What the Twins Can Learn From the Two World Series Rosters

The Minnesota Twins are a smaller market team. We know this. In the past, that was used as a point of why they are unsuccessful, because they don't have the same financial advantage as teams like the Los Angels Dodgers or the New York Mets.

Is that an excuse anymore? Not in my opinion. We are about to embark on a World Series where the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. The question can be asked whether or not the Rays are a small market team or a lower-mid market team, but I put them in the same catagory as the Twins with the Twins actually having a higher payroll than both teams, according to cots contracts.

So what sets the Brewers and the Rays apart from the Twins to make them more successful?

1. Roster Construction

Notice how the Brewers and the Rays are built? Their offenses are dynamic in many ways, which keeps opponents on their toes. Both teams are generally good fundamentally sound teams that can play small ball, but when a big home run is needed, it comes.

The Twins are adding more of this into their lineup. Sure, Walker Jenkins might strike out a lot as a power threat in the Twins lineup, but they need the power in their lineup. That is the one thing I would change if I were the architect of either team. I would want more slug in my lineup. For the Rays, Junior Caminero poses the biggest power threat in their lineup. For the Twins, it's probably Byron Buxton, and they hope soon Jenkins.

Both the Brewers and Rays also make contact and put the ball in play. That is a model that the Twins should follow. Strikeouts happen, as we saw for the Brewers in the NLCS, but you need to win in spite of it.

The bullpen is also a key part of each of the rosters of both teams. Managers Pat Murphy and Kevin Cash alike both trust their bullpens to perform at a high level, and so far throughout the course of the playoffs, both have been borderline untouchable. The Twins have made a number of changes to their pitching department following the season, and those changes could help the bullpen in 2027 with adjustments made to players stuff and approach.

2. Use of Analytics

A lot of fans hate how analytics have been used in modern sports. Many think it has no place and it's the reason their team loses. The Brewers/Rays matchup actually proves the opposite. Both teams are among the top teams when it comes to using analytics, and both at the forefront of its integration into baseball, per Zack Scott, a former front office employee who writes the Under Review newsletter.

As the graphic above shows, the Twins have a below league average analytics department. The size of the department does not matter in the slightest. What matters, or should matter the most is how the analytics are used within the game. That goes to player and coach interpretation and buy-in.

The Twins using analytics to their advantage in 2027 should be on the list of priorities because it could give them a competitive advantage and help them win games. They are going to need to infuse talent into the roster as well, but infusing analytics will help the Twins more than people think.