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Virtually the entire lineup was filled with hopefuls; guys who could find themselves playing with the Twins or with St. Paul’s Saints for most of the season. It included eight players that are essentially batting for three roster spots.
Leading off was Edouard Julien at first base, where he was playing for the first time this spring. He’s only played there five times in his MLB career, and only twenty-eight times in his minor league career. But manager Rocco Baldelli said before the game that Julien is likely to find himself playing first base nearly as much as he plays second base this spring. Ultimately, Julien’s bat is going to make or break his spot on the roster, but having some positional flexibility would provide a left-handed hitting option to pair with Ty France and Jose Miranda at first base.
Batting second was Mickey Gasper, playing second base. Gasper has only played second base fourteen times: six times last year with the Red Sox, and eight times this winter with Criollos de Cagua in the Puerto Rican Winter League. He’s never played it in the minors, playing mostly first base. During the regular season, Baldelli would probably have Gasper and Julien switching spots. But this spring, the Twins need to see if Gasper can handle second base, since that flexibility might be needed for a bench role.
Batting third was catcher Jair Camargo. The only thing that has kept Camargo off the Twins' roster the last two years is that Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez have been unnaturally healthy for catchers, starting all 324 games over the last two seasons. He’s an IL-stint (or a cost-cutting trade) away from making the roster and seeing significant playing time.
The cleanup hitter was Miranda, who is most likely to find himself playing for the Twins. “But Jose is going to be in a position where he’s going to go out there, earn his at-bats, earn his opportunities like many other guys on our roster.” Those aren’t my words, they’re Baldelli’s when asked about Miranda’s role last week. Miranda played third base in this game, a position the Twins would like to have Royce Lewis get 600 at-bats, if he can stay healthy.
When talking about earning at-bats, Baldelli made it clear he wasn’t just talking about Miranda. “You could probably turn to two or three or four other players who have done some good things at the major-league level and ask a similar question and it would made sense,” he continued.
Which brings us to the fifth batter today, Brooks Lee, who was playing shortstop. Like almost everyone above him in this lineup, that’s not the position the Twins would like to see him play - he’s probably competing for second base - but he needs to get time there in case something happens to Carlos Correa.
Batting sixth was Austin Martin, playing center field. Martin didn’t look great in center field last year, and the Twins should have both Byron Buxton and Harrison Bader above him on the depth chart. But the Twins are convinced Martin can be an excellent defensive outfielder if he gets more time there, so we’ll see him there a lot this spring. His more likely role during the season would be a corner outfield spot, perhaps starting versus left-handed pitchers over left-handed hitting Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach.
The eighth batter, left-handed hitting DaShawn Keirsey Jr, is somewhat blocked on the roster by the same four players as Martin, which is too bad because he’s had a pretty outstanding 24+ hours. Tuesday, he made a fantastic catch against the right field wall to preserve a tie versus the Yankees and then followed it with a game-winning hit. Wednesday, he made a diving catch in the right-field gap and started the Twins scoring with a home run to left field.
Finally, in between those two, batting seventh, was Mike Ford , getting at-bats at designated hitter. Like Julien, the left-handed hitting first baseman would also need to find his way on the roster as a left-handed hitting option for France or Miranda.
This was a lineup full of players that are guaranteed nothing this year. They almost all played positions where they are being tested, or where the team hopes they won’t have to play. They also traveled 2.5 hours each way on a bus to get at-bats to face Tarik Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young winner who showed off a 100+ mph pitch in the first inning. But it is also a lineup filled with promise, much of it young promise, that could determine the fate of the Twins offense this year.
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