- Minnesota Twins 2008 Outlook
The Minnesota Twins shifted gears a bit by trading away their franchise pitcher for talented youth from the Mets farm system. Carlos Gomez will likely start this season and this speedy player will be something exciting to watch. The Twins acquired Delmon Young from Tampa Bay to play left field.
- Whenever you trade away your ace with little left in the rotation afterwards, it signals a long term plan. And that appears to be what the Twins are doing. They do have some offense with one of the best hitting catchers in baseball history in Joe Mauer and 2006 MVP winning first baseman Justin Morneau looking to bounce back from a mediocre 2007 campaign. They also have Michael Cuddyer in right field, another study hitter. Brendon Harris looks to do well at second base. But they have alot of question marks in other positions such as Michael Lamb at third base, Adam Everett at shortstop, Craig Monroe and Jason Kuel at DH, as well as the youth duo in left field and center field. They'll hit at times, but it really looks like the Twins may have trouble scoring enough runs to play .500 baseball this year with their pitching rotation in doubt.
- Speaking of their pitching rotation, the Twins will be hoping that Francisco Liriano can come back from surgery and Boof Bonser can bounce back from a disappointing sophomore season. Scott Baker looks seasoned enough to become a consistent winning pitcher and even earn the ace role while newly signed Livan Hernandez adds a bit of depth to this rotation. Depth I feel they may just need should something go arry in this, for now, shaky rotation. The bullpen looks so-so with guys like Rincon, Guerrier and Crain, but they do have a reliable closer in Joe Nathan.
- I'm thinking that even though the Twins are hoping to rebuild and win at the same time, it just won't be that easy. Losing Santana will cost them greatly as they end up with a 73-89 record and look forward to the future.
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