2008 MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins

Manager: Ron Gardenhire
Arrivals: SS Adam Everett, OF Carlos Gomez, IF Brendan Harris, SP Livan Hernandez, 3B Mike Lamb, OF Craig Monroe, OF Delmon Young
Departures: SS Jason Bartlett, OF Lew Ford*, SP Matt Garza, OF Torii Hunter, SP Sidney Ponson, SP Johan Santana, SP Carlos Silva, OF Jason Tyner*, OF Rondell White*

Offseason grade: B

Starting rotation

With Matt Garza, Carlos Silva, and Johan Santana all leaving Minnesota via trades or free agency, the 2008 version of the Twins' starting rotation is vastly different than the one they trotted out in 2007.

Livan Hernandez will get the Opening Day nod for the Twins after going 11-11 with a 4.93 ERA for Arizona last year. Hernandez is 33 and can still be an effective innings-eater, but it's unlikely that he can be the leader of a staff, especially one in the offense-heavy AL Central. 

Behind Hernandez will be Boof Bonser, who struggled in his first full season in the majors last year, going 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA. Even though he's just 26, it appears that his performance after getting called up in 2006 was a flash in the pan. 

Scott Baker should finally start 30+ games for the Twins this year after being billed as a top pitching prospect for the last three or four years. Like Bonser, Baker is just 26, but he has a much higher ceiling than Bonser does.

A slight problem with Baker, though: he has the flu. Bad. He's missed a couple of starts late in spring training and there's an outside chance he gets put on the disabled list to open the season.

Once he gets that all cleared up and is ready to go, don't be surprised if Baker pitches very well for Minnesota this year.

Kevin Slowey, a 23-year-old righty out of Winthrop, will likely be the Twins' No. 4 starter this year. Slowey's minor-league track record is very impressive, sporting a WHIP of 0.86, an ERA of 1.93, and a K/BB ratio of 7:1. There shouldn't be a lot of pressure on Slowey this year, which should allow him to develop nicely into a very solid pitcher.

Nick Blackburn will initially round out this Minnesota rotation while Francisco Liriano starts the year off in the minors. Blackburn was impressive last year between AA New Britain and AAA Rochester, going 10-4 with a 2.36 ERA in 148.2 innings. He'll likely get two or three starts in the majors before Liriano comes back and should be first in line to fill in for an injured starter this year.

Liriano has yet to regain his 2006 form after missing all of 2007, but it would have been foolish to expect him to pitch like he did in 2006 right off the bat. The Twins seem to be handling Liriano well by sending him to Rochester to make a few starts before calling him back up to the majors.

Liriano really is the X-factor of this rotation. If he pitches like he did in 2006, it'll greatly soften the blow of not having Garza and Santana in the rotation. If he ends up not regaining that form, he'll be just another mediocre stater in a rotation that already has too many of them.

Starting rotation grade: C (For now. Liriano's performance could really raise this grade)

Bullpen

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