Twins To Deploy More Platoons In 2017?

Back in 2015, the Twins had a very defined bench. Both Eduardo Nunez and Shane Robinson spent nearly the entire season on the 25-man roster, yet neither started 50 games. And between them, and your ever-present backup catcher (either Chris Herrmann or Eric Fryer that season), Paul Molitor had insurance at virtually every position on the field. Robinson even pitched a scoreless inning. It was a nice security blanket for the first-year manager.

But it's not easy to have such a steady bench, a lot has to go right in order for that to work out. One thing that permitted the bench to be so defined in 2015 was the relative stability of the starting lineup. That season, the Twins rolled out 98 different defensive lineups, using their most common configuration 22 times (C-Suzuki, 1B-Mauer, 2B-Dozier, 3B-Plouffe, SS-Escobar, LF-Rosario, CF-Hicks, RF-Hunter, DH-Sano).

That may sound like a lot of lineups, but last season Molitor deployed 135 different defensive lineups. The most any one lineup was used was just six times (C-Suzuki, 1B-Mauer, 2B-Dozier, 3B-Plouffe, SS-Nunez, LF-Grossman, CF-Buxton, RF-Kepler, DH-Park). The '15 Twins had five positions in which one player accounted for at least 120 games started. Last season, only Brian Dozier accomplished that feat.

Another issue with defined bench roles is the players have to buy into it. Both Nunez and Robinson had been around the block, and while I'm sure they would have preferred more playing time, both were professionals who understood their roles on the roster. While that bench arrangement seemed to suit the '15 Twins, looking ahead to next season it would appear the team is more well suited to use its projected bench players in platoon roles.

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Molitor has already hinted at one potential platoon. In a recent article Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press wrote that Molitor "will continue to look for ways to keep Mauer as fresh as possible over the course of the long season, including more frequent rests against rough left-handed starters."

At this point, there's really no reason for Joe Mauer to be facing lefties on a consistent basis; he had a .224/.291/.319 slash line against them last season. To be fair, that poor performance was over a sample of just 127 plate appearances, but Mauer's career OPS is 146 points higher against right-handed pitchers (.885 OPS vs. RHP, .739 OPS vs. LHP).

Byungho Park is right handed, and while Kennys Vargas is a switch hitter, he has done a lot more damage against lefties (career OPS of .834 vs. LHP, just .693 vs. RHP). So it would seem one of those two would benefit from Mauer sitting out against tough southpaw. But first base isn't the only platoon opportunity on the current roster.

Robbie Grossman excels against lefties, posting a.289/.351/.425 line against them over his career. He could help protect Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler against same-side pitching. And this could be a year in which the backup catcher isn't there to simply provide relief for the starter.

The newly-acquired Jason Castro, a lefty hitter, figures to get the lion's share of the work behind the plate, but he has been much more dangerous against right-handers over his career (.753 OPS vs. RHP, .536 vs. LHP). Given the rigors of catching, Castro will obviously just need days off to rest, but it would seem to benefit the team if those came with a lefty on the hill as often as possible. Potential backups John Ryan Murphy, Mitch Garver and Chris Gimenez all hit right handed.

One spot that does not, however, appear have a platoon advantage opportunity is shortstop. Jorge Polanco and Eduardo Escobar, both switch hitters, have done more damage against lefties.

Twins hitters held the platoon advantage in 58 percent of their at-bats last season, which is about five percent above the average. That shouldn't come as a surprise, considering lefties Mauer, Kepler and Rosario along with switch hitters Escobar and Grossman all got at least 300 plate appearances. But Cleveland led the league with a platoon advantage percentage at 70, so there could be room for improvement for the Twins in 2017.

A lot of how the bench is built will depend on the health and performance of the starters, but watching how the bench unfolds will be one of the more interesting stories to follow in spring training. How do you think the Twins should build and use their bench?