Say hello to the Indians’ AL Central rivals for the 2019 season"

We’ve covered 3 AL Central teams thus far http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , and all of them have been varying degrees of bad. But the Minnesota Twins buck that trend. Most folks have picked the Cleveland Indians to win the AL Central, and they’re right to do so. But the Twins are the only other team in the division who will rise to challenge the Tribe in 2019. How are they going to do it?Key offseason transactionsAcquisitionsAcquired 1B C.J. Cron off waivers from Tampa BaySigned 2B Jonathan SchoopSigned DH Nelson CruzSigned RHP Blake ParkerSigned LHP Martin PerezSigned SS Marwin GonzalezDepartures/InjuriesCF Robbie Grossman became free agent (signed with Oakland Athletics)1B Joe Mauer retiredThe Twins went out and had a field day this winter. No one acquisition was monumental, but the sum of all of the moves that the Twins make add up to a very strong offseason. C.J. Cron just hit 30 home runs with Tampa Bay in 2018. Jonathan Schoop had a down year in 2018, but he was an absolute monster at the plate in 2017 and hit 32 home runs. Nelson Cruz, despite being 38 this season, still has the power to hit 30+ home runs (as evidenced by every season since 2014). Blake Parker was a rock for the Angels’ bullpen in the last two seasons and is still striking out more than a batter per inning. Martin Perez had some struggles last year, but he could work in both the bullpen and the rotation depending on the needs of the Twins. And finally, Marwin Gonzalez, part of the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros, has a chance to bounce back after a down, but not bad, 2018.In short, the Twins made some really good moves this winter and their team is better for it.LineupThe four position players from above can come in and compliment the remainder of the Twins’ lineup. And there are a lot of players from last year’s squad that look to make an impact in 2019.Eddie Rosario has been one of the offensive leaders for the Twins over the past two seasons, and as he enters his age 27 season, there’s every r/ason to believe that he can continue to do so. The corner outfielder hit well in 2018 with a .288/.323/.479 slash line (wRC+ 113), and he has some pop in his bat as evidenced by his 51 home runs over the last two seasons.Minnesota’s resident Bond villain, Max Kepler, while he may not hit for average, can still blast 20 home runs a year and provide the Twins with some health and stability in right field.Jorge Polanco is currently out with arm fatigue, but he’ll be back. When he comes back Danny Salazar Jersey , he brings a strong offensive talent back to the lineup. He took a step forward in 2018 and had the best year of his career to date, slashing .288/.345/.427 (wRC+ 110).And finally, back, it’s the rotation. Jose Berrios is a solid starting pitcher and he proved it last season. He was just shy of 200 innings (192.1), but in that time he allowed 82 runs while walking 61 and striking out 202 (ERA+ 114). Kyle Gibson also had his best season to date, going 196.2 innings and allowing just 79 earned runs while walking 79 and striking out 179 (ERA+ 121). After those two, however, there’s a pretty significant drop-off. Jake Odorizzi can eat 150+ innings, but he’s going to give up a lot of runs and he’s going to struggle to strike hitters out. Michael Pineda, who is just about two years removed from Tommy John surgery, is an unknown for the Twins. Martin Perez will round out the rotation, but as mentioned above, he’s coming off a dreadful season and it’s not clear whether or not he’ll be effective.On the bullpen side of things, Taylor Rogers returns with his sub-1.000 WHIP and his ability to keep the ball in the yard (0.4 HR/9 in 2018). Trevor May, who underwent his own Tommy John surgery in 2017, was back in a limited capacity last year and he looked great in that small 25.1 inning sample size (9 earned runs while walking 5 and striking out 36, ERA+ 138). Ryne Harper, a control righty, is breaking camp with the Twins this season and will bring his precision style of pitching to the bullpen; he doesn’t give up hardly any home runs (0.3 HR/9) while he’s striking out a ton of hitters in the process (11.9 K/9), And again http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , Blake Parker comes over from Los Angeles and has a good shot to be the closer for the Twins. Kyle Gibson and Jose Berrios can handle hitters for two days during the week and the bullpen can pick up the slack on the next three.SummaryCompetition is good. In baseball. In toothpaste. In life. Everywhere. The fact that the Minnesota Twins quietly pulled off a very productive offseason should make Cleveland fans happy. They aren’t just going to roll over when the Tribe comes to town; instead, they’re going to fight and try to snatch the AL Central crown from the Indians. Cleveland, in response, will need to step up and stay competitive throughout the season. I still feel that the Indians will have the edge thanks in large part to Cleveland’s superior rotation. However, the Twins have a lot of heavy hitters (literally) in their lineup, whereas the Tribe’s lineup is incredibly top-heavy. It won’t be a surprise if the Twins out-slug the Indians. And while it is unlikely, it also won’t be a huge surprise if enough things break the right way for Minnesota and the Twins end up on top of the AL Central at the end of the season. ATLANTA (AP) — Ian Kinsler describes Boston’s lineup as “electric.”Now that he’s back on track following his return from a hamstring injury, Kinsler is showing he can add even more spark to the lineup.Kinsler drove in three runs and the Red Sox continued their interleague success, beating the Atlanta Braves 8-2 Monday in a matchup of division leaders.Kinsler came off the disabled list on Aug. 17 after missing 11 games with the injury. He was hitting well before the injury and now has regained momentum with two or more hits in four of his last seven games.Asked if it was difficult to find his timing again, Kinsler said “I want to say no, because I don’t want to make any excuses. … In a player’s head you think it should happen quick in a day or two.”The Red Sox led only 3-2 through seven innings before putting the game away.“We can score a lot of runs early, score a lot of runs late,” Kinsler said. “That’s the great thing about this team. It can happen at any moment. The thing about this offense is it’s electric and it can happen quickly.”The Red Sox have won 23 of their last 27 games against National League teams. Boston has the best record in the majors and is atop the AL East.Kinsler hit a two-out, two-run single in the eighth after a throwing error by first baseman Freddie Freeman prolonged the inning, making it 5-2. Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run single as Boston scored three times in the ninth off Bryse Wilson.“The two-out error hurt, obviously, but I liked our chances before that,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker.Boston scored three runs in the fifth off Braves rookie Touki Toussaint, making only his second start in the majors. Consecutive doubles by Eduardo Nunez, Kinsler and Christian Vazquez off Toussaint (1-1) in the fifth gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. Mookie Betts added an RBI single with two outs to finish Toussaint.Boston right-hander Nate Eovaldi started only two days after his last start against the White Sox was shortened by rain to two innings.“It was definitely different Edwin Encarnacion Jersey ,” Eovaldi said. “I needed to step up and try to go as deep as I could in the ballgame. Unfortunately it was only into the fourth inning.”Eovaldi issued four walks, including three in the first, but did not allow a run in 3 1/3 innings. His previous season high for walks in a game was two.Brandon Workman (3-0) recorded two outs after replacing Eovaldi in the fourth. Ozzie Albies led off the sixth with his 22nd homer against Joe Kelly.A sellout crowd of 40,394 included a strong turnout by Red Sox fans.TRAINER’S ROOMRed Sox: 3B Rafael Devers (strained left hamstring) will join the team on Tuesday, a day after completing his rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket. … Manager Alex Cora said LHP David Price (bruised left wrist) believes he could start against the Braves on Wednesday. But the Red Sox will avoid having Price swing a bat. Price instead may start in Friday’s opening game of a home series against Houston. Cora said he had not decided on Wednesday’s starter.Braves: RHPs Arodys Vizcaino and Jose Ramirez, each recovering from right shoulder inflammation, threw back-to-back scoreless innings in rehab stints with Triple-A Gwinnett.RISP WOESThe NL East-leading Braves loaded the bases in the first, fourth and seventh innings. Kurt Suzuki’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh produced the only run from those chances as Atlanta was 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.HOME AGAININF Brandon Phillips, who had a successful Atlanta homecoming with the Braves in 2017, when he hit .291, will return again on Tuesday when he will be recalled from Pawtucket by the Red Sox. Phillips attended Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, in the metro Atlanta area.Phillips, 37, hit .302 in 38 games with Pawtucket.GLOVE WORKNick Markakis made two strong defensive plays in right field, catching a foul ball hit by J.D. Martinez against the wall in the fifth and making a sliding catch of Betts’ sinking liner in the right-center gap in the ninth.UP NEXTRed Sox: RHP Rick Porcello (15-7, 4.27) is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in three career starts against Atlanta. He has a 20-8 record in 39 career interleague game.Braves: LHP Sean Newcomb (11-7, 3.85) will try to reverse his downturn after posting an 8.48 ERA in his last four starts. He allowed six runs in four innings in a loss to the Rays in his last start.