Do the Twins have the rotation for a World Series run?

Trade season is officially getting started around baseball and this year that means the Twins will be adding pieces for the first time in a decade. The talk has been almost exclusively about adding relief pitchers and rightfully so, but recently there has been some talk about adding a true number one ahead of both Berrios and Odorizzi. TJ looked at why that is unlikely, but I’ll be looking closer at why the Twins may not need to add to their rotation.

Right now, the Twins have two All Star starters with Berrios and Odorizzi and then they have a guy in Kyle Gibson who is having a great season himself (2.82 ERA after first 3 starts). Even Michael Pineda is pitching well right now and he hasn’t given up more than 3 ER since April (this is before his Boston start so if he gives up 4+ ER don’t be angry at me).

So right now the Twins playoff rotation is Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi and then Kyle Gibson. Obviously those first two are great but then is Kyle Gibson good enough to be the third guy?

World Series winner #3 starter last four years:

• Nathan Eovaldi: 3.81 ERA, 8.19 K/9, 1.62 BB/9, 1.13 WHIP, 3.60 FIP
• Brad Peacock: 3.00 ERA, 10.98 K/9, 3.89 BB/9, 1.19 WHIP, 3.07 FIP
• Jake Arrieta: 3.53 ERA, 8.71 K/9, 2.94 BB/9, 1.22 WHIP, 4.16 FIP
• Edinson Volquez: 3.55 ERA, 6.96 K/9, 3.23 BB/9, 1.31 WHIP, 3.82 FIP

Now look at the Twins number 3, Kyle Gibson: 3.70 ERA, 9.20 K/9, 2.03 BB/9, 3.87 FIP. Keep in mind this is coming after the two pitchers having elite seasons in Berrios and Odorizzi and this rotation has a lot of help because the Twins have something called the best lineup in major league baseball.

If Derek Falvey does not want to give up a few key prospects for a starter then the Twins may be built well enough to still get it done in October. Of course an another ace would be nice but go read yesterday’s post from TJ.

A trade for a starter isn’t impossible but it appears extremely unlikely, especially if Falvey sticks with his sustainable winner approach. It is much more likely that the Twins will be trading for a reliever or two so be watching for that. The trade deadline is still 43 days away so we may not be seeing anything soon.

I put a Twitter poll up discussing the topic and I did not expect these results at all but I was happy the voting went this way:

So now I have the results from Twitter, but what does the Twinkie Town audience think?