With their own bullpen concerns mounting, the Twins let reliever Juan Cruz slip through their fingers this weekend, when he signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Royals with an option for 2011.

If Cruz had landed with the Tigers, White Sox or Indians, it might have stirred more anger from Twins fans, but the Royals shouldn’t be overlooked. They are quietly turning into a legitimate threat to everyone else in the AL Central.

Think I’m kidding? Consider:

(*) Since 2005, the Royals’ win total has done nothing but rise: 56, 62, 69, 75.

(*) The Royals went 18-8 in September.

(*) New first baseman Mike Jacobs smashed 32 home runs last year for Florida.

(*) New leadoff hitter Coco Crisp batted .315 with a .392 OBP after the All-Star break last year.

(*) RHP Gil Meche (14-11, 3.98 ERA) and RHP Zack Greinke (13-10, 3.47) give the Royals a solid 1-2 punch atop their rotation, and current No. 3 starter Kyle Davies went 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in September. In LHP Horacio Ramirez, RHP Brian Bannister and RHP Luke Hochevar, the Royals finally have some decent starting pitching depth.

(*) Closer Joakim Soria went 42-for-45 in save opportunities last year and posted a 1.60 ERA. Getting Soria a lead has been a problem, and RHP Kyle Farnsworth probably wasn’t the answer as a primary setup man. But now Farnsworth can complement Cruz, who struck out 71 batters last year in 51 2/3 innings.

Signing Cruz would have cost the Twins a first-round draft pick, and the Royals only have to surrender a second-rounder.

But the Twins missed a chance to address their biggest concern, while the Royals took another step toward becoming the surprise team of 2009.

As Tampa Bay showed last year — just like Colorado in 2007 and Detroit in 2006 – teams rise from the ashes pretty fast these days. Don’t be surprised if Kansas City is next.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 11:07 am and is filed under Around MLB, Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.