Donaldson pumps up infield depth

Five issues facing the Twins:

Rotation health:

One of the keys behind last year’s 101-win ballclub was the strength of Minnesota’s starters. They ranked 11th in the majors (fifth in the American League) in ERA. Twins starters also excelled in limiting walks and keeping the ball in the ballpark during a season in which major leaguers set the record for home runs. (The Twins set the single-season team record of 307.)

But the team will be without Michael Pineda (suspension for a positive test for a banned substance) and free agent signee Rich Hill (elbow). Pineda won’t be back until May and Hill until June. Even when they return, will the veterans hold up and help Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi and another free agent, Homer Bailey, live up to 2019’s expectations?

Infield playing time:

As problems go, this is probably a good one to have. The revelations of middle infielders Ehire Adrianza and Jorge Polanco bolstered the Twins in 2019. The signing of Josh Donaldson and the re-emergence of Miguel Sano shore up the corners. There’s depth on the bench with utility man Marwin Gonzalez, and locker room leader Nelson Cruz expects to occupy the designated hitter spot most of the time.

That leaves second-year manager Rocco Baldelli with plenty of options when he writes out the lineup card every day, but with that flexibility comes the challenge of playing the hot hand versus making sure guys stay fresh.

Last year, the Twins had the third-best bullpen in MLB in terms of wins above replacement (7.3). The ’pen walked the least amount of hitters per nine innings (1.90). Minnesota will return much of the same bullpen crew, including Sergio Romo, Randy Dobnak, Tyler Clippard, Trevor May and Rogers.

Under the hump:

The Twins have not made it past the divisional round since 2002. In seven playoff berths since, they’ve been bounced before advancing – most of the time to the Yankees, as was the case in 2019. Signing Donaldson and retaining key bullpen members give off the impression the front office has eyes on playing deep into October.

Prospect development:

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Between an influx of young talent, a stable and savvy front office and a willingness to spend, the Twins shored up an already strong roster with a couple of free agent additions. They’ll be the frontrunner in the AL Central again. 101-61

First place, AL Central; lost to Yankees in division series

Pipeline’s latest release of the top 100 minor leaguers in baseball. None of those names include infielder Nick Gordon and outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr., both of whom could break camp with the bigleague

BRIAN PETERSON/AP

club. But the Twins already have a relatively set major league roster. They’ll have to appropriately promote players such as shortstop and former No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis and outfielders Trevor Larnach and Alex Kirilloff.

New Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson, flanked by team executive Derek Falvey, left, and manager Rocco Baldelli, shores up the hot corner. Donaldson hit 37 home runs and had 94 RBI last year for the Braves.