2015 Minnesota Twins: Winning On The Horizon

Jul 1, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins third baseman Jamey Carroll (8) throws the ball to first base in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

2012 Minnesota Twins (66-96 Last in the AL Central)

Nishioka had been scrubbed from the Twins roster and the veteran addition of Jamey Carroll was expected to boost the middle infields ability as a whole. Once again, this didn’t go as planned, but hindsight says that adjustments to that plan may have been in order.

Here’s the 2012 Twins Opening Day roster:

*Rotation: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Liam Hendriks, and Nick Blackburn

Bullpen: Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Brian Duensing, Jared Burton, Matt Maloney, Alex Burnett, Jeff Gray, and Anthony Swarzak

Starters: Joe Mauer, Chris Parmelee, Alexi Casilla, Danny Valencia, Jamey Carroll, Josh Willingham, Denard Span, Trevor Plouffe, and Justin Morneau.

Bench: Ryan Doumit, Ben Revere, Sean Burroughs, Luke Hughes

Once again, the Twins 25th man was nowhere near setting them up to be competitive. Luke Hughes is now back in Australia playing baseball, while much of the Twins youth continued to struggle. Morneau was a designated hitter to protect his health, and Mauer had plenty to prove coming off of his “bilateral leg weakness” season.

Maloney made it through only nine games in the bullpen, and Gray was nearly as awful. Pitching throughout once again spelled doom for the Twins.

* Minnesota had an off day after their first four games, allowing them to being with a four man rotation.