Does an Injured Royce Lewis Lock Mickey Gasper Into the Twins' Opening Day Roster?

[Cody Pirkl]

I've heard of slipping a Mickey, but this is ridiculous.

Image courtesy of © Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

On Sunday, Royce Lewis hit a ground ball down the line, fielded deep behind third base. In sprinting to attempt an infield single, he strained his hamstring. Imaging showed a moderate strain, which figures to set the team's could-be star slugger back quite a bit. With Lewis likely to miss several weeks, Brooks Lee should make the roster to help fill in at third base—if he wasn’t going to already. The day after Lewis’s injury, Lee was the starting third baseman against the Pirates, indicating what the Twins' plans could be. That should leave one more spot for a position player on the roster. Mickey Gasper has quietly had a strong spring, and could grab the last spot.

The Twins traded for Gasper this winter, surely thinking of him as little more than depth to be stashed at St. Paul. Gasper is a journeyman, playing only 13 games at the MLB level despite being 29 years old. His lack of experience is surprising, given his production at all levels of the minor leagues in his career. This 2025 Twins roster may be the best opportunity for legitimate playing time that Gasper has been presented with to date.

For starters, the Twins did the bare minimum to address first base this winter. Carlos Santana departed for Cleveland. Ty France was brought in as a bounce-back candidate, and we’re likely to see Jose Miranda and maybe even Edouard Julien fill in at some point this season. It’s not a particularly strong group, and the only left-handed hitter (Julien) has the least experience.

In addition to being an option at first base, Gasper has seen increased playing time at second base. Rocco Baldelli has praised his flexibility and the team’s trust in him to play multiple positions competently. While Julien has had a strong spring at the plate, the same cannot be said for his time in the infield dirt. It’s clear Julien’s glove will still be a significant problem for him and may even be part of why Gasper has seen time up the middle.

 

Comparing Gasper’s offensive abilities to Julien’s is an interesting exercise. Gasper’s calling card in the minor leagues has been his ability to get on base at an elite rate, typically walking 12% of the time or more. While he lacks Julien’s power, he’s rarely struck out more than 20% of the time and has a decisive advantage in the batting average department. If Julien is Gasper’s main competition, the Twins viewing Gasper as having a defensive advantage could be the tiebreaker.

Other competition for the last roster spot could include names like Austin Martin or DaShawn Keirsey. Martin now appears to be primarily an outfielder, and Keirsey's left-handedness likely leaves him as the next man up in St. Paul if Trevor Larnach or Matt Wallner misses time. It doesn’t seem like either of the young speedsters will be in a strong position to make the roster.

While breaking camp with a career minor-league journeyman may be odd for a team with playoff aspirations and so many younger options, Gasper could fit in nicely to a bench role. His professional plate approach should play, and Steamer agrees. It pegs him for a slash line of .249/.344/.375. If he can play a solid first and second base and post a slash line 10% above league average from the left side, there’s plenty of opportunity for him.

Gasper could be the frontrunner for the final position-player spot, now that Lewis is likely to miss time, and there’s an argument that he should be. Do you think another player deserves the final roster spot? Let us know below!

View full article

[HerbieFan]

A switch hitter who can "play" 3-4 positions, including being an emergency guy??  Sounds like a guy Rocco can start everyday! :)

[tony&rodney]

Gasper can play all 9 positions about equally as well. The Twins will keep him if they believe he will make a big difference with his bat. 

[Doctor Gast]

Keirsey is the only true LH CFer, he also had a good spring training. He should have the nod, leaving camp. 

[Joe A. Preusser]

I really want Julien to make this team, even if it's primarily DH, PH.  If he's up with the MLB club playing in a more limited capacity they can pound MLB defensive drills into him every day.  I think his bat will play well with the adjustments he's made.  

That being said, I find myself really liking Gaspar.  He brings a lot of good things to the table.

Good problem to have I suppose.

[Jocko87]

It's Martin, and it's probably not close. Gasper fills in for Lewis at DH only, it doesn't help.

Martin will take the outfield burden off Castro, who know has to play a ton more on the dirt.

Julien is now a lock as well.

[Fatbat]

We might as well throw Gasper into the lineup for March and April.  It will be tough to watch Martin and/or Julien fail. 

[Jocko87]

19 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

We might as well throw Gasper into the lineup for March and April.  It will be tough to watch Martin and/or Julien fail. 

You like watching mustaches flail about?  Same difference, but without the experience getting their tail kicked in on the big stage.  The legend of Mickey Gasper will be lore on these pages.

[Fatbat]

7 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

You like watching mustaches flail about?  Same difference, but without the experience getting their tail kicked in on the big stage.  The legend of Mickey Gasper will be lore on these pages.

Yeah! He needs a cool nickname like …………..        “The Gas can”!

[DocBauer]

Why does Lee make the opening day roster only because Lewis is out? He's probably the best 2B on the club and his bat has looked a lot better this ST, for what that's worth. And if Lee is the primary 2B, it frees up Castro as the SU. 

As I've stated before, figuring out 2B really does have an overall roster affect.

Before Lewis's injury, there was 1 spot left. Now there's 2. I thought the final opening was between Julien and Gasper, Martin and Keirsey both feeling superfluous at this time. I'd say as of now they both make it.

[Blyleven2011]

Adding a player like Gasper to the 26 man roster ...

I don't like it but it's been done before , I can't believe nobody is arguing his age of 29 years old , like they do about keirsey Jr being 27 or 28 and keirsey Jr probably better at outfield defense and maybe a better hitter with more pop ...

It's nothing new for the twins management to give an outsider a chance more than the homegrown player  , even during Ryan's  tenure it was done , but Ryan had less talent to work with , falvey and Rocco have more talent but just doesn't trust it enough ...

29 year old Gasper wins rookie of the year , anyone on that bandwagon  ...

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Jocko87 said:

It's Martin, and it's probably not close. Gasper fills in for Lewis at DH only, it doesn't help.

Martin will take the outfield burden off Castro, who know has to play a ton more on the dirt.

Julien is now a lock as well.

I agree that Castro is needed in the infield at 2B and 3B pretty much every day.

[DJL44]

I don't think the Twins are worried about putting Gasper on the bench most days. I don't think the same is true about Brooks Lee; they will want Lee to play everyday somewhere.

[ashbury]

4 hours ago, Cody Pirkl said:

The Twins traded for Gasper this winter, surely thinking of him as little more than depth to be stashed at St. Paul.

If he winds up being the first man up after someone suffers an injury, then I suspect the Twins had higher expectations than just that.

[arby58]

3 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Keirsey is the only true LH CFer, he also had a good spring training. He should have the nod, leaving camp. 

We already have two CFers. We don't need a third.

[arby58]

2 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

It's Martin, and it's probably not close. Gasper fills in for Lewis at DH only, it doesn't help.

Martin will take the outfield burden off Castro, who know has to play a ton more on the dirt.

Julien is now a lock as well.

I don't get the love for Martin - what makes it 'probably not close?' He has 30 ABs (10th most) so far this spring, and a .581 OPS. Gasper has 29 ABs and an .881 OPS. Last year, Martin was clearly a negative - a WAR OF -1.0.

[thelanges5]

#freemickey

[Doctor Gast]

6 hours ago, arby58 said:

We already have two CFers. We don't need a third.

Both are RH, Bader was acquired as a RH bat to cover the corners & replace Buck when injured. I wrote Keirsey should but Falvey acquired Bader, every player acquired by Falvey, will get every opportunity to shine & will play more than they should. While our own capable inhouse players will get the shaft.

[Patzky]

8 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

You like watching mustaches flail about?  Same difference, but without the experience getting their tail kicked in on the big stage.  The legend of Mickey Gasper will be lore on these pages.

The legend of Mickey Gaspar is but one verse at the end of the Ballad Of Manny Margot and the Pinch Hits That Didn't Come.

[Parfigliano]

8 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Adding a player like Gasper to the 26 man roster ...

I don't like it but it's been done before , I can't believe nobody is arguing his age of 29 years old , like they do about keirsey Jr being 27 or 28 and keirsey Jr probably better at outfield defense and maybe a better hitter with more pop ...

It's nothing new for the twins management to give an outsider a chance more than the homegrown player  , even during Ryan's  tenure it was done , but Ryan had less talent to work with , falvey and Rocco have more talent but just doesn't trust it enough ...

29 year old Gasper wins rookie of the year , anyone on that bandwagon  ...

Ma, Pa, and Mrs. Gasper.

[Jocko87]

7 hours ago, arby58 said:

I don't get the love for Martin - what makes it 'probably not close?' He has 30 ABs (10th most) so far this spring, and a .581 OPS. Gasper has 29 ABs and an .881 OPS. Last year, Martin was clearly a negative - a WAR OF -1.0.

He plays the spots that make better lineups possible without Lewis? This isn't a performance question.

Had the injury been to Ty France it's a different discussion.

[Parfigliano]

50 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Both are RH, Bader was acquired as a RH bat to cover the corners & replace Buck when injured. I wrote Keirsey should but Falvey acquired Bader, every player acquired by Falvey, will get every opportunity to shine & will play more than they should. While our own capable inhouse players will get the shaft.

With TC it seems the outsider talent gets the MLB opportunity before the TC raised talent.

Midwestern hospitality I guess.

[stringer bell]

Regarding Gasper making the Opening Day roster—I don’t think it improves his chances that much. Julien and Gasper would be regarded as bat-first 2B/1B, and keeping both would be redundant. The team could afford to add a faster outfielder (Martin or Keirsey Jr.) and still have first, second and third covered defensively. 

[TwinsDr2021]

9 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

I don't like it but it's been done before , I can't believe nobody is arguing his age of 29 years old , like they do about keirsey Jr being 27 or 28 and keirsey Jr probably better at outfield defense and maybe a better hitter with more pop ...

Nobody should be arguing over how old the 26th man on the roster should be, if people were saying Gasper is the solution to a problem then I and maybe others would be talking about his age, but he is a fill in player (Hopefully).

[Doctor Gast]

12 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

It's Martin, and it's probably not close. Gasper fills in for Lewis at DH only, it doesn't help.

Martin will take the outfield burden off Castro, who know has to play a ton more on the dirt.

Julien is now a lock as well.

I'd love to agree with you Jocko. I'd like to see Martin have more playing time at the MLB level but not under these conditions he's playing under. Switch him to 2B & let him compete there. More than likely it's too late, so I'd send him down to be reacquainted at 2B & get his hitting back. Julien is a defensive liability, he needs to be sent down to AAA to learn 1B & keep on working on adjusting his hitting. At this point, I'd take Gasper over Julien, which isn't saying much. 

[Riverbrian]

Lock? C'mon now and I say C'mon now with all due respect toward the Gasper the Friendly Ghost.

Everybody should keep in mind that just 48 hours ago... Royce Lewis was a lock to make the 26 man roster out of spring training. 

Very soon, all 30 teams will have to cut down to 26 players to break camp. Some of those teams will spit out some considerations for our front office. Who knows... they may bite on someone. 

However, there is a reason the Twins traded for Gasper. There is a reason that he still has a 40 man spot. 

Somebody important likes him. And so far in spring training, which doesn't mean a ton, there is no reason not to like him. He looks like a hitter.  

It was pretty silly and naïve of the press to be hounding Marcus Stroman about being the odd man out or the Yankees rotation back in February. It turned out to be completely unnecessary to back Stroman into that corner. Make him into a bad guy. 

We got what 9 days to go before opening day. It is still too soon to declare locks or odd man out.   

 

[Jeff K]

14 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Keirsey is the only true LH CFer, he also had a good spring training. He should have the nod, leaving camp. 

I mostly agree with this; although there is a compelling argument for Gasper.  If this is the case, then Willi Castro should be focused on the infield which I think Castro could benefit from.  Everyone loves the super sub, but I think Castro is better served focusing on fewer positions. 

Julien should not make the team unless there are multiple more injuries.  He is just not a professional fielder...at least to date.

[Jeff K]

14 hours ago, Joe A. Preusser said:

I really want Julien to make this team, even if it's primarily DH, PH.  If he's up with the MLB club playing in a more limited capacity they can pound MLB defensive drills into him every day.  I think his bat will play well with the adjustments he's made.  

That being said, I find myself really liking Gaspar.  He brings a lot of good things to the table.

Good problem to have I suppose.

I respectfully disagree.  Perhaps if the Twins were looking at a poor season.  He should learn to field in the minor leagues.

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

Julien should not make the team unless there are multiple more injuries.  He is just not a professional fielder...at least to date.

With Miranda covering 3B they have an open spot at DH.

[Elliot]

It all depends on the balance of emphasis on defense/offense.

I think they seem to be favoring Castro not being locked into a spot, but being available for utility duty on a daily basis. If so that probably excludes him from a quasi-everyday role at either 3B or 2B. That leaves Miranda, Julien, Lee, and Gaspar. Martin could be a surprise at 2nd, but they seem to be trying to get him to focus more on OF.

Of these players, the only one with the potential of being an above average defensive player in the infield is Lee. His focus has seemed to be 2B and SS, so I hope they leave him there. Throwing in time at 3B could be problematic in his development both defensively and offensively.

My thought is that they go into the year with Miranda as the starting 3B with Castro getting the backup/platoon innings, and Lee as the 2B. In my mind, his pedigree both as a college player and high draft choice earn him some leeway. I would like to see him pencilled in daily for the first couple of months regardless of short term results. As for backup at 2B, Gaspar/Martin/Castro is fine. I would prefer to see Julien start the year at St Paul. Let him get his feet under himself offensively once again. He showed too much promise a couple years ago to write him off yet or to relegate him strictly to a bench role. It would also allow him the option of getting regular reps at 1B if that is where they hope to have him play, rather than trying to learn it at the major league level.

The caveat to all of this is that those who are there, making the decisions, have far more insight than any of us into the mental makeup of the players and what will impact them negatively or what they will be fine with. They also see them perform defensively at the various spots on a daily basis. That should still trump any defensive metrics, especially when dealing with SSS and learning a new position.