Twins Offseason Moves and Prognosis

Well, as the old Meatloaf song goes, "Two out of Three Ain't Bad". The Twins' three major offseason moves this year were:

• The acquisition of Luis Castillo
• The signing of Tony Batista
• The signing of Rondell White

Well, which of these things is not like the other? The answer is Tony Batista. Luis Castillo and Rondell White have consistently ranked as above average hitters at their positions. Rondell White is injury prone, but in his role as DH with the Twins, the injuries will hopefully be nipped in the bud. Tony Batista, however, was one of the WORST everyday players in the major leagues in 2003 and 2004, and was mediocre enough in Japan that he was released after his 2005 season. If you want more proof that Batista is no reason for optimism, check out Aaron Gleeman's excellent analysis here.

So then, why was he signed? Well, Michael Cuddyer, in the opinion of the Twins braintrust, cannot field. Secondly, the Twins offense needs power. It just so happens that Batista's forte is power, as he can be relied upon for at least 25 HR and perhaps up to 35 HR. Unfortunately, that is about the ONLY thing Batista can do...he's a one-trick pony. He was signed because the Twins were unable to sign or swing a deal for anybody else. IMO, they'd have been a lot better off keeping Cuddyer at 3b, but that seems to be anathema to Ron Gardenhire.

However, with the other two new players, plus likely improvement from Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Jason Bartlett as well as the return of minor-league outfielder extraordinaire Jason Kubel (hit .347 in the minors in 2oo4 with 20+ HR), the Twins offense should still be much improved.

Here's a look at the possible lineup:

LF Shannon Stewart
2b Luis Castillo
c Joe Mauer
dh Rondell White
1b Justin Morneau
CF Torii Hunter
RF Jason Kubel
3b Tony Batista
ss Jason Bartlett

This looks a lot better than last year, when the Twins had the worst offense in the major leagues. The positive thing about Tony Batista being in the lineup is that this means that the position is still very easy to upgrade, which means the offense could be improved even more.

The Twins pitching, on the other hand, could very easily be the best in the American League, with Santana, Radke, and Silva returning, and top prospects Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker waiting in the wings to join the starting rotation, and a perennial top bullpen led by Joe Nathan and Juan Rincon.

Though this isn't the fashionable choice, the White Sox were very lucky in 2005, and even with all their moves, going into 2006, it looks like a dead heat between the Sox, Twins, and Indians in the AL Central.