Something that has always bothered me about Target Field is that when it was built, there was a core middle to the lineup that happened to all be left handed. There was Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel, all ready to bash at the new park, and the stadium was designed with an extra tall limestone fence in right field. Sure, sure, make it a little bit harder for the core of your lineup to hit them out.
You could logically retort that the Twins weren't building the stadium with those players in mind specifically, which of course is true, but they did likely expect to have those players around for a while (before they were all derailed by their own injuries) which could have accounted for the first, I don't know, 20% of the stadium's lifespan, perhaps.
But then the Twins added Jim Thome, and developed Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario. Jorge Polanco is a switch hitter, and now they have a bumper crop of left handed players ready to take over; Alex Kirlloff, Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach. Even the top two outfield prospects, Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, are left handed.
The list of right handed hitters that have sustained success with the Twins is shorter. Nelson Cruz was great. Brian Dozier burned bright for a few years, but otherwise, the right handed bats have been inconsistent or failed to achieve the success that many expected. The first righty the Twins added for their bat was Delmon Young, followed by Josh Willingham. They developed Miguel Sano who could also be very good, but more often was not. Josh Donaldson didn't last. Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa are the preeminent righties right now, and have battled injury and slow starts through their time here. There is a lot of pressure on Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee, I guess, to fill in the right handed hitter role.
The left field fence is 10 feet deeper than the right field fence, but it is less than half as tall. Especially when a fly ball carries in a hot summer day, each fence is likely as capable of giving up home runs as the other, but when it is cold, or when the the hitter is prone to line drives (like Mauer) a driven ball is more likely to leave the park in left.
Given that Minnesota is usually pretty chilly early in the season and into the postseason, solid right handed hitting would take advantage of the dimensions of Target Field. through intent or misfortune, the team hasn't really made a point of getting consistent production from that side of the plate.
The outfield is a place to stash your best bats, and the Twins haven't used it for a dominant right handed hitter, and don't seem like they are likely to do that for a while, given the prospect pool. They continue to try to work Buxton into the lineup, and had Michael A. Taylor in center last year, more for his glove, but attained unexpected pop at the plate. If Buxton is back, a decent right handed hitter can slot in as a designated hitter. For the past few years, that righty has been Kyle Garlick. There is room to grow.
The Twins have been pretty quiet this offseason, and have limited payroll opportunities, but adding just one right handed corner outfielder with some more ability than Garlick would be a lift for the lineup at a relatively low price, and would address something that has been a hole for what seems like more than a decade.
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