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A month or so into the 2023 season, Rocco Baldelli could have looked at the major-league leaderboard for stolen bases, and he wouldn’t have seen any of his players on it. Despite rules that actively encourage steals, the Minnesota Twins all but opted against participating.
Pitchers faced new limits on how many times they could check on a runner by stepping off the rubber. Baserunners were given additional inches on the edges of bases, and pitch clocks provided an external countdown for when to get a jump. Still, the Twins stood pat for the first few weeks of the 2023 season.
Then Willi Castro started to get run, both literally and figuratively. As Minnesota’s injuries piled up and the utility man from Detroit was more often thrust into the lineup, he found himself on base. Posting just a .278 OBP and 79 OPS+ in his final two seasons with the Tigers, it wasn’t as though Castro had many opportunities on the basepaths. Last season with the Twins, Castro put up a .339 OBP and a career-best 106 OPS+. Suddenly, he unlocked a new facet to his game.
When the dust settled, Castro had become the Twins' stolen base machine. He swiped 33 bags on 38 attempts, and for a guy who routinely found himself on first base, he often advanced to scoring position singlehandedly. Unfortunately for Baldelli, Castro did virtually all of the heavy lifting, with only Michael A. Taylor generating double-digit steals across the rest of the roster. The center fielder became a free agent at the end of the season, and how the Twins will replace some of that baserunning value remains to be seen.
Entering the 2024 season as the most tenured manager in the American League Central, Baldelli seems unlikely to reinvent himself as a manager. How he instructs his team has to do with the talent available to him, but a substantially enhanced aggressiveness on the basepaths doesn’t seem to be in the cards. However, Castro’s role may be mitigated in the year ahead, and someone else will need to step up.
It was curious that Edouard Julien stole just three bases as a rookie for Minnesota (on three attempts). It could have been the preference of batters behind him that the youngster stay put, but the Canadian swiped 19 bags in 2022 at Double A and took 34 the year prior between two levels of Class A. He isn’t a burner, but can get a good jump and pick the right spots. Maybe a second year of comfort at that highest level has all parties involved feeling that it’s something to bring back into his bag of tricks.
Fellow rookie Royce Lewis should also be expected to contribute in this category. He was successful in six of seven tries last season, and that was while coming back from knee surgery and missing time with oblique muscle issues. Lewis may not have the same top-end speed he once did, but it should still be considered a plus tool for his game. The former first-overall pick successfully swiped 85 bases across his time in the minor leagues, and while he has become a real power threat, any time a single is recorded, grabbing an extra 90 feet should be on the table.
The wild card for Minnesota may be Byron Buxton. Despite never playing the outfield last year, Buxton went a perfect 9-for-9 stealing bases. In 2017, he stole 29 bases while being thrown out once. Of course, his knee issues impact his speed a bit, but there is no denying he is among the most challenging runners to throw out in all of baseball. There was a previous argument that his speed had him in scoring position at first base, but with the rule changes, getting to second before a ball is put in play may never be more accessible. If he is healthy enough to be in the field for 2024, utilizing the legs of a guy who has a career 86 stolen bases in 96 attempts should be a no-brainer.
It’s not just the prominent names who can produce on the basepaths, either. Nick Gordon will be back after missing most of the season, and he can swipe bags when given the opportunity. There are also logical prospect debuts coming, in the form of Austin Martin and Brooks Lee, both of whom have havoc-wreaking potential. If Minnesota wants to employ the strategy, it should have more than enough candidates to fit the bill.
Much has been made about the innings and production that Minnesota must replace from the rotation. Departures of Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, and Tyler Mahle are all notable. That said, it was the offense that needed help for most of the year last season, and putting more runners in scoring position should be a focal point. Twenty-two other teams stole more bases than the Twins last season, and while they don’t need to elevate into the top 10, they have enough speedsters that this is an avenue they should be exploring when it comes to increasing production.
How many players would you like to see with double-digit steals for the Twins in 2024? Who do you think gets there?
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- saviking, nclahammer, Oldgoat_MN and 1 other
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