The Minnesota Twins will miss out on the MLB playoffs for the fourth straight season after being mathematically eliminated from postseason play with their 8-2 loss in Cleveland on Thursday afternoon.
Twins mathematically eliminated from playoffs
The Twins weren’t thought of as contenders coming into the season, and they won’t finish that way either after being eliminated from the playoffs.
Patrick Smith
Not a lot was expected from the Twins in 2014 and those low hopes were borne out through most of the season. The team started the year with a promising 12-11 record, but reality soon set in and the Twins have remained in last place in the AL Central since early July.
Brian Dozier was the club's biggest bright spot, with the third-year second baseman breaking out to earn an All-Star selection and a place on the AL's Home Run Derby squad. Catcher Kurt Suzuki, signed as a free agent during the offseason, also received his first career All-Star bid as well as a two-year contract extension. In fact, the offense as a whole was surprisingly good -- the Twins currently rank sixth in MLB in scoring, though four of the teams ahead of them are fellow AL clubs. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe had a decent campaign after receiving regular playing time, and youngsters Danny Santana (131 OPS+) and Kennys Vargas (124 OPS+) have each hit well in partial seasons.
On the downside, Joe Mauer is having a subpar performance by his standards. After moving to first base full-time in 2014, Mauer is hitting .272/.355/.371 with four home runs after the team's first game Thursday, while posting the lowest OBP of his career thus far.
But the biggest problem for the Twins has been their rotation, which sports the highest ERA in all of baseball (5.07) despite the signings of Phil Hughes and Ricky Nolasco to long-term deals last winter. Hughes actually had a strong season after coming over from New York; the right-hander has compiled a 3.55 ERA and 2.64 FIP over 187⅔ innings. Nolasco, on the other hand, has been a disaster since moving to the AL, posting a 5.87 ERA and 4.44 FIP over 23 starts. Fellow starters Kyle Gibson and Kevin Correia didn't prove much better, and Mike Pelfrey, who signed a multi-year deal last winter to remain with the team, made only five starts before getting hurt.
The good news for the Twins is they boast one of baseball's best farm systems, even after injuries slowed the development of their two top prospects, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. Some young talent will soon start to arrive in Minnesota (rookie catcher Josmil Pinto is just the start), and though contention is still a couple years away, the Twins are starting to build the foundation of their next good team.
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