Former Twins star John Castino, the American League’s co-Rookie of the year with the Toronto Blue Jays’ Alfredo Griffin in 1979, said the Twins' offense needs to use the entire field more often and be held more accountable.
If anyone is qualified to talk about the state of the Twins’ offense, it’s Castino. Minnesota drafted the former MLB infielder in the third round of the 1976 MLB Draft. While battling a back injury that ultimately ended his career, Castino spent six seasons with the Twins (1979-1984), posting a .278/.329/.398 slash line and accumulating 15.2 bWar in 666 games.
“I love what the Twins have done in between innings and before and after games. They are entertaining the fans and we have a fantastic stadium there in Minneapolis. But the fans deserve a competitive team,” Castino said after the Twins' 5-11 start to the season. “Now I’m not saying they aren’t going to be [competitive] because it’s so early in the season, but [they won't be] the way they’re going unless they fix the offense, which is not hard to do, believe me. It takes plate discipline and coaches that will hold people accountable. They can fix it.”
The Twins offense ranks near the bottom of the league in multiple statistical categories, including 24th in batting average (.216), 25th in OPS (.621) and 27th in average exit velocity (88.4 mph).
“I read an article that the hitting coach was talking to them about how they have to approach it differently with runners on base, and you think about all of this stuff, and it’s just not good for hitters," Castino said. "We should have one simple method that works, and that is to wait on the ball.”
Among the Twins’ struggling hitters this season include their highest-paid player, Carlos Correa, who holds a .164/.227/.246 slash line in 61 at-bats. The Twins shortstop left Tuesday’s contest against the Mets with wrist soreness but entered the game on Wednesday as a defensive replacement.
“The last couple of years, Correa has been kind of a streaky hitter and I’ve heard him say a couple of times when he’s hot, he just makes the game simple. He aims for up the middle and right center, and he naturally just pulls the ball, just slows the game down, makes it simple and doesn’t think too much,” Castino said. “Well, I think the whole team should be thinking more like that, and the batting instructors should think more like that.”
The Twins have the fourth-highest pull percentage in the major leagues this season at 41.9%.
“Your natural instincts are to pull the ball. The ball comes in and the hitters do not like to look bad," Castino said. "And if you wait too long and you’re late on the pitch and it looks like the pitcher is overpowering, the hitter looks bad. But it’s the smart hitter that says, ‘I don't care, I’m going to keep fouling them off until you give me a pitch right down the middle.’”
Major League Baseball’s batting average in Castino’s rookie season was .265. Flash forward to 2025, and it’s .235.
“I saw Hal McRae, Wade Boggs, and Paul Molitor, who would work a lot on hitting the ball to the opposite field in batting practice because pulling the ball is easy. Anybody in the big leagues can pull the ball,” Castino said. “It’s the guys that can use all the fields that are helping their team the most, that are hitting close to .300 and have lots of doubles and triples because you’re hitting it into the alleyways.”
Castino added Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett as an example of someone who successfully utilized the entire field as a hitter.
“I got a great chance to watch Puckett, and he was a fantastic singles hitter when he started out, but he was using all fields. He kept it real basic,” Castino said. “He was hitting balls to right, to right center, left, everywhere, and he was not a home run hitter, and then Tony Oliva said, 'Puck, you got a great approach. You could hit it harder, put a better, bigger swing on it. Stay waiting like you do and use all fields, but you’re so strong, so put a little more [power] into it.' And Puckett then became a Hall of Fame power hitter.”
In addition to thinking they need to simplify their approach, Castino said the Twins need to hold their players more accountable, referencing former Twins manager Tom Kelly’s ability to keep star players from becoming overly arrogant.
“There’d be a superstar, and I’m not going to tell you which one. There’s a specific example," Castino said. "A superstar would hit one to right center and get a double out of it. He’d come into the dugout and expect to get congratulated by Tommy Kelly and Kelly would say, ‘Hey, that was an easy triple, why did you stop at second?’”
Kelly is easily the Twins’ most successful skipper, as he led them to their World Series victories in 1987 and 1991. He earned the manager role in 1986, but was still with the organization at the same time as Castino.
“[Kelly] would not let players get too cocky, he would cut them off at their knees no matter who you were, and I think that’s important. I know Rocco [Baldelli] is very popular, but I don’t know if he has that same kind of respect and uses discipline,” Castino said. “I don’t have enough information because I’ve never met him, and I haven’t talked to any of the players that play for him. So I know he’s very popular, but I think he needs to be a little bit tougher on the players and demand more accountability. And same with his coaching, same with the hitting coach.”
Injuries, specifically to hamstrings, have also played a big part in the Twins’ struggles this year. Starting pitcher Pablo López and the Twins’ best hitter this year, Matt Wallner, both are on the Injured List with hamstring strains.
“I had to not sprint when I knew I didn’t have a chance to be safe at first, and I had back problems all along. It affects your hamstrings," Castino said. "So I could not sprint 100%, and I wouldn’t unless I knew there was a chance to get a double or maybe beat it out at first base… you just got to be smarter about your body.”
The Twins may have adopted the John Castino philosophy of hitting over their past couple of games. After an ugly 5-1 loss to the New York Mets with three hits on Monday, the Twins won two in a row, 6-3 Tuesday and 4-3 Wednesday, bringing their record to 7-12. They collected 13 hits in Game 2 and nine in Game 3.
But if the Twins’ offense regresses to where it was just days ago, there’s a good chance changes within the organization will be made.
“[Teams] got to trade some of these veterans for younger, aggressive players that you can mold into the way that you want them to play, like Paul Molitor for example. Molitor had tremendous talent, but he also had great plate discipline,” Castino said. “Same thing with guys like Robin Yount. These guys knew how to play. Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammel, those types of players I played against in the minor leagues, [their teams] brought them up when they were young, and they had some of their best years when they were young, so I’m a big believer of bringing up the young guys, get rid of the big payroll veterans and build an aggressive team that you can mold.”
The Twins are set to compete in a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves this weekend. Game 1 is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CST on Friday at Truist Park in Atlanta.