Twins

Byron Buxton had one of his most productive seasons in 2019, but once again it was shortened by injuries. For this year, he needs to tackle two big question marks about himself: Can he sustain his offensive improvement? Can he stay healthy? Let’s discuss.

Jose Berrios balances excellent raw stuff with an unrelenting work ethic. What does the Twins only returning starter need to do to take it to the next level in 2020?

The Minnesota Twins are staring down the potential departures of their two most established run producers this winter, with a key decision on Eddie Rosario looming in a few days.

Should they be seeking out power bats to replace these lineup fixtures, the Twins may take interest in couple of righty sluggers that unexpectedly hit the market over the past week.

Byron Buxton gets a lot of the focus for his myriad of injuries throughout his professional career, but he isn’t the only Twins player with an injury history. Here are two players that stayed healthy and productive during the 2021 season.

Joe Mauer has never been much of a compiler. Despite his .309 career average and three batting titles, it has taken him 15 MLB seasons to amass 2,000 hits, in large part because of his agnostic view on reaching first base. A hit is the same as a walk, so he has been more than content to settle for the latter.

Joe is a man after my own heart. As a writer, I've never understood the fascination some scribes have with compiling massive word counts. From my view, the more concisely you can make a point, the better. Efficiency is king.

But with Mauer reaching his big milestone on Thursday night, it only felt right to shed this perspective and focus on that big round number, formerly a mainstay of doomsday proclamists.

And so, I'm going to spend exactly 2,000 words in this post musing and reflecting on one of the greatest Twins to ever don the jersey. I don't think I'll have a hard time getting there.

There are officially just two more days until the Major League active rosters expand to 40 spots. This is the last season of this type of roster expansion, with 2020 allowing for just 28 players, so it will be interesting to see how teams utilize the opportunity. Thad Levine quipped at a recent event that Minnesota plans to be aggressive in their promotions, and during a postseason push, there’s plenty of opportunity for the call-ups to gain experience while providing value. The question is, who are those players?

It is probably fair to say that in a 60-game MLB season, the easiest prediction is to say that anything can happen. And that’s true. But, we are going to try it out and at the end of the year, you can mock and ridicule me for this attempt.