It should be comforting for Twins fans to know they can walk into Target Field, settle into their seats and see a well-pitched game from their starter.
It could come from Sonny Gray, who throws something like 16 different pitches. Joe Ryan could do it with his invisible fastball. Pablo López can dominate with perhaps the best changeup in the game. Kenta Maeda has styled with cunning and guile since returning to health. Or it could come from the 6-9 Bailey Ober, whose pitches are already halfway to the plate by the time he releases them.
The historic run by the rotation has been the force behind the Twins claiming the top spot in the AL Central until recently. Twins starters posted a 3.54 ERA at the All-Star break. That is lower than the starter’s ERA for both the 1987 and 1991 World Series-winning teams. You have to go back to 1972 before finding a Twins rotation led by Bert Blyleven, Jim Perry and Jim Kaat that had a lower ERA at 2.80.
That is impressive, yet sad. Impressive that the Twins have assembled such a group of men who can take the ball every five days and shut down offenses. Sad because the Twins entered the weekend 45-46 with an offense that is 24th in scoring.
A lineup change is needed. If the organization doesn’t figure out a way to add a bat or two — via trade or promotion or both — they will waste the best starting rotation the Twins have had in decades. It’s up to President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey and Senior Vice President Thad Levine to make an unwatchable offense watchable.
Falvey didn’t sound optimistic about a trade solution last weekend at Target Field.
“I still believe the vast majority of the offense we’ll get the remainder of the season is going to come from the guys we have in that room,” he said while motioning towards the team’s clubhouse. “It’s not going to be via acquisition that’s going to make the primary difference. We’re going to have the guys that are already in that room make a big difference.”
In a way, he’s right. If Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa don’t start hitting, the Twins will be doomed and questions about changes on and off the field will increase.
But Fal-Vine, in their time here, have shown that they don’t like to sit out trade deadlines. They have seen it as an opportunity to improve or rebuild. With a winnable division for the taking, the Twins either need to see an immediate post-All-Star boost from current bats, or pull off a late-July trade for one.
Where would this add bat fit? Try any of the three outfield spots. Michael A. Taylor was brought in for his glove, not his bat. Joey Gallo and Max Kepler have underachieved. Kepler, in particular, could be pushed aside by a new teammate ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline if he doesn’t heat up.
The Twins do have internal options at Class AAA St. Paul. Either Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner — or both — should already be on the major league roster. Wallner entered the weekend batting .292 with 11 homers, 47 RBI and a .931 on base-plus-slugging percentage. Larnach is batting .290 with seven homers, 22 RBI and a .984 OPS. Both showed flashes of their potential during earlier stints with the Twins this season. Gallo and Kepler have been given enough time to get on track.
Gray and Lopez became All-Stars and Ryan was in the running earlier in the season. Twins officials have brought up the possibility of a rotation regression during the final two-plus months of the season. That increases the urgency for Fal-Vine to boost the offense. All the Twins need is to get to four runs — they are 35-11 when that happens.
It wasn’t long ago when the Twins needed pitching to support a robust offense. The 2019 Bomba Squad set a major league record by belting 307 home runs. Yet they failed to upgrade the rotation necessary for a playoff run. Instead, they started Randy Dobnak in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium.
Unless they can hop in a time machine and return with the 2019 version of Nelson Cruz, they need to rely on other means to bolster the offense and support one of the best rotations we’ve seen in Minnesota in generations.