Compared to last season, not a lot changed for the Twins this past winter. Last offseason saw the loss of Johan Santana and Torii Hunter as well as a trade that sent Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett to the Tampa Bay Rays for Delmon Young and Brendan Harris. This offseason's biggest move was the signing of Joe Crede, who comes into the season still trying to shake off any doubt about his health.

Let's take a position-by-position look at where the Twins stand in 2009 compared to 2008.

Catcher

If you exclude the fact that Joe Mauer will start the year on the DL, then nothing changes here. Ideally, Mike Redmond will still serve as the backup to Mauer. Until Mauer is able to return, it will instead be Jose Morales serving as backup to Redmond. Mauer is a big part of this team, so any prolonged time on the DL would be a major blow to the team.

First Base

Nothing new here. Justin Morneau will again man first. He played 155 games there last season and the hope is that he can be just as much a regular there as last year. Michael Cuddyer and Brendan Harris could be his backup, on the rare day that one is needed.

Second Base

Alexi Casilla played most of the games at 2B last season, but shared a lot of time with Harris, Punto and Tolbert. This year the plan is once again to give Casilla the starting job.

Third Base

The Twins have perpetually struggled to fill this position. Last year Mike Lamb struggled before being replaced by Brian Buscher and Nick Punto. This year the Twins brought in Joe Crede. Crede has been an excellent defender in his career, but there's worries that his range may be a little limited with the back problems he's recovered from. Buscher is still with the team and will server as the primary backup at third. The Twins will still pay Mike Lamb about $3 million dollars this year, but not to be part of the roster.

Shortstop

The Adam Everett experiment was another failure from last season. Nick Punto played 60 games at SS last season, and will open this season as the starter. His production was OK last season, and the hope is that 2009 will look more like 2006 or 2008 than 2007 when he batted .210 as the everyday third baseman.

Left Field

Delmon Young held the position all of last year, but his offensive numbers and defense failed to impress. Young is still around, but will be sharing playing time with three other outfielders: Carlos Gomez, Denard Span and Michael Cuddyer. Denard Span figures to be the starting left fielder this year, with Cuddyer taking over in RF after an injury plagued 2008. However, don't be suprised if you see Span rotating between all three outfield positions as Gardenhire tries to give the four outfielders adequate playing time.

Center Field

Carlos Gomez played stellar defense last season, and will again be the every day man in center. The hope is that he can become a little more disciplined and consistent at the plate.

Right Field

Michael Cuddyer struggled when he wasn't injured last year, but after signing a nice size contract last offseason, he'll be expected to be the everyday Right fielder. He'll need to produce, because Delmon will be knocking on the door for playing time.

DH

At the start of last year, Jason Kubel and Craig Monroe split time as the DH. This year Kubel might have to share some at-bats with Young.

Starting Pitchers

The rotation looks a lot like it did last year:

• Scott Baker (injured)
• Francisco Liriano
• Kevin Slowey
• Nick Blackburn
• Glen Perkins
• R.A. Dickey (replacing injured Scott Baker)

The inclusion of R.A. Dickey as the sixth starter, proves the Twins lack of major league ready depth at starting pitchers. They're counting on the starting five being relatively healthy all season. Unfortunately Baker is already on the DL, however at this point is looks like he'll just miss his first couple starts.

Boof Bonser started the year in the rotation last season, but will spend the entire year on the DL.

Bullpen

Last year the Twins lost Pat Neshek, and they'll have to do without him for all of this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The Bullpen will again be anchored by Joe Nathan, who will count on Jesse Crain as the setup man (a role Neshek had filled). Matt Guerrier and Craig Breslow also return from last season's bullpen. The Twins have also added Luis Ayala and Phillip Humber to the mix (Humber saw some action with the club late last year). Lefty Brian Duensing also made the team to start the season, however he or Humber could lose their jobs when Baker is ready to return.

I'd argue that the team has upgraded at 3B and in the OF slightly, but they failed to address their bullpen issues in the offseason. What are your thoughts?