This could either be an exercise in accepting reality, or an excuse for the dreamers to compile a mysteriously affordable team of All-Stars, but ultimately this is your chance to flex your creative powers to solve the Twins' off-season questions. Which is what I want it to be.
If you've read the 2010-11 TwinsCentric Offseason Handbook, you'll have seen that John, Nick, Parker and Seth all outlined their blueprints for the 2011 campaign. Names like Jorge De La Rosa, Derek Lowe, Coco Crisp and others manage to make their ways onto the Twins roster in one way or another, and suffice it to say I'm not the only one who likes the idea of Derrek Lee.
Between their blueprints, or even the plan I drew up last week if you haven't picked up the Handbook yet, you have the basis for your plan: make decisions on your free agents and arbitration-eligible players, and put together a complete and competetive club with a payroll that doesn't exceed $115 million.
Over the next few days, come up with your own plans in a FanPost. I'd love to see what you all come up with. The best ones will be promoted to the front page, where the efforts of the author will be put on full display for the world (or, at the very least, the Twins blogosphere) to admire.
As a baseline for salaries that are Twins-related, check out TwinsGeek's post from last month called The Party Is Over. As a baseline for free agents, try to be realistic. You can use the numbers from the TwinsCentric Handbook, or you can take your own best guess.
Sources you might like to use:
Twins' contract statuses
2010-2011 free agents
FanGraphs
Good luck! Let's see what you've got!