I'm not sure what's more of a surprise - that the Twins are considering bringing Jim Thome back into the fold, or that Jim Thome actually is, one by one, completing his farewell tour by making a second stop in every city he's played for in the past. He's already been back through Cleveland and Philadelphia. If he stops in Minnesota, that only leaves Chicago. Personally, I'm not counting that brief layover in Los Angeles or last season's pit stop in Baltimore.
Farewell tour stops only include teams for whom he has played a full season. My rules.
According to Len III, the Twins and Thome's representatives had contact approximately one month ago. Those talks didn't amount to much, with speculation being that his desire to garner a guaranteed roster spot is keeping him from having more suitors.
You can't blame Thome for wanting to play. With his age and the general easy-break condition of his body at this stage, every healthy plate appearance that he would have in the minors, even if it gets him closer to a call up, is one less healthy plate appearance he could have in The Show. As great a guy as Thome is, a future Hall of Famer is going to have a hard time taking a side road through the farm in order to get one more day in the sun.
On an inexpensive contract with performance-based incentives, yes, I would absolutely bring Thome back. I'd ask him to start two or three times a week, always on a Sunday to help ease Gardy's "getaway day" lineup, and I'd tell him that if he reached 250 or 300 plate appearances that it would be a good year. He'd never start a day game after a night game, he'd never start more than two games in a row unless we were forced into it, and I'd have him be prepared to play on a very strict schedule.
At this point, what do the Twins have to lose? There's certainly the potential there to have the "pop off the bench", and it's a good chance that he would make the bench better as long as he's healthy.