stringer bell

First of all, I'm an idiot. I scrolled through the Twins' schedule and saw Twins vs. Red Sox and thought it was scheduled for today--nope. It's tomorrow, so I guess I'll find out if my subscription works then. Secondly, isn't it a certainty that there will be an additional charge to carry the Twins channel on cable/DirecTV? We had Bally/FanDuel etc. on a SportPac that I didn't want except for the Twins games and paid > $20 per month. I don't think the price will go down much if it is only Twins games on a dedicated channel.

Several teams have decided they couldn't keep their Rule V picks and only one (Athletics) has verified they will have their Rule V pick on the roster for Opening Day. There is a chance with Tonkin being injured that they can carry Castellano for the first couple weeks and hope his situation resolves positively.

Another of my favorite Immaculate Grid entries, Travis Blankenhorn signed a minor league deal with the Angels. Blankenhorn had four PAs with the Twins and has played for the Mets and Nats. He's totaled 100 PAs despite appearing in major league games in every year since 2020. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/03/angels-sign-travis-blankenhorn-to-minor-league-deal.html

I'm a bit older, but in the same boat. We cut our DirecTV over the winter and I signed up for twins.tv, but so far have only viewed games marked "Free Game of the Day". Tomorrow may be the first broadcast not so labeled.

I would say the number is reversed (80% from injury) and what little I saw of Lewis this spring, he looked quicker and not as hulking. Still he pulled a muscle before he got out of Florida.

It looks like the last spot on the pitching staff is Topa vs. Castellano. Neither has been particularly impressive, but Topa pitched yesterday, so he is healthy enough to proceed. Meanwhile, on the position player side, Gasper slid over to catch. It can't hurt his chances that he can fill in behind the plate for a few innings.

All of the competitors for the last spots on the team are playing (except Keirsey) and most are doing well today.

I think the training staff has examined and analyzed Lewis' soft tissue, lower body injuries and have tailored his workouts to recover from the earlier injuries and prevent further injury. Other than giving him orders to never "open it up", he may continue to be betrayed by his own body. To have a 25-year-old run like Giancarlo Stanton would irritate me to no end, but it seems like that is the path we are embarking on.

Regarding Gasper making the Opening Day roster—I don’t think it improves his chances that much. Julien and Gasper would be regarded as bat-first 2B/1B, and keeping both would be redundant. The team could afford to add a faster outfielder (Martin or Keirsey Jr.) and still have first, second and third covered defensively.

Miranda was my choice to get most PAs at DH. I’m seeing folks presuming he’s the primary 3B now (don’t dispute that), but does this mean a near regular role for Bader? It would appear so (don’t like that). Castro can play left some, giving DH duties to Wallner/Larnach and keeping HB on the bench. Julien can DH, with Larnach and Wallner playing the corners. If Lee and Castro are flanking Correa, who plays third and who plays second? There isn’t much platooning to be done except for Wallner and Larnach or Julien if he makes the team.

As far as scooping low throws, being a former catcher (like Santana, Morneau and Mauer) would seem to be of more benefit than height. Mauer played first a bit until the head injury forced him out from behind the plate, but I think he was very good when moved to first. At more than 6'4" he had the size and reach to steal a few outs, as well.

Nitpick here. It doesn't look like the Twins will purchase the contract of any non-roster players for Opening Day, even with the loss of Lewis and Tonkin (so far) to injury. The Twins won't put Canterino on the Il until they need to find a 40-man spot, so he likely won't have a full year of service. Whenever he would be on the major league 60-day IL is when he would start accruing service time. I'm not sure about the process for DFAing injured players. At some point, it would figure that he could and should be put on the open market, but it is possible they will have to hang onto him until the end of the season.

Another roster certainty is that Tonkin will start the season on the IL.

Season-ending shoulder surgery. It seems there is now a >95% chance that he'll never throw an official major league pitch for the Twins. mlbtraderumors.com say the Twins have the option to place him on the major league 60-day IL or send him to the minor league IL. If placed on the major league IL, he would accrue service time, but be taken off the 40-man roster. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/03/twins-prospect-matt-canterino-undergoes-season-ending-shoulder-surgery.html

It’s all fun and games so far, but if Pablo is subpar again, some of us will start to worry.

What is see right now is somewhat of a reversal--Castro as the primary second baseman to start the season while Lee fills three spots in the infield. If someone was needed to go to the outfield, that would be Willi with Lee slotting in as the primary second baseman.

It sounds pretty minor, but with an injury history as long as Stewart's, one kind of holds his breath every outing.

Stewart left with an injury. Color me shocked.

Yeah, I’ve not been an advocate of shorter guys at first base. Also, they have seldom used a left handed thrower as a first sacker. It’s really hard to measure the impact of having an extra couple inches in reach at first, but it has to make some difference.

Two errors and a double that didn’t get to the fence on the fly net two runs for the Blue Jays prospects.

Looks like a split—Baltimore up 10-0, while the Twins lead the Rays 13-2, both games in the bottom of the 8th.

I'm not an expert on arbitration awards and the resultant salaries for those players, but body of work seems and service time seems to be more important than some type of breakout. I don't think Miranda will become overly expensive next year unless he morphs into a star.

Miranda is an interesting player IMHO. He's 26, not a fast runner and defensively challenged wherever he plays. OTOH, he has had interludes where he is hitting well enough to overcome his deficiencies and then some. His hitting, at the major league level, hasn't been a slugger's profile. He doesn't strike out or walk much and his homer rate is below average. All of that says, he needs to hit for a high average compared to most. First base or DH? Frankly, I don't think that it matters much now that France is on the team. Neither will be as good as Santana was last year, but between them, I don't think they will be an embarrassment either. Regarding the OP, I don't think there is a scenario where France is a Twin in 2026, so it kind of is Miranda's chance to claim a regular position, and if he is to have a regular position on the field it would be first base. Miranda is just one of many players that needs to prove something. Especially given his platoon splits, he could easily become a lineup fixture if he hit like has in the past or he could be a non-tender candidate if he can't sustain above-average production.

I don't think the Twins owe Julien playing time after his 2024 season. The idea that the organization is somehow mistreating him is contradicted by his poor performance last year, and it was poor. With the likelihood of new ownership, Baldelli is probably managing for his job or his next job this year. Player development might be a slightly lower priority. I struggle with the idea that the Twins should be starting the same nine every day, when there is no real consensus who that nine should be. Getting more everyday players would mean less platooning, but maybe the players who are being platooned aren't good enough to play every day. There seems to be disagreement about everyone except Buxton, Correa and Lewis. Currently my count is that there are 16 viable position players for 13 spots and nine starting positions. Who the three are that are going to St. Paul is the subject for debate. Also up for debate is who should be getting in excess of 400 plate appearances. Arguments could be made for just about any of the remaining players, but I'm not sure any should be written in in ink.

I don't think either Lee or Julien earned a pass onto the 2025 Opening Day roster. In another thread someone reported that Willi Castro will be getting the bulk of innings at second base to start the season. If so, what becomes of Julien and Lee? IMHO, if neither is playing second base regularly, it might be best to send them both down to the minors to start the season. Lee started 2024 injured and then suffered another injury during the season that he tried to play through. It didn't go well. He's looked pretty good this spring, both with the bat and in the field. I think the Twins should start him at second, but if he's not starting, I'm not sure being a bench guy is the right route for him. Julien had a very good rookie year, despite showing a less than stellar glove. If he hits like 2023, he should get playing time somewhere. We don't know if that is the case. The fielding seems to have gone backward and besides errors, Eddie has never been smooth in the field. He's often hesitant and I don't think his hands and footwork are up to par. Again, if Castro settles in as the primary second baseman, a case could be made for Lee to be the three position backup infielder, especially since he is a switch hitter. A second option at second base would probably get quite a few starts because of Castro's proven status as a five or six position Swiss Army Knife. Austin Martin could fill a role as an outfielder/infielder with good speed, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. could be fifth outfielder is Willi is almost exclusively used in the infield or the Twins could carry Julien or Gasper as a backup second baseman/first baseman/DH. I like that Gasper is also a switch hitter and it doesn't hurt that he could fill a few innings behind the plate.