Enter a necessary clean bill of health for Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, and every other regular that flanks them. It’s great that the guys hitting in the lineup have been good to go daily this spring, but that must continue over the next weeks and months if Minnesota is going to mask some of the issues they will now have on the mound.

In 2023, the Twins rotation had the fifth-lowest ERA in baseball while compiling the fourth-highest fWAR. Avoiding any interest in spending money on that group, even with critical departures, they pushed resources toward the bullpen. Minnesota’s wRC+ was sixth in baseball, and their offensive fWAR was worth the 10th-highest amount. Those results are acceptable but buoyed heavily by a second-half stretch that had them in the top three.

Beyond the front office dealing with only limited resources this offseason, it’s clear that the blueprint was built with the belief that regular contributors would be back to themselves. For all his late-season heroics, Lewis played in just 58 games. Correa battled through plantar fasciitis all season, and Buxton never got to a point where he felt normal. Those things are all currently in the rearview mirror, but it is the belief and hope of the organization that they will remain that way.

It’s almost inexcusable that the Twins didn’t sign another legitimate arm to bolster the rotation. Should they find themselves in contention, they will probably make such an addition through a summer trade. Not needing to thread that needle by putting the utmost pressure on the lineup each day could also have been part of the plan.

Now, already diving into pitching depth, Baldelli needs to pull the right strings each time he constructs his lineup card, and those penciled in have to come through.