Previewing Minnesota Twins 2025 Spring Training Battles

[Matthew Lenz]

Just before pitchers and catchers report to spring training the Minnesota Twins made a couple of their positional battles a little bit less hotly contested. Nonetheless, there will be some playing time scrambles to follow in the coming weeks.

Image courtesy of © Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

Derek Falvey and the Twins front office have been busy the last couple of weeks, locking down a lefty reliever (Danny Coulombe), a fourth outfielder (Harrison Bader), and a right-handed hitter with experience at first base (Ty France). With those players virtually guaranteed to make the team out of camp, we no longer have to wonder if Edouard Julien or Willi Castro will get more reps at first base. We no longer have to wonder whom Rocco Baldelli will deploy when the need for a left-handed reliever arises. We don't have to guess about what happens when Byron Buxton gets hurt, or when Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach are set to face a southpaw in a high-leverage situation. Those questions have been answered by the flurry of signings. So what questions remain?

Four Starters for Two Rotation Spots
The four players in line to compete for the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation are: Chris Paddack, Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, and Zebby Matthews. Barring a Paddack trade, he’s a lock to make the Opening Day roster, since the Twins are paying him $7.25 million this year. 

That leaves three young guns for the fifth and final rotation spot, and you have to imagine that Woods Richardson is the heavy favorite of the group. Yes, he ran out of steam in his first big-league season (wherein he set a career high in innings pitched), but you can’t ignore that he carried a sub-4.00 ERA into the final month of the season with a solid 13.1% K-BB rate. Barring injury (or a trade), I would put a lot of money on Festa and Matthews headlining the Triple-A St. Paul Saints rotation to start the season. The silver lining here is that the Twins are well positioned if (more like when) injuries strike the major-league rotation, with some of the best young pitchers in baseball ready to play the role of “next man up.”

A Cluster of Relievers for Two (ish?) Bullpen Spots
It’s hard to know exactly how many bullpen spots are open, given the number of cheap, “flier”-type arms the Twins have at the bottom of their bullpen hierarchy. If we operate under the assumption that they will carry eight relievers and that six of those spots are spoken for (Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Cole Sands, Brock Stewart, Michael Tonkin and Coulombe), then we have two spots for roughly five arms. Depending on Stewart’s recovery timeline from arthroscopic shoulder surgery last August, a third open spot could temporarily open up for the start of the season. Regardless of how many jobs are open, though, the five competitors are: Jorge Alcalá, Justin Topa, Louie Varland, Kody Funderburk, and Rule 5 Draft pick Eiberson Castellano.

Of those names, Castellano has the most at stake. If he does not make the active roster, he will have to be offered back to the Phillies. Alcalá can be optioned at the start of the season, but once he accrues just eight more days of service time, he'll no longer be optionable, as he'll reach the threshold of five years' service. At that point, the rules protect players from being optioned, so teams can't artificially delay free agency at the end of their window of team control. That makes his fight for a spot fairly high-stakes, too.

There aren’t any special circumstances following the remaining three pitchers on the list, as each have at least one option remaining and is relatively cheap. Topa is set to make the most money, at $1 million, and represents one of two chances (Gabriel Gonzalez being the other) the Twins have at getting anything from the Jorge Polanco trade. Funderburk is the only other lefty reliever on the Twins 26- or 40-man roster, after they lost southpaw swingman Brent Headrick on waivers Tuesday. Varland will be in a relatively new role, as he looks to be the Twins' latest failed starter who flourishes in a relief role.

The Twins obviously saw something in Castellano to make him their first Rule 5 Draft pick since Tyler Kinley in 2017, so I think they’ll give him every opportunity to make the club out of camp. I feel the same way about Michael Tonkin, given that they likely lose him if he is waived. If Stewart isn’t ready for Opening Day (or if one of the other two don’t make it), then you’re likely looking at Topa or Funderburk as the “first two out”. I feel pretty strongly that Varland will (and should) start the year in Triple-A St. Paul to grow into his newfound role as a reliever.

The Battle for the Keystone
The battle for second base may not be resolved by the time spring training is over. Heck, it may never be truly “resolved” in 2025; there could be a merry-go-round, just like last season. Barring a trade, Willi Castro will be on the Twins' Opening Day roster. He played nearly 300 innings at the Keystone in 2024. It’s likely that at least one of Brooks Lee, Austin Martin, and Julien end up starting the year in Triple-A St. Paul. Whoever remains on the roster will likely be used in more of a utility role around the infield, making spot starts at second base when Castro is playing one of the other five positions he’s played in the past. If I absolutely had to make a guess now, I like Martin to make the club, given his versatility. After him, I really think it largely depends on spring training performance to see which of Julien and Lee make the cut. For what it’s worth, FanGraphs's Roster Resource currently projects Lee as the starting second baseman; Julien on the bench; and Martin with the Saints.

The Twins have addressed several key questions with recent signings, but intriguing roster battles remain. Of the three, Rocco Baldelli’s biggest decision entering his seventh spring training as the Twins skipper will be how to fill those last two(ish) spots in the bullpen.

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Who do you think makes the cut? What storylines are you following in spring training? Join the conversation in the comments!

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[Cory Engelhardt]

Just throwing it out, that if Castellano shows literally anything in camp, that they work out a trade. I don't see any reason to just offer him back now for nothing. 

[jmlease1]

I would like the Twins to work out a trade on Castellano because I don't think he'll be ready to be more than a mop-up guy out the gate, and we need to be able to use our full bullpen better than that. I would also like Festa to seize a spot in the rotation and Paddack to go out in a deal of substance.

I would hope there's a real competition for 1B and they don't just hand it to France. I believe in Miranda's bat and his defense isn't any worse than France, so hopefully they give the guy with actual upside a legit chance to take a job.

I think Lee has the inside track on 2B if he's healthy. He's a better defender than Julien, and we get more value out of Castro when he's not locked into one spot. I haven't given up on Julien, and I hope he's knocking the cover off the ball in spring training and gets time at 1B, 2B, and DH and gets back to being a hitting threat, but I'll put my money on lee. But if he doesn't win it outright, I think he's the one who goes to AAA to play every day, rather than sit on the bench in MLB.

Ideally, my bullpen is something like: Duran, Jax, Sands, Coulombe, Alcala, Tonkin, Topa/Stewart (I just presume one of them won't get out of spring training healthy), and Varland (with Castellano in the last slot if they don't work out a trade). I think that's a strong mix, with 4-5 guys that you can trust late & close, a rubber arm middle guy in Tonkin who should be able to go more than just 1 inning, 1 slot for the "talented but injured" guys, and then the "converted starter with high upside but might need time to figure it out" role at the end in Varland.

I feel pretty good about the pitching staff, which feels weird after so many years where it was "man, I hope they can patch together a rotation!" and "how many of these guys do I even like in the bullpen?". But outside of lefties, we have depth everywhere for pitching.

[LambchoP]

I also think they'll work out a trade so they can send Castellano down to AA or AAA. I think the battle for the second base job in ST will be interesting. I think Lee probably has the most upside over Julien and Martin. Keaschal probably ends up taking over eventually, but even if he's healthy and hitting, I don't see him getting his call up until mid season. The only other position battles should be for bench spots. I'm thinking Miranda and France for first base. So that leaves Castro as utility and one or two bench spots. Bader gets one as the 4rth OF. Then maybe Martin and whoever hits best out of Ford, Gasper, Keirsey, Severino etc...

[Rod Carews Birthday]

There is also the "battle" at first base.  Miranda would seem to have earned it, with Julien thrown in there as well.  However, the Twins have signed several first base options in the off season to seemingly create a competition -- Ty France being the latest (and likely best).  IF Lee takes over second base (a big if at this point), that leaves one of Julien/Miranda/possibly France as the potential DH (with certainly much more rotation unless someone is just burning it up).  I happen to think that any of the three will be able to hit, (with Julien still a little bit of a question mark).  It probably boils down to which one can play a respectable first base defensively. 

[Road trip]

Keep whomever performs well among the relievers.  Fretting about losing a 35 year old Michael Tonkin to waivers is kind of akin to worrying that someone is going to steal your '77 AMC Gremlin.  Just leave the keys in it and if it's gone, it's gone.

[PatPfund]

I don't see any way France is guaranteed a spot. If Miranda's back is good, and 2023 Julien shows up to camp, they are locked in at 1B, and France is wearing another uniform or waiting by the phone in April.

If Lee's back is healthy, and he is hitting like he did last spring, he's at 2B, and filling in around the infield. I like Martin more than most, but I've never seen him play good stretches of infield either for the Saints or the Twins, but the tools are there to be an excellent OF. He should go to St Paul, get regular at-bats, and just drill on one spot until he masters it. (Everyone is not Castro, and even Castro's D is sub-par when he is moved all over.)

The Twins' bullpen is going to have flexibility issues early on, given the number of pitchers either too good, out of options, or Rule 5, so one or more of those will need to go to establish a necessary St Paul shuttle; if not in ST, then early in the season.

[Doctor Gast]

There's no doubt in my mind that Julien needs to go down to AAA, he shouldn't be in the 2B discussion, #1 his defense #2 his bat. Unless Lee really hits in spring training he goes down. That leaves Martin at 2B with Castro as utility. We are absolutely jammed packed in the OF with Buxton, Keirsey, Castro, Larnach, Wallner & Bader. We didn't need Bader but Bader will get a lot of time & squeezing out playing time for our guys. 

[Matthew Lenz]

56 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Just throwing it out, that if Castellano shows literally anything in camp, that they work out a trade. I don't see any reason to just offer him back now for nothing. 

Don't hate this!

[Fire Dan Gladden]

I know Varland was relegated to the BP at the end of last season, but has there been any news (official or otherwise) that the Twins have given up on him as a SP or are we all just assuming?

I ask because I do not recall seeing anything from the Twins on that front.

[AceWrigley]

31 minutes ago, Road trip said:

Keep whomever performs well among the relievers.  Fretting about losing a 35 year old Michael Tonkin to waivers is kind of akin to worrying that someone is going to steal your '77 AMC Gremlin.  Just leave the keys in it and if it's gone, it's gone.

Heyyyyyy . . . c'mon.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Just throwing it out, that if Castellano shows literally anything in camp, that they work out a trade. I don't see any reason to just offer him back now for nothing. 

It'll be an interesting situation to follow. The reports that came out after the Rule 5 were that the Twins tried to trade for him before the draft and couldn't come to an agreement, so they just took him in the draft. I'd certainly think they'd try again but wonder what the cost will/would be.

[Doctor Gast]

CF- Buxton

LF- Larnach

RF- Wallner

4th OF- Keirsey

OF Util- Bader

INF UTIL- Castro

SS- Correa

3B- Lewis

2B- Martin

1B- Miranda

C- Vazquez/ Jeffers

DH- France? Larnach

SP- Lopez, Ryan, Ober, SWR, Paddack

RP- Duran, Jax, Stewart?, Sands, Alcala, Coloumbe, Tonkin, Castellano?. If any of the question marks don't work out my vote goes to Varland because of our need for long relief.

Any injury in the INF Lee is the 1st man up if he's not injured. If Lee is injured then we're cooked. W/O Helman we'll be thin. Julien will not be fit, Keaschal if available should only be so at 1B.

[chpettit19]

15 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

I know Varland was relegated to the BP at the end of last season, but has there been any news (official or otherwise) that the Twins have given up on him as a SP or are we all just assuming?

I ask because I do not recall seeing anything from the Twins on that front.

Zoll said on Inside Twins about a month ago that they were going to keep him as a SP but then reports started coming out that they're going to put him in the pen more or less as long as they get through spring with a healthy rotation. So kind of mixed messages.

[Doctor Gast]

17 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

I know Varland was relegated to the BP at the end of last season, but has there been any news (official or otherwise) that the Twins have given up on him as a SP or are we all just assuming?

I ask because I do not recall seeing anything from the Twins on that front.

What I heard is that they still want to start him out at SP. Which I don't agree with.

[rdehring]

No question, the bullpen decisions are going to be interesting.  Impossible to guess who will make the opening day pen, although who has options will be a big part of any decision.  Unless Alcala is much better than pitcher X, gotta believe he is optioned before opening day as he can't be sent out a week later...interesting.  See lots of talk about working out a trade to keep the Rule 5 kid, but what if the Phillies aren't reasonable in their request?  

Continue to believe that Paddack is going to be his old self and a big part of the opening day roster.  I remain hopeful that he has a great first half and has a ton of value come the trading deadline when I expect Festa moves into the rotation.  Wouldn't it be great to get a very good catching prospect about ready to move up to AAA?

Count me among those who want/expect Lee to win the second base job and play second for the Twins for the next ten years.  And yes, that means I don't have a clue what they do when Keaschall is ready later this year as I also expect him to be a long term Twin.

[NYCTK]

24 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

There's no doubt in my mind that Julien needs to go down to AAA, he shouldn't be in the 2B discussion, #1 his defense #2 his bat. Unless Lee really hits in spring training he goes down. That leaves Martin at 2B with Castro as utility. We are absolutely jammed packed in the OF with Buxton, Keirsey, Castro, Larnach, Wallner & Bader. We didn't need Bader but Bader will get a lot of time & squeezing out playing time for our guys. 

Martin. Great. Can't wait to see him fail at one final position before he's sent back to the minors for good. 

I just don't see what Martin excels at. His defense wasn't great at 2B but that was in limited time, so maybe that's his calling and his position. But ultimately, the other 3 guys competing for 2B all seem to be better baseball players than him. The only reason Martin is in the discussion is because he was a first round draft pick. To me, he's third in line for the job. 

 

AAA peripherals	BB%	K%	ISO	BABIP
Eeles	12.7%	14.6%	0.201	0.331
Lee	8.9%	15.6%	0.234	0.275
Martin	16.8%	15.2%	0.120	0.315
Julien	19.4%	28.5%	0.182	0.371

[ashbury]

I'm more worried about the position players roster makeup than the pitchers, who I'm confident will get sorted out by Opening Day.

I've got a lengthy list of batters I figure should start the year in St. Paul:

Diego Cartaya
Jair Camargo
Mickey Gasper
Brooks Lee
Austin Martin
Edouard Julien
Emmanuel Rodriguez
DaShawn Keirsey

Problem is, with the addition of Ty France bringing the list of 40-man choices to 19, that leaves only 11 players, and normally you carry 13.  That means 2 guys who are (in my estimation) either under-qualified or not ready will need to go north anyway.  (Well, west - from St Paul to Minneapolis.)

Hope something positive develops during Spring Training to change my view.

 

[Guest]

Steward will start the season on the IL.  Funderburk and Varland have to prove themselves again, as does Julien.  The FO seems to have threaded the off-season needle....

[Fire Dan Gladden]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Zoll said on Inside Twins about a month ago that they were going to keep him as a SP but then reports started coming out that they're going to put him in the pen more or less as long as they get through spring with a healthy rotation. So kind of mixed messages.

 

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

What I heard is that they still want to start him out at SP. Which I don't agree with.

If this is the case, then why is the entire TD staff treating Varland like a BP is the only option here?  There has not been one discussion of him as a SP (what we as fans are hoping for is irrelevant).

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

There is also the "battle" at first base.  Miranda would seem to have earned it, with Julien thrown in there as well.  However, the Twins have signed several first base options in the off season to seemingly create a competition -- Ty France being the latest (and likely best).  IF Lee takes over second base (a big if at this point), that leaves one of Julien/Miranda/possibly France as the potential DH (with certainly much more rotation unless someone is just burning it up).  I happen to think that any of the three will be able to hit, (with Julien still a little bit of a question mark).  It probably boils down to which one can play a respectable first base defensively. 

This is the one I'm most interested in.  All the others feel like everyone is going to get to play plenty and we hope someone will just take the job and own it.  While that also applies at 1st base, I'm interested in who else they ask to take reps there.

It's the spot they invested the absolute minimum on suggesting they have internal confidence but is it limited to these two guys?  Much talk about Larnach and it seems like a very natural, obvious solution to me.

I just had a random thought pop in my head-if Lewis and Larnach are offseason workout partners, and Lewis needed to work on his throwing-would Larnach not be his natural catch partner?  Is it possible Larnach has been fooling around at first base already just to help his buddy out?  Good spring training type question.

[SD happy]

This time last year we pretty much knew what the starting lineup would be, especially the infield. 3B - Lewis, SS - Correa, 2B - Julien and 1B - Santana. This year the only one we can be sure about is SS - Correa. Yes, it will be an interesting and fun spring. 

[Schmoeman5]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

There's no doubt in my mind that Julien needs to go down to AAA, he shouldn't be in the 2B discussion, #1 his defense #2 his bat. Unless Lee really hits in spring training he goes down. That leaves Martin at 2B with Castro as utility. We are absolutely jammed packed in the OF with Buxton, Keirsey, Castro, Larnach, Wallner & Bader. We didn't need Bader but Bader will get a lot of time & squeezing out playing time for our guys. 

All offseason you have been advocating for Keirsey. What do the Twins do? They sign H Bader. It's not a surprise. This is what the current FO has done since they've arrived. So that leaves him out until the inevitable injury that all teams have. Miranda is your man for 1st base. But according to you and a lot of TD posts, there's like 15 guys vying for 1st base. Lee or Miranda can only play 1st base according to you or it would be complete mismanagement on the Twins part because they're coming off injuries. Then it's been mentioned in articles that Castro, Lewis, Julien are viable options there so they don't break down. Keaschall (sp) can only play there after coming off TJ. Then theres Gaspar and now France. It's also been mentioned that Larnach and Wallner should grab a 1st baseman glove and start working out there too. Severino. That's 11 and I'm sure I'm missing some. And you just want to hand 2nd base to Martin based on his overwhelming success in 2024.  Id love to see Martin succeed but I'm not just willing to sink or swim with him as the Twins 2nd baseman till he's not. I get it. 

[Schmoeman5]

22 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

This is the one I'm most interested in.  All the others feel like everyone is going to get to play plenty and we hope someone will just take the job and own it.  While that also applies at 1st base, I'm interested in who else they ask to take reps there.

It's the spot they invested the absolute minimum on suggesting they have internal confidence but is it limited to these two guys?  Much talk about Larnach and it seems like a very natural, obvious solution to me.

I just had a random thought pop in my head-if Lewis and Larnach are offseason workout partners, and Lewis needed to work on his throwing-would Larnach not be his natural catch partner?  Is it possible Larnach has been fooling around at first base already just to help his buddy out?  Good spring training type question.

No.

[mickster]

48 minutes ago, ashbury said:

I'm more worried about the position players roster makeup than the pitchers, who I'm confident will get sorted out by Opening Day.

I've got a lengthy list of batters I figure should start the year in St. Paul:

Diego Cartaya
Jair Camargo
Mickey Gasper
Brooks Lee
Austin Martin
Edouard Julien
Emmanuel Rodriguez
DaShawn Keirsey

Problem is, with the addition of Ty France bringing the list of 40-man choices to 19, that leaves only 11 players, and normally you carry 13.  That means 2 guys who are (in my estimation) either under-qualified or not ready will need to go north anyway.  (Well, west - from St Paul to Minneapolis.)

Hope something positive develops during Spring Training to change my view.

 

unfortunately, I think both Lee and Martin will go "West"

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

There's no doubt in my mind that Julien needs to go down to AAA, he shouldn't be in the 2B discussion

 

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

If Lee is injured then we're cooked. W/O Helman we'll be thin. Julien will not be

If Julien needs to be sent down and not worthy if others get hurts, what the heck is he doing on the 40? Trade him for anybody that doesn't required a 40 man, Hey maybe for the rule 5 guy.

Larnach, Wallner, Buxton, CC, Lewis, Miranda, Jeffers, France, Vazquez, Castro, Bader, that leaves two spots, 1 for a second basemen (I go with Lee)  and one for a bench guy (Julien/Keirsay/Martin)

against RH starters I would assume the starters are Buxton, Wallner, Larnach, CC, Lewis, Lee, Miranda, catcher, Julien (DH) with a bench of Bader, Catcher, Castro, France.

against LH starters, Bader, Buxton, Castro, Lewis, CC, Lee, catcher, Miranda, France with a bench of Wallner, Larnach, Catcher and Julien.

 

Not super happy with that, and of course it won't be that way every time, but I don't see a path for Keirsay making the team until an injury, and would like Wallner to start every game, but....

 

[NotAboutWinning]

2 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Heyyyyyy . . . c'mon.

I'd steal it... just sayin' 😁

[RpR]

"Who do you think makes the cut?"

Hopefully not Margulien.

[RpR]

2 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Heyyyyyy . . . c'mon.

SWEET ride!

[Rhyno006]

We.

Are.

Almost.

There!

Can't wait for beisbol to be back in sight now that the nfl is done for a bit. 

Question: Has anyone given any thought to hypothesizing how any new owners would treat this season? The last I remember hearing about any annoucement of sale of the Twins is that it likely wouldn't be until after the regular season started. Not sure if that's worthy of an article or not, but I am extremely curious what others think.

As an aside, I'm more of a rah rah guy but the amount of knowledge and detail that many of you have here at Twins Daily regarding this great game and how it's played and managed is impressive!