2020 MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins

What do you do if you lead Major League Baseball in home runs? If you’re the Minnesota Twins you go out and get third baseman Josh Donaldson.
That gives you two third basemen with Miguel Sanó already on the team. But we don’t expect to see Sanó on the bench since he had as many homers as Donaldson and a better on-base-plus-slugging percentage last year. He is also younger than Donaldson by seven years. But Donaldson is a better fielder.
Minnesota is stacked top to bottom with power but you have to wonder how much of it is related to the hopped-up ball and what’s going to happen to catcher Mitch Garver if the ball returns to the way it was? This is a guy who hit 31 homers in 90 games after hitting just seven in about as many at bats the previous two years combined.
On the mound the Twins benefited from a healthy starting staff and exemplary bullpen. The two Js —Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi- combined for 29 wins and and an earned run average of about 3.60. Although they were healthy, the 3-5 starters were the team’s weakness with ERAs are in the 4.50 range and an average of five innings per contest.
That’s where the bullpen shined in 2019 and bailed out their starters. Taylor Rogers, Trevor May, Tyler Duffey and Zack Littell all had ERAs under 2.94.
Are the Twins a 100 team? They’ve got a lot of nIce pieces and they’re quite deep. But I can’t see the kind of offensive production reoccurring on all fronts again and the addition of Homer Bailey to your pitching staff doesn’t mean you’re better.
They come down to Earth a little: 94 wins.
Coronavirus 60-day prediction: 33-27
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