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Here are eight items that the team would have liked to figure out this year amidst the disappointing results:
Can Miguel Sano play defense?
Well, we know he can't play right field, unsurprisingly. But we don't really know more about his ability to play third base then we did coming into the season. Sano has looked beyond shaky during his limited time in the hot corner, and elbow concerns have further clouded the matter. This puts the Twins in a tough spot because they'll be hard-pressed to drop Trevor Plouffe and commit to Sano as a third baseman, but also would undoubtedly prefer not to relegate him to DH permanently at age 23.
Can Trevor May be an effective reliever?
This was the club's most pivotal experiment this year other than trying Sano in the outfield. If he could improve upon the promise he showed during his time in a relief role last year, May could be a key part of the bullpen solution, and perhaps even a closer candidate. Instead, he endured a tough campaign filled with fits and starts. May flashed dominance at times but posted poor numbers overall and spent two long stints on the disabled list, calling into question whether he's physically equipped for the task of pitching three or four times per week.
Which relievers can be counted on?
The plan for the bullpen this year seemed reasonable enough: bypass expensive free agent relievers, and instead sort through the various internal candidates. What have we learned about those candidates over the past five months? Not much. Ryan Pressly has had a solid year and reinforced his status as a decent middle reliever. The same can maybe be said for Brandon Kintzler. But between Michael Tonkin, Taylor Rogers, Buddy Boshers, Ryan O'Rourke, J.T. Chargois, Pat Light, Alex Wimmers, is there a single guy that you really trust to be a central bullpen asset next year on the basis of what we've seen?
Can Phil Hughes and Glen Perkins be counted on as factors going forward?
Two of the biggest storylines this spring were tied to Hughes and Perkins, veteran pitchers that Minnesota has invested in deeply to anchor the pitching corps. Would Hughes regain his velocity and approach his 2014 form following a massive drop-off in 2015? Would Perkins shake off his brutal finish last year and hold up for a full season? Both hurlers worked out extensively last winter to avoid breaking down but ultimately their efforts were fruitless. Hughes and Perkins each underwent major shoulder surgery, and at this point relying on either to contribute much next year would be folly.
Who will lead the rotation?
It seems fair to say the Twins have no greater need than identifying at least one starter that can slot at the top of a legitimate rotation and compete against the best arms on other staffs. There were a few different sources of hope this year. Maybe Hughes would bounce back. Nope. Maybe Jose Berrios would hit the ground running and define himself as a front-line MLB talent. Nope. Ervin Santana is the only one who has pitched up to such a standard, and counting on a 33-year-old veteran to sustain the best performance of his career is not wise.
Can Tyler Jay start?
At the time of last year's draft, many analysts felt that Jay could be the first in his class to reach the majors, if he remained in a relief role. When they selected him sixth overall and committed to trying him as a starter, the Twins knew that they'd be extending his timeline. Still, there was hope that the collegiate hurler would move fairly quickly. That idea was contingent on a highly successful first year of transitioning to his new role, and 2016 could hardly be viewed as that. Jay pitched fairly well over the first half in Single-A, then moved up to Double-A, struggled and had to be shut down with a month left in the season due to shoulder issues. There's no question that the southpaw has talent, but can he pitch effectively when facing quality lineups multiple times, and can his body handle the rigors of a starting workload? We can't answer those questions with much more confidence now than we could when he was drafted.
Who's going to catch in 2017 and beyond?
When the Twins acquired John Ryan Murphy, they did so with the mindset that he could serve in a part-time role this year and establish himself as Kurt Suzuki's heir. Instead, Murphy split time in between Minnesota and Rochester, playing poorly with both. He will enter 2017 as, at best, a backup option, and the same can be said for every other in-house candidate if Suzuki leaves.
Who's at short?
Eduardo Escobar had shown the necessary tools to be a regular big-league shortstop, but he had yet to do it over a full season. Entering 2016 with the Opening Day job for the first time, this was Escobar's big chance to prove himself. Instead, he has started only 64 games at the position, with first Eduardo Nunez and now Jorge Polanco pushing him aside. Nunez is gone, Polanco remains a subpar defensive option, and Escobar will be coming off his worst season since 2013. The team has gone backward in its efforts to settle on a shortstop.
That's a rather absurd number of unanswered vital questions for a team that has been in last place all year long with no real goal other than answering them. In some cases these outcomes were the result of bad planning or poor decision-making, but most often it was simply bad luck or players failing to take advantage of opportunities.
The end result is that the Twins will be coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history with a roster saturated in uncertainty.
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