If the assumption going into this Twins season was that the offense would be decent to good while the pitching would be suspect, the opposite has held true through the first 13 games of the season.

After a solid offensive start fueled by walks and timely hits — the Twins still entered Tuesday leading the majors with 61 walks taken, a huge factor in whatever modest success they've had at the plate — Minnesota also entered Tuesday having gone 2-5 in its past seven games and scoring just seven runs combined in those five losses. Four of those losses were either by 2-1 or 3-1 margins (pesky final scores lately if you root for the Wild and the Twins).

So do the Twins stop carrying 13 pitchers at some point and add another potentially potent bat to the lineup? There are some obvious candidates in the minors, including three different first basemen: Kennys Vargas, Ben Paulsen and ByungHo Park (once he's off the disabled list).

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.