Bad luck doesn't explain everything.

I’ve started attempting to write a post about the Twins struggles with injuries about 5 days ago. I was going to note that they had still been surprisingly competitive. Then, they went ahead and got swept in Baltimore, and continued to look flat in last night’s series opener with the Tigers. So much for being competitive.

There are a great many issues with the Twins, and some of them won’t be resolved with health. There is no offensive depth on the roster outside of a couple of positions, and even at full health, there would be concerns about filling out the roster with more competent at bats when players need a day off. There is also a fundamental area of misfortune that seems to have settled on the Twins that is different from last season.

The injury bug has burrowed deeper on the organization this season, as compared to last, where the injury concerns were more broad. Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda got hurt, so Bailey Ober and Louie Varland stepped up. The Twins lost Jorge Polanco, so Edouard Julien took on the role. No Byron Buxton? How about Michael A. Taylor?

Now a big issue Minnesota has had was not only the injuries in the Major League roster, but also the concurrent injuries to start the year in St. Paul. Brooks Lee, for example, was likely to be the first call up for the Twins if injuries happened, but then he was on the IL before the season started. Max Kepler was hurt early, and the St. Paul Saints were also short Trevor Larnach. Almost immediately, the Twins had to dig deeper when finding people to take important roles.

Austin Martin was expected to be a contributor this year, but not to the level he’s been asked to so far this year. Jose Miranda’s star faded last season, but he is back and playing somewhat regularly. Larnach is healthy again, but I don’t think anyone expects him to be a savior

Again, this is only a small part of the problem. Last season, part of the solution to the early slump and injury bug was Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro stepping up, and both have been atrocious. Edouard Julien hasn’t quite figured out his bat this year, and Christian Vasquez, fully in the role of back up catcher, has been terrible at the plate.

The Twins are going to have to be much better on offense if they want to pull out of their funk. Injuries have certainly been a huge issue, and not just on the Major League roster, but in St Paul as well. It’s a tougher burden to bear, and the healthy players aren’t bearing it well.