The Minnesota Twins haven’t been one of the better teams in Major League Baseball the past three seasons, but their future appears bright. Their farm system was ranked the best by Baseball America and owns the two of the top prospects in the game in Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano.
Their pitching, which has been a major weakness during this time frame, also looks bright with Alex Meyer and Trevor May beating on the door at Triple-A Rochester and more young hurlers dominating in the lower levels of the Twins’ system.
While it’s great to have reinforcements on the way, the present has been filled with negativity. The Twins have been stuck in the lower half of the American League Central and many fans have turned their back on the team as it seemed complacent while floating around .500.
Then came the news over the weekend that the Twins had reached an agreement with first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales on a one-year contract. The move bolsters the team’s lineup with some much needed power and sends a major message from the front office:
“We are tired of waiting for the future.”
This is a trend that has taken place since the Twins wrapped up the 2013 season. Instead of pointing to their future and waiting for those prospects to develop, general manager Terry Ryan has decided to find the weaknesses and solve them by any means necessary.
Ryan dove into the free-agent market last offseason and came up with several solutions for his pitching staff. While the aggressive approach hasn’t led to a dramatic turnaround (4.88 starting pitcher ERA is currently 29th in MLB), it has landed the best starter on the staff in Phil Hughes.
Even as Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Correia have struggled, the Twins have reached a point where they can make an aggressive free-agent move and dip into their strong minor league system to help fix their flaws.
With the signing of Morales, the Twins’ front office has signaled it thinks this team can compete with a couple of tweaks. Sitting five games back of the Detroit Tigers, adding a bat like Morales, while replacing the weaker links of the rotation, could signal that the future has arrived.
In all likelihood, it might be too early to be talking about a team that can contend for a Wild Card berth, but the front office is ready to do everything it can to keep this team relevant throughout the summer.
 |
Chris Schad contributes to 105 The Ticket and has had his work featured on the Bleacher Report and Yahoo Contributor Network. He serves as the Vikings Lead Writerfor Pro Football Spot. Find him on Twitter @crishad. |