The Minnesota Twins have played more than a handful of Spring Training games and Opening Day is less than a month away. Who will make up the 26-man roster in Milwaukee on April 1?
There’s been a couple of additions since roster projection
1.0 exactly one month ago, and spring performances may wind up influencing some
of the roster decisions as well. It appears there will be fans in the stands no
matter where you turn on Opening Day, so who will fans of the reigning AL
Central division champions be seeing? Here’s the first revision:
Starting Pitchers (5): Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael
Pineda, J.A. Happ, Matt Shoemaker
Randy Dobnak gets bumped from the group as the addition of
Shoemaker on a one-year deal worth $2 million all but cements his place as the
final starter. The former Angels pitcher has been good when healthy, he’s just rarely
remained that for significant stretches of time. Minnesota has solid starting depth,
even if the ceiling is lowered behind Pineda. This should be a solid group.
Relief Pitchers (8): Taylor Rogers, Alex Colome, Tyler
Duffey, Hansel Robles, Jorge Alcala, Cody Stashak, Randy Dobnak, Lewis Thorpe
I’m really uncertain what to do with this group. Only six
spots seem like certainties, and despite Caleb Thielbar needing to be a
seventh, he may miss the start of the season with an injury. Minnesota also seems
likely to carry 14 pitchers given the workload differential in adding 102 games
this season. That said, I have no idea how they get there. Shaun Anderson is on
the 40-man roster already. Thorpe and Dobnak have looked good this spring, but
both should remain stretched out to start. Ian Hamilton, Ian Gibault, and
Brandon Waddell would all need a spot on the 40-man roster if they were to be
included.
Catchers (2): Mitch Garver, Ryan Jeffers
Removing Willians Astudillo here solely from the idea that
the options elsewhere seem better suited for the roster. He’s not a true
catcher and the top two should be able to split duties evenly.
Infielders (5): Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, Andrelton
Simmons, Josh Donaldson, Luis Arraez
No changes here and the only thing that could make some
sense would be a true shortstop to spell Andrelton Simmons. Jorge Polanco will
likely be asked to play that role at times rather than including someone like J.T. Riddle, who would need a 40-man spot should he make the club.
Outfielders (5): Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Jake
Cave, Brent Rooker
Talk about a group brimming with options. Kirilloff should
be the Opening Day left fielder. The team has suggested Arraez isn’t being
groomed to play the outfield, and there’s no Triple-A action for a month. Jake
Cave is the holdover fourth outfielder, but he’s a bit redundant as another left-handed
bat. Keon Broxton is a non-roster guy that can truly play centerfield and he’s looked
very good in the early going. Kyle Garlick is a right-handed hitter with a
40-man spot who’s also looked good, but he’s probably destined more for the
corners. If you’re adding another bat, it probably needs to be Brent Rooker. He’s
not a centerfielder, but he too is right-handed and looked the part before his
injury in 2020.
Designated Hitter (1): Nelson Cruz
No change here
