There are teams that are quite hot
right now in the free agency. The Nationals, Athletics, and Tigers are just
some teams to name that have made a splash. Now, arbitration players have been
tendered or non-tendered, adding even more to the free agency list. But who
have played the free agency immensely well?
So far, I like two teams: The
Oakland Athletics and the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics have made some big
splashes recently, adding Scott Kazmir from the Indians, and trading for
Orioles’ closer Jim Johnson just yesterday. They are starting to get some good talent to make another playoff run.
But the Twins are starting to brew
things up. Last year, they hit rock bottom, going 66-96 on the year. Their hitting
wasn’t very good, besides Joe Mauer. They finished batting .242/.312/.380 (25th,
20th, and 23rd in the MLB, respectively), trading veteran
and former MVP Justin Morneau in the middle of the season.
Mauer was injured for part of the
year, finishing playing only 113 games. They only had five quality starters on
the team, which included Mauer, Moreneau, Trevor Plouffe, Ryan Doumit, and
Brian Dozier. All of them but Mauer batted under .260.
Their pitching was even worse,
arguably the worst in the MLB. They finished 29th in ERA (4.55), 30th
in Quality Starts (62), 28th in WHIP (1.41), and 30th in
BAA (.280). When the batting average allowed is 40 points higher than the team’s
batting average, then there is a problem.
Kevin Correia was probably the ace
in 2013. Correia, 33, went 9-13 with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.6 WAR in 185 innings. Mike
Pelfrey, their 2nd quality starter, went 5-13 with a 5.19 ERA and a -0.3
WAR. Yeah, that’s not good.
Luckily, their bullpen isn’t the same story. Glen Perkins is the closer, having 36 saves and 53 finished games with a 2.30 ERA and a 2.1 WAR, making his first all-star appearance in his 8-year career. They also have great set-up men in Jared Burton, Casey Fien, and Brian Duensing. Their bullpen is set, but now they just need starting pitching.
Those were the problems in 2013. So
far, they have answered those responses. Here are three reasons why the Twins
will be a much better team, almost a playoff team, for the next two seasons.
1.
Joe
Mauer to First Base
This was all the talk earlier in
November, moving Mauer from the catching role to the first base position. Mauer
batted .324/.404/.476 in 2013, which is great, but we’ve seen better from him.
He’s dealt with lots of injury throughout his career, and, like many catchers,
his knees are getting weak.
Putting Mauer to first base means
that he can concentrate more on his hitting, and maybe he can add some power to
his resume. Plus, they just traded their first baseman, Justin Morneau, and they
have plenty of catchers to go to, like Ryan Doumit and prospect Josmil Pinto. I
think they were planning this move for a while now.
2.
Acquisitions
of Pitching
The Twins’ organization have put
starting pitching as their #1 issue when headed into the free agency. With a
large list of pitching on the market, it was time for them to strike.
They started with pitcher Ricky
Nolasco, a Marlin who was traded to the Dodgers in 2013. Combined with Miami
and Los Angeles, Nolasco, 30, went 13-11 with a 3.70 ERA in just under 200
innings. The Twins signed a four-year, $49 million deal with Nolasco, one of
the largest free agent signings in Twins history.
But they didn’t stop there, adding Phil Hughes from the Yankees as well. Hughes has not done too well with the Yankees, especially last year, when he went 4-14 with a 5.19 ERA. But he’s shown great signs of winning before, like when he went 18-8 in 2010. He is still roughly in his prime (27), and has good command.
Hughes signed a 3-year, $24 million
deal with the Twins.
These aren’t your big named
prospects this offseason, but they are reasonable deals for Minnesota. They won’t
automatically make the playoffs this way, but now they have some solid
starting, pitching that doesn’t rely on just two not-very-good starters.
3.
Prospects
I always love talking prospects,
especially recently, since my favorite teams have great farm systems right now.
The Twins arguably have the best farm system in baseball right now. It’s led by
Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano.
Buxton is the number one prospect in
the Major Leagues, according to mlb.com. He was drafted 2nd overall
in the 2012 draft, and has some of the best overall talent among young players.
He’s like Mike Trout, but with less power.
Buxton is 19 years old, and can hit
for contact while having some of the best speed. He’s up there with Trout,
Jacoby Ellsbury, and top prospect Billy Hamilton when it comes to speed. I he
hits a single, he’ll most likely be at 2nd base because of how fast
he is. Buxton is an outfielder, and is a great fielder with a great arm.
Buxton is in Class A Advanced in
the Twins system, and we most likely won’t see them until the 2015 season. He
could show up in the middle of next season, but some injuries have prevented
that possibility.
Miguel Sano is quite the opposite player. Ranked as the #3 prospect according to mlb.com, he is known for his power. He’s one of those home run or strikeout type of guys, but the Twins have been looking for a decent power hitter for a while now (no player hit more than 20 home runs this year).
Sano signed out of the Dominican
Republic in 2009 at age 16. He’s a big man that will most likely play third
base. He is not a very good fielder, but does have a pretty good arm. His power
is something to watch out for.
They also have good pitching
prospects like Alex Meyer, Kohl Stewart, and Jose Berios, all right-handers.
They have a great future ahead of them.
Now remember: the Twins have to go
through the dominant Detroit Tigers and the uprising Cleveland Indians and
Kansas City Royals in their division. It’ll be tough to get wins. Will they
lose 90 games again? No. But will they be a playoff team in 2014? No.
When these prospects come up, and
depending on how this new rotation will be, they can be back to a contending
team. Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com
for any questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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