“It’s a team that’s very young, but got enough experience last year for us to believe that we can do it against any team,” he said.
The health issue is obviously important, especially for Lewis and Buxton. They’ll also be hoping for better health and/or performance from Anthony DeSclafani and Chris Paddack in the rotation. That has always been a source of concern, and it will remain the Twins’ most significant impediment to the success they see on paper.
In that aspect, they’re off to an excellent start. According to Baldelli, there are no notable injury concerns to begin camp, with the exception of Josh Winder (slowed by an offseason scapula stress fracture), and only a couple of pitchers maybe trailing by a few days.
The long road begins here, and the path ahead is obvious.
“When this group is healthy and performing the way we believe it can, we feel really good about the talent that’s in the room,” said Derek Falvey, president of baseball operations. “Now they want to go and earn it. That’s the sense I get when I talk to the boys. They are eager to go out on the field and push it.”Fort Myers, Florida Perhaps there is still a finishing move out there for this Twins roster, but as manager Rocco Baldelli stood and gave his season-opening speech to his clubhouse on the day of the first full-squad workout at Hammond Stadium (with Edouard Julien tasked with holding his coffee cup), the vast majority of the group that will try to take the next step gathered around him.
The message is consistently about winning. Last year, they discovered something substantial to back up their words. However, nothing is guaranteed this year, as they strive to be the squad that makes the best adjustments, perseveres most successfully, and takes the next step.
“Yeah, we’re going to take a lot from what we built and what we achieved last year, but it doesn’t get us anywhere this year by itself,” Baldelli told reporters. “I used a little, ‘Rub a little playoff dirt on your arm just to remember what you learned, but then you’ve got to move past it.'”
The Twins have had a largely uneventful offseason, with the departures of Sonny Grey, Kenta Maeda, and Jorge Polanco being more noticeable than their signings. But, in order to take the next step, they believe that a large portion of the solution is there in front of them: properly positioning their stars for star-like seasons.
For the first time, Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, and Royce Lewis will all arrive in camp after having healthy, generally typical off seasons. They’re all expecting regular spring buildups.
They understand the significance of that.
“Last year, all of us dealing with injuries probably limited who we wanted to be throughout the season,” Buxton told the media. “For us to come in healthy and everyone on the same page, with the same desire to get to the World Series and get the ring that we all want, is something amazing. It is something pleasant and thrilling to look forward to.
Last year, while the Twins won their first AL Central crown since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and a playoff series for the first time since 2002, Buxton was limited to DH duty due to ongoing knee issues and did not play a significant role in the playoff race or postseason. Correa was a shell of himself until the playoffs as he battled plantar fasciitis. Lewis played only 58 games due to a hamstring ailment and his second ACL recovery.
Correa did not have to worry about contract negotiations this offseason. Lewis finally used his offseason to build, not to recover from an injury. Most crucially, Buxton is now pain-free. They only featured in 13 starting lineups together last season, none of which included all three at nearly full strength.
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