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1. Kenta Maeda is the Twins’ Best Offseason Addition
Although most of Monday’s headlines surrounded Nelson Cruz, Kenta Maeda quietly dominated the White Sox in his first outing as a Twin yesterday, striking out six in five innings. The pitching on both Friday and Saturday toed the line of disaster, so Maeda was the steady relief and security that Twins fans needed. His lone mistake of the day was a two-run home run to Luis Robert. Other than in the fifth, Maeda never gave up more than one hit in an inning.
Josh Donaldson and Alex Avila also made their Twins debut over the weekend. Donaldson mostly made his offensive impact through walks, and Avila recorded his first hit of the season. While Donaldson and Avila both did their jobs well, it was Maeda who re-instilled faith in Twins’ pitching in fans. In a season where hitters seem to be constantly ahead, the need for great starting pitching feels more important than ever. Therefore, Maeda’s magnificent debut makes him the Twins’ best and most important offseason addition.
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2. The 2020 Twins are this Season’s Equivalent of the 2019 Yankees
Former Yankee Jake Cave was responsible for the Twins’ first grand slam of the season. Coincidentally, he was filling in for the injured Byron Buxton, who hit the first grand slam of last season. The other main backup players, Marwin Gonzalez, Ehire Adrianza, and Alex Avila all saw playing time over the weekend. All three players recorded at least one hit, with an insurance home run from Gonzalez yesterday. With Rocco Baldelli conservatively utilizing his starting pitchers, the Twins also saw an endless parade of bullpen pieces coming into play. Although Littell and Smeltzer struggled on Saturday, no other reliever allowed a single run for the remainder of the weekend. Between the remainder of the relievers, they only allowed five hits in 10 innings with 13 strikeouts. The Twins always had another option on hand in any situation.
All of these context clues point to one thing: depth. Last season, the Yankees had 30 players land on the injured list, with only three players who remained on the roster all season. However, the Yankees still coasted to a division title with help from their never ending reserves, like when Mike Ford took over for Luke Voit who took over for Edwin Encarnacion and Greg Bird (you get the hint). This year’s Twins are reminiscent of the Yankees, where the bench players take any and every advantage of playing time to make their presence known. While we hope that the Twins don’t suffer the same injury fate of the Yankees, we can all rest assured knowing that there are others on the roster who are ready to hold down the fort, and hold down the fort well, at a moment’s notice.
3. Nelson Cruz Will Win His First Career MVP
Just three games into the season, Nelson Cruz has separated himself from the pack as the most dominant player in the American League. Cruz already has 10 RBI’s this season, which is more runs batted in than the Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, AND Arizona Diamondbacks.
Cruz has never finished in the top five in MVP votes, and the only designated hitter to ever win an MVP was Don Baylor in 1979, who was only a part time DH. However, if Cruz can continue this monstrous pace for a month, also known as half of the season, anything is possible.
4. The Twins Should Trade Miguel Sano
Hit-less Miguel Sano struck out four times this weekend in eight at bats. He currently accounts for 1/5 of the team’s strikeouts, despite only playing in two games. We’ve seen glimmers of greatness from Sano over the years, from his All-Star debut in 2017 and his impressive 57.2% of hard-hit balls in 2019. These big moments and his power and potential are what keeps Twins fans invested in Sano over the years.
However, the Twins have viable options at first base and an everlasting need for additional pitching help, especially given ace Berrios’ poor outing on Opening Day. Sano could be a great NL target for a team looking for a DH with a big bat potential. The runner up in the 2017 Home Run Derby is good, but should the Twins acquire precious pitching pieces instead of waiting for him to be great?
5. We May Never See Taylor Rogers Ever Again
The Twins were not in a save situation all weekend. At this rate, the Twins may never be in a save situation ever again with how dominant the offense has been and the occasional pitching glitch. Rocco Baldelli has been extremely diligent about keeping pitchers fresh during this unexpected season, so Rogers may be continuously saved for a rainy day until the season is over and we remember that Rogers is still sitting alone in the bullpen, waiting to capture a save.
What are some of your biggest overreactions from Opening Weekend? Comment below!
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