I think this is an excellent point, and i think it has been mostly overlooked in this thread. We can argue until the cows come home about whether the Twins' success this season is partially because of more well-rested players, or if they would be even more successful without the extra rest. It's very hard to prove one way or the other. Either way, you're going to have to deal with injuries to a few of your starters throughout every season, and giving them regular rest comes with the benefit of giving more playing time to your bench players. I have felt way more confident in the Twins' bench this season compared to prior seasons, and part of that is because they're getting more playing time and gaining experience in important spots. If you're playing your starters every day all season long, and then one or two of your starters go down with an injury, you're forced to play some guys who have done little besides ride the bench and maybe take a couple of pinch hit plate appearances per week.