Five Forgotten Faces from Recent Twins Opening Day Lineups

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Brad Rempel, USA Today

Spring training always sparks the same debate: Who will make the Opening Day roster? Which prospects or veterans will secure a spot or be squeezed out? The conversation can dominate the entire spring.

Fans and analysts pore over roster projections while every exhibition lineup gets dissected. A bench player starting a Grapefruit League game can suddenly spark speculation about a roster battle. Meanwhile, injured players are racing the calendar, hoping to be ready by the time the regular season begins.

Opening Day carries a certain weight. It represents the first real snapshot of a team’s roster construction. The lineup card becomes a symbol of the organization’s plan for the year ahead. But history shows that a snapshot can be misleading.

Players get hurt, veterans lose playing time, and prospects can arrive faster than expected. Sometimes Opening Day starters become footnotes by October, while unexpected names seize brief opportunities. As we reflect on recent Twins seasons, several once-prominent names in Opening Day lineups have since faded from memory. Noticing these surprises reveals how quickly the roster landscape shifts from year to year.

Let’s revisit five Opening Day starters from recent Twins history who might have slipped your mind, illustrating how initial expectations often shift as the season progresses.

2024: Manuel Margot (DH)
When the Twins acquired Margot, the expectation was that he could provide depth behind Byron Buxton in center field. Margot had spent most of his career as a capable defensive outfielder and seemed like a logical insurance policy if Buxton needed days off. It quickly became clear that his days as an up-the-middle defender were largely behind him.

Ultimately, Margot filled a different role during the 2024 season. He shifted to designated hitter and sometimes played corner outfield. Notably, he started at DH on Opening Day. Although he remained on the roster for most of the year, his offensive production failed to develop.

Margot appeared in 129 games but finished with a .238/.289/.337 (.626) slash line, good for a 76 OPS+. His season also included a strange bit of baseball trivia as he went 0 for 30 as a pinch hitter, setting a Major League record for the most hitless pinch hit appearances in a single season.

He briefly resurfaced with Detroit in 2025, appearing in only a handful of games. With his playing time dwindling, it appears his Major League career has likely come to an end.

2023: Nick Gordon (2B)
Gordon entered professional baseball carrying significant expectations as a highly regarded shortstop prospect. The Twins selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft and envisioned him as a long-term piece of their infield. His development path turned out to be slower than anticipated.

Gordon battled health problems and inconsistency in the minor leagues and did not make his Major League debut until he was 25 years old. Things finally clicked during the 2022 season when he became a valuable utility option for Minnesota. He played all over the field while posting a 111 OPS+ across 136 games. That performance helped earn him a spot in the Opening Day lineup at second base in 2023.

Unfortunately, that momentum did not carry over. Injuries limited Gordon to just 34 games that season, and he struggled when he was on the field, finishing with a 35 OPS+. With his role shrinking, Minnesota ultimately moved on and traded him to Miami before the 2024 season in a deal that included reliever Steven Okert.

2020: Jake Cave (CF)
The 2020 season remains one of the most unusual campaigns in baseball history. The pandemic shortened the season, changed routines across the sport, and created a number of unusual roster situations. One small detail that is easy to forget is who actually started in center field for the Twins on Opening Day that year. It was Cave, not Buxton.

Cave had quietly become a useful contributor after arriving from the Yankees in a trade that sent pitching prospect Luis Gil to New York. During the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he showed legitimate offensive value, combining for a 112 OPS+ across 163 games. That stretch earned him the Opening Day assignment in center field when the 2020 season began.

His production declined over the following years, however. Across his final three seasons with Minnesota, he posted a 71 OPS+, falling well below league average as his role diminished.

2018: Logan Morrison (DH)
Morrison’s time with the Twins began with a bit of late offseason intrigue. Coming off a career year with Tampa Bay in 2017, Morrison hit 38 home runs while producing a 133 OPS+ and roughly three wins above replacement. Despite those numbers, the market for first basemen was slow that winter, and Morrison remained unsigned deep into February.

Minnesota eventually brought him aboard on February 28, only weeks before Opening Day. While the move created some excitement at the time, the on-field results never followed. Morrison, unable to find consistency at the plate, finished the season with a 74 OPS+ across 95 games.

His tenure with the Twins ended after that season, and his big-league opportunities quickly faded. Morrison played just 34 more Major League games after leaving Minnesota.

2015: Jordan Schafer (CF)
Schafer may be the easiest name on this list to forget. Minnesota claimed Schafer off waivers from Atlanta late in the 2014 season, and he actually provided a brief spark down the stretch. In 41 games, he posted a surprising 100 OPS+, which stood well above his career average.

With Buxton still developing in the minor leagues, Schafer entered the 2015 season as the Twins' Opening Day center fielder. The opportunity did not last long. Schafer struggled early and often, appearing in just 27 games while producing a 42 OPS+. His overall performance dipped below replacement level, and the Twins released him in June. He never appeared in another Major League game.

Reflecting on these lineups, their significance in the moment is undeniable. They reflect months of preparation but, as we’ve seen, offer only a snapshot before reality quickly reshapes a team’s fortunes. Players emerge unexpectedly, injuries reshape rosters, and prospects arrive to change a team's trajectory. As a result, some of the names that appear in that first lineup card fade quickly from memory.

These five players are a reminder that even starting on Opening Day does not guarantee a lasting place in Twins history. Sometimes it simply reflects a brief moment in time before the long season unfolds.

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Which names had you forgotten about? Are there other recent Opening Day starters that were surprises? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[old nurse]

There is a good reason many opening day players were forgotten.  From comments through the years, Margot and Cave are not forgotten. I think some people have PTSD from then 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Manny Margot

[arby58]

Go back to 201`6, with ByongHo Park as the DH - there was an overhyped international player. Ended the season with an 82 OPS+. Never played in MLB again. Went back to Korea and resumed having decent results - which suggests more about the Korean league than anything else.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Chris Colabello anyone?  For about a month in 2014, he looked like he was going to be amazing.  Well, that didn’t last long.

[Over The Hill Again]

Margot. Still don’t get that one. Obvious from Day 1 that he wasn’t going to be “Buxton Insurance “ or trustworthy in any OF spot. Substandard hitter, and I can’t tell if Rocco just kept throwing him out there as a PH to set the record or if his spreadsheet wouldn’t update. 

[AceWrigley]

13 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Chris Cabello anyone?  For about a month in 2014, he looked like he was going to be amazing.  Well, that didn’t last long.

I had to look up whether or not Colabello was in the starting lineup for opening day 2014. Here is the opening day lineup:

Brian Dozier - 2B

Kurt Suzuki - C

Joe Mauer - 1B

Josh Willingham - LF

Chris Colabello - DH

Trevor Plouffe - 3B

Oswaldo Arcia - RF

Aaron Hicks - CF

Pedro Florimon - SS

and Rickey Nolasco on the mound.

Twins lost 5-3 in Chicago.

I think the Seinfeld image from above applies.

 

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, old nurse said:

There is a good reason many opening day players were forgotten.  From comments through the years, Margot and Cave are not forgotten. I think some people have PTSD from then 

Margot Derangement Syndrome surfaces in a pinch. 😉

[c24]

1 hour ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Chris Colabello anyone?  For about a month in 2014, he looked like he was going to be amazing.  Well, that didn’t last long.

I saw him playing an Indy league game the summer of '19, I feel like he was always a bigger guy in the MLB, but he really let himself go after his PED suspensions

[nicksaviking]

Pedro Florimon managed to be an opening day starter.......two years in a row!

[ziggy]

I met some friends in Cleveland for a ball game. They were Cleveland fans. The first 2 Indain batters hit balls to straight away center field. Cave dropped them both.

[mikelink45]

You are right Schafer is not one I remember at all.  The others I would just as soon forget.  Who will it be this year?  Outman, Roden, Wagaman, Kreidler, Gray, Arcia???

[SD happy]

Great read! Thank you.

[RpR]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

You are right Schafer is not one I remember at all.  The others I would just as soon forget.  Who will it be this year?  Outman, Roden, Wagaman, Kreidler, Gray, Arcia???

Right now, Jeffers and Wallner.!

[RpR]

7 hours ago, old nurse said:

There is a good reason many opening day players were forgotten.  From comments through the years, Margot and Cave are not forgotten. I think some people have PTSD from then 

Nick Gordon is not forgotten but how he went from good to hopeless, is sad.

[Blyleven2011]

I haven't forgotten during falvey and Rocco's run all the players that should have been on the roster , that were DFA'd because they chose the wrong player for the roster on  opening day  ...

[cheeseheadgophfan]

15 hours ago, arby58 said:

Go back to 201`6, with ByongHo Park as the DH - there was an overhyped international player. Ended the season with an 82 OPS+. Never played in MLB again. Went back to Korea and resumed having decent results - which suggests more about the Korean league than anything else.

Oh man.....that made me think of Nishioka.  I remember we actually won a bidding war for the right to sign him.  I thought he was gonna be the next Ichiro...LOL

 

[Doctor Wu]

6 hours ago, cheeseheadgophfan said:

Oh man.....that made me think of Nishioka.  I remember we actually won a bidding war for the right to sign him.  I thought he was gonna be the next Ichiro...LOL

 

I thought of Nishioka too! I also had high hopes for him. But I think he was injured the second week in the season (some sort of freak play where another player was sliding into him at second base) and when he returned he just never looked good. But I enjoyed this article. Brought back memories of players such as Jordan Shafer (not to mention Floriman and Colabello!) that I hadn't thought about in years. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

On 3/9/2026 at 10:13 AM, AceWrigley said:

I had to look up whether or not Colabello was in the starting lineup for opening day 2014. Here is the opening day lineup:

Brian Dozier - 2B

Kurt Suzuki - C

Joe Mauer - 1B

Josh Willingham - LF

Chris Colabello - DH

Trevor Plouffe - 3B

Oswaldo Arcia - RF

Aaron Hicks - CF

Pedro Florimon - SS

and Rickey Nolasco on the mound.

Twins lost 5-3 in Chicago.

I think the Seinfeld image from above applies.

 

Wow that is a bad lineup.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

On 3/10/2026 at 1:33 AM, cheeseheadgophfan said:

Oh man.....that made me think of Nishioka.  I remember we actually won a bidding war for the right to sign him.  I thought he was gonna be the next Ichiro...LOL

 

A sad mistake made by Twins FO.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

On 3/9/2026 at 4:19 PM, RpR said:

Right now, Jeffers and Wallner.!

Jeffers does not belong as one player to soon be forgotten. He has contributed very well at catcher.