No one gave either Baltimore or Oakland much of a chance to succeed at the start of last season, based on their combined 2011 totals of 181 losses and 50 games behind in their division races. Those two teams offer hope to the downtrodden Twins, because a year ago Oakland won the AL West — stunning the much higher-payroll Rangers and Angels — and the Orioles finished only two games behind the Yankees in the AL East and claimed a wild-card playoff spot. Here's three keys to the Baltimore and Oakland turnarounds:
Orioles
• GM Dan Duquette pulled off one of the best offseason trades, acquiring starting pitcher Jason Hammel and reliever Matt Lindstrom from the Rockies for Jeremy Guthrie. Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen was signed as a free agent, and the additions helped the Orioles lower their team ERA from 4.89 in 2011 to 3.90 last season.
• A youthful core matured, including catcher Matt Wieters (23 HR, 83 RBI), CF Adam Jones (32 HR, 82 RBI) and DH Chris Davis (33 HR, 85 RBI), each of whom was 26 years old during last season's turnaround.
• A farm system with some high-end talent began paying dividends with the midseason promotion of third baseman Manny Machado, 20, the No. 3 overall pick in 2010. Righthander Dylan Bundy, the fourth overall pick in 2011, appeared in a pair of late-season games and should be one of baseball's best starters in the coming years.
Athletics
• The A's traded three All-Star pitchers — Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey — during the offseason, leading almost everyone to believe the club was in a major rebuilding phase, years away from contending. The team employed 17 rookies, and first-year pitchers started the final 14 games, and 22 of the season's final 24 games.
• Yoenis Cespedes, a Cuban free agent signed before the season, and Josh Reddick, coming from Boston in the trade for Bailey, became legitimate middle-of-the-order run-producers; Cespedes had 23 homers and 82 RBI, Reddick 32 homers and 85 RBI.
• The bullpen, anchored by ex-Twin Grant Balfour, was superb. Balfour saved a career-high 24 games and had a 2.53 ERA in 75 outings. Oakland relievers had a 2.94 ERA and limited opponents to a .209 batting average; both of those stats were second in the AL to Tampa Bay.
Dennis Brackin
