The Minnesota Twins will have a difficult road to hoe in 2025. They are pretty good, but not as good as the Detroit Tigers or the Cleveland Guardians. Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli hopes everything will click in 2025, and it may have to for the Twins to compete in the American League Central. It probably will not, unfortunately. The Minnesota Twins look to be a .500 team that will struggle within the division. They were 82-80 last year and look to be the same this year. Do you believe the Twins will succeed this season?
Minnesota Twins Starting Rotation
Pablo Lopez is the ace of this staff, and he is in the second year of a four-year contract. Joe Ryan is the second starter. He had a very good 2024, but a shoulder strain shut him down in August. Bailey Ober is the six-foot-nine-inch third starter. Simeon Woods Richardson is the fourth starter, and he had an Earned Run Average of over 5.00 in the second half last season. The fifth starter is Chris Paddack. He has battled injuries since 2019.
Minnesota Twins Bullpen
If the Minnesota Twins are missing Sonny Gray in their starting rotation, they are missing Eddie Guardado in their bullpen. Jhoan Duran is the powerful closer. Griffin Jax is another late-inning option for Minnesota. Cole Sands is a former starter who gained velocity after moving to the Twins bullpen.
Brock Stewart, Michael Tonkin, Jorge Alcala, and lefty Danny Coulombe will add depth to the Twins bullpen. Tonkin pitched last year for the New York Yankees. Despite the fact we listed seven relief pitchers here, there are jobs open for pitchers who can reliably throw strikes in Spring Training.
Catching
Ryan Jeffers is the primary catcher for the Minnesota Twins. But, he is a bat-first catcher who has increased his home run totals in the last two seasons. An amazing statistic for him, he has kept his launch angle at 14 degrees for four consecutive seasons. Veteran Christain Vazquez is the backup catcher. He is an excellent defensive catcher but not a very good hitter. He has recorded an OPS of less the .600 in the last two seasons.
Infield
Carlos Correa is the shortstop. He needs to pick it up defensively, he was a little below average defensively last season and his defense has declined each year since he won the Gold Glove in 2021. It is the hope that third baseman Royce Lewis will stay healthy and mash the ball. Brooks Lee was the 8th pick in the 2022 draft, but the switch hitter has not figured out how to hit in the Major Leagues. Ty France is taking over at first base for Carlos Santana. There will not be many Spring Training battles here as Edouard Julian and Jose Miranda will serve backup roles.
Outfield
The center fielder is star Byron Buxton. The Twins hope he is healthy as injuries have forced him to play 102 games, or less, in his 10-year career. Right fielder Matt Wallner hit 32 home runs last season and has a great throwing arm. He could become a defensive asset. Trevor Larnach is the left fielder. They are both first-round draft picks. Harrison Bader is the backup player in the outfield. He has utility player characteristics.
Designated Hitter
Willi Castro was an All-Star last year and should get almost all of the at-bats for the Minnesota Twins as designated hitter. He had a .379 on-base percentage last year and is a switch hitter. They could use this spot to keep some of their aged stars healthy the most likely player to get those at-bats is Correa.
Management
The Minnesota Twins have not won a pennant since 1991. That has more to do with the Twins being a small market team than poor management. New general manager Jeremy Zoll was deserving of his promotion. He has been with the team since 2018. If things work out for the Minnesota Twins, manager Baldelli may win American League Manager of the Year.
Conclusion
The Twins are an average team and need career years from several players to be much more than that. The American League Central is a difficult division with two teams at the top of the division that are very good. It is unlikely the Twins will finish higher than third place.
