HALO EFFECT

After extending Mike Trout, signing Anthony Rendon and installing manager Joe Maddon, the Angels have a lot riding on 2020

- JOE SHEEHAN

One year ago I tagged the Twins as my sleeper team for 2019. The Twins went on to set the major league home run record while winning 101 games and the American League Central. An injury- and suspension-ravaged version of the team was wiped out in three games in the AL Division Series by the Yankees, but the Twins were still one of the best stories last year.

I’m having a hard time identifying a 2020 sleeper. This winter saw the middle tier of baseball teams, the teams that had largely sat out recent winters, get aggressive. The Rangers traded for Corey Kluber. The Angels signed Anthony Rendon. The Diamondbacks added Madison Bumgarner and Starling Marte. The Reds spent for Mike Moustakas and Nick Castellanos. You can’t be a sleeper if you spent the offseason drawing attention to yourself.

So let’s look for something else: the team with the most riding on the 2020 campaign. There are the usual suspects, of course: The Yankees committed $324 million to the idea that Gerrit Cole was the difference between getting past the Astros and not. The Dodgers have seven straight National League West titles but no World Series ring, spoiling their claim to the word “dynasty.” The White Sox have invested a lot of money this winter to turn their rebuilding project into a playoff berth. You could pick any of these, as well as the scandal-ridden Astros, the stagnant Cubs, or the talent-laden Padres.