What does Joe Nathans injury do to the Twins?
It would mean that the Twins will only win the division by 7 games instead of 10. Nathan’s injury sucks, but it isn’t the end of the world. He blew 7 saves last year, and it’s hard to imagine any of the Twins other options at closer blowing more than 10 or so. So I doubt that losing Nathan will result in more than 3 or 4 extra losses for the Twins. They have some talented young pitchers in the bullpen, including Pat Neshek and Matt Guerrier. And I think Francisco Liriano could be a sleeper candidate to take over the closer role. Even if Nathan is out, it won’t make the Sox or Tigers any better. The Sox still have major issues on offense, and the Tigers will be weaker without Granderson and Polanco. So even though this injury makes the division slightly more competitive, the Twins still have to be the odds-on favorite in the AL Central.
