When the 2008 season began Minnesota was projected by most analysts to finish dead last in the AL Central and be one of the least competitive teams in the majors. As we all know the Twins missed the playoffs by one game last season and, most impressively, they did it with a lineup where most of the players were no older than 28 and often no one with more than four years of MLB experience. Without a doubt they have the nucleus of a great team, having built from within the organization and trading quality and getting quality in return. So a quiet offseason isn’t such a bad thing. But from the moment their offseason began they have been rumored to be interested in every third baseman on the market, and yet nothing has happened. Same thing with their well publicized search for bullpen help.
Currently the media reports are linking the team with former Arizona closer Brandon Lyon and Eric Gagne, lately with Milwaukee. Lyon sparkled as the D-backs setup man in 2006 & 2007 before struggling as the team’s closer last season. I’m definitely intrigued by him joining the Twins and giving assistance in the setup role to Matt Guerrier who was severely overworked last year. Gagne I’m much less thrilled by and I hope the Twins take a pass on him. He’s flopped for the past three plus seasons since returning from Tommy John surgery and he simply isn’t worth the risk. Also,we don’t necessarily need either of them as current Twins lefthanders Craig Breslow & Jose Mijares have proven quite capable and ready to help with setup; Breslow was a waiver wire addition and Mijares came up from the minors. Each of them were a welcome surprise to the Twins bullpen that up to that point had been mostly abysmal.
The starting rotation hasn’t looked this great in years. Ace lefthander Francisco Liriano, who will come back for a full season, and rising star Scott Baker anchor the pitching staff that also includes Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins. Slowey & Perkins are each entering just their third big league season and Blackburn is entering only his second. That may seem to some like an awfully young cast but these youngsters all performed outstanding and I don’t see any reason for one of them to under perform in 2009. Boof Bonser, who lost his spot in the rotation, reportedly doesn’t enjoy being part of the bullpen and that’s unfortunate. He might have developed into a very reliable relief specialist. Philip Humber, acquired in the Johan Santana trade, is out of options and with no openings available in the starting rotation he could become the Twins long relief man. The team will most likely determine each of their futures during spring training camp.
All-stars first baseman Justin Morneau and catcher Joe Mauer return to lead the Twins offensively. Minnesota has been successful playing small ball, but they could definitely use some additional power in the 5, 6 & 7 spots to help them score a few more easy runs. Every sports publication and website have targeted third base as the most obvious place to add a few home runs and it’s easy to see why. The team used five players at the position in 2008 and got a mere six homers out of all of them. Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher finished the season in a platoon at the spot and I would be comfortable with the Twins entering the season with the same projection. Buscher established the fact that he can hit the ball and Harris is an above average fielder with the necessary range and fits in well with the Twins small ball approach. As I mentioned in an earlier entry on this blog Buscher does need to improve his fielding dramatically if he is to get regular playing time at third. If he doesn’t I think the team would have no choice but to go to their fallback option in the farm system which would be Matt Macri.
Alexi Casilla and Nick Punto return at second base and shortstop respectively to anchor the Twins infield. Casilla showed he can hit in his first full season but he also needs to get better defensively – he was terrible at times last year. Punto is absolutely unparalleled at defense but his hitting has become seriously suspect. He serves the team better as an infield reserve defensive specialist and occasional centerfielder. But until touted prospect Matt Tolbert proves ready to become the everyday shortstop we can expect to see Punto there daily.
With the late season addition of Denard Span, Minnesota now has a bit of logjam – four outfielders that they could use everyday. Delmon Young, acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay, Carlos Gomez, acquired in the Santana trade with the Mets, and, Twins defensive star, rightfielder Michael Cuddyer all figure to be starters when the season opens. Jason Kubel currently is slotted as the team’s DH and placed into left or right field only on occasion so he doesn’t figure into that equation. The outfield situation is much like the starting rotation in that it has no real weak link – although there are many calling for the ouster of Young due to his error proneness. Young, though, recovered from his early season woes and did a turnaround that was simply amazing after the All-Star break. And the outfield and the starting pitching has depth in the minors making one of the current Twins trade-bait to add a third baseman or possibly some relief help. But at this point a trade by the Twins front office is only an extremely remote possibility and all of the current players will very likely stay. Instead I look for the Twins to be keeping an eye on the players released by other teams during spring training or those jettisoned as camp breaks and get someone then.
With both Cleveland and Detroit ready to rebound with fantastic seasons it will be very, very difficult for Minnesota to win the division – especially without the power needed from the 5, 6 and 7 spots in the batting lineup. If Young, Cuddyer and Kubel can each hit 20+ home runs in those spots then they will have the run production necessary to compete with strong batting lineups from both Cleveland & Detroit. Even without that though they’ll still be in the thick of the division race come September because no MLB team can play small ball as well as the Twins. But honestly, at least ‘on paper’, they’re just not any better now than they were at the end of 2008.
Filed under: AL Central, Twins Baseball
