The Minnesota Twins decided that Alex Kirilloff was the best
option for their Postseason elimination game, but following a lackluster
spring, he wasn’t a fit for the Opening Day roster. Let the second guessing
commence.
As Rocco Baldelli breaks camp with a 26-man roster top
prospect Alex Kirilloff will not be on it. He won’t travel with the big-league
club to Milwaukee, and the assumption would be that he’ll remain in St. Paul
across town until sometime near May 1. This affords the Twins a business-first
opportunity, but also gives them some different options in terms of roster
flexibility.
It should’ve been assumed that Brent Rooker would crack the
Opening Day club. He had a solid showing with Minnesota in 2020 and has more
than held his own this spring. Kyle Garlick could force his way into the
picture with a strong Spring Training and 40-man roster spot, as could non-roster
invitee Keon Broxton. The decision also leaves the door open for another
utility type, namely Willians Astudillo should Rocco want the three-catcher
flexibility.
There’s really no problem with the Twins deciding to keep
Kirilloff in the minors, but it’s certainly little more than a business first decision.
Sure, he’s been beyond mediocre this spring. A .440 OPS through 31 at bats is
nothing pretty, but the flip side is the reality of that sample size. He’s
played in 12 games, generating a total of 33 plate appearances. Less then seven
months ago he was the answer for Minnesota despite a grand total of zero plate
appearances in games that tracked statistics.
Front Offices gonna front office. https://t.co/jqoP3mIb6k
— Coach Trev (@trevorplouffe) March 23, 2021
From a service time standpoint in the current CBA landscape,
Kirilloff would afford the Twins an extra year of control if they keep him in
the minors for a matter of weeks. The problem is that the CBA is set to expire
following the 2020 season, and much has been made about the implications of
service time and team control as a whole. In short, the entirety of the
business-first side of this coin could become moot in less than 12 months.
There’s no guarantee that Minnesota is worse off without
Kirilloff out of the gate that they are some platoon featuring Rooker, Garlick,
or Luis Arraez. However, what happens in April still counts and the division is
expected to be hotly contested by the Chicago White Sox. Dream on a scenario in
which Minnesota finishes second by just a couple of games, or their Postseason
seeding is impacted, and it’s worth wondering if they’d have decided to start
on a different foot from the get-go.
Alex Kirilloff beginning the 2021 season in the minor
leagues during a season in which he’d get actual at bats makes some sense. It
makes much less in a year where he’ll see no game action until May, and then seemingly
be determined ready by the big-league club. Here’s to hoping that whenever he
debuts the mashing will commence, but the timing of questionable decision
making here will be worth scrutinizing as the calendar flips forward.
