Enthusiastic Twins have to prove themselves on the field

FORT MYERS, FLA - Bags were packed. Bats were stacked. PitchCom devices were secured. The Twins wrapped up spring training Tuesday, fled the Florida heat and charged into the Minnesota frost.

Despite an abbreviated schedule, the Twins feel they are ready to begin the season.

That means begin the season well. And finish it well.

The enthusiasm in camp was prevalent after a flurry of activity following the end of the lockout brought Carlos Correa, Sonny Gray, Gary Sanchez, Gio Urshela and Chris Archer into the clubhouse.

After an exhibition season during which Byron Buxton looked unstoppable at the plate, the offense should be one of the better ones in the league.

"It's nasty," infielder Luis Arraez said.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli knows his clubhouse is pulsating from thoughts of being a factor in the American League Central, but more work must be done.

"You need optimism and enthusiasm and guys that are ready to play," he said. "But the truth of the matter is, we know once you hit the field really, you just have to prove it all over again."

You also need to keep adding quality players. This is not an attempt to throw buckets of cold water on a team that opens Friday against Seattle at Target Field.

But this roster has 82-80 written all over it.

Arraez is right: The lineup looks nasty. But it has some holes. The Twins need a third catcher just in case so Sanchez can DH when Ryan Jeffers starts behind the plate.

Their best center fielder behind Buxton is right fielder Max Kepler. Kepler is great in right field, but no one operates like Buxton, so two spots are weakened when Kepler fills in. The Twins need a fourth outfielder who can play center.

But the major problems are in the rotation, where the Twins are hoping Archer and Dylan Bundy have bounce back years and rookies Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober pitch like vets. A healthy Archer throwing 94 miles an hour is an interesting development, but the Twins are short at least one, maybe two, above-average starters.

The addition of righthander Jhoan Duran to the bullpen raises the stakes, but the pen lacks a second reliever capable of closing games so the responsibility isn't all on Taylor Rogers.

The mission is to stay in the race long enough to make the Twins front office behave like the Wild's. The Wild got off to a good start, remained a playoff threat through the first two-thirds of the season, then was rewarded by GM Bill Guerin with upgrades.

If the Twins can stay in the hunt long enough, President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine should respond accordingly.

Here's what needs to happen. The Twins offense must batter opponents from the start. Yes, that means Buxton, who hit .469 with five home runs during camp, has to stay healthy. He hasn't played 100 games in a season since he was teammates with Bartolo Colon.

Gray should be steady as the defacto staff ace. Two others need to emerge from the Bundy-Archer-Ryan-Ober group. And the other two can't pitch at Matt Shoemaker levels.

It means that they will have to navigate an April schedule that includes series against teams expected to be contenders.

It means Kepler, who hit 36 homers in 2019 but has a .731 OPS since, needs to rebound in the worst way.

It also means that Miguel Sano, who hit 30 home runs last season but somehow receives more criticism than Kepler, needs to be a force in his age 29 season, coming to the plate after Buxton and Correa have softened up pitchers.

There is a path to the postseason. The players need to prove they are worthy and force the front office to help make it happen.