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Minnesota Twins 2015 MLB season preview and predictions

By Will Osgood

Sep 27, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) receives congratulations from short stop Danny Santana (39) after scoring in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 27, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) receives congratulations from short stop Danny Santana (39) after scoring in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 13, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Ervin Santana (54) pitches during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Ervin Santana (54) pitches during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Key Additions/Subtractions

Key Addition(s) & How Acquired:

OF Torii Hunter (Free Agent; 2014 team: Detroit Tigers)

So Toiri Hunter is still a thing. When the Twins announced on December 2 they were re-signing Torri Hunter, I assumed it was one of the nice one-day contracts, or honorary finish your career as a Twin type of things. It’s not.

He enters the season already 39-years-old. He is coming off a season, however, in which he played in 142 regular season games and had his lowest K rate of his career. He also hit .286 while getting on base .319 percent of the time.

In other words, he is still a threat offensively. But he’s not the defender he once was. He is limited to right field, but in reality, it makes more sense for the Twins to have him mostly DH. We’ll see how they actually handle his playing time in the field.

But if they expect him to save them runs defensively, they should be warned those days are done.

P Ervin Santana (Free Agent; 2014 team: Atlanta Braves)

It’s a little hard to believe that Ervin Santana is already 32-years-old and preparing to pitch his 11th season in the majors. It’s also a bit surprising to say Santana is actually coming off his finest season in 2014 with the Atlanta Braves.

Though his ERA was only a respectable 3.95 and he had a rare season of under 200 innings (196.0 to be exact), other statistics suggest Santana was underrated quantity for Atlanta. The primary indicator of that is the 3.39 FIP (fielding independent pitching rate) which was lower than his ERA, meaning he did a better job with results he could control (walks, strikeouts, home runs) than he’d ever been in his career.

That will help him as he transitions to the pitcher-friendly Target Field in Minneapolis, assuming he can continue his 8.2 K/9 innings ratio and decrease his walk totals ever so slightly. If so, he can be the Twins ace they were missing a year ago.

Key Subtraction(s):

DH/1B Kendrys Morales (Signed with Kansas City Royals as free agent)

Does Kendrys Morales count? He only played 39 games with the Minnesota Twins in 2014, and that was before he was traded to Seattle.

The reality is the Twins did not lose anyone of significance. Then again, that shows they didn’t have anyone on their 2014 team eligible to leave whom other teams coveted.

Next: Who must step for the Twins in 2015?

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