Expectations for the 2008 Minnesota Twins

A lot has happened with the Minnesota Twins this offseason and now that we are only a few days away from the start of Spring Training I want to share my expectations for the upcoming season.

How will the team do?
On paper the Twins are just a 500 team and probably have to be picked to finish 3rd in the division. That doesn't mean I'm throwing in the towel on them though. Sure they will need some players to step up and as a team will need to stay healthy to make the post season but that's usually the recipe that gets most teams to October baseball. They are in arguably the toughest division in baseball so for a young team in semi-rebuilding mode I think you have to give them some credit.

How do we compare to last year?
It definitely hurts to loose Johan Santana, Torii Hunter and Carlos Siva, but overall the 2008 Twins appear better rounded then the 2007 team. They've greatly improved their bench and have brought in some players that should give them more average production from 3rd base, 2nd base and DH. Arguably they've improved the Left field as well but that's kind of a wash since our new center fielder probably won't be hitting 30 home runs this year. These small upgrades might not seem like much but I think that in addition to getting a bit more production out of these spots in the line-up, this will also take some pressure off of Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer. Last year this trio started trying to do to much and I think their production suffered because of it. Of course baseball usually comes down to pitching and we definitely have some big question marks there.

Did we make the right decisions saying good-by to Hunter, Silva and Santana?
Looking at things logically I really wanted to see the team keep Hunter but the time to sign him was probably a year or two back. It's definitely a good thing that the Twins didn't pay him the big money that the Angels gave him so I guess I'm ok with that. As for Silva, the Twins definitely did the right thing as he's also being overpaid and we have plenty of young pitchers who project to be able to fill his shoes relatively quickly. Loosing Santana, on the other hand, really hurts. He is the best pitcher in baseball and probably one of the best players ever to wear a Twins uniform. My gut really wanted to see the team step up and sign him and as I said with Hunter, he really should have been extended a year or two back. That being said though, I can totally see the huge risk it would have been to tie up so much payroll in a pitcher and respect the Twins for trading him. It would have been a huge distraction for the team to go into the year with him and in the end I don't think he wanted to play baseball in Minnesota anymore. He handled the situation very professionally though and I hope he does good for his new team.

How about the new guys?
Livan Hernandez - I like this signing. Not that he's going to come anywhere close to replacing Santana but he will provide some stability and leadership in a very young rotation. With all the innings he usually pitches the bullpen will probably like him too.
Philip Humber - He doesn't excite me much too much, but maybe he regains some of his velocity and can turn out ok.
Adam Everett - This was a good signing. Not much offensively but really makes our infield defense better across the board I think.
Brendan Harris - Nothing spectacular here but I think he'll hit better then Punto and overall improves the team's depth if nothing else.
Mike Lamb - Another low risk move that should improve the offense and they can always replace him with Punto for defense at the end of a game.
Carlos Gomez - I'm actually really excited about Gomez and think he's going to turn into a great player. Personally I'd like to see him start in AAA though to take off some pressure of having to perform well right away. Then after he's been tearing it up down there for a few months they can bring him up and let him play everyday.
Craig Monroe - I was very encouraged by the fact that even after they acquired Delmon Young that they still kept Monroe. He's not going to be anything outstanding but will be a good bat off the bench and give the team a lot of flexibility.
Jason Pridie - I think he's going to eventually turn into a better version of Lew Ford and be our fourth outfielder. Probably starts the year splitting time with Monroe in center though.
Delmon Young - I talked to my wife's uncle who lives in Tampa Bay about the trade for Young and he said he totally thought the Twins got the better end of that deal. He was very high on Young and thinks he's going to be an all-star very soon. I think he might be right.

Am I excited about baseball staring up again?
Absolutely! This is one of my favorite times of the year. There's always hope that the team will surprise people with a memorable year, but even if they are only a 500 team I'm excited to see how these young players develop. The goal seams to be that they are building for 2010 while trying to give themselves a chance to stay competitive now. Should be fun to see how they do. They are off to a good start.