The Twins had a good offseason, but do they need to prove it?

There are two themes to the Twins offseason that you have heard countless times by now. First, they sought to solidify their depth, particularly in the infield (beyond just the headline move of having Carlos Correa fall back into their lap), and second, aside from Pablo Lopez, they trusted the arms that they had in the system. 

So far, the strength of the team has been their pitching staff. Sonny Gray has been a revelation, including setting a career high for strike outs in his last start. Where there were rotation question marks, Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda have answered them positively. Both had injury concerns coming into the year, but both have made some fans pause and consider that maybe the Twins' patience is worth it. It makes you think that they may be on to something with Chris Paddack.

Speaking of Chris Paddack, the greatest cause for alarm in the Twins roster was acquired with Paddack before the season opener last year. Emilio Pagan was the poster child for people wondering why the Twins didn't update the bullpen. Pagan has been effective in his limited work. In fact, the worst bullpen game this year featured Griffin Jax and Caleb Thielbar, who were not causes for concern. Another guy acquired last season, Jorge Lopez, looks to be reclaiming some of the fire he had with Baltimore last season. Jorge Alcala and Cole Sands have also had good results in limited work after not being significant factors last season. 

That's all well and good, but like any good insurance policy, the Twins can't be happy about having to use the one they acquired this winter, certainly not this early and often. Minnesota brought in Kyle Farmer first, then traded for Michael Taylor and finally signed Donovan Solano, all with the intent of providing depth to their Major League roster. Joey Gallo was also signed, though he always figured to get a little bit more playing time.

After the Twins kept the same lineup, essentially, for their first series with the Royals, they have now started Kyle Farmer every game for the last 5. Of course, that "same lineup" included Taylor, who is playing center while Byron Buxton ramps up. Now, after Alex Kirilloff (before the season started) and Max Kepler went on the shelf, Gallo moved from first into the outfield, bringing Solano into regular duty. He's played every day of the last 5 as well.

Oh, and then Gallo has been nicked up, and Matt Wallner was the season's first call up, and has started 3 games in a row as well.

It's been working thus far, thanks largely to the dominance of their starting rotation. A return to health, and for their depth strength to go back to being depth, rather than starters, would surely be appreciated, though, especially with a tough road trip on the near horizon.