Minnesota Twins: Why the Twins should take a flier on Billy Hamilton
By Chris Schad
The Minnesota Twins should consider bringing in the veteran, who’s defense and speed would be a huge boost to the lineup until Byron Buxton returns.
The Minnesota Twins have found themselves bitten hard by the injury bug in recent weeks. While Nelson Cruz got good news on his injured wrist, the Twins haven’t been as lucky when it comes to Byron Buxton and his shoulder.
Although we should get an update soon on when the center fielder should be back in the Twins’ lineup, there’s no denying that there is just something missing with Buxton on the shelf. As a team that has relied solely on its power that has generated a franchise-record 240 home runs, they have just an MLB-low 25 stolen bases.
The Twins also lose something defensively by moving Max Kepler to center field. While the platoon of Jake Cave and Marwin Gonzalez has done fine, it would be nice to move Gonzalez elsewhere in the field while also limiting the mistakes that Cave has made that could prove to be fatal in October.
It would seem as if the chance to upgrade the Twins outfield depth has come and gone with a quiet trade deadline, but a new opportunity opened up to fix these issues when the Kansas City Royals designated Billy Hamilton for assignment this past week.