It’s March in Florida, arguably the best time to be there. The sun is almost always shining, it’s warm without being oppressively hot and anyone there to see the Twins in spring training is not staring at a bunch of fresh snow on the ground like those of us in the Twin Cities.
Spring training fuels optimism because it’s a time of renewal and because it’s hard to be grouchy when everyone is soaking up the sun.
I don’t begrudge anyone this optimism, particularly when it comes to the Twins. They very well could be a good team this season, one that contends for and ultimately wins the AL Central after a 12-27 finish knocked them from a near-certain playoff perch a season ago.
Colleague La Velle E. Neal III, with that Florida sunshine in his sights, wrote about many of the reasons the Twins have a right to feel good about themselves going into the year.
But I’m staring at the snow, and I’m not afraid to take a contrarian point of view. La Velle and I hashed things out on Friday’s Daily Delivery podcast during our weekly debate segment, and I’ll expand on a few points here.
What if Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis aren’t healthy and/or underperform?
The annual question about the availability of the Twins' most impactful position players requires a practical lens.
Buxton eclipsed 100 games last season for the first (and only) time since 2017, but he still hasn’t had more than 400 plate appearances in any of the last six non-Covid seasons. Correa played at least 135 games his first two years with the Twins but appeared in just 86 last season as a second straight year was derailed by plantar fasciitis. Lewis has 605 plate appearances in his entire career, which has been beset by injuries, and he slumped badly at the end of last year. Relying on these three to be healthy and productive is still more of a hope than a plan.
