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Cleveland Indians: Ranking potential playoff opponents by desirability

By Aaron Gershon

CLEVELAND, OHIO - MAY 24: Jordan Luplow #8 of the Cleveland Indians steals second during the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field on May 24, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MAY 24: Jordan Luplow #8 of the Cleveland Indians steals second during the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field on May 24, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 05: Eddie Rosario #20 of the Minnesota Twins reacts during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field on September 5, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Tigers 4-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 05: Eddie Rosario #20 of the Minnesota Twins reacts during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field on September 5, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Tigers 4-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

2. . . . Minnesota Twins. 2. team

The Minnesota Twins are well on their way to their third postseason berth of the past four seasons’ but that doesn’t mean the Indians should fear their division foe.

While the Twins lead the season series 5-3 over Cleveland, the Indians matchup better in a three-game postseason series due to their pitching.

Cleveland can roll out Bieber in game one and other strong arms such as Zach Plesac, Triston McKenzie, Carlos Carrasco or Aaron Civale in the next two games while the Twins rotation is full of question marks outside of Kenta Maeda.

Minnesota’s bullpen has posted a 4.17 ERA and have seen closer Taylor Rogers struggle leaving them without a reliable option to close out games with the pressure high.

By far the Twins biggest strength is their offense that can hit the ball out of the yard better than anyone in the majors but if the Indians starting rotation can continue to perform at their MLB best pace, they should have enough to keep Minnesota in the yard and allow their offense to chip away at the Twins shaky rotation.

While the Twins still present several challenges that would make them a tough out, the Indians matchup nicely with them and have the talent to win a three-game playoff series over their division foe.

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