The Minnesota Twins have exceeded expectations by capturing the American League Central division title, but which moves helped them achieve that goal?
Coming into the 2019 season, the Minnesota Twins had a modest goal. After a disappointing 2018, the Twins still were the second-best team on paper in the American League Central. With Chicago, Detroit and Kansas City all enduring rebuilds, the path to return to the postseason was to be better than the Cleveland Indians.
For the first couple months, that goal was aided by a red-hot start but cooled off in the middle of the year to see Cleveland take a 1/2 game lead. The Twins turned on the jets from there, however, as they sped past the Indians and claimed their first division title since 2010.
As we sit here today, it’s crazy to think that a team that had expectations of being over .500 and “surprising some people” have punched a ticket to the postseason. Looking back on the moves the Twins made to get there, maybe this rise should have been expected.
As the beer and champagne are still drying from last night’s celebration, here are some moves that turned the Twins from imaginary pretenders to division champions.