The Minnesota Twins just weren't able to keep up with the Indians and Tigers this year. If they played in the NL Central instead of the AL, they'd only be 4.5 back. I'm not saying they're good, but they'd probably still be playing for a division championship in the NL.

The Good

Sure, Johan Santana is suffering through his worst season as a starter, but when a 3.09 ERA over 30 starts is your worst year ever, you're pretty darn good. The Twins' bullpen has once again held up its end of the bargain with Joe Nathan, Pat Neshek, and Matt Guerrier all having pretty good years. The herky-jerky side-armer (Neshek) has the highest ERA of the trio at 2.75.

On the offensive side, Torii Hunter has hit .291/.337/.525 in his walk year.

The Bad

The aforementioned Hunter is a free agent at the end of the season. The Twins will have a hard time replacing him if he doesn't come back. One other position they need to fill during the offseason is third base, unless they want to throw away another season at an offensive position. Nick Punto has seen the most time there this year and has a .199/.286/.255 line, which is pretty pathetic for a shortstop and even worse for a third baseman. On the other side of the diamond, Alexi Casilla just hasn't adjusted to the majors since taking over after the Luis Castillo trade. After hitting .269/.345/.344 at AAA Rochester, Casilla has only managed a .241/.274/.282 line in the big leagues.

Looking Forward

If they can't resign Hunter, it's probably not going to matter that Francisco Liriano will be making his return, which is just another reminder of how stacked the Twins are with young pitchers. In addition, if they can't resign Hunter and don't sign either Aaron Rowand or Andruw Jones, it might be time to think about trading Johan (if they can't lock him up with an extension as I suspect). Santana will be a free agent following the 2008 season, and if they lose him to free agency, they'll only get a couple draft picks in return. These high-round draft picks have tremendous value for sure, but it pales in comparison to what Santana would fetch on the trade market.

If they do resign Hunter, I'd like to see the Twins make a run at Alex Rodriguez. Given their spending history, this has a slim chance of happening, so looking at it more realistically, Mike Lowell might be a good addition at the hot corner. If they don't resign Hunter, getting Lowell won't make a difference in their division, so it would then be best to wait a year and re-evaluate how good they'll be going into 2009.