Minnesota Twins
Key Additions: Phil Hughes, Ricky Nolasco, Kurt Suzuki
Key Subtractions: Ryan Doumit
Biggest Strength: Bullpen
Biggest Weakness: Starting Pitching
The Twins may have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball, but they are still another year or two away from having enough youngsters graduate to the majors to make them a contender. The first signs of the new era in Minnesota could appear later this year as top prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano may get the call before the season’s out. In the meantime, it will fall on others to carry what was one of the worst offenses in the league last year. Joe Mauer will once again be the centerpiece of the Twins’ lineup and, at 30, should again be an all-star-caliber first baseman. Otherwise, there isn’t much offensive support in Minnesota, and the only player who was brought in this offseason was Suzuki, whose best hitting days are behind him. The Twins will need players like Oswaldo Arcia, Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, and Josh Willingham to stay healthy and improve if this team will put together some runs.
If Minnesota is going to get better this year, it will have to look toward its pitching staff. And that’s hardly a guarantee. In 2013, the Twins had the second-highest ERA in baseball at 4.55. It may be unlikely that it will be much lower this season. General Manager Terry Ryan spent $84 million on pitchers this offseason, but those amount to a couple of overpays. Four years of Nolasco at $12.25 million per season and three years of Hughes at $8 million annually are above market value for pitchers of their caliber, but that’s what it was going to take to get any upgrade in the rotation. Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Sam Deduno will likely fill out the other three spots. Glen Perkins will return to the closer’s role after an all-star season in which he posted a 2.30 ERA with 36 saves. The rest of the bullpen is mainly comprised of holdovers from last year, which may not be a bad thing. The Twins actually had the fifth-best ERA among relievers in the A.L. But, still, if the team can’t score runs and the starters let them down, it will be useless.
