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It was fairly clear going into the 2024 season what Rocco Baldelli and the Twins were going to do: play matchups to the extreme, with mid-game substitutions intended to ambush opponents and capitalize on key moments.
The front office collectively spent about $10 million of its limited funds last year on two bench players — Kyle Farmer and Manuel Margot — who were not really capable of playing shortstop or center field. The idea was that these veteran right-handed bats could be defensively useful enough while serving as frequent pinch-hitting and platooning options in a lineup featuring numerous lefty hitters.
We saw how it went. Twins pinch-hitters slashed .186/.268/.273 in a league-leading 183 plate appearances. Margot was historically inept, posting an 0-for-30 egg in his 35 pinch-hitting appearances. Beyond the shoddy production Minnesota got from their hitting subs, the other ramification was that the team's best bats were often unavailable in crucial late-game spots.
The logic behind Baldelli's philosophy made sense — platoon advantages are undeniably legitimate — but in practice it just didn't play. This owed partially to sample-size luck, partially to the quality of the players being subbed, and partially to the pinch-hitting penalty, which seemed to be drastically under-weighed.
During his appearance on-stage at the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown last month, TV announcer Cory Provus offered up some light but fair criticism of Baldelli's steadfast commitment to this subbing strategy in 2024, noting that it made the team predictable and "easy to manage against." I'm guessing even Rocco would agree with this assessment to some degree in hindsight. Provus suggested that it's one fundamental aspect of the Twins' approach he expects to change this year. Indeed, the front office appears to be giving their manager little choice in the matter.
Farmer and Margot exited via free agency and haven't been functionally replaced. The Twins signed a defensive specialist as their fourth outfielder in Harrison Bader, and they are reportedly targeting a glove-first veteran infielder to round out their infield mix. Other candidates for bench spots right now would appear to include Christian Vázquez, Mickey Gasper, Austin Martin and DaShawn Keirsey.
Yes, on some days you'll have someone like like Trevor Larnach or Willi Castro or Edouard Julien available on the bench, but the Twins basically have one starting lineup's worth of good hitters on the 40-man roster. Unless additions are coming or prospects rise fast, Baldelli isn't going to be able to often summon an offensive threat in mid-game situations. Even Bader, who is ostensibly a good fit because he hits right-handed, is not someone I'd be inclined to pinch-hit for the likes of Larnach or Matt Wallner against a lefty unless it was a specifically terrible match-up.
One could argue this is a good thing, and many fans probably will view it as such. I myself would love to see key hitters like Larnach and Wallner get more chances to survive a tough sixth-inning AB so they can remain in the lineup when a righty reliever swings around three innings later. We're trending in that direction.
But this conversation does underscore the lack of depth present in Minnesota's offensive mix here at the doorstep of spring training. The sparsity of proven bats behind their planned starters means that even a few injuries could force the Twins into starting subpar hitters regularly. Already we're seeing talk of Castro starting at first base, which is a grim omen.
Rejoice, frustrated Twins fans: It doesn't look like Rocco Baldelli will be equipped for nearly as many mid-game lineup subs this year. But be careful what you wish for.
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