Minnesota Twins looking to contend with Cleveland Indians

Can the Minnesota Twins compete with the Indians this season? Can they win the AL Central? Maybe, but a lot of things have to go right.

As of this moment, the Minnesota Twins main competition to win the Central is the Cleveland Indians. Now, things can change rapidly, and any of the other teams in the division could surge to the forefront, but the Indians have won the Central the last three years, so at the moment, they’re the team to beat.

The Twins have made a lot of moves this offseason, bolstering their lineup. And since the middle of last season, the Indians have also made a lot of moves, albeit mainly in the form of subtractions. With the Indians currently sitting atop the division, let’s look at them first.

In mid-July last season, the Indians traded Francisco Mejia to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. Hand was used to replace the struggling Cody Allen at closer and Cimber was used in the middle innings. Mejia, the number 1 catching prospect in baseball, is currently batting .385 with 26 at-bats in spring training thus far.

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Then, in November, the Indians traded Yan Gomes to the Nationals. Their projected starting catcher is Roberto Perez. A good catcher is important to the Indians, as their primary strength is their starting rotation.

They have two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, who would be the ace on a team that didn’t have Kluber, and Trevor Bauer, who wants to sign one year deals for the rest of his career and needs to perform to get the $35 million per season that he’s looking for.

They also have Mike Clevinger, who posted a 3.02 ERA in 32 starts last season and whose hair alone could rival Tim Lincecum in his prime.

They still have Hand to anchor the back-end of their bullpen, but they’ve also lost Andrew Miller to free agency.

Yes, the Indians have MVP contenders Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez, but after that, their lineup falls off. It’s too lopsided. They also lost, either through free agency or trade, Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Brantley in the offseason.

If the Indians are to succeed this season, they’ll have to do it with their pitching. A good comparison I see from recent years is the 2015 New York Mets, just in terms of roster makeup and solid pitching.

Now with the Twins, they have had a busy offseason. They fired Paul Molitor as their manager at the end of last season and hired Rocco Baldelli from the Tampa Bay Rays. First year managers are always intriguing, i.e., Bob Brenly and Alex Cora, although Brenly had Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling on his pitching staff that first season, along with 57 home runs from Luis Gonzalez. And Cora had MVP Mookie Betts and MVP vote-getter J.D. Martinez.

But Brenly and Cora are extreme examples, World Series winners. No one is expecting that of the Twins.

While the Twins pitching staff took steps forward last year, they still don’t come anywhere close to rivaling the Indians. Jose Berrios could become the ace the Twins are hoping for—as long as they only pitch him during night games—and Kyle Gibson finished out last season on a strong note, albeit one clunker in the middle of September.

They also have Michael Pineda who is ready to come back from Tommy John surgery and a torn meniscus.

Their bullpen, though, has too many question marks. Blake Parker was added in the offseason, and moving Fernando Romero to the bullpen might work out. The Twins could be hoping for him to turn into an Andrew Miller-type, two innings at a time.

And now we come to the Twins new lineup, and they are going to hit home runs. A lot of them. The Twins have added C.J. Cron (30 homers last year), Nelson Cruz (37+ homers the last 5 years), and Jonathon Schoop (previous 30 homer guy). Marwin Gonzalez, switching-hitting utility man extraordinaire, was also acquired this year.

They also have a full season from Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler has been working on his approach at the plate this spring. Kepler had this to say to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune:

“I don’t want to just look at too many pitches that are hittable. It’s frustrating, you know, when you get a good pitch and let it go, and if you don’t get any more it’s a tough at-bat. So I don’t want to miss those anymore.”

A new approach at the plate might make Kepler the most intriguing player in this lineup. The keyword there is ‘might’ because there are two big wild cards standing in front of him: Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano.

Can Buxton turn the corner and put together the kind of season that the Twins have been hoping for since they drafted him 2nd overall? He’s had a good spring thus far, but I’m not holding my breath anymore that it will transfer to the regular season.

And Sano is starting the season on the newly named Injured List. When he comes back, the Twins will need him to be a big anchor in the middle of their lineup. He’s shown flashes before, but sustained success will be crucial to this season.

A ceiling comparison for the Minnesota Twins could be the 2018 Milwaukee Brewers, who scored a lot of runs and were led by NL MVP Christian Yelich. The Twins will score runs with their new additions. And if their pitching staff does just enough, they could contend for the AL Central.

But I’m not betting on it. It’s the Indians division to lose.