Twins 2022 Roster Flaws Even More Evident After the 2023 Offseason

[Cody Christie]

The Twins sat atop the AL Central for over 100 days during the 2022 season, but injuries and poor roster construction were the team’s downfall. Last season’s roster flaws are even more evident as the 2023 season begins.

Image courtesy of Darren Yamashita (Archer), Kiyoshi Mio (Bundy), David Richard (Sano)-USA TODAY Sports

One year ago, the Twins began the 2022 season with high hopes of bouncing back from a terrible 2021 campaign. Minnesota added veteran pitchers like Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy, and Joe Smith to fill out the pitching staff. The team also cleared Josh Donaldson off their books by dealing him to the Yankees for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela. As the 2023 season begins, all four players are still searching for big-league opportunities. 

Chris Archer, SP
2022 Stats: 25 G, 102 2/3 IP, 4.56 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 84 K, 48 BB, 85 ERA+
Minnesota signed Archer to a one-year, $3.5 million contract late last offseason after the end of the lockout. The hope was he would add depth to the rotation, but he was coming off two seasons where he had pitched limited innings. Before signing, Archer sent data to prospective teams to show he was ready for the season, and the Twins liked that he was close to ready to start the season. Minnesota hoped Archer could continue to build up his innings throughout the season, but that never came to fruition. He pitched five innings or fewer in every appearance. His name has recently been tied to the Toronto Blue Jays, but he had yet to sign when this story was written. 

Dylan Bundy, SP
2022 Stats: 29 G, 140 IP, 4.89 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 94 K, 28 BB, 79 ERA+
Minnesota had plenty of rotation spots to fill in 2022, and Bundy became the first veteran signing before the lockout. The Twins signed him to a one-year, $4 million option worth an extra $1 million when they bought out his club option this winter. Bundy’s 2022 performance was underwhelming, but he made the most starts on the Twins last season. The Twins needed someone to cover innings, and Bundy could take the ball every fifth day, even if the results were subpar. Like Archer, his name has been tied to the Blue Jays, but he has yet to sign a deal. 

Gary Sanchez, C
2022 Stats: 128 G, .205/.282/.377 (.659), 24 2B, 16 HR, 89 OPS+
After trading Mitch Garver, the Twins needed catching depth to pair with Ryan Jeffers. Sanchez took on a more full-time role when Jeffers suffered a fractured thumb. The Twins worked to improve Sanchez’s defense, and he saw marginal improvements. He played with the Dominican Republic during the World Baseball Classic and went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and a walk. The 2019 season was the last time he had an above-average OPS+. Sanchez is one of few free-agent catchers remaining on the market, and Oakland or Boston might be a potential landing spot for the backstop. 

 

Miguel Sano, 1B/DH
2022 Stats: 20 G, .083/.211/.133 (.345), 1 HR, 3 OPS+
Sano’s Twins tenure ended on a sour note after missing time with a pair of right knee injuries. He didn’t appear in a game after July 29th. There were up and down moments throughout Sano’s professional career as he tried to live up to his billing as a top-100 prospect. He struck out 119 times or more in every full season and led baseball with 90 strikeouts in 2020. Sano had some highs with the Twins, including an All-Star Game appearance, four seasons with 25+ home runs, and a 116 OPS+ for his career. In early February, he held a workout for interested clubs but remains unsigned. When healthy, he will likely need to accept a minor league contract to prove he is 100% or head to a foreign league for the 2023 season.  

Will any of these four players return to the big leagues this season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

View full article

[miracleb]

Mostly disappointed in Sano.  If he would have put in the time and effort most other ball players put into keeping their body in professional shape.......he would still be a major contributor for the Twins!

[twinfan]

I thought Archer could help as a long reliever for 3-4 innings in a game. Bundy could help a team looking for pitching depth. Sanchez improved his catching a bit and gets streaky but not consistently enough. He could be a DH for someone vs left handed pitching. Sano needs to get healthy, wasn't a terrible 3B or 1B at times (IMHO) but costs too much. However, the problem for each of these is that they would take away a roster spot from a better player or prospect. Thus, unless a team has a bunch of injuries, I would doubt any of them- except maybe Bundy- will see the major leagues for any decent period of time this season.

[Murph]

We saw Sanó play one game last spring, on the Twins' minor league field.  He hit two HR's in that game, and played flawless 1B.  

The Twins did give him ample time to "fix" his bat, but no coaching.  IF the Twins' hitting coaches put any effort into fixing his swing, they were completely ineffective.  Nelson Cruz leaving the Twins was the worst thing that happened to Sanó.  He's the ONE in the organization who cared about Sanó. 

Sanó is not the only "poor kid from a foreign country" who was highly rewarded, thrust into the MLB, only to suffer from ineffective leadership.  The Twins totally dropped the ball.

 

[AlGoreRythm]

27 minutes ago, miracleb said:

Mostly disappointed in Sano.  If he would have put in the time and effort most other ball players put into keeping their body in professional shape.......he would still be a major contributor for the Twins!

I'm not sure his body was what really held him back. IMO it seemed he wasn't ever really able to modify his approach at the plate. Kinda similar to Kepler honestly, but Kep's approach has always seemed a bit more balanced IMO, which is saying something because his approach isn't really that balanced at all.

Sano seemed to lean hardest into the 3 true outcomes approach, but couldn't ever keep it together for more than a couple months at a time, even in his good years.

I remember him carrying the team for multiple stretches in the late teens, (15-19 specifically) but the highs got so few and far between and the lows got so bad he became unplayable even without injury issues.

Maybe keeping in better shape would've helped him catch up to more fastballs for a longer span of his career. He was at his best when he was on the fastball instead of swinging through them like we saw so much into the 2020s. To me, it was always his approach at the plate that felt stale and easy for opposing pitchers to figure out.

[Bodie]

Bundy and Archer will likely make at least cameo appearances in the majors as "you can never have too much pitching" according to the old baseball adage.  Both (if healthy) will sign minor league contracts and after a couple of decent starts will get a call-up to see if a) they are for real again  or b) can be traded for something/someone before they regress back to their 2022 versions of themselves. 

Sano has probably burned his last boat.  Independent league, Korea or Caribbean/Latin American league is likely all he has to look forward to.  He does have the "tools" to shine (at least as a power hitter) in any of those, but the question with him will always be that ten cent mind of his! (as in quarterbacks with "a million dollar arm and a ten cent mind" i.e. Ryan Leaf)

[jrod23]

46 minutes ago, Murph said:

Sanó is not the only "poor kid from a foreign country" who was highly rewarded, thrust into the MLB, only to suffer from ineffective leadership.  The Twins totally dropped the ball.

 

Agree and disagree at the same time.  Miguel had such tremendous upside.  He was young and rich.  That "excuse" only goes so far.  Ownership needs to be on Miguel to continue to get better at some point and not just the Twins.  However, you could be right where maybe he was beyond repair after the bad habits developed at such a young age.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Murph said:

We saw Sanó play one game last spring, on the Twins' minor league field.  He hit two HR's in that game, and played flawless 1B.  

The Twins did give him ample time to "fix" his bat, but no coaching.  IF the Twins' hitting coaches put any effort into fixing his swing, they were completely ineffective.  Nelson Cruz leaving the Twins was the worst thing that happened to Sanó.  He's the ONE in the organization who cared about Sanó. 

Sanó is not the only "poor kid from a foreign country" who was highly rewarded, thrust into the MLB, only to suffer from ineffective leadership.  The Twins totally dropped the ball.

 

No coaching? If they put effort into fixing his swing? Cruz is the only one who cared about Sano? Ineffective leadership? Twins dropped the ball? What evidence do you have of any of this?

The Twins are a professional baseball organization. They gave Sano tens of millions of dollars. You don't think they were willing to provide him any help he may have wanted? They just gave him millions of dollars and tossed him aside to figure it out on his own? Come on now. This isn't little league. The major league coaches don't take guys into the cages and force swing changes. Miguel Sano is a 29 year old man. He made his own choices about whether or not he wanted to "fix his swing."

Carlos Correa is one of the 20 best baseball players on the planet and he was in the cage all last year working with Popkins to adjust his swing. But that's because he asked for it. If Sano wanted help from coaches on his swing, approach, physical conditioning, whatever they would've provided it. They gave him individualized plans for every offseason. They would've provided any help he wanted. And very well may have put in tons of work with him. 

If players don't improve the things we want them to it's because they either didn't want/seek help, or physically weren't capable of fixing it. There is no professional player that a team is simply not willing to help, or not putting effort in to help. I can't comprehend the idea that the Twins paid Sano over $30 million, but weren't willing, or trying to, help him perform.

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Murph said:

We saw Sanó play one game last spring, on the Twins' minor league field.  He hit two HR's in that game, and played flawless 1B.  

The Twins did give him ample time to "fix" his bat, but no coaching.  IF the Twins' hitting coaches put any effort into fixing his swing, they were completely ineffective.  Nelson Cruz leaving the Twins was the worst thing that happened to Sanó.  He's the ONE in the organization who cared about Sanó. 

Sanó is not the only "poor kid from a foreign country" who was highly rewarded, thrust into the MLB, only to suffer from ineffective leadership.  The Twins totally dropped the ball.

 

Twins didnt drop any ball.  Sano couldnt hit the ball.  A 3 OPS+.  Its comically inept and all due to him.

[puckstopper1]

That picture of Sano just destroyed the months I have spent going thru therapy to forget about him.  

Thanks...  Thanks alot...  

[Danchat]

So after two years of free agency, the only worthwhile player they signed was Correa... yep, turns out the only giving out 1 year deals to borderline players isn't a viable strategy to building a team that can win a single playoff game. Gotta hope the plan to only acquire pitchers via trade over free agency works out better.

[stringer bell]

In an era where 95 mph is an average fastball, Sano just doesn't have the bat-to-ball skills to be an exceptional hitter. Great power, but just not able to make contact with enough pitches He worked hard and as @chpettit19 points out, the club worked with him, it just doesn't make him a good enough hitter for anyone to want to sign him. 

With his defensive deficiencies, he needs to be more than okay as a hitter and I don't think he is at this point in his life.

 

[sweetmusicviola16]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

No coaching? If they put effort into fixing his swing? Cruz is the only one who cared about Sano? Ineffective leadership? Twins dropped the ball? What evidence do you have of any of this?

The Twins are a professional baseball organization. They gave Sano tens of millions of dollars. You don't think they were willing to provide him any help he may have wanted? They just gave him millions of dollars and tossed him aside to figure it out on his own? Come on now. This isn't little league. The major league coaches don't take guys into the cages and force swing changes. Miguel Sano is a 29 year old man. He made his own choices about whether or not he wanted to "fix his swing."

Carlos Correa is one of the 20 best baseball players on the planet and he was in the cage all last year working with Popkins to adjust his swing. But that's because he asked for it. If Sano wanted help from coaches on his swing, approach, physical conditioning, whatever they would've provided it. They gave him individualized plans for every offseason. They would've provided any help he wanted. And very well may have put in tons of work with him. 

If players don't improve the things we want them to it's because they either didn't want/seek help, or physically weren't capable of fixing it. There is no professional player that a team is simply not willing to help, or not putting effort in to help. I can't comprehend the idea that the Twins paid Sano over $30 million, but weren't willing, or trying to, help him perform.

Honestly his comment had next to zero accuracy. It would be akin to me needing my 1 ton truck for my business, but doing everything I can to destroy it as fast as I could.

[Schmoeman5]

4 hours ago, miracleb said:

Mostly disappointed in Sano.  If he would have put in the time and effort most other ball players put into keeping their body in professional shape.......he would still be a major contributor for the Twins!

 

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

No coaching? If they put effort into fixing his swing? Cruz is the only one who cared about Sano? Ineffective leadership? Twins dropped the ball? What evidence do you have of any of this?

The Twins are a professional baseball organization. They gave Sano tens of millions of dollars. You don't think they were willing to provide him any help he may have wanted? They just gave him millions of dollars and tossed him aside to figure it out on his own? Come on now. This isn't little league. The major league coaches don't take guys into the cages and force swing changes. Miguel Sano is a 29 year old man. He made his own choices about whether or not he wanted to "fix his swing."

Carlos Correa is one of the 20 best baseball players on the planet and he was in the cage all last year working with Popkins to adjust his swing. But that's because he asked for it. If Sano wanted help from coaches on his swing, approach, physical conditioning, whatever they would've provided it. They gave him individualized plans for every offseason. They would've provided any help he wanted. And very well may have put in tons of work with him. 

If players don't improve the things we want them to it's because they either didn't want/seek help, or physically weren't capable of fixing it. There is no professional player that a team is simply not willing to help, or not putting effort in to help. I can't comprehend the idea that the Twins paid Sano over $30 million, but weren't willing, or trying to, help him perform.

I don't know if Sano wasn't physically capable. He didn't stay in the best of shape.  But you can't sit around drinking beer and smoking cigarettes while everyone else is working to get better, and you just showing up. The only person who let down Sano was Sano himself.

[Schmoeman5]

4 hours ago, Murph said:

We saw Sanó play one game last spring, on the Twins' minor league field.  He hit two HR's in that game, and played flawless 1B.  

The Twins did give him ample time to "fix" his bat, but no coaching.  IF the Twins' hitting coaches put any effort into fixing his swing, they were completely ineffective.  Nelson Cruz leaving the Twins was the worst thing that happened to Sanó.  He's the ONE in the organization who cared about Sanó. 

Sanó is not the only "poor kid from a foreign country" who was highly rewarded, thrust into the MLB, only to suffer from ineffective leadership.  The Twins totally dropped the ball.

 

So first he was highly rewarded, and then thrust into MLB only to suffer from ineffective leadership that originally highly rewarded him? Do I have that right? If one of his peers couldn't get through to him and show him the way, what makes you think the coaches could. He got hurt and he got into bad habits and he got lazy. 

[Swing Batter-Batter]

5 hours ago, Murph said:

We saw Sanó play one game last spring, on the Twins' minor league field.  He hit two HR's in that game, and played flawless 1B.  

The Twins did give him ample time to "fix" his bat, but no coaching.  IF the Twins' hitting coaches put any effort into fixing his swing, they were completely ineffective.  Nelson Cruz leaving the Twins was the worst thing that happened to Sanó.  He's the ONE in the organization who cared about Sanó. 

Sanó is not the only "poor kid from a foreign country" who was highly rewarded, thrust into the MLB, only to suffer from ineffective leadership.  The Twins totally dropped the ball.

 

According to what I have read, he had his own hitting coach. He didn't want to use the Twins coach. In any case, Sano had more chances than any player I have ever watched within the Twins organization. If anything, they stuck with him for too long.

[cHawk]

It should surprise nobody that Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy remain unsigned. The decision by Falvine to rely on those two was bound to go wrong.

Sanchez may have been below average as a hitter, but he could at least hit the ball hard and actually draw walks.

Baseball Savant doesn’t have all the same percentile rankings for Sano, but I can confidently state that, throughout 2022, his lineup spot looked something like this:

[DocBauer]

Bundy might still sign with someone when injuries begin to happen. He can be counted on to take the ball every 5th day and throw some innings, but he's a .500 pitcher at best.

Archer could be valuable as a middle bullpen arm at this point, if he wants to keep pitching. But it's my understanding he has an almost chronic issue...a hip I believe....that has really messed with him. It's probably time for him to go in to broadcasting. 

Sanchez's defense was better than I expected, though it's my understanding he put in a lot of work to bet better while with the Twins. And he's got a good arm. But as much divided opinion as there is on Jeffers behind the plate, the numbers seem to indicate better numbers from the staff when he was healthy enough to catch. Offensively, he got figured out a few years ago. His approach seemed to be, "see ball, swing hard at ball, and hope to drive ball." I'm sure the dead ball did him no favors, but I got tired of him hitting balls to the OF that didn't go anywhere but to a glove. With experience, power, and a solid arm, a team desperate for catching depth might still sign him. I think he'd be better off going oversees.

Any thought the Twins didn't work with Sano, or want him to be good, is rather ridiculous. They invested millions of dollars in him. I  ever thought he was as bad at 3B as some painted him, and thought he was a pretty decent 1B after the conversion, with the exception of a few awful plays where he was out of position or tried to run over a teammate who was calling for a ball. His bat wasn't just powerful. He had/has great bat speed through the zone. So I don't think he was slow to catch up to fastballs. He just seemed to lack "hit" ability to make enough regular contact. There is a misconception about his high K numbers. He didn't swing at everything. He often worked a count, and took more than a few BB. But he'd work counts and then become overly aggressive way too often on the high strike, or anything down and away. He just never developed a "hit" tool. I've often thought he swung way harder than he needed to, considering his natural power, and sacrificed contact that might have altered his career. We can argue all day long about conditioning and injuries, and maybe even desire to improve vs just playing the game. But he never made adjustments to his approach. And like Sanchez, someone might still take a shot at him as a bounce back candidate to play 1B/DH, but if he wants to keep playing, he's probably better served also going overseas.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, cHawk said:

It should surprise nobody that Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy remain unsigned. The decision by Falvine to rely on those two was bound to go wrong.

Sanchez may have been below average as a hitter, but he could at least hit the ball hard and actually draw walks.

Baseball Savant doesn’t have all the same percentile rankings for Sano, but I can confidently state that, throughout 2022, his lineup spot looked something like this:

 

4 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Bundy might still sign with someone when injuries begin to happen. He can be counted on to take the ball every 5th day and throw some innings, but he's a .500 pitcher at best.

Archer could be valuable as a middle bullpen arm at this point, if he wants to keep pitching. But it's my understanding he has an almost chronic issue...a hip I believe....that has really messed with him. It's probably time for him to go in to broadcasting. 

Sanchez's defense was better than I expected, though it's my understanding he put in a lot of work to bet better while with the Twins. And he's got a good arm. But as much divided opinion as there is on Jeffers behind the plate, the numbers seem to indicate better numbers from the staff when he was healthy enough to catch. Offensively, he got figured out a few years ago. His approach seemed to be, "see ball, swing hard at ball, and hope to drive ball." I'm sure the dead ball did him no favors, but I got tired of him hitting balls to the OF that didn't go anywhere but to a glove. With experience, power, and a solid arm, a team desperate for catching depth might still sign him. I think he'd be better off going oversees.

Any thought the Twins didn't work with Sano, or want him to be good, is rather ridiculous. They invested millions of dollars in him. I  ever thought he was as bad at 3B as some painted him, and thought he was a pretty decent 1B after the conversion, with the exception of a few awful plays where he was out of position or tried to run over a teammate who was calling for a ball. His bat wasn't just powerful. He had/has great bat speed through the zone. So I don't think he was slow to catch up to fastballs. He just seemed to lack "hit" ability to make enough regular contact. There is a misconception about his high K numbers. He didn't swing at everything. He often worked a count, and took more than a few BB. But he'd work counts and then become overly aggressive way too often on the high strike, or anything down and away. He just never developed a "hit" tool. I've often thought he swung way harder than he needed to, considering his natural power, and sacrificed contact that might have altered his career. We can argue all day long about conditioning and injuries, and maybe even desire to improve vs just playing the game. But he never made adjustments to his approach. And like Sanchez, someone might still take a shot at him as a bounce back candidate to play 1B/DH, but if he wants to keep playing, he's probably better served also going overseas.

FYI, Bundy signed a minor league deal with the Mets today.

[DocBauer]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

 

FYI, Bundy signed a minor league deal with the Mets today.

Wow! I sure didn't see that coming! I figured someone like Detroit, KC, etc.

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

Archer-no

Sanchez-yes

Sano-yes, milb 

[dxpavelka]

We were in first place for a hundred days last year.  I'd think it wise to wait at least fifty this year before making any determinations as to whether this roster is better.  What happens the next six months has a funny way of determining that.

[Fat Calvin]

Good for the Mets in signing Bundy.  Of course, Bundy wasn't great.  But I thought he was a decent 5th pitcher.  I wish him well with the Mets.

 

[CRF]

I find it interesting, that these players that were more or less considered main pieces of our team last season...Sano, Sanchez, Archer, and Bundy...can't even swing a minor league deal with some team this year. Yes, Sano was hurt, but Sanchez was our regular catcher. He wasn't great, but he wasn't abysmal either. We trotted Archer and Bundy out to the mound all last season! Haven't heard a single thing about Sano, Sanchez, or Archer. Bundy just got a minor league deal with the Mets. Sano is the most surprising. I figured he would at least get some team taking a minor league flyer on him. 

[Doctor Wu]

Not sure if they were really flaws: both Bundy and Archer were semi-intriguing signings that could have produced better results. Neither one was awful, so I can't fault the Twins for signing either of them. Sometimes you have to roll the dice and hope for good luck. That said, I am MUCH more confident about this year's starting rotation. Go Twins!

[gman]

Problems always seem to be easier to spot with hindsight. Next years stories could be; If Buxton could have just played the field more in spring training, if Polanco's knee was better, if Kirilloff's wrist had been, if Maeda or / Mahli had been better, or if a dozen other unkowns hadn't happened. Maybe luckily we have more top minor leaguers closer to big league ready. That could be a saving grace for us. Or not.

[stringer bell]

I wonder if Sanchez is waiting for a chance to be a starter. He made good money last year ($9M) and maybe he isn't willing to sign on for a minor league contract. I don't think there are 60 better catchers (counting hitting) in MLB and he's waiting for the right opportunity.