It’s annoying to watch a bad team. It’s aggravating to watch a bad defensive team. The two often go hand in hand, and that was certainly the case last year for the 92-loss Twins, who ranked second-to-last in Runs Saved, according to Sports Info Solutions. 

Watching so many games slip away was one thing. But when makeable plays are getting missed, and fundamentals are running astray, the viewing experience really degrades in a hurry. On top of that, bad defense is costly for pitchers, inflating their numbers while forcing pitch counts to mount and long innings to drag.

Improving the defense was said to be a key priority for the Twins at the end of last season. “When Derek Falvey spoke at a year-end news conference, one day after Baldelli was fired as manager, the Twins president was asked a question about things he could have done differently this year,” Bobby Nightengale wrote at the Star Tribune. “He immediately brought up defense as one of the things that was constantly on his mind.”

But that wasn’t really reflected in the team’s offseason moves, and certainly won’t be reflected on their Opening Day roster. After seeing several of their better defenders depart — including Harrison Bader, Christian Vazquez, Ty France and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. — the Twins have done little to replenish their lost fielding acumen.

Josh Bell comes aboard with a truly terrible defensive rep. Victor Caratini is probably closer to average. Ryan Kreidler was the only legitimate glove-first player acquired over the winter, and he’s more glove-only, which is why he’s been sent to the minors to start the season.

Without Kreidler, the Twins roster will have few players who could confidently be called strong defenders. Byron Buxton might be the only member of the starting lineup with such a designation, though he himself shows clear signs of decline. 

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Source: Sports Info Solutions

Maybe you can make the case for Royce Lewis if he carries forward last year’s improvement. But Bell, Luke Keaschall, Brooks Lee, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner all grade out poorly in the field. Backups Austin Martin and Tristan Gray (or Orlando Arcia) are stretched at the most important defensive positions they’ll be asked to play (center and short).

That leaves James Outman, who made the team over Alan Roden mostly because he’s out of options, but also because he gives the Twins the closest thing to a defensive specialist off the bench. Unlike Roden or Martin, Outman is a natural center fielder and ostensibly a standout in left or right. But like Buxton, Outman’s defensive metrics have seen a downward trend in recent years. As far as late-game defensive replacements go, he’ll be a step down from Keirsey at best.

There is hope for future improvement, with prospects like Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Marek Houston boasting quality defensive skills. But in the short-term, it’s really hard to find sources of optimism for defensive improvement on the Twins. As Mark Simon concluded at SIS, “Their best-case scenario with what’s currently on the roster is probably something close to average. Their worst-case scenario is dropping to last overall in Runs Saved.”

That worst-case scenario feels more likely to play out than not, unless several players can really step it up.