Although most of the baseball world dismissed the Minnesota Twins heading into the MLB playoffs, their 2023 campaign was an unequivocal success. They mercilessly ended an unbelievably long streak of October futility and knocked out the highly-talented Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Wild Card Series. The front office is showing some love to two guys who were an integral part of this noteworthy season.

“Source: As expected, Twins exercise club options for Jorge Polanco ($10.5m) and Max Kepler ($10m),” Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported on Thursday. With the AL Central still mired in uncertainty, these contract decisions should increase Minnesota's odds of winning consecutive divisional titles.

Injury problems have come to define this franchise in recent years, and these two players are no exception. However, they each bounced back enough to serve key roles on the most prosperous Twins team that fans witnessed in two decades. Kepler, in particular, was arguably manager Rocco Baldelli's most impactful offensive player. The outfielder batted .260 with 24 home runs and 66 RBIs, while posting an impressive .484 slugging percentage and .816 OPS.

Polanco played in only 80 games in the regular season and occasionally struggled defensively but nevertheless found his power stroke. Despite missing half the year, the former All-Star infielder belted 14 homers and recorded 48 RBIs.

There is reason to believe that Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco can continue to swing the bat effectively in 2024. What the future holds beyond that remains to be seen, but the Twins are guaranteeing that they both remain focal points in the lineup for the time being. After suffering through one of sports' most incomprehensible “curses,” it might be wise to maintain the same clubhouse mojo that finally helped break it.