The Minnesota Twins have been among the best teams in baseball this year. Rocco Baldelli’s team has accomplished that without much continuity from his big three. The franchise can’t control that, so they continue to look ahead.
Minnesota Twins continue to win despite missing pieces
And so far, it’s worked. As things stand, entering play on Friday, the Minnesota Twins have 68 wins and are four games behind the Cleveland Guardians. All that, despite key injuries to their starting rotation. They’ve had long stretches without their best offensive players too, like Royce Lewis, who missed most of the first half.
“We can’t look at this and say if we had this or if we had that. All that matters is that we win a game today. We got to find a way to win with the players that we have. We have capable guys, guys that are going to be prepared and ready to go. “
Bad injury luck has been a big part of the Twins’ 2024 story. As Rothenthal points out in his piece , Correa, Buxton, and Royce Lewis have been featured in the same starting lineup just 17 times in 121 games, this year. Despite that reality, Minnesota’s bats have gotten the job done.
Matt Wallner has stepped up since his return, and Willi Castro became an All-Star . Jose Miranda has been better than his rookie season, and Carlos Santana found the fountain of youth. Despite the injuries and adversity, the Twins have to be proud of the production they have shown.
Minnesota Twins look dangerous if they can get healthy
Right now the starting rotation could be considered in shambles. Joe Ryan sought a second opinion on his injury, and Chris Paddack could be done for the year. David Festa and Zebby Matthews have been asked to step up, while Simeon Woods Richardson continues to get the job done. That’s an untested rotation for the postseason, though, and that could be the fatal flaw in 2024.
Baldelli also knows that better days are ahead. Buxton is expected to miss the minimum, and Correa should be back when he can figure out his shoe problem . That sets the roster up well for a late run.
“Would it look different if Buck and Correa were active? Of course it would, but they’re not active right now. They almost certainly will be back and back pretty soon, so right now we got to hold it down until they come back.”
Minnesota is rocking a .562 winning percentage despite the adversity they have played through. A 90 win season is well within reach, and so too is chasing down the division leading Guardians. Baldelli needs his healthy players to keep stepping up. If they can get to the postseason, and get healthy, nobody would want to face this Twins club.
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