Quietly, the Twins' roster doesn't look like it did a year ago

The offseason lament from some Twins fans was that the organization wasn't making a whole lot of changes or upgrades in an attempt to fix a team that went 59-103 in 2016.

The two-pronged counter from the Twins was that 1) new bosses Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were taking a patient approach to roster decisions, preferring to see things with their own eyes before making big decisions and 2) the roster that lost 103 games in 2016 was also in large part the same one that went 83-79 the previous season and contended for a playoff spot until the final weekend.

A little over a month into 2017, however, the Twins' roster has been tweaked more than you might think. It hasn't come in a gush of flashy moves, but the constant drip-drip-drip of decisions has added up some fairly significant changes.

Sunday's game against Boston offered a convenient (albeit maybe a little skewed) look at just how much has changed in a calendar year, since the pitching matchup — Ervin Santana vs. Chris Sale — was exactly the same as it was a year ago on May 7, 2016.

In that game a year ago, the Twins lost 7-2 to the White Sox (Sale's old team), keeping Santana winless on the season and dropping them to 8-22 overall.

The last three pitchers to work a year ago for the Twins — Fernando Abad, Kevin Jepsen and Michael Tonkin. Abad (trade) and Jepsen (release) weren't with the Twins by the end of 2016. Tonkin was a recent roster casualty, but hardly the only one.

But perhaps the most stark difference comes from the differences in the Twins lineup from last year to this year.

The Twins' roster looked different in September last year than it did in May. But even the changes made since the end of last season are starting to add up.

The left side of the infield is different, with the Twins committed to Sano and Polanco. Jason Castro and Chris Gimenez have replaced Kurt Suzuki and Juan Centeno at catcher.

Underperforming players who received more than their share of chances have started to disappear from the major league roster, too. Tonkin was DFAd. So was Danny Santana. Kyle Gibson was sent to the minors. ByungHo Park was designated for assignment in the offseason — perhaps a sign of what the new regime thought of an old regime move — and didn't make the Twins after a hot spring.

There is still a lot to fix, obviously — particularly with a pitching staff that has shown some obvious cracks after a better-than-expected April.