Rocco Baldelli, the manager of the Minnesota Twins, thinks his club is capable of retaining the American League Central championship even though free agency hit them particularly hard this off-season.
When questioned on Sunday on the effect of free agency on the Minnesota roster, he responded, “It really does.”
Speaking before a Washington Nationals exhibition game at Fort Myers’ Hammond Stadium, Baldelli declined to lament the departure of nine players—among them, starting pitcher Sonny Gray—for what were likely better opportunities elsewhere.
He stated, “I don’t usually sit and think about the good players we’ve lost.” The team and I devote almost all of our work to planning our next move, figuring out how to get out there, and triumphing in games against opposing teams.
“With a few exceptions, most of our crew shares a similar appearance. However, we have a fresh bullpen, rotation, and pitching staff.
One of the youngest managers now on the field, Baldelli, forty-two, talked extensively about his 2024 pitching staff.
“At the start of the season, each of us needs five starters along with two or three quality names that you know will support you and that you’re ready to use,” he stated.
“I don’t necessarily think we have to replace Sonny Grey and everything he brought to the table,” the speaker said.Our personnel will appear differently.
The men we do have will presumably pitch better than they did the previous year, but they could throw differently.
“I consider Chris Paddack returning to our team following his second Tommy John procedure. He’s got excellent looks and is a fantastic strike thrower. He should be at the peak of his career because he is a very excellent ML starting pitcher. He returned to us during the playoffs the previous year and has become an extraordinarily skilled thrower. We’re quite happy about him.
With Louie Varland, Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, 6-foot-9 Bailey Ober, and Paddack, the starting five will likely comprise all five of them. Baldelli claims that Varland can either alleviate or commence.
“He’s a starter, but we moved him to the bullpen in the playoffs.”In essence,” Baldelli remarked. “He has a lot of promise, and this season, his pitch selection is different.
“Generally speaking, we want the people we have to get better. Our bullpen is of high calibre. We certainly need to make changes, but I never sit here and say, “We’re the same team minus a couple of guys.” I want us to have improved and changed from the previous year. We must figure out how to accomplish it.
With 27 saves and an average of 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings, Jhoan Duran topped the bullpen the previous season. Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart will provide him with a lot of setup help.
Despite that, the Twins’ 87 victories in 2018 were sufficient to secure the team’s third-five seasons with the AL Central championship. The Twins began that streak in 2019 when they blasted their way into the postseason with 307 home runs, tying a major-league record that the Atlanta Braves matched the previous season.
The manager asserted, “We have a team that can hit home runs right now.” Nobody anticipated that we would smash those home runs so frequently. It was quite amazing to watch and be a part of. We will discuss the topic endlessly.
Currently, the majority of the players on that club have distinct names; they are powerful, aggressive hitters that accomplish a lot and reach base.
“I think our attacking group is great. We should be able to score a lot of runs, in my opinion. And in actuality, that’s the main objective. Our squad is capable of displaying explosiveness. We have a solid group of excellent young position players, so I believe they are prepared to advance.
In the past, Baldelli has worried about keeping everyone healthy throughout spring training, but not this year, he said.
“We have a lot of guys that are strong, healthy, and prepared to produce when they arrive at camp. You can already sense that in our camp, which is a really good thing. Several of our major donors from previous years were just unprepared.
Baldelli feels the group of players surrounding comeback prospects Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton is capable of providing a lot of assistance to an offence.
He remarked, “I personally don’t even know what a rookie is these days.” “We have some guys who are strong offensive players who came up last year with only a few hundred plate appearances. Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner, and Eddie Julien haven’t played much yet, but they’re already excellent.
“A few of those players will bat in the upper half of our order. We will have faith in their skills, work ethic, and potential to help us.
“Those are the guys who played a great job for us in the second half of last year and have since followed through.with a well-run camp. Although there are several up-and-coming younger names, they are the ones who will matter most on Opening Day.
During postseason play last summer, Lewis, the top choice in the 2017 amateur draft, showed great promise with five grand slams and four home runs.
Willi Castro led the Twins in stolen bases with 33, while outfielder Max Kepler led the team with 24 home runs and 66 runs batted in. However, Julien led the team with 2.8 WAR (wins against replacements). Baldelli said, “We don’t have the fastest team, but we have a group of good instinct players who can put pressure on the opposition.”
“I want us to score as many points as we can. It is your goal for players to reach base and occasionally smash the ball over the fence. However, given the talent level of the athletes we’ll be working with, we’ll strive to highlight and capitalize on whatever it is that our people excel at.
The Twins rank 19th out of 30 teams in terms of predicted payroll for 2024, with a figure of $114,103,690, according to Spotrac.
According to the same website, Correa, a 29-year-old shortstop, is the highest-paid player in Minnesota with a $32,000,000 contract that is part of a $200 million six-year agreement.
The Twins play first in the 2024 season on March 28 in Kansas City.
Baldelli said, “Our division is going to be very competitive.” “Several teams have made significant adjustments to their rosters and organizational structures.
“Kansas City acquired a great deal of skill. Detroit will rely on their strong pitching after playing us very hard in the previous season.
“The Guardians are a squad that constantly makes things really challenging. Every time you get onto the field, you have to work really hard. They keep producing young pitchers with strong arms and other attributes. They truly know exactly what they’re doing. It is a machine that consistently produces players.
Former outfielder Baldelli is a vivacious individual who is excited for the season to begin later this month.
“The season always excites me,” he remarked. I wouldn’t be sitting here doing this if I wasn’t enthusiastic about the next season. I adore the optimism of the early season and Opening Day. Working through the issues and problems that arise in the early stages of the season is something I enjoy doing because, despite your initial beliefs, the actual events always turn out differently from what you had anticipated.
I usually find that element of my work to be incredibly fascinating, so I make a point of devoting a lot of time to working through it.Consider it a great deal.
It’s not like the Minnesota manager has to field a youthful club.
He declared, “I would rather have a winning team.” “I don’t give a damn about being young, elderly, or good at hitting or pitching. I’ll work with a team any day of the week if we believe we can put together a team that can win games, make it to the postseason, and win the World Series. That is what we currently have.
