MINNEAPOLIS -- Shortly after the Minnesota Twins put the final touches on the 2013 season this past Sunday with their 96th loss of the year, those in both the clubhouse and the front office made it clear that a lot needs to happen between now and spring training.
"We've got a lot of work to do," said catcher Joe Mauer. "It'll be an interesting offseason."
Minnesota has been mired in a rut of three straight losing seasons, with this year's 96-loss record identical to how the Twins finished a year ago. One year earlier, it was a 99-loss season. This drought is something fans in the Twin Cities haven't seen since the early 1990s. They've been spoiled by six division titles since 2002 but have now found out what it's like to be cellar dwellers.
Before looking ahead to what needs to happen for 2014, it's imperative to first look back at this year and find out what went wrong. In Minnesota's case, that's a lengthy list.
After the Twins boasted one of the worst starting rotations in 2012, not much changed in 2013 despite acquiring three starting pitchers in the offseason. Minnesota's rotation combined for an ERA of 5.26, dead last in all of baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays had the second-worst ERA of any rotation at 4.81 -- nearly half a run lower than Minnesota. Newcomer Kevin Correia was the most consistent starter, but even he was 9-13 with a 4.18 ERA.
The Twins expected the offense to be better in 2013. That didn't happen, either. Minnesota scored just 614 runs this year, down from 701 last season. Particularly troubling was the Twins' strikeout total of 1,430, which set a new franchise record and finished as the third-most strikeouts by a team in one season in baseball history.
Also troubling offensively was Minnesota's struggles to hit with runners in scoring position. The Twins, who hit just .225 with RISP, ranked last in the American League in that category and second-to-last in baseball, ahead of only the Cubs. Minnesota struck out 408 times with runners in scoring position, easily the most in the majors.
"It's frustrating. The biggest thing for us this year was hitting with runners in scoring position. We really just didn't do it," said third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who hit just .208 with RISP. "That's something that we need to obviously improve on before next season. There's really no way to practice that. It's really more just the mindset. . . . We had a pretty young team this year. I think that kind of played into it."
There aren't many givens with this roster next year. Even in the final weeks of the season, there was a question as to who the manager would be in 2014. Minnesota answered that on Monday by signing Ron Gardenhire to a two-year extension.
As for the players Gardenhire will be managing, that remains a mystery. His 2013 club had the chance to impact the AL playoff race with series against Oakland, Detroit and Cleveland to finish out the season. All three teams celebrated postseason berths with wins against the Twins as Minnesota finished 1-10 down the stretch.
"We've been through rough times, but we've also been through some very good times. We watched a bunch of baseball teams celebrate right in front of us. That wasn't a lot of fun," Gardenhire said. "We had a lot of young players that got to watch that and maybe that will make them a little hungrier. The important thing here is there is going to be an effort made. There always has been, but there's going to be an even stronger effort made to get the performance on the field back to where it should be and I want to be a part of that, a big part of that."
Amid the losing, there were some bright spots. Brian Dozier established himself as an everyday second baseman after making the switch from shortstop. His defense was solid all year, and he finished with a team-high 18 home runs. The Twins also believe they've found Dozier's double play partner in Pedro Florimon, who flashed the leather at shortstop all season.
Catcher Josmil Pinto debuted in September and showed that he can handle major league pitching. While his defense and game calling remains a work in progress, the Twins' coaching staff loves Pinto's willingness to learn. With Minnesota possibly needing to lessen Mauer's innings behind the plate after the All-Star catcher suffered a concussion this season, Pinto could be a valuable backup.
Minnesota's bullpen was also a strong suit this year. Despite being overworked due to short outings by the starting pitchers, the Twins' relievers posted a 3.50 ERA and pitched a major league high 579 1/3 innings. Pitchers such as Ryan Pressly, Caleb Thielbar and Anthony Swarzak all had strong seasons in relief.
Still, plenty of question marks remain entering this offseason. Only a handful of players appear to be locks on next year's 25-man roster, meaning Ryan and Co. will have their work cut out for them this winter. First base remains a glaring hold after the Twins traded Justin Morneau to Pittsburgh, and there may be some shuffling in the outfield as well.
While some internal candidates exist to fill next year's 25-man roster, others will likely have to come via trades or free agency.
"If the market's not there you aren't going to chase money just to say that you're involved in free agency; that would be a horrible approach as we all know," said Twins general manager Terry Ryan. "But if there are people out there that have interest in us and we have interest in them, we should be pursuing them. There are some decent free agents that will become available, like there are every winter. But . . . there's going to be 20 clubs that chase pitching, I think that's safe to assume, because everybody needs pitching. So we'll be one of the 20."
Many fans look at the future of the Twins and see 2015 as a realistic goal for when this team may be competitive again. By then, there's a good chance that top prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano will both be major leaguers, as will pitchers Alex Meyer and Trevor May.
At the same time, Minnesota has seen what teams like Kansas City and Cleveland did this year and draws inspiration for a possible rebound in 2014. The Royals lost 90 games last year, went out and acquired starting pitching and nearly snuck into the postseason. The Indians were losers of 94 games last year -- just two games better than the Twins -- and added several pieces via free agency. As a result, Cleveland won a wild card berth before losing to Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Can a similar turnaround happen in Minneapolis next year? The Twins would like to believe so. Yet the line bears repeating: there's plenty of work to do in order for that to happen.
"I think very close, to be honest with you," Dozier said. "I know that going into next year, what we have to do to be better with all aspects of the game -- pitching, defense and hitting, especially with runners in scoring position -- whatever moves Terry ends up making this offseason, we have full faith in him because he knows how to win."
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