I think this might be the centerpiece of Rocco Baldelli's famously inconsistent Twins tenure. Their most inconsistent season yet. One moment they're tanking, the next they're streaking. One moment they've built a wall of young talent and the next they're all not doing anything. One moment they're creeping towards first and the next they're barely embedded in the barely-below-.500 scrum shrouded towards the middle of the division. The second this team actually feels like they have an identity they spoil it all and bury themselves behind people that aren't worth it. And now we're here again, circling third and trying to do something with a rare healthy, meaningful Byron Buxton season.
I suppose what's been nice about this season is that Buxton literally had to go 'I am going to retire as a Twin', not only to encourage the fans not to worry he'd be getting traded but to discourage the brass from trading him. Buxton knows he's the hero of this team, and he doesn't want to play anywhere else, and he knows they've got more of a shot with him than without him. You're hearing people like Duran and Bader and Danny Coulombe [probably] mentioned as potential trade assets, and they're in enough of the race that they're not completely selling the team, but Buxton knows that there's always a chance.
The Twins are still building enough of a team that can keep moving ahead and potentially rebound from a down year. A lot of that exists within this rotation, which, despite losing Pablo Lopez for a bit, has a very bright future. Ryan and Ober are big pieces, Paddack is at least an innings-filler, and then you've got Simeon Woods-Richardson, David Festa and Zebby Matthews, all 25 and under, looking to sink into non-negotiable spots. Matthews did have some trouble early, and is now hurt, but he's supposed to be big. Festa has shown some promise but has an ERA over 5. The only sure-looking starter is Simeon Woods-Richardson, and even then it's after a send-down earlier. He's got a 3.95 ERA 5 wins and 62 Ks in 15 games. In an unstable year, Woods-Richardson has provided stability, especially since coming back from St. Paul. He's not the showiest arm, but in a season that requires momentum to build, he's been reliable enough.
It's still gonna be very difficult for this Twins team to contend without any production from Carlos Correa, Trevor Larnach or Royce Lewis. The belief was that if those pieces stayed healthy they'd truly help this team, and it just hasn't come together yet. There's obviously still more season to play, but considering that the other 3 contenders in this division have more of an identity and story this year, things don't look great for the Twins at the moment.
Coming Tomorrow- In a healthier year for an oft-injured rotation, he's been surprisingly lethal.
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