2021’s Most Important Twins Acquisition

Last offseason Derek Falvey and Thad Levine methodically added talent to Rocco Baldelli’s AL Central division winning roster. After a Postseason sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees, another step forward was the goal in 2020. It wasn’t until mid-January that the big domino came, but it was a gargantuan move. Minnesota had handed Josh Donaldson a four-year deal worth at least $100 million.

Fast forward to where we are now and it’s Donaldson who remains the most integral acquisition for Minnesota in 2021. His debut season with the club was always going to be truncated due to the impact of Covid-19, but it wound up being just 28 of 60 games in which he competed. For a Twins team with aspirations higher than another early bouncing, it has to get better than that.

From 2013-16 Donaldson played in no less than 155 games for the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays. He was a pillar of health, winner of an MVP award, and a superstar in every sense of the word. Calf issues reared their head in 2017 allowing him to play in just 113 games and splitting time in Canada and Cleveland the following year, he competed in just 52. A resurgence took place in 2019 with the Braves, playing in 155 games, but those same calf problems came up last season with Minnesota.

Donaldson is a hitting savant, and he spends as much time perfecting that part of his craft as he does honing his glove skills that make him amongst the best in the game defensively. He hasn’t posted an OPS south of .800 since 2014, and his .900 OPS with Atlanta in 2019 was what Falvey and Levine signed up for.

After producing as the Bomba Squad in 2019, Minnesota’s hope was that they would again bludgeon the opposition. Leaving the yard on a consistent basis, even a step forward in pitching should’ve been seen as icing on the cake for a team driven by their lineup. Unfortunately, that’s not how things went, and dealing with injuries left Baldelli’s club consistently coming up empty later in games and more reliant on a well-rounded approach.

In the year ahead Minnesota will need Donaldson more than any other asset they acquire. Sure, the designated hitter role is not decided, and the rotation is not filled out, but no single asset will compare in value to what the Bringer of Rain is expected to contribute. He’s the key to the infield defensively, and he’s a heart-of-the-order bat that should set the table for a team with lofty expectations.

Realistically, and despite what revenues were this past season, Minnesota should be in a period of addition. The window is wide open and capitalizing upon that is a must. Even with that reality, the likelihood of another $100 million contract simply isn’t logical. Minnesota got that guy, and now they need him to contribute. Keeping Josh Donaldson healthy, and then getting the expected production from him in the year ahead, is more impactful than anything else this club can do before the games begin to count.

Baseball is not the individually dominated sport that basketball is, but there’s no player more directly responsible for the overall success and opportunity in Twins Territory than the new father is carrying on his shoulders. Here’s to hoping that dad strength comes through in all 162.

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