STEELE SPORTS

Since the MLB announced that it and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) agreed to end the lockout that had held the league stagnant, no team has impressed me more with its player transactions than the Minnesota Twins.
As a longtime Oakland Athletics fan who watched the majority of the franchise be dealt off in a fire sale, it was refreshing to see the local team move in the opposite direction and push toward building a World Series-winning roster.
Familiar faces like Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Miguel Sano will still be wearing Twins colors this season, however, they will be accompanied by a new set of star power reinforcements thanks to manager Rocco Baldelli and general manager Thad Levine.
Dawning the Twins navy blue, scarlet red and Minnesota Kasota gold for the first time this season will be shortstop Carlos Correa, catcher Gary Sánchez and third basemen Gio Urshela amongst other additions.
For those unfamiliar with the names listed, if I had to describe the three athletes in one word it would be “reliable.”
All seasoned veterans in the MLB, each athlete has proven themselves to be reliable day-to-day starters – a quality that the Twins were lacking in multiple positions.
Twins fans have been quite used to the carousel that has taken place in the catcher and infield positions over the past few seasons.
Names such as Willy “La Tortuga” Astudillo, Mitch Garver, and Andrelton Simmons all saw time at their respective positions; however, the team was not able to benefit from the consistent play of one athlete over the course of the season.
This is the missing piece of the puzzle that Baldelli and Levine were working to solve and have seemingly found the answer to.
Easily the biggest signing of the bunch is Correa, a superstar shortstop who comes to the Twin Cities after a seven-year stint in Houston that saw him win a World Series title in 2017 with the Astros.
Twins fans can expect to see a resurgence of the “Bomba Squad” once Correa comes to town.
The Puerto Rican superstar has hit 133 home runs since entering the league in 2015 and averages a steady 19 home runs a season.
The front office staff has put a great deal of faith in Correa shifting the Twins’ culture to being a perennial contender by signing him to a three-year, $105.3 million contract.
Also looking to contribute to the culture change are Sánchez and Urshela, whom both came to the Twins after the team sent Josh Donaldson, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt to the New York Yankees in a trade.
Sánchez will bring his power to the lineup, adding yet another deep ball threat to the squad, while Urshela will serve as a solid defensive piece on the hot corner for the team.
Minnesota has proven through its offseason moves that the time in Minnesota to win a World Series is now.
After putting together multiple competitive seasons over the course of the past few years, it appears the Twins have decided to go all-in in 2022 and bring home the team’s first World Series trophy since 1991.