Article: BREAKING: Harper, Austin, Astudillo Make Opening Day Roster

[Tom Froemming]

Word came out of Twins camp today that Ryne Harper, Tyler Austin and Willians Astudillo will all be on the team's Opening Day roster. With that, the entire 25-man roster appears to be set. The only question mark seems to be whether Jorge Polanco will be healthy. He's nursing a sore shoulder.What a ride it's been for Harper this spring. If you've been following the Sire of Fort Myers race this year, you know his story by now. He turns 30 on Wednesday and has never pitched in the majors. Talk about a big week.

 

Speaking of big, the Twins bench is going to be huge. A five-man bench!? Wow. As of right now, it's expected to be Mitch Garver, Jake Cave, Ehire Adrianza, Astudillo and Austin.

 

Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported that Polanco "looks to be on track" to make the Opening Day roster, but if he's not available Ronald Torreyes will take his spot. Addison Reed, Matt Magill, Gabriel Moya and, of course, Miguel Sano are all already expected to open the year on the Injured List.

 

We also learned how the rotation is going to shake out. After Jose Berrios it'll be Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda with Kyle Gibson starting Tuesday in Kansas City. He was slightly behind schedule due to that battle with e. coli over the winter. Martin Perez will open the season pitching out of the bullpen.

 

So here's what appears to be the full Opening Day roster:

 

Rotation: Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Michael Pineda, Kyle Gibson

 

Bullpen: Martin Perez, Trevor May, Blake Parker, Taylor Rogers, Trevor Hildenberger, Adalberto Mejia, Ryne Harper

 

Catchers: Jason Castro, Mitch Garver, Willians Astudillo

 

Infield: C.J. Cron, Jonathan Schoop, Marwin Gonzalez, Polanco, Ehire Adrianza, Tyler Austin

 

Outfield: Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jake Cave

 

DH: Nelson Cruz

 

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[TheMatt]

I know it's great that they keep Austin, but how much is he going to play? Especially with all the off days in the beginning of the season.

[Guest]

Austin will be good to have around to pinch hit in the NL ballparks they play in early.

[ChrisKnutson]

Guess this means Magill is gone.

[bunt_vs_the_shift]

My kinda team, Charlie... My kinda team

 

 

[ashbury]

I'm impressed if they are going with 11 pitchers. Even with all the off-days early in the season, the default seems to have become 12, going to 13 when the games begin to bunch up. This is lean and mean, allowing a chance for a more productive bench. It means no pitcher gets a long leash, if not ready to produce right out of the gate. I like this.

[theBOMisthebomb]

Is Reed truly injured or are they stashing him?

[Halsey Hall]

I like it.  It's got to be a sigh of relief for guys like May and Hildenberger who wore Red Wings uniforms today and pitched for them. 

[twins_89]

 

Is Reed truly injured or are they stashing him?

 

From what I've read it sounds like a sore thumb on his non-throwing hand. Basically he's sucked in spring training and rather than cut a guy making $8.5M they put him on the IR to see if with more time he can get back to being a serviceable major league pitcher.

[Einheri]

Yeah, I don't have much hope for Reed; but, at $8.5MM, you have to give him more chances than you might like.

[Einheri]

Congrats to Ryne Harper.  Do everything you can to hold that roster spot.

[stringer bell]

The guys that competed for the last spots mostly did well--Harper of the relievers, plus Austudillo, Austin and Cave. I'm glad they're all going north. I wonder if Adrianza is 100%. Can he hit right handed? 

 

We'll probably forget about these decisions by June, but rewarding those who've played well with their jobs on the line is a good thing. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I’m sure it’ll play out soon, but with Pineda and Odorizzi being expected to be 5 inning starts, are we going to see the stacker concept with Perez and Mejia?

[yarnivek1972]

I guess I had forgotten about Gibby being a little behind when I posted a theoretical rotation in the roster prediction thread. But I am glad that Falvine decided to be “bold” and go with “only” 11 pitchers to start the year. I remember when going with 11 was considered having an “extra” pitcher...

[Danchat]

 

I’m sure it’ll play out soon, but with Pineda and Odorizzi being expected to be 5 inning starts, are we going to see the stacker concept with Perez and Mejia?

Possibly, but probably not this early in the year. Perez is going to be the 5th starter when we need one.

[Danchat]

I had a feeling the Twins were going to fit Austin onto the roster somehow, but they're not going to go with a 5 man bench for very long, which might be bad news for Astudillo, who's got options. I'm not sure if they'll be able to go with Cron, Cruz, and Austin all on the team for very long.

 

We could probably use some bullpen depth with 3 guys on the DL now... perhaps we'll see a waiver claim soon. 

[BJames]

Today it's about the bench guys.  Congtats.  Come Thursday it will be about the starting 9.  We'll see how April plays out.

[bighat]

 

Is Reed truly injured or are they stashing him?

 

He's "injured" - aka: can't hit the broad side of a barn and has been going downhill since July of 2018. It looks like he's just out of gas and unfortunately hasn't been a good signing for the Twins. I wouldn't be surprised if they released him or put him on the 60-day IL. It's pretty clear to me that management and the front office don't want him anywhere near the bullpen as things stand.

 

Great for Astudillo! And Austin! And we still get Adrianza, Cave, and Garver. What a story Harper has been this year - I really feel he can contribute.

[TKGuy]

It’s a on nice to actually have bench options instead of 13 pitchers

[Monkeypaws]

The Lumber Company: the Sequel.

[Shaitan]

Congrats to Harper. As the only bullpen arm with options (I think), I'm guessing he'll ride the shuttle this year.

[wabene]

This is new territory for us. I know some of it is because the schedule is so odd but to me they are taking advantage of it. In the past I think they would've sent out Reed regardless of the games that were lost. I like to see every game treated as important.

This would be the first time I can remember agreeing with all these decisions. With the fact that starters usually take awhile to ramp up the innings this is bold and it will be fun to watch how they mange the bench and the pen

[jorgenswest]

Congrats to Harper. As the only bullpen arm with options (I think), I'm guessing he'll ride the shuttle this year.

Hildenberger and Rogers have options. Les hope all three pitch so well that they stay in the majors.

[Thrylos]

I think that Cave (he has options and the Twins have also) and Hildenberger (he has options and had the worst WPA in the majors last season) are probably the first men out when people start to get healthy

[MMMordabito]

In theory, Berrios could pitch in every series except @ the Mets and still come home and start the first game of the second home stand. Gibson could be used sparingly or even stacked with Odorizzi or Pineda in a situation until he gets back to full strength.

[The Mask of Zoilo]

Its wonderful to see a career minor leaguer like Harper get his shot. They delayed the Austin decision for a few weeks but cant see him getting many opportunities for regular at bats unless theres an injury. It will be interesting to see how Perez responds to the bullpen. His stuff could play up as a reliever and he could become the difference maker in relief that they are looking for from Romero. Theyd need a fifth starter in that case though and Perez wants to start.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Good news for several fan favorites who were on the bubble.

[jimbo92107]

Youth, talent and merit seem to be served by this lineup. I like it.

 

And so my friends, once again we play our dangerous game. Grown men throwing balls, hitting balls, catching balls, and occasionally running into each other. Feathers will be ruffled, and feelings will be hurt. Messages will be sent, and received, oh yes.

 

This group of twenty five, this band of ballplayers, in this nineteenth year of the 21st century since somebody did something to somebody, shall embark upon yet another epic journey, writing their names in history with each throw, each swing, each catch, each dash to the next base. 

 

Meanwhile, we fans will cheer and boo, trying in earnest to remember when to do which, between gulps of over-priced beer and bites of food that no doctor would ever recommend. 

 

Sound the Gjellyhorn! Pound the drums! Cut loose the hot dogs of baseball! Here come the 2019 Minnesota Twins!!

Edited March 26, 2019 by jimbo92107

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Congrats to Ryne Harper.  Do everything you can to hold that roster spot.

Everything? Battling his tail off, sure... but what about, blackmailing his tail off? (Or worse?)

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Everything? Battling his tail off, sure... but what about, blackmailing his tail off? (Or worse?)

whatever gets the job done. You gotta break eggs to make an omelette