Joe Nathan will return to lead this Minnesota bullpen with a fat new contract and no worries about being dealt before July. Nathan is one of the premier closers in the game and gives the Twins a dominant option at the back of their bullpen.
Pat Neshek is dominant in a different way than Nathan, but he's just as effective. The right-handed Neshek's sidearm motion is effective against both righties and lefties, holidng them to .185 and .173 batting averages last year, respectively. He's developed into an excellent eighth inning man–and just in time, too, considering the problems Juan Rincon had last year.
Rincon saw his ERA jump from 2.91 in 2006 to 5.13 in 2007–a jump that possibly was due to the elbow issues that concerned the Rays so much they decided they didn't want him in the Garza-for-Delmon Young trade.
However, the return of Jesse Crain should also help offset another poor season from Rincon. Crain had season-ending shoulder surgery in May after struggling through the early part of the 2007 season. However, Crain was one of the AL's better relievers in 2005 and 2006, throwing nearly 80 innings in both those years with ERAs of 2.71 and 3.52. If he's healthy, expect Crain to return to his 2005 and 2006 performance.
Dennys Reyes will fill the LOOGY position in the Twins bullpen after holding lefties to a .264 batting average in 2007 (righties hit .364 against Reyes last year). His 1:1 K/BB ratio last year was a bit worrisome, as if he's called on to get one lefty out, the last thing Ron Gardenhire will want to see is a walk.
Brian Bass won a bullpen spot out of spring training, beating out Philip Humber for final spot. Bass doesn't have an overly impressive minor-league track record and has never pitched in the majors before, but he has a 2.51 ERA in spring training.
Matt Guerrier, Minnesota's long-man from last year, could see some innings later in games with Bass on the team. Guerrier threw 88 innings over 73 appearances last year with a 2.35 ERA and should be good wherever he pitches in the Minnesota bullpen.
The return of Crain coupled with Neshek and Reyes (if used properly) will give Minnesota an excellent bridge from their starters to Nathan.
Bullpen grade: B+
Lineup
The addition of Delmon Young will easily offset the loss of Torii Hunter to free agency in this Minnesota lineup. Young, 22, hit .288 with 13 home runs and 93 RBI in his first full MLB season last year for the Rays and has an extremely high ceiling.
Expect Young's power numbers to climb to the 20-25 range and his RBI total to end up well over 100 this year. He'll likely be hitting fifth behind Justin Morneau to start the year, but if he can raise his on-base percentage from the unsightly .316 it was in 2007, he may end up bumping Michael Cuddyer out of the No. 3 spot before the end of the year.
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