World Series 2019: What the Minnesota Twins can learn from the Nationals and Astros
The Minnesota Twins took a big step forward in 2019, but there are still a few things they can learn from the teams in this year’s World Series
By most accounts, the Minnesota Twins had a solid season in 2019. By setting an MLB record for home runs and winning 101 games, the Twins went from a team far out of the playoff picture to one contending for an American League pennant. Unfortunately, those dreams of heading to the World Series for the first time since 1991 came to a screeching halt thanks to a sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees.
While the Twins could admire the steps they’ve taken since losing a franchise-record 103 games three years ago, there’s also the matter of upgrading the team they have and taking it to the World Series.
In order to do that, the Twins can simply look at the teams that made it to the Fall Classic and learn from them. Both the Astros and Nationals have had their share of lean seasons and have felt the sting of coming up just short from their goal of making it to the World Series.
The Twins already have a talented roster and with a couple of tweaks, they could find themselves in the same position that the Astros and Nationals are right now. In this article, we’ll take a look at what both teams learned and how it can help the Twins moving ahead into the offseason.
Trust your homegrown talent
The Twins have been toward the top of the organizational talent rankings for what seems like forever, but they’ve had issues seeing that talent make an impact at the major league level. While injuries have certainly played a part in that, patience usually pays off and both the Nationals and Astros have cashed in.
The Astros were one of the worst teams in baseball at the beginning of this decade, but things have turned around thanks to the work of their scouting department. By adding pillars such as George Springer (11th overall in 2011), Carlos Correa (1st overall in 2012) and Alex Bregman (2nd overall in 2015), Houston has been able to add solid veteran talent around them to produce one of the top lineups in baseball.
The Nationals have also utilized their farm system to build a strong team at the major league level. Trae Turner (13th overall in 2014), Anthony Rendon (6th in 2011) and Juan Soto (2015 international signing) are just some of the names the Nationals have used to get here and with a large investment in pitching and some shrewd signings, they too have been able to get over the hump for their first pennant.
Looking at the Twins current roster, they’re not far off. Byron Buxton (2nd overall in 2012) has been hampered by injuries, but 2019 was his most effective season yet. A trio of international signings in 2009 also have helped build a steady foundation with Miguel Sano, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco all having career years this past season.
With more reinforcements on the way in Alex Kirilloff (15th overall in 2016), Royce Lewis (1st overall in 2017) and Trevor Larnach (20th overall in 2018), the Twins have a strong foundation set. If they can put the right pieces around them, they could be in the same path as Washington and Houston.
It’s OK to make an unpopular decision
One of the biggest talkers this offseason has been whether or not the Twins should trade Eddie Rosario. While there are solid reasons to do it (low on-base percentage, strong chase rate, etc.), there’s a large portion of the fan base who would be upset if they dealt one of the most popular players on the Bomba Squad.
While Houston hasn’t had to make that type of difficult decision (until Gerrit Cole hits free agency this winter), a better example could be how the Nationals handled the Bryce Harper situation last offseason.
As you already know, Harper was the face of the Nationals organization, but they opted to invest money into their pitching staff including fellow homegrown talent Stephen Strasburg. With the price tag for Harper getting too high, the Nationals ultimately decided to roll with Juan Soto instead and allowed Harper to sign with the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies missed the playoffs and now the Nationals are in the World Series, which isn’t entirely because of Harper. But the Twins should look at this and note that a little bit of backlash by trading Rosario could be worth upgrading their rotation and eventually handing the keys to the lesser-known Alex Kirilloff.
Invest in your starting rotation
It used to be that in order to win a World Series title, you better come ready with a starting rotation that’s three or four pitchers deep to even get out of the first round. However, teams seemed to get away from that after the success of the 2015 Kansas City Royals and 2018 Milwaukee Brewers, who both used their bullpens to make deep runs and in the case of the Royals, a World Series championship.
While it’s not a new phenomenon, starting pitching made a comeback in this year’s playoffs with the Astros and Nationals taking center stage.
The Nationals took charge of their starting rotation in 2015 as they signed Max Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million deal in free agency. Washington would double down the following year by signing Stephen Strasburg to a seven-year, $175 million contract extension and finished things off with a six-year, $140 million contract to Patrick Corbin last offseason.
Meanwhile, the Astros haven’t spent the same amount of money, but have been shrewd plugging big names into their rotation. Houston acquired Justin Verlander for three prospects (Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron and Jake Rogers) in August of 2017 during their push to their first title. The following offseason, the Astros added Gerrit Cole for Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran, Michael Feliz and Jason Martin.
To cap things off, Houston went all in at this year’s trade deadline by trading three of their top five prospects to acquire Zack Greinke. The result has been a dominant rotation that might lose Cole this offseason, but is still sustainable with Verlander and Greinke signed through 2021.
Next. Why the Twins should trade Eddie Rosario. dark
As you will note, neither of these teams are considered big market teams, but still shelled out top dollar and top prospects to upgrade their pitching staff. This kind of aggressiveness has been missing from the Twins over the years and while dealing Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff may be unwise, using other top prospects (or cash) to get a deal done can pay off in the end.