stringer bell

Happy Opening Day everyone! Thanks to @C-Gangster for posting the colorful Opening Day roster, although I take issue with calling either Martin or Clemens utility players--Austin is an outfielder and Kody is an infielder. We should have lineups pretty soon, I would expect. Tuesday's slate should be pretty close to what is out there for the first game.

Bowman signed a minor league deal and is still around. He’ll start out the season with the Saints. Jackson cleared waivers and is at St. Paul. Altavilla wasn’t optioned. He has a minor league contract and (for now) didn’t make the major league team.

To complete the active roster, Alex Jackson DFA, David Festa and Travis Adams to the 15-day IL and Cody Laweryson's contract selected. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/twins-dfa-alex-jackson.html

It is a big year for Lee. Much like Wallner, the team is trusting his pedigree and giving him a clear path to regular status despite a disappointing 2025. Not much can be done with the tools Lee has and doesn't have. He's never going to be a fast runner or have a plus arm. He needs to make the most of those limited tools and mature towards his ceiling as a hitter. That's a lot to ask, but maybe his age 25 season will be his breakout. I've been saying since the 2025 season ended that the key guys for 2026 are Lee, Lewis and Wallner--three #1 draft choices who have flashed, but not sustained above-average performance. I think the 2026 season will be successful if two of these three break through to become above-average major league regulars.

I don't think I'm alone in thinking that Tristan Gray seemed like a real long shot to make the Twins' Opening Day roster. He turned 30 this spring, has played for three other major league teams and has only accrued 122 plate appearances. Gray is a left handed hitter and we've spent much time on this site talking about the plethora of lefty hitter on the roster and the high minors. Yet, here he is. It might be damning him with faint praise in that his competition was Ryan Kreidler and Orlando Arcia, but he won the battle for now. Congratulations to him. Gray didn't stand out statistically this spring. He only hit .200 (.569 OPS) with a 30% K rate. However, a glance at his Savant page tells me there might be something there as a hitter. The Savant page has a lot of pink (not red because of limited sample size) and pink is better than blue, I suppose. In the limited sample size, Gray has above-average marks for xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, exit velocity, sweet spot, barrel % and bat speed. I guess you can say he profiles to be a statcast darling. The versatility is also there. He's played all four infield spots close to equally and his defensive metrics in limited sample size look decent. Finally, Gray is a left handed hitter. It seems an odd match until the roster is examined closely. Two of the three guys he would spell are right handed hitters and the third is a switch hitter who whose strong side last year was right handed. According to @jorgenswest Gray has played for 14 teams since he began his professional career. I would consider him well-traveled. Good luck in 2026 Tristan!

I really think the leg injury hampered his defense. His sprint speed fell dramatically, from above average to 33 percentile. He seemed more hesitant and took worse routes to the ball. Baseball Savant had his range at the 17th percentile. An injury and its after effects might explain this. As I said, I think he looks at least marginally better this year.

It looks like Wallner is getting a big chance in 2026. He is getting to hit against all pitching and has a clear path to being the regular right fielder, as long as he plays well. After a bit of a slow start, Wallner looked very good in the spring. SSS, but he looked a bit quicker in right field and swung the bat very well. I concur that he is a candidate for a bounce back, both on offense and defense.

Short answer—yes. Longer answer—yes, but there has to be commitment. Significant improvement has to come from within. Up the middle, at catcher, Jefferson and Caratini are what they are. I think both are okay receivers and game callers, but not good throwers. It is going to take a significant improvement holding runners on to limit the opponent’s running game. In center field Buxton graded out below average last year. He may not have been as aggressive as in the past, but IMHO that is okay. He’s too valuable on offense to risk the IL multiple times a week from throwing his body around. The middle infield is where there’s much room for improvement. I hope Brooks Lee is a bit faster and quicker so that his range moves more toward average. I expect with more reps that Keaschall will improve to average or better. He has the speed to have excellent range. He needs to work on his first step, but experience will help him. Kody Clemens is a decent defender at second (and first), so getting him in the field is usually beneficial. Another key is continuity. If Keaschall and Lee play together for more than 100 games, there will be a benefit of familiarity. Corner infield—Lewis markedly improved last year. If he stays healthy and focused, he could be better this year. Bell grades out as a lousy first baseman and it looks like he has zero throwing arm FWIW. Hopefully both Clemens and Caratini get more innings than Bell. Corner outfield—Wallner looks a bit speedier and confident after a poor defensive season in 2025. His arm can help if he charges hard and keeps balanced. Martin and Outman should be okay in left and either guy can fill in for Buck for a game or two. The Twins hired a Gold Glover to work with the outfielders. Can Taylor help the guys take better routes and make better decisions? That could be worth much more than his salary if he can help all the OFs. The easiest way to improve is turning outs into outs, making the routine plays consistently and being fundamentally sound—throwing to the cutoff man or proper base, positioning properly for relays and tags and positioning well. The coaching staff needs to stress playing fundamentally good baseball and the players have to buy in. Culpepper, Jenkins and Rodriguez look like they can be upgrades. Maybe at some point, the Twins have an everyday first baseman who is a good defender.

The “final” is in. Laweryson gets the last BP spot and will take Alex Jackson’s 40-man roster spot. Tristan Gray is the utility infielder. Both results surprise me. Big picture—not a single 30-something veteran made the club after signing a minor league contract. Arcia is apparently still around as are Merryweather and Altavilla. I would expect the veteran relievers to get a chance at some point. Also, only Jackson will be exposed and I think there is a decent chance that he stays in the system.

Kent and Laweryson have made the team barring acquiring a player from outside the organization. With only one non-roster player making the team (Laweryson) the only player they will expose is Jackson, who is making more than the minimum and can't be sent down. I see Houston has the same situation with Cesar Salazar, who will have to be DFA'd or traded since he didn't make the Astros and is out of options. I don't know how many other catchers will be made available, but maybe the Twins can send Jackson to St. Paul as an outright.

I'm surprised as well. Arcia must believe he'll get a call sooner rather than later since he didn't use his opt-out.

Shelton was being interviewed as Rogers went through his inning and publicly pooh-poohed any concern. "He just wasn't hitting his spots". There isn't going to be a reliever I will be confident in facing major league hitters. Maybe someone will emerge or they convert starters to a bullpen role.

Nice inning for Altavilla. I think he's a keeper.

Shelton has commented favorably about Buxton hitting second. I like Martin leading off, at least against left handers.

Opening Day lineup?

This problem has been very evident since the trading deadline. I’ve been waiting for trades since the offseason started and the only move was to tender Larnach. I tend to believe that baseball gms know what they’re doing, but this is malpractice.

I see Arcia as the likely winner of the utility infielder. Gray has an option and Arcia did not activate his opt-out. Arcia's numbers don't look bad after 3-4 day at Jet Blue. .273 BA, .761 OPS, only one K, and his defensive ratings last year were still all right. Gray has done nothing to show he should be in the majors.

I had to run errands and missed someof the game. Is Martin all right. He was HBP and then went out of the game.

Did they measure the pitchers too?

I hope the Twins can build a little momentum in the last few games. I'm not happy about the roster they've put together, but players breaking out could make those last roster spots much less important.

Clemens didn't play an inning of third base in ST or last season. He played some outfield last year, but it looks like the Twins prefer him at second base, while moving Keaschall to the outfield if such a situation happens. Arcia played equal amounts of second, short and third with Colorado, but had hardly played anything but shortstop in 2023 and 2024. He hasn't hit much since the first half of 2023. Agree on both Larnach and Outman. I've been suggesting giving Austin Martin a full-time run in left field to see what he can provide, making Outman superfluous and limiting Larnach to DH.

This is really where the position player portion of the roster is messed up. If Outman actually starts in left field, it moves Larnach to DH and Bell, a poor defender to first, and Clemens to the bench. Personally, I’d rather have Clemens hitting than Outman. As a matter of fact, I think I’d prefer Martin in left field rather than Outman or Larnach against right handers.

Kreidler and Wagaman optioned to St. Paul this morning.

Ty France made the San Diego Opening Day roster.

Kreidler and Wagaman optioned this morning. That leaves Gray and Arcia for the utility infield spot. 34 remain in camp, so eight players need to be taken off the active roster.