The Minnesota Twins ended up with a below average pitching staff in 2017. Here is a look at some free agent pitchers that can improve the staff for 2018.
The offseason is underway for the Minnesota Twins and the rest of major league baseball. As soon as Tuesday, November 7th players can begin signing with new teams. Fans across Twins territory are hopeful that the Twins will make some significant additions to a team who surprised many by becoming one of the American League Wild Card teams this past season.
It was about this time last year that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were just beginning to get settled into their roles in Minnesota. There was a lot of work to be done and free agency was only a fraction of that work. It is safe to say that many were disappointed in the lack of impact moves that were made.
Jason Castro was the first signing, and a solid one at that, that the new front office made. They were aggressive and it paid off which may have gotten some of us fans a little too excited for what was to come. Fans were wanting pitchers and they received Matt Belisle and Craig Breslow. There was value to Belisle in the end, but in their second offseason as a front office, the hope is for something more impactful to improve the Twins below average pitching staff.
The Twins finished 19th in the majors with a team ERA of 4.60. Starting pitchers settled in right at that same position in MLB rank with a 4.73 Team ERA. The Bullpen doesn’t look any better with MLB rank of 22 and a team ERA of 4.40. As we continue to look around at other numbers they aren’t much more encouraging as the team settled in at the bottom of the league in several statistical categories.
As said, it is the offseason and a perfect time to address the weaknesses of the Twins. As you continue reading you will find five free agent pitchers who would be able to help the Twins outside of who they already have within the organization. These are not necessarily always the best pitchers on the open market, but they should improve some of those Twins MLB ranks from 2017.