Including his team’s Oct. 3 cameo at Yankee Stadium, Twins owner Jim Pohlad has been watching the 2017 postseason with great interest. In particular, he’s been noticing the high-velocity arms the rest of the postseason field has been putting on the mound.

“It’s daunting,” Pohlad said this week. “It’s super daunting. They look so good, but I suppose in the postseason you tend to watch the games more intensely and watch every single pitch and see the movement and stuff on it and the velocity. It’s really daunting.”

Having seen the Twins make a 26-win leap back into relevance behind one of the game’s most productive lineups, the question remains how to make that next jump toward championship excellence. After face-planting into 103 losses two years ago as they came off an 83-win breakout, can the Twins avoid that sort of backslide while going from this year’s 85 wins into the 95-win range it typically takes to win the American League Central?

“We definitely can and hopefully we will,” Pohlad said. “It’s going to take further development. A lot of the young players showed a lot of progress this year, but they’re not at their ceiling by any stretch of the imagination. Do we have to add something? Yes, I would think so, somehow.”

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Rich Hill turns in solid start, but Cubs shut out Twins at Wrigley Bringing back manager Paul Molitor on a three-year contract extension was step one, the organization believes, even as the Twins went just 16-32 (.333) with a minus-102 run differential against fellow postseason qualifiers. Against the rest of the majors, they were 69-46 (.600) with a plus-75 run differential.

Next up is finding a new pitching coach to replace the fired Neil Allen and adding to a staff that finished 19th in the majors with a 4.60 earned-run average while churning through a club-record 36 pitchers. Strip away a much-improved defense and the Twins finished 25th in fielding-independent ERA as measured by Fangraphs.com.

A rotation that improved by 11 spots in league ERA actually plummets to 27th when all-star right-hander Ervin Santana is removed from the equation. Without Santana’s 16 wins and 3.28 ERA, fifth in the AL, Twins starters went 45-49 with a 5.19 ERA while barely averaging five innings a start.

“There’s no question we have work to do on the pitching,” Pohlad said. “It’s just absolutely obvious. It has to be added, for sure, whether it comes from within or without. You won’t know the within part until the season develops.”

FIXING THE PITCHING

After spending a combined $170 million on free-agent contracts for Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes and Ervin Santana in 2013-14 — with only the Santana signing a clear success — Pohlad insists he won’t be less willing to dip into the free-agent market for starting pitching if that’s what his baseball people recommend.

“You’ve got to try something,” he said. “Not everything works. You’ve just got to keep trying. You can’t be afraid to try.”

He is eager as well to see what type of trade proposals chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine will bring to his attention in the coming months. Falvey’s former employer, the Cleveland Indians, used trades during his tenure to build the game’s best starting rotation, bringing in the likes of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger as minor leaguers.

“I don’t think Derek would take credit for all those trades in Cleveland himself,” Pohlad said. “It was a team effort, and he’s got a good team around him now. Whether it’s trades or free agency, I just don’t know. You just have to see. But it will be fun. That’s a fun part of the season.”

With at least $70.4 million committed to seven players for 2018 — including a buyout for three-time all-star closer Glen Perkins and disappointing Korean slugger ByungHo Park — the Twins also are looking at a projected $16.8 million for their seven-player arbitration class.

Topping that group are right-hander Kyle Gibson ($5.3 million), utility infielder Eduardo Escobar ($4.9 million) and outfielder Robbie Grossman ($2.4 million).

There has been no talk yet about locking up pre-arbitration talent such as Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario, but Pohlad expects that to be a topic fairly soon.

“I’d be looking forward to that conversation,” he said.

DOZIER, MAUER FUTURES

In addition to Santana, whose $14 million option for 2019 would vest with another 200-inning season next year, the Twins are entering their final year of guaranteed deals with first baseman Joe Mauer ($23 million) and second baseman Brian Dozier ($9 million). How hopeful is Pohlad of keeping the right side of his infield intact beyond next season?

“You picked two great examples of human beings and Twins players and community participants,” he said. “They’re at different places in their careers, the two of them, so at least 50 percent of it depends on what their desires are, too. I don’t think there’s any team that wouldn’t want those two as individuals on their team.” Related Articles ‘Still driven,’ Paul Molitor signs up for three more years as Twins manager

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The 30-year-old Dozier, whose 4.9 wins above replacement (according to Fangraphs.com) trailed only Houston’s Jose Altuve among AL second basemen, has averaged 38 homers the past two seasons. A year away from his first crack at free agency, Dozier would compare favorably with the likes of Dustin Pedroia (eight years, $110 million); Daniel Murphy (three years, $37.5 million); and Ian Kinsler (six years, $90 million).

Mauer, 34, overcame a slow start to lead the Twins with a .305 batting average, part of his best overall production since a career-altering concussion in 2013. Molitor said Tuesday he would be surprised if Mauer didn’t want to continue playing beyond his current deal, but how would such an extension be structured?

While Dozier was subject to protracted trade rumors last offseason, Pohlad was admittedly pleased the Twins decided not to deal him.

“Of course, because I like Brian as a person — a lot,” he said. “But do you want the team to improve overall? Yes. You have to do it somehow.”

Should they opt to listen on Dozier, or any member of their current core this winter, the Twins would likely be seeking young big-league talent as opposed to prospects who might be years away.

“You would have to believe you’re getting a future core player back — or players,” Pohlad said. “Now. Not 10 years from now.”

In the end, Pohlad knows making that next step may require some difficult decisions, whether it’s packaging some of their own prospects for an established starting pitcher or trading young big-league talent for a piece (or pieces) with even more upside.

“In some cases, you know you need to get something and sometimes you have to give something up,” Pohlad said. “It’s not because you want to get rid of a person or think this person is no good. You listen and you’ve got to give value. Those teams aren’t ignorant. They want value back.”