The Western leg of the 2008 Minnesota Twins Winter Caravan had made 13 stops prior to its arrival in Bismarck on Thursday.

All stops had one particular thing in common - questions galore concerning the future of Twins ace Johan Santana.

The stop at the Bismarck Civic Center Exhibition Hall was no different. Since December, the Twins have been in contact with several teams - most notably the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets - trying to work out deal to trade the two-time Cy Young Award winner. Santana will become a free agent after next season, and is expected to command more money than the small-market Twins may be willing to pay out.

"People are wondering how it will all pan out. … So are we," said Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer, who was on the Caravan along with catcher Mike Redmond, and Kris Atteberry of the Twins Radio Network. "It's something we as players don't have any control over. But regardless of how it turns out, it's going to be a positive for us. If Johan is traded away, we know we're going to get four, five good players in return. If he isn't traded, we'll have the best pitcher in baseball starting for us on opening day."

With spring training a month away, Cuddyer and Redmond said the Twins are ready to put a 79-83 2007 campaign behind them and contend again for the American League Central Division pennant. They're coming off the franchise's first losing season since 2000. It was a season plagued by injuries and inconsistency.

"We won the division four of the previous five years, so last year was tough to swallow," said Redmond, who appeared in 82 games last season and batted .294. "We had the talent, but we weren't healthy and that makes it hard to contend with the likes of Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago (White Sox). If we can stay healthy, we feel we can get back to being a contending team. The talent is there. We have a solid core of players, and we feel good about what we've done in the off-season."

It's been an off-season that has seen the Twins bid farewell to talented centerfielder Torii Hunter, who signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels, and starting pitcher Carlos Silva, who signed a big-money free agent contract with the Seattle Mariners.

Meanwhile, the Twins acquired 2007 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Delmon Young in a deal that sent pitcher Matt Garza and shortstop Jason Bartlett to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Young batted .288 with 13 home runs and 93 runs batted in last season. Minnesota also got infielder Brendan Harris (.285, 12 HR, 59 RBIs).

Other new acquisitions include outfielder Craig Monroe (28 HR with the Detroit Tigers in 2006), and infielders Adam Everett and Mike Lamb, both coming over from the Houston Astros via free agency.

Cuddyer, who batted .276 with 16 homers and 81 RBIs last season, said the addition of Young, Harris and Monroe will most certainly bolster a batting order spearheaded by catcher Joe Mauer (.293 in 2007), and 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau (.271, 31 HR, 111 RBIs).

"We feel we've filled some voids with the moves we've made," Cuddyer said. "We have some big bats in the lineup now … and Adam Everett is a slick-fielding shortstop who will really help us defensively."

Redmond said pitching holds the key to Minnesota's success.

He said lefthander Francisco Liriano is recovering well from Tommy John elbow-ligament replacement surgery and should be ready to go at the start of spring training. Liriano went 12-3 with a 2.16 earned run average in 2006 before an elbow injury sidelined him late in the season.

Starters Scott Baker and Boof Bonzer will be back, and a solid bullpen includes Pat Neshek, Juan Rincon and closer Joe Nathan (37 saves).

"We have one of the best bullpens in baseball, and that's been the case for a lot of years," Redmond said. "And we expect our starting pitching to be solid again, especially if Francisco and Johan are both back."

Division rivals Chicago and Detroit have been busy this off-season. The White Sox added outfielder Nick Swisher (22 HR, 78 RBIs with Oakland in 2007) and infielder Orlando Cabrera (.301, 86 RBIs with the Angels). The Tigers acquired three top-notch players from Florida - infielders Miguel Cabrera (.320, 34 HR, 119 RBIs) and Edgar Renteria (.332), and pitcher Dontrelle Willis (22 wins in 2005).

Cleveland, the defending division champion, hasn't made any significant additions as yet, but it won't lose anyone.

"Cleveland is a good team, and Chicago and Detroit did some things to make themselves better," Cuddyer said. "It's a tough division … always has been, but when you play 162 games you know that anything can happen.

"What I like to tell people is we have a lot of players who've played on division-winning teams, and have playoff experience," he continued. "We have players who know how to win."