Second Base

Last week I looked at the Twins first base situation for the coming year. With only one game of football left this year, and the Wolves and Wild having such awful years, my thoughts once more turn to baseball. This time, second base.

The first half of last season Brian Dozier was looking like not just a Twins MVP, but a potential league MVP candidate. He was hitting the ball well enough and stealing bases on such an efficient level that both I and regular reader, Cranky Curtis, were thinking he may join that elite 30/30 club, perhaps having both 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases by year's end.

Well, we all know that didn't happen. Dozier fizzled the second half of the season as much as he sizzled early. And not just at the plate. His defensive metrics the second half of the season were so bad that by year's end he was listed as just average by those keeping track. Which is just a shame, because early in the season, at just about every metric that you could apply, he was as good at everything as any second baseman in baseball.

So, what happened? Well, like so many other Twins last season, he had nagging injuries. Those are the type of injuries that don't stop you from playing, they just make you look worse when you're out there. They're the types of injuries that make you look average over time.

At 28, Dozier should be entering his prime. Though not a prototypical number two hitter (he's definitely NOT the Twin's second best hitter) he does draw a lot of walks and deliver clutch RBI. He's one of the primary reasons the Twins scored so many runs in the first half of the season last year. We can hope that if he's healthy this season that he should put up good numbers again.

The question most ask is who is his primary backup if something happens? Much like Mauer at first, the Twins no longer have a ready answer for that one. Eddie Rosario WAS suppose to be that man, but the Twins have cooled on that idea with Rosario's less than average play. Jorge Polanco may be the Twin going up  the ladder, but the Twins seem to forcing a shortstop role on him. So again, his backup is not something the Twins have an answer for right now.

With no ready first baseman or second baseman in AAA awaiting the call, the Twins still have a lot of rebuilding to do within the organization. IF disaster strikes, the Twins will have to look elsewhere for suitable relief.