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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) —ger in the major leagues. They remade the right side of the infield. There will be a new closer Aaron Judge Jersey , too, should rookie skipper Rocco Baldelli decide to designate a particular reliever for ninth-inning duty.Starting fresh doesn’t necessarily mean starting over, though.The Twins have quietly built a roster that, if their most important under-28 players either continue to progress or rebound from rough seasons, has the capability of at least pushing the defending AL Central champion Cleveland Indians for the division title. They made the playoffs just two years ago, after all.By inserting Nelson Cruz , C.J. Cron, Jonathan Schoop and Marwin Gonzalez into the lineup, the power-hitting potential has significantly increased. Rotation newcomers Michael Pineda and Martin Perez have made a combined 245 career starts. Blake Parker, the primary ninth-inning reliever last season for the Los Angeles Angels, has joined the back of the bullpen.There was no more notable addition than the 37-year-old Baldelli, who spent the last eight seasons in various roles with the innovative Tampa Bay Rays after his promising playing career was shortened by a rare muscular disorder.When Paul Molitor was fired last fall after four years, a tenure that featured the AL Manager of the Year Award in 2017, Baldelli was targeted as one of the final pieces in the organizational revamp engineered by chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine since they were hired after the 2016 season.Driven by collaboration, communication and, of course, data, the Twins have enhanced their front office, adjusted roles on the coaching staff and utilized as many technological advances as possible to improve the on-field product for a team that has not won a postseason series since 2002. They identified Baldelli as the boss on the bench who could bring out the best in their ever-important younger players, several of them underperforming.The Twins have used 79 different players over the last two seasons, including 54 of them last year Gleyber Torres Jersey , so perhaps it should have been no surprise that Baldelli’s first official address to the team in spring training focused on unity.“I spoke a little bit about the importance of the Twins organization and all of the good things that have gone on here, all of the great people here and also the bringing in of some new people and some new ideas and bringing all of the best of both of those sides together to create something new,” Baldelli said last month.The Twins start the season at home on March 28 against the Indians.NEW FACESThe 38-year-old Cruz, the six-time All-Star who will be the primary designated hitter, was signed in part for clubhouse leadership. He has also averaged 41 home runs and 104 RBIs over the last five years. Cron, who hit 30 homers last season for the Rays, was claimed off waivers to replace the retired Joe Mauer at first base. Schoop is at second base, and the multi-position-playing Gonzalez will take the lead at third base with Miguel Sano out until at least early May because of a severe cut above his heel.HEALING UPThe spring training performance of Pineda has been scrutinized as much as anyone on the roster, with the 6-foot-7 right-hander having last pitched on July 5, 2017, for the New York Yankees before an elbow injury required Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. Catcher Jason Castro has also been working his way back from a knee injury that arose last April and limited him to 19 games.BOUNCING BACKCenter fielder Byron Buxton’s struggles to stay healthy and stop striking out so much, mirroring his friend Sano’s so-far-unfulfilled career, reached a new low last year. Angered that he wasn’t called back up from the minors in September, Buxton added muscle, ditched the leg kick in his swing and displayed a renewed sense of confidence in camp this spring.ROOKIE TO WATCHBackup catcher Willians Astudillo became a cult hero last season , and with only 97 plate appearances he maintained his rookie status for 2019. The 27-year-old native of Venezuela, who could also play third base, second base or left field in a pinch, cemented fan-favorite status with his 5-foot-9, 225-pound frame, floppy curls Tyler Austin Jersey , aggressive style and “La Tortuga” nickname. That’s Spanish for turtle.Astudillo is more than just a lovable underdog, though. His swing-at-everything approach at the plate can give the Twins a valuable bat off the bench, as he proved by posting an .887 on-base-plus slugging percentage in 29 games. Astudillo is a .306 career hitter in the minor leagues. In which the Nationals might have jumpstarted the free agent market."The Detroit Tigers may not be up to anything, but that doesn’t mean the rest of baseball is dormant. This time, it was the Washington Nationals making waves; they agreed to a six-year contract with free agent lefthander Patrick Corbin on Tuesday, according to reports from the usual big-name reporters on Baseball Twitter. Corbin’s deal is worth $140 million, but the yearly breakdown — including the inevitable amount of deferred money from surprisingly stingy Nats ownership — is still unknown.Surprisingly, the biggest storylines to come out of this deal aren’t about Corbin’s fit with the Nationals, but rather how his contract impacts the rest of baseball. For one, it indicates that the free agent silly season might not be completely dead; Corbin is a good pitcher, but had a career 4.12 ERA and 3.96 FIP in nearly 750 innings prior to his stellar 2018 campaign. Washington’s investment in him is significant — he will earn more than $23 million per season on average, and they are giving up a couple of draft picks and international slot bonus money as well — and a big risk for an organization that is still trying to find its place in a much-improved National League East division.Corbin’s deal also hints that Bryce Harper may have a new home in 2019. While we all assumed this would be the case after a lackluster 2018 season with little communication between the two sides, Corbin’s new contract puts the onus on Nats ownership to either commit to paying him the money he wants, or move on from the best player in franchise* history.With or without Harper, the Nats are still loaded for 2019. They have a monstrous rotation, with Corbin joining Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg to form the best front three in baseball. Our friends at Beyond the Box Score think Corbin will be worth the money, and even a slight drop-off will represent a big upgrade for a club that needed 30 starts out of Jeremy Hellickson and Erick Fedde last season. They also have a capable outfield, with Juan Soto, Adam Eaton, Michael A. Taylor, and Victor Robles all under team control through 2021 (or longer).*The Nats are all too eager to ignore their days in Montreal http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , so it’s only fitting that we do too in order to make that sentence sound better.Hey, the Tigers did a thing tooThat thing was signing catcher Bobby Wilson to a minor league deal. Wilson has already been assigned to Triple-A Toledo, and will serve in a similar role that Jarrod Saltalamacchia did last season. The difference? Wilson will be around to mentor top catching prospect Jake Rogers, an excellent defender who will likely benefit from Wilson’s tutelage on the finer points of the game.It’s not the big splash (or even a major league deal) that we were hoping for, but I can’t knock Al Avila for filling a hole with a veteran backstop who has carved out a decade-long career thanks to his solid defensive work.The Tigers also re-upped with reliever Louis Coleman, which we probably discussed (and subsequently forgot) earlier this week.Stop me if you’ve heard this before......but a Tigers player has an injury more serious that we initially believed. Michael Fulmer’s knee surgery was a bit more complicated than we (and the Tigers) anticipated.Umm, that’s microfracture surgery, modified or not. Luckily, Fulmer still has nearly three months to recover — and almost five total since his Sept. 20 surgery — until the start of spring training. One hopes that the Tigers will take it slow with him, especially since they have no interest in competing in 2019, but that hasn’t always been the case in the past. And with this representing Fulmer’s second surgery on that same knee, I don’t blame you if you’re a bit concerned.Let’s go shopping!MLive’s Evan Woodberry detailed five free agents who would be a good fit for the 2019 Tigers. As you might imagine, all five players can likely be had on cheap, one-year deals. And if they look familiar, they are; we have individually profiled four of the five (and the fifth is really boring).Around the hornAnthony Fenech is a bit optimistic about James McCann, but otherwise correct in diagnosing why the Tigers non-tendered him and Alex Wilson. The Astros signed Robinson Chirinos, which means Martin Maldonado needs a new home. Grant Brisbee on the Mariners. Jeff Sullivan on the Mariners, but also the Phillies. DRC+ believes Miguel Cabrera was a deserving MVP.Random offseason send-off video