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There is no question the biggest improvement that has to be made in the offseason for the Minnesota Twins is the starting rotation. It was an area that held the team back, and until it is fixed, the Twins are going nowhere fast.
The hope is that Minnesota will be able to deal with the issue with talent from inside the organization, especially since their finances will not allow them to recruit a big-name free agent. Unfortunately, it does not appear the Twins have the necessary prospects to immediately fix the rotation.
Related: Minnesota Twins Will do Well Trusting Farm System for Starting Pitching
“I don’t think we have enough ready arms to step into this rotation,” manager Ron Gardenhire said, according to MinnesotaTwins.com. “We have lots of candidates. But are these guys ready to turn you around? I don’t think so. They can fill some spots. But everyone is looking for pitching and we’re no different than any other organization.”
The Twins’ starters ranked dead last in the majors with a depressing 5.26 earned run average and a .305 opponent batting average. They were unable to strike anybody out, while keeping men off the bases appeared to be nearly impossible. Truth be told, none of the starters deserve a spot in the rotation next season after their numbers combined to be the worst group in baseball.
Kevin Correia is the only pitcher who deserves to keep his job, and even that is a stretch. Otherwise, it needs to be an open competition in which nobody is safe. That appears to be the only way to find out who is actually capable of helping the team improve the weak area on the roster.
Will the Twins be able to repair the damage using players from inside the organization? That is a question that cannot be answered until Spring Training rolls around. As of right now, it certainly does not look good.
