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After turning a corner offensively and finally posting respectable numbers at the plate last year, Hicks appeared to be the front-runner to open the 2106 season in center field, unless Byron Buxton were to seize the job in spring training. With Hicks being traded to the Yankees back in November, the Twins are now prepared to enter camp with a wide open competition at the position.
Today we will look at the relative strengths of each candidate.
Why Byron Buxton Will Win The Job
Because the Twins want him to. That much seems fairly clear. Historically, Buxton has endured a learning curve at each new level before adapting and thriving, and that's what the club is hoping to see here. Buxton remains ranked as the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball according to such outlets as MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus, showing that his rough debut as a 21-year-old in 2015 didn't too much to diminish his luster. Everyone still recognizes his transcendent skills, and the impact those skills can make on the baseball field.
The Twins are counting on Buxton this year. Their quiet offseason was driven largely by the belief that improving young players will push the team forward, and Buxton is at the head of that movement. Ideally, he will demonstrate obvious adjustments in spring training and he'll be playing alongside fellow building block Miguel Sano in the outfield from Opening Day.
One key here is that Buxton fills a role in the lineup where Minnesota lacks an obvious answer: leadoff. Presuming he makes the proper strides with his plate approach, Buck profiles perfectly for that spot, with his game-changing speed and .383 on-base percentage in the minors.
Why Danny Santana Will Win The Job
As much as the Twins (and the rest of us) may want Buxton to win the job, there simply wasn't much indication last year that he was ready for it. Terry Ryan admitted to calling up the top prospect sooner than he would have liked, and the 21-year-old was clearly overwhelmed by the challenge, batting .209 with an ugly 44-to-6 K/BB ratio.
Buxton is still very young, and has only 13 games worth of experience at Triple-A, so I actually think the odds are higher that he opens in Rochester than Minnesota. In this scenario, Santana is probably the odds-on favorite to land the center field job on Opening Day.
There are a number of factors feeding into this. Santana already has some experience playing center in the big leagues, having performed well there as a rookie in 2014. His dynamic speed would be welcome in the lineup with Buxton gone. And Santana is out of options, meaning the Twins need to find a place for him one way or another.
Of course, Santana was also flat-out terrible last year, finishing with a .532 OPS that was actually substantially worse than Buxton's. But knowing that it's a temporary gig, and that Santana gives them arguably their best defensive outfield alignment in the absence of Buxton, I could easily see the Twins giving him a shot and hoping he can recapture some the production he yielded as a center fielder two years ago.
Why Eddie Rosario Will Win The Job
Last spring, Rosario lasted deep into camp as a contender for the center field job, as Paul Molitor viewed him as a very legitimate option at the position. It's where Rosario spent most of his time in the minors, and he certainly has the speed and range to hold his own there. Shifting him to center would allow Minnesota to surround him with bat-first players in the corner spots (say, Miguel Sano and Oswaldo Arcia), bolstering the lineup and also relieving the roster crunch a bit.
But the problem is that Rosario isn't an ideal fit in center, and whoever replaces him in left will be a vast downgrade. The Twins would be making huge defensive sacrifices with this plan, and given that they're already experimenting with Sano in right, it's hard to see them going down that road. Those poor pitchers.
Others In The Mix: Ryan Sweeney, Darin Mastroianni, Joe Benson
Did the Twins sign all of these players to minor-league deals as organizational depth, or as backup plans in the event that none of the three options listed above work out? We'll find out, I guess.
Last spring, both Rosario and Hicks were bypassed by a platoon of Jordan Schaefer and Shane Robinson in center field. Going with Mastroianni, Sweeney or Benson would represent a similar approach: stick a body out there with some experience who can run around and catch the ball, until one of the kids proves ready to take over.
It would be disappointing to see the Twins go this route a second year in a row but it wouldn't be shocking.
I would rate Sweeney as the front-runner from this group -- both as the long shot center field contender and as a candidate to make the roster as fifth outfielder -- because he has the most MLB experience by far. But he also didn't play last year and has barely hit in the last five.
Who do you envision in center field on Opening Day? And where will they be hitting in the lineup?
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