Roster Becoming More Clear as More Players Sent Down

[Seth Stohs]

The Minnesota Twins announced on Sunday morning that three more players have been assigned to minor-league spring training. Outfielder Jake Cave and left-handed pitchers Devin Smeltzer and Jovani Moran will not be on the Twins Opening Day roster. UPDATE - following the game, Jake Faria was sent to minor-league camp, and it was announced that Cody Stashak will stay in Ft. Myers with some biceps tendinitis. 

The Twins open their season on Thursday, and their Opening Day roster is becoming more clear today after three players were sent to minor-league camp. 

After throwing 11 scoreless innings this spring, Devin Smeltzer was sent to minor-league camp. He missed most of the 2021 season with a herniated disk in his neck. Now healthy, he was very impressive this spring and it is likely he will pitch for the Twins during the 2022 season. 

Jovani Moran is the Twins' top relief pitcher prospect. He made his MLB debut in September 2021, but he will begin his 2022 season in St. Paul with the Saints. 

And Jake Cave was outrighted to minor league camp as well. He will travel to Louisville where the Saints season begins on Tuesday. 

The Twins spring training roster now stands at 33. They will need to get down to 28 on the active roster before Thursday's opener. There are four non-roster players. Right-hander Jake Faria and lefty Danny Coulombe remain. Infielder Daniel Robertson and outfielder Kyle Garlick are also still in big-league camp. 

Will any of those four players make the Opening Day roster? 

Garlick and his ability to mash left-handed pitching would seem to be competing with Brent Rooker for one spot. 

With the 28-man roster only available to teams through May 1, it is a huge decision to add a non-roster player to the 40-man roster. Will they risk losing a couple of depth pieces by adding them to the 40-man roster for three to four weeks? Will they risk losing a player or two on waivers to make room on the 40-man roster. We may know the answer to those questions by the end of today, certainly within the next 36 hours. 

UPDATE

Following Sunday's game, the Twins announced that Jake Faria was being sent to minor-league camp and will join the Saints in Louisville for the Triple-A opener. Also, Cody Stashak will remain in Ft. Myers to work through some biceps tendinitis. 

How do you think the Opening Day roster will shape up? Leave your thoughts in the Comments below.

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[Dman]

If Smeltzer continues to perform like he has he will be the first arm called up if there is a longer term injury in the pen or rotation.  Since he is not on the 40 man the Twins can afford to be patient and not expose anyone right now.  I think they pitch Farria one more time and then he gets sent down too.

Coulombe is a tough call.  He has had a really good spring.  Still given his age etc. it seems hard to see him making the 40 man.  The thing is I think he is the real deal and could make another teams roster so not sure how that works out but I just can't see the Twins adding him at this point despite how well he has pitched this spring.

Moran had a chance to break with the team but walking the first two guys in his inning and then ultimately giving up the three run home run exposes his greatest weakness.  He has to come out ready to throw strikes.  He needs to be able to throw strikes in critical situations especially with his changeup.  He proved that he can't be relied on just yet.  So not surprised he got sent down.

Cave had a decent spring but honestly he is just a break glass in case of emergency depth piece at this point.  He didn't really show that much has changed this spring.  He is who he is and it isn't quite good enough for a 40 man spot IMO.

I don't think Daniel Robertson makes it either.  No room for another second base\utility player IMO and Gordon has done enough to keep his spot and Arraez has done more than enough to keep his.

Garlick still has a chance but I just don't see the Twins feeling pressured to add him and lose Rooker to start the season. Maybe I am dead wrong about that but I still think they like Rookers bat and don't want to give him away for nothing.  If Rooker can't perform early in the season and the Twins are in the hunt then I could see a switch but I think Garlick will have to wait as well.

[miller761]

If they are not keeping Smeltzer with the way he has pitched and the innings he can give you they sure shouldn't keep Coulombe.

[Utah Twins Fan]

Possible trade coming ??

[mikelink45]

19 minutes ago, Dman said:

If Smeltzer continues to perform like he has he will be the first arm called up if there is a longer term injury in the pen or rotation.  Since he is not on the 40 man the Twins can afford to be patient and not expose anyone right now.  I think they pitch Farria one more time and then he gets sent down too.

Coulombe is a tough call.  He has had a really good spring.  Still given his age etc. it seems hard to see him making the 40 man.  The thing is I think he is the real deal and could make another teams roster so not sure how that works out but I just can't see the Twins adding him at this point despite how well he has pitched this spring.

Moran had a chance to break with the team but walking the first two guys in his inning and then ultimately giving up the three home run exposes his greatest weakness.  He has to come out ready to throw strikes.  He needs to be able to throw strikes in critical situations especially with his changeup.  He proved that he can't be relied on just yet.  So not surprised he got sent down.

Cave had a decent spring but honestly he is just a break glass in case of emergency depth piece at this point.  He didn't really show that much has changed this spring.  He is who he is and it isn't quite good enough for a 40 man spot IMO.

I don't think Daniel Robertson makes it either.  No room for another second base\utility player IMO and Gordon has done enough to keep his spot and Arraez has done more than enough to keep his.

Garlick still has a chance but I just don't see the Twins feeling pressured to add him and lose Rooker to start the season. Maybe I am dead wrong about that but I still think they like Rookers bat and don't want to give him away for nothing.  If Rooker can't perform early in the season and the Twins are in the hunt then I could see a switch but I think Garlick will have to wait as well.

Excellent summary.  I cannot argue any of your points.  I do hope Smeltzer finds a way to rise again and I expect Moran to be on the team sometime this year.  Rooker is a conundrum the way that Cave was the last two years.  Do we really need him?  Does he offer something other than a right handed bat with a 201 BA and a .328 strikeout average?  He has disappointed me with the inability to change and succeed.  This spring he is hitting .083 and his K rate is .384.  I will take Garlick over him and would love to have Celestino. 

[AKTwins]

My guess is the 4 non- roster invites are assigned to minor league camp. The either Winder or Duran is sent down and the other begins the season in the bullpen.  Cave had hit the ball hard this spring.  I could see him opting out a another MLB team using him as a 4th OF, I’m thinking the Marlins, who were interest in him a couple years ago and don’t have a CF.

The issue for the Twins is they have a lot of prospects on the 40 man that you don’t want to lose.  It would be nice to have another LH in the bullpen, so Coulombe makes a lot of sense.  If they  add him to the 40 man, I think Stashak os the one who is outrighted.

[Utah Twins Fan]

Would Kepler to Padres make sense just asking???

[Dman]

18 minutes ago, AKTwins said:

My guess is the 4 non- roster invites are assigned to minor league camp. The either Winder or Duran is sent down and the other begins the season in the bullpen.  Cave had hit the ball hard this spring.  I could see him opting out a another MLB team using him as a 4th OF, I’m thinking the Marlins, who were interest in him a couple years ago and don’t have a CF.

The issue for the Twins is they have a lot of prospects on the 40 man that you don’t want to lose.  It would be nice to have another LH in the bullpen, so Coulombe makes a lot of sense.  If they  add him to the 40 man, I think Stashak os the one who is outrighted.

You could be right.  I hope they put Coulombe in against the top guys of the other team this spring yet and get a better idea of how he performs against tougher competition.  I do think you could be right about Stashak.  Even is they lose him on waivers they have other right handed options in the pipeline.  Still he will get another chance as well so will have to wait and see how he looks first.  Would not hurt to have another solid lefty in the pen though.  

[Mike Sixel]

29 minutes ago, Utah Twins Fan said:

Would Kepler to Padres make sense just asking???

Why? Why would you trade him? He's paid little for what he does. And, they don't have another RF ready. What would SD have to give back? 

[puckstopper1]

Wait - no gasping, teeth gnashing or angry posts about the removal of Cave from the roster???

 

[RJA]

As the A's just traded Manaea to the Padres, is it possible that Montas is also going out this week?  Manaea return was not that great.  If that is the case, it could shake up the roster if the Twins make a move.

[Utah Twins Fan]

29 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Why? Why would you trade him? He's paid little for what he does. And, they don't have another RF ready. What would SD have to give back? 

I get it but if you want quality arms you’re going to have to give up something so who is it. He’s under control I get it but that’s what a team wants if they are going to give up a starter… I mean if they are willing to take a Rooker or AA player by all means but I think it’s going to take more to get a quality arm

[curt1965]

On the days we face a tough lefty, we need someone to bash those southpaws. That’s certainly not Rooker! Against lefty’s, Sano and Sanchez will almost certainly start, and we do not need another  swing and miss guy. 
Garlick has shown this spring and last year that he smashes lefties, and is certainly better than Rooker defensively. Come on, Twins, this is not a hard call!

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Why? Why would you trade him? He's paid little for what he does. And, they don't have another RF ready. What would SD have to give back? 

They have some young pitching which would pique my interest.

[DocBauer]

Disappointed Moran didn't have a better spring and force his way on the roster, not only for his potential, but also because he's on the 40 man. Smeltzer and Coulombe have each pitched well enough to be kept. (Coulombe was also good last year). But I'm not convinced the Twins want to sacrifice/risk losing someone for a 40 man spot for 3 weeks of an extra LH right now. 

A 3rd LH would be awesome, and part of me wonders if a small trade might take place that might open a spot. But I'm saying no for now.

Glad they weren't tempted to keep Cave. He doesn't fit the roster right now. Rooker should be the guy for now over Garlick for the last OF spot because he's on the 40 man and you don't want to risk losing him for nothing. And Garlick has like 1 hit all camp. So he's done nothing to deserve a spot at this time.

Still won't be shocked to see a waiver wire pick-up when rosters get trimmed. Just might be a surprise available that fits. 

[RpR]

9 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

 Rooker should be the guy for now over Garlick for the last OF spot because he's on the 40 man and you don't want to risk losing him for nothing. And Garlick has like 1 hit all camp. So he's done nothing to deserve a spot at this time.

Yeah Rooker has just torn up opposing pitching with that .083 average , while Garlick is  much better in the outfield.

Is Sturgeon still on the spring training team?

[mikelink45]

3 hours ago, AKTwins said:

My guess is the 4 non- roster invites are assigned to minor league camp. The either Winder or Duran is sent down and the other begins the season in the bullpen.  Cave had hit the ball hard this spring.  I could see him opting out a another MLB team using him as a 4th OF, I’m thinking the Marlins, who were interest in him a couple years ago and don’t have a CF.

The issue for the Twins is they have a lot of prospects on the 40 man that you don’t want to lose.  It would be nice to have another LH in the bullpen, so Coulombe makes a lot of sense.  If they  add him to the 40 man, I think Stashak os the one who is outrighted.

With Moran going down I see both Duran and Winder staying with the team.

 

[Seth Stohs]

Updated to include that Jake Faria has been sent to minor-league camp and Cody Stashak staying in Ft. Myers to rehab biceps tendinitis. 

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, Utah Twins Fan said:

I get it but if you want quality arms you’re going to have to give up something so who is it. He’s under control I get it but that’s what a team wants if they are going to give up a starter… I mean if they are willing to take a Rooker or AA player by all means but I think it’s going to take more to get a quality arm

What quality pitcher is San Diego trading? They are trading for pitching right now. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Disappointed Moran didn't have a better spring and force his way on the roster, not only for his potential, but also because he's on the 40 man. Smeltzer and Coulombe have each pitched well enough to be kept. (Coulombe was also good last year). But I'm not convinced the Twins want to sacrifice/risk losing someone for a 40 man spot for 3 weeks of an extra LH right now. 

A 3rd LH would be awesome, and part of me wonders if a small trade might take place that might open a spot. But I'm saying no for now.

Glad they weren't tempted to keep Cave. He doesn't fit the roster right now. Rooker should be the guy for now over Garlick for the last OF spot because he's on the 40 man and you don't want to risk losing him for nothing. And Garlick has like 1 hit all camp. So he's done nothing to deserve a spot at this time.

Still won't be shocked to see a waiver wire pick-up when rosters get trimmed. Just might be a surprise available that fits. 

What's the risk in losing Rooker? He's not a young DH who hasn't hit yet. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

They have some young pitching which would pique my interest.

Like whom, that is major league ready? Can't be anyone they trust, as they are trading for pitching... Why would they give up anyone close, and if they aren't close, why are the twins trading for them?

[Utah Twins Fan]

12 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

What quality pitcher is San Diego trading? They are trading for pitching right now. 

Mike here is what they have listed right now

Darvish
Musgrove
Mike Clevinger
Nick Martinez
Blake Snell
Chris Paddack
MacKenzie Gore
Ryan Weathers

 

plus Meanea

my math isn’t the best but that’s 9 for a 5 man rotation so something has to be in the works for them not saying it’s the Twins they will trade with but it’s safe to say Twins would take any of these guys 

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Like whom, that is major league ready? Can't be anyone they trust, as they are trading for pitching... Why would they give up anyone close, and if they aren't close, why are the twins trading for them?

1 hour ago, Utah Twins Fan said:

Mike here is what they have listed right now

Darvish
Musgrove
Mike Clevinger
Nick Martinez
Blake Snell
Chris Paddack
MacKenzie Gore
Ryan Weathers

 

plus Meanea

my math isn’t the best but that’s 9 for a 5 man rotation so something has to be in the works for them not saying it’s the Twins they will trade with but it’s safe to say Twins would take any of these guys 

There's also Dinelson Lamet, who has done good work in their rotation in the past but, if I remember right, had health stuff last year and wound up spending part of the year in the bullpen.

I think both of your points are true. SD went and got Manaea, which suggests that they didn't fully trust the starter options they had on hand, and they're unlikely to trade the ones they trust most. But it is also a lot of potential starters for 5 spots  and it wouldn't be surprising for SD to trade from depth, even a starter they trusted, if they think it fills a bigger need.

[AKTwins]

If you want a Padre pitcher from the lists going around you need to take Hosmer and pay part of his salary.

[Utah Twins Fan]

54 minutes ago, AKTwins said:

If you want a Padre pitcher from the lists going around you need to take Hosmer and pay part of his salary.

So Hosmer or Sano at first I know most of time they want AK to play there as well but…..

[Brandon]

52 minutes ago, AKTwins said:

If you want a Padre pitcher from the lists going around you need to take Hosmer and pay part of his salary.

If that is the case then we could trade someone like Garlick or Rooker or Cave to get the deal done.  Cause no one wants Hosmer at this point.  I wonder if we also ate some of that contract if we could flip him to KC?  Maybe SD pays 25 million we pay 10 then KC pays the remaining 25 million and get their 1B back.  

[mnfireman]

Padres are looking for a young, controllable STARTING OF, not scrap heap left-overs. Would probably take Kirilloff, or maybe Miranda (or both) being included to get a deal done.

[Utah Twins Fan]

1 minute ago, mnfireman said:

Padres are looking for a young, controllable STARTING OF, not scrap heap left-overs. Would probably take Kirilloff, or maybe Miranda (or both) being included to get a deal done.

Or as I said before Kepler. I just read they were willing to trade 2 pitchers  Weathers and Paddock for Reynolds from Pitt, but Pitt said no so Kepler, or Rooker or Miranda and for one….. I know Reynolds is a right handed bat but they must need outfielders 

[Rosterman]

6 minutes ago, Utah Twins Fan said:

Or as I said before Kepler. I just read they were willing to trade 2 pitchers  Weathers and Paddock for Reynolds from Pitt, but Pitt said no so Kepler, or Rooker or Miranda and for one….. I know Reynolds is a right handed bat but they must need outfielders 

Padres are a,lso looking to shed salary. Snell, Hosmer and a young catcher for Sano, Sanchez, Rooker and a couple of names like Strotman and Jax perhaps? That would be an epic shakeup. Free the Padres of $25 million. Maybe get them to throw in $15 million to cover part of three more years of Hosmer. ZHeck, let's take Myers off their hands while we are at it and solve out outfield problem and give them....Celestino?

 

[mnfireman]

The Padres have been tied to Dominic Smith and Brian Reynolds, both in their age 27 season and aren't FA's until '25 (Smith) and '26 ( Reynolds). Kepler is in his age 29 season and can be a FA after '23., so probably not what they are looking for.