The Minnesota Twins finished last in a shocking 2021 season that featured key players getting injured and other established stars underperforming.
During the offseason, they made contending team moves, bringing in some pitching reinforcements like Sonny Gray, locking up Byron Buxton, trading for starting catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Gio Urshela, and signing star shortstop Carlos Correa.
The plan to return to relevancy was in motion, and largely worked…for the season’s first five months.
Entering the last month of the campaign in clear contention for the AL Central title, an epic collapse ensued and the Twins are going to finish third in the 2022 regular season.
That’s certainly not where they wanted to be.
“White Sox 3, #MNTwins 2. The record: 77-83 The Twins have secured a third-place finish in the American League Central,” Do-Hyoung Park, who covers the Twins for MLB.com, tweeted.
White Sox 3, #MNTwins 2.
The record: 77-83
The Twins have secured a third-place finish in the American League Central.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) October 4, 2022
An Epic September Collapse
A 10-21 mark since the start of September ended Minnesota’s hopes of making the playoffs and brought a lot of disappointment to the franchise and especially fans who closely monitored the organization for the whole year.
Luckily for Minnesota, they have the pieces to return to being competent again in 2023 if they make the right moves: re-signing Correa (or retaining him, because he is technically under contract), bringing in some outfield and bullpen help would go a long way.
They did find some interesting young players for their next contention window: Jhoan Duran was a revelation in the bullpen, Josh Winder proved to be a capable starter, and Buxton will be around the lead the team again.
The team is also hopeful Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach can finally explode, as they have all the talent in the world.
All things considered, Minnesota could return to contention next year.
This year, however, ended up being a forgettable one.
NEXT: Carlos Correa's Value Is Back In Question
