The Twins finished 12 games behind the Royals in the standings last year – a larger deficit than any other second-place team in the majors.

 

Rising to the top of the division means closing that gap. Can Minnesota surpass the defending champs in 2016?The Royals made a huge move to keep their core intact last week by re-signing free agent Alex Gordon on a four-year, $72 million deal. It comes as a surprise weeks after it was reported that the team had "no chance" of retaining him. Gordon's solid offense and premium defense have been critical to Kansas City's success over the past two seasons, and he would have been a big loss had he signed elsewhere.

 

It's a contract that might not look too great on the back end, when Gordon is 35 and making $20 million, but it certainly boosts the club's short-term outlook.

 

Gordon rejoins a lineup keyed by prime-aged hitters such as Eric Hosmer (26), Salvador Perez (26), Mike Moustakas (27), Alcides Escobar (29) and Lorenzo Cain (29). Things are looking quite promising on the offensive front.

 

The rotation is one area where the Royals do appear vulnerable. Johnny Cueto is gone, and they've done little to improve a unit that was frequently shaky in 2015. Re-signing 36-year-old Chris Young to a two-year deal with hopes that he can repeat last year's magic seems less than prudent. Yordano Ventura has all the tools to be a quality No. 1 but will he continue to be such a volatile asset?

 

Unfortunately (for the rest of the Central), Kansas City's weakness in the rotation hasn't held them back much. Their starters ranked 12th in the AL in ERA and 14th in WHIP last year, but the team won 95 games and cruised through the playoffs nonetheless.

 

That is in large part because, as we all know, the Royals lean heavily on a dynamite bullpen that has given them an enormous edge. There are no signs of that changing.

 

Signing Joakim Soria makes up for the losses of Ryan Madson and Greg Holland. Wade Davis might be the best reliever in the league. Kelvin Herrera is only 26. Luke Hochevar and Franklin Morales will return. Top prospect Kyle Zimmer, who finished at Double-A last year, could be a factor.

 

In other words, the Royals aren't poised for much of a drop-off, so the Twins are going to need to take big step forward to get over the hump and recapture the division crown. That is, of course, not even accounting for the rest of the teams in the division, which have improved to varying degrees in efforts to leapfrog the Twins and take their own shots at KC.

 

You can argue that Minnesota hasn't really improved much on paper this winter. They don't appear built to overcome the Royals, especially when you look at the bullpen disparities. Will the Twins rely entirely on what they currently have or is a big splash still in store?

 

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Yeah, Royals will still be the favorites but we'll see how their starting pitching goes.  It could be just as bad or worse.  Royals relief pitchers threw the 5th most innings last year in all of baseball (and first in the AL).  They should be due for a bit of comedown just based on how good they were last year.  

 

But re-signing Gordon was really big for them.

It is going to be fascinating to watch and see how their front office navigates the next two years. Here is a list of players that will be free agents after the 2017 season:

 

Cain

Davis

Hosmer

Moustakas

Escobar

Vargas

Volquez

Morales

Hochevar

Medlen

Duffy

Dyson

 

Will they go all in for the next two years, and continue to trade away prospects from a good-but-not-great farm system to help them win now? Or will they start to trade away some of their major league talent to win in 2018+? 

The Twins are more likely to finish dead last than first in the division this season.

 

The Twins are more likely to finish dead last than first in the division this season.

Based on what exactly?

 

Funny seeing  that the other clubs in the central have improved to varying degrees once again.    

 

According to preseason reports and analysis of many fans here and on the Trib page since 2002, every single team in the division has gotten better every single year except the Twins who have either done nothing or gotten worse every single year.   6 division titles, 4 lousy seasons and now a 2nd place finish.   Probably one of the biggest mysteries in sports history.

I think that focusing on a not so swell 83-79 record instead of a 2nd place finish that involved tanking at the end of the season again and going 1-4 in the last 5 games, with a 3 game home losing streak to end the season in which the team only scored 1 run a game in the final home series......... is a more accurate representation of the reality of the progress. It was a pretty paltry 2nd place finish, but yes, it was good enough for 2nd in the central, and barely over .500.

 

Talking heads seem to know less and less, regardless of whether someone gives them a check for what they ramble. KC was picked to not do well and not get close to the 2014 season for 2015. I can't believe that the Twins' bullpen, the biggest problem, was not addressed at all. One could say there is still time, but only giblets are left to chose from.