Twins

When viewed individually, it's easy to see the logic behind all the moves the Twins have made this offseason. These are smart, low-risk investments in guys who should help the team improve next season. If you zoom out and judge the offseason as a whole, however, I can’t help but be unimpressed. Yes, it's important to keep in mind that we’re looking at an incomplete picture, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take stock of what’s happened so far and try to speculate about which direction the team might be headed.

When Trevor May is pitching in relief, he ditches his slider and sinker.

How come?

"Neither one of those are swing-and-miss pitches really,” he says, "and that’s more what I’m trying to do in the bullpen.”

That mindset is exactly why the Twins need May in that role, even if it means delaying the starting opportunity that he has certainly earned.

When Torii Hunter made his major-league debut for the Twins in August of 1997, Flip Saunders had recently completed his first full season as head coach of the Timberwolves, in which he led the team to its first ever playoff berth.

That period marked the start of two careers in sport that would transform each man into a local legend. They followed their own distinct paths, branching out in different directions, but ultimately converged back where it all started so many years ago.

As it turns out, that is also where both roads would come to an end.

When Tommy Milone landed on the disabled list with an elbow strain over the weekend, it was Tyler Duffey who got the call to take his place. Though Jose Berrios and Trevor May were also strong candidates for the assignment, Duffey is the most logical choice at this time, and plenty deserving.

His big-league debut Wednesday night in Toronto will mark a big moment in what is shaping up to be one of the organization's most impressive developmental success stories in years.

When the Twins signed Joe Mauer to the largest contract in team history, fans were excited to see what the future could hold. He was coming off an MVP season where he rewrote the record books when it comes to offense from the catching position. Minnesota was annually in the playoff hunt and optimism was running high.

Flash forward six seasons and that optimism has run out. Mauer is no longer behind the plate and Minnesota is in the midst of one of the franchise's worst stretches. So what can fans expect from Mauer with two years left on his monster deal?

When the Twins signed Byung Ho Park this offseason, they knew they were getting a strikeout-prone slugger who could regularly destroy baseballs. For about a month and half, he lived up to that billing. Midway through May that changed. He turned into a strikeout prone player who gently hit baseballs.

Multiple explanations for this massive slump were offered. Teams finally adjusted to him. He focused too much on hard fastballs. His confidence was gone. As such, the Twins sent him to Rochester to regain his swing.

If reports are accurate, however, it would appear that, in addition to the issues above, Park has also been playing through an injury.

When the Twins put Chris Gimenez in at third base and moved Miguel Sano over to first base on Wednesday afternoon, I jokingly said on Twitter that you can’t start thinking about 2019 (aka Year 1 A.7) too early.

No, I don’t really know that the Twins will move Sano over to first base as soon as Joe Mauer vacates the position. But it did get me thinking about two years from now.

When the Twins opened Target Field in 2010, they did so with a $97 million payroll. This was the highest payroll the Twins have had by a whopping $25M. They broke $100M the next year by spending $113M and fell back to just a shade over $100M in 2012. However, payroll fell to the mid-$80 million range in both 2013 and 2014.

Enter 2015.

When the Twins lose, they really lose. Adalberto Mejia got hammered for nine runs, eight of them earned, over 3.2 innings and things didn’t get much better after that. It was the fourth time in the last 13 games the Twins gave up at least a dozen runs. How is this still a first-place team?

When the Twins head to Puerto Rico at the beginning of this week, there will be added importance for players like Eddie Rosario and Jose Berrios. Not only will they be able to play in front of friends and family, but they will be able to bring something to a country still trying to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria last September.

It will be the first official game in Puerto Rico since the Mets and Marlins played in 2010. Two baseball games will be played but turning the spotlight to this small island country is much more important.

When the Twins first dipped into free agency this offseason, Thad Levine noted that the roster needed stabilization. The starting rotation was losing four-fifths of the arms, and reunions with Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda became a priority. Although Kyle Gibson wasn’t retained, the front office may have landed his equal.

When the Twins drafted Byron Buxton, he was expected to be a superstar player that can alter the future of a franchise. There have been glimpses of this Buxton in his big-league career, but the organization has also needed depth in centerfield because of his lengthy injury history. What does the future hold for Buxton and how deep is the centerfield position in the Twins organization?