The Twins were planning on competing this year. I'd like to make that especially clear.
They went out and got Logan Morrison, Rays hero from last year, to bolster the lineup, they signed free agent pitchers Lance Lynn and Jake Odorizzi to help the rotation, they got a bonafide closer in Fernando Rodney, and made an effort to keep as much of their current lineup around as possible, in order to outdo their 2017 Wild Card finish.
And...lots of things went wrong.
Firstly, their ace, Ervin Santana, got injured. Then their catcher, Jason Castro, got injured. Both for long periods of time. Then, all of the big players they signed for the year started tanking. THEN...all the star players they were banking on, like Joe Mauer, Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Brian Dozier, started tanking. And the Tigers, who are just as flawed but have more upward momentum, snagged second place from them.
So...the Twins are sitting in third, without any huge newsmakers, and without a real clue of what to do for the rest of the year. Which is the exact opposite of where they thought they'd be this year.
The good news is that some lower-key players, like Eddie Rosario, Eduardo Escobar and Ehire Adrianza are all playing pretty well in the absence of concrete stars. Hell, the closest thing the Twins have to a star right now is Jose Berrios, who's picked up the ace distinction and is doing a pretty nice job heading up the rotation. Hell, Kyle Gibson ain't doing too badly either. It's just that the good parts of this team are diluted by the mediocre rest of it.
Hopefully Santana and Castro will return soon, and help this Twins team at least look semi-alright by the season's end.
Coming Tonight: Two years post-MVP, he's still one of the best players in baseball. He's just being a bit quieter about it.
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