder Byron Buxton.
Buxton, for his part, has said he wants to be a "Twin for life."
But often, actions speak louder than words.
On Monday, the Twins took action. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Monday morning that the Twins are signing free agent first baseman Josh Bell to a one-year contract with a mutual option in it for 2027.
Bell isn't the biggest-name free agent, but he's still a solid switch-hitter.
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The key is that Bell is 33 years old, and this is a one-year deal. Both of those things signal positively on the idea of Buxton indeed staying in town, along with pitchers Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez.
Why would the Twins sign a guy like Bell to a one-year contract and then trade away other veteran talent? Bell wouldn't be useful to a rebuilding team.
But for a team that wants to get itself in contention, Bell is a logical signing.
The Twins could stumble out of the blocks and change course, of course. Bell would be an easy guy to trade away at the deadline if Minnesota's season isn't going to plan, and his signing now doesn't mean that Buxton, Ryan or Lopez aren't traded down the road.
It does suggest, though, that this offseason will be about adding building blocks for the Twins, not subtracting them. And for all the Twins fans who have Buxton jerseys hanging in their closets, that's big news.
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