Logan Morrison: an upgrade at DH

For the first time since the Byung-Ho Park experiment the Twins front office has made a concerted effort to fill the DH position with a capable every day bat.

In 2017 the likes of Robbie Grossman and Kenny Vargas filled the DH role in a not so exciting fashion. While Grossman was serviceable due to his high OBP (.361), the ugly three strikeout game in last years playoffs and the lack of home run power left a more than a little to be desired. Next in line was Vargas, whose perpetually declining OBP and 29% strikeout rate have begun to outweigh the power potential that we once dreamed of. All this, has led the front office to move in another direction.

The offseason has been slow, but like fantasy football drafters who wait around in the auction for the right guy at the right price, the Twins found their guy late with the addition of Logan Morrison. The burly left hander who hit 3 of his 38 homers against the Twins last summer (including a 15th inning game winner in the 15th inning on on May 28th) will be joining the Twins this spring as the likely first option at the DH spot. There he will bring his .516 slugging % (.433 career) to a spot in the Twins lineup that slugged just .404 in 2017. Morrison had a career year in 2017, but at age 30 the risk of signing him to a one or two year deal seems more than reasonable.

The result of all of this is a very strong lineup for the Twins from 1 - 9, a team that scored the 7th most runs in the league in 2017 just got better at one of the worst spots in the lineup.