Minnesota Twins: 5 New Year’s resolutions for the 2020 Twins
The Minnesota Twins will look to be a better version of themselves in 2019 and although they won 101 games, there are things to help the cause in 2020.
As we approach 2020, there are a lot of us that will take time to reflect on the year that was. For the Minnesota Twins, 2019 was a great year overall that saw the team win the American League Central for the first time since the decade began and their 101 wins were the second-highest total in franchise history behind the 1965 team.
But just like we all find improvement no matter how great of a year it was, the Twins are no exception. The Twins’ season came crashing down in October at the hands of the New York Yankees and as they have been relatively quiet in the opening months of free agency, no improvement from the outside is imminent.
The Twins can steps from within to have a better year in 2020, however, and with a couple of tweaks in their philosophy (and some more luck on the injury front), Minnesota can take the next step and maybe even breakthrough in what would be a very happy new year.
For Byron Buxton to stay healthy
For years Twins fans have been waiting for Byron Buxton to have an impactful season. Coming off a year in which he was limited to just 28 games (and batted .156 when he was on the field), Buxton had a breakthrough in 2019, achieving career-highs in batting average (.262), doubles (30), slugging percentage (.513) and OPS (.827).
With gold glove defense to boot, Buxton is one of the most exciting players on the Twins. The issue now is Buxton’s ability to stay healthy.
In his first five seasons in the major leagues, Buxton has played in over 100 games just once. While a pitch off his hand is something he can’t control, his reckless style in the outfield that resulted in a season-ending shoulder injury is something he can improve upon by taking better routes and getting a better jump on the ball.
There are some people who believe that giving up on Buxton now would be the right move, but the Twins record with their center fielder in the lineup over the past three years (153-102) shows that he has found a way to make an impact. Hopefully, he’ll learn how to be available to make that impact more in 2020.
To improve the Twins’ infield defense
In 2019, the Twins were one of the most prolific hitting teams in MLB history, setting a single-season home run with 307 balls leaving the ballpark. While that number is great, the Twins still had some issues blowing teams away thanks to a defense that wasn’t going to remind anyone of the teams that took the field during the 2000s.
The Twins ranked sixth in errors last season with 119 and had several players miss their mark. For example, Miguel Sano tied for second among third basemen with 22 errors and he only appeared in 91 games at the hot corner. This was part of an infield that saw all four regular starters (Sano, Jonathan Schoop, Jorge Polanco and C.J. Cron) post a negative UZR rating, which in turn made their shaky pitching staff sweat out a couple more batters.
The Twins realized that the infield probably wasn’t working out so they let both Cron and Schoop leave to sign identical deals with the Detroit TIgers. But even Schoop’s replacement, Luis Arraez, posted a -22.6 UZR projected over 150 games. That makes improving the infield defense a priority.
Minnesota has already tried to do some tinkering and if they can land free agent Josh Donaldson, that allow them to move Sano to first base and try to fix things among their middle infielders. Either way, the Twins need to figure things out if they have intentions of competing at a high level in 2020.
For Jose Berrios to put together a full season
Jose Berrios‘ overall numbers during his time in Minnesota have looked pretty good. His 43-34 record is solid and his 3.68 ERA in 2019 was the lowest of his career. With two All-Star appearances under his belt at age 25, it’s almost scary to consider there’s still room for improvement, but there is one next step to take before becoming a true ace.
During his career, Berrios has been a different pitcher between the first and second halves of a season. In four seasons, Berrios has posted a 26-15 record and 3.70 ERA in the first half of the season. After the All-Star break, however, he’s been a different pitcher going 17-19 with a 4.84 ERA.
Last year continued this trend as Berrios looked to be a potential Cy Young candidate prior to July 31 with a 10-5 record and 2.80 ERA in his first 22 starts. But something happened after a dominant outing against the Miami Marlins (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 11K) as his walk rate went up and he went 4-3 with a 5.83 ERA in his final 10 starts.
The fact that a majority of his starts were at a dominant level was a good sign, but Berrios needs to figure out how to finish the year strong if he wants to become the true ace the Twins need. If that happens, the Twins search for starting pitching may not have to go as deep as many believe.
For the Twins’ front office to be more aggressive
Since Derek Falvey and Thad Levine took over the Twins front office after the 2016 season, they have been looking to build something special in Minnesota. It took some time to recover from the “Total System Failure” that resulted in a franchise-record 103 losses in that 2016 campaign, but the fruits of their labor came up big in a 101-win 2019 that came with an American League Central title.
Along the way, the Twins have done mostly good things such as building one of the strongest farm systems in baseball, hiring Rocco Baldelli and finding free agents that wouldn’t break the bank, but also would play a key role in turning the Twins into a contender again.
With the Twins looking for bigger and better things, now is the time for Falvey and Levine to be aggressive, but we haven’t seen that in the past calendar year. The Twins balked at the price of starting pitching at the trade deadline and although they pushed to sign several free agents, the only acquisition has been retaining Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda.
The Twins have a young stable of players that can lead them to a championship and although there are high-level players that the Twins don’t want to part with, there are others in the lower levels of their system that could help add that player to put them over the top.
To end the Twins’ postseason misery
The biggest disappointment in 2019 was that the Twins didn’t get past their 16-year stretch without a playoff victory. As they were essentially laughed out of the postseason by the Yankees, the ghosts of playoff past put a beating on the Twins and gave everyone a bad taste in their mouth.
But 2019 was a year of progress and although the team looks rough right now, a lot of those key pieces are back in 2020. If the Twins can find a little more health and be more aggressive with their moves, there’s no reason that this team shouldn’t contend for another division title and even possibly advance to the American League Championship Series (assuming they don’t run into the Yankees again, who got even better by adding Gerrit Cole).
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The Twins have every reason to be optimistic heading into the new year and if they can make adjustments, 2020 should be another great season in Minnesota.