Twins Video
With Grapefruit League action now in the rearview mirror, Rocco Baldelli will need to decide whom he is bringing north with the Minnesota Twins. Opening Day is on Thursday, and a date with Cole Ragans and the Kansas City Royals awaits. Trimming the roster down to 26 doesn’t need to take place until Thursday, and with health questions lingering, the team may wait until the last minute.
Seven players were reassigned to minor league camp following the 9-6 win over Atlanta. They include: right-handed pitchers Matt Bowman and Jeff Brigham, catchers Brian O’Keefe and Chris Williams, infielders Michael Helman and Anthony Prato, and utility player Niko Goodrum. With the moves, 32 players remain in major-league camp.
None of the players cut on Tuesday should be a surprise. Both Bowman and Brigham were veteran pitching depth who worked in relief for the Twins this spring. O’Keefe came in to help Christian Vázquez and Ryan Jeffers with catching duties. Helman and Prato are nice prospect depth, and will head to Triple-A St. Paul. Goodrum was a non-roster invitee, but had previously spent a bunch of time in the organization. After major-league stops elsewhere, he is looking to make it back to the big leagues. He has already triggered his opt out.
Anthony DeSclafani, Justin Topa, Caleb Thielbar, and Jhoan Durán will all start the season on the injured list. That takes care of four of the six spots the team still needs to cut. Daniel Duarte is the only non-roster player left in camp, and it seems he will grab the final bullpen spot.
Former Royals reliever Josh Staumont was expected to make the team out of the gate for Minnesota, but after slipping and injuring his knee late in camp, he could start the year on the injured list, too. That would open up a spot for Duarte, who had struggled with command last season with Cincinnati. Having walked 20 in 31 2/3 innings, he was constantly dancing around pressure. This spring, though, Duarte punched out 11 across 10 2/3 innings while allowing no free passes.
Minnesota’s bullpen has been projected to be among the best in baseball, and while that could still be true, they will be without some key contributors to start the year. Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart should be expected to do most of the heavy lifting. The rest of the group will be composed of Steven Okert, Jay Jackson, Jorge Alcalá, Kody Funderburk, and Cole Sands. Of the relievers as a whole, only Jax, Alcalá, and Sands started with the club on Opening Day last season.
There isn’t and hasn’t been much intrigue on the position player front for a while. The catchers will be Vazquez and Jeffers, with both Carlos Santana and Alex Kirilloff manning first base. Edouard Julien will start at second, and he’ll have Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis on the dirt with him. Both Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro will serve as utility players. The outfield will be Matt Wallner, Byron Buxton, and Max Kepler from left to right, and Manuel Margot will serve as the fourth. Margot was hit in the hand by a pitch during Tuesday’s spring finale, but he should be just fine on Thursday.
As previously announced, Pablo López will be the Opening Day starter, and he will be followed by Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober. Chris Paddack and Louie Varland, who pitched in his final action of the spring on Tuesday against Atlanta, will round out the rotation.
The Twins are coming off a season in which they won the AL Central, and they will be seeking to repeat that feat in 2024. Spring training is now behind us, and from here on out, these games count.
Follow Twins Daily For Minnesota Twins News & Analysis
- gman, nclahammer, Hrbeks Divot and 9 others
-
12
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now