stringer bell

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.

I'd be super surprised if any of the last three cuts doesn't get a legit shot for the Twins at some point during the season. In 2023, Julien was up and down at least twice and the same for 2024. Whoever doesn't make the Opening Day roster will almost certainly get their shot. BTW, I thought Martin should have been included in the competition too. He seemed to spend most of his minor league time on the dirt and second should be the best infield position for him.

Probably not time to trade Lee or Julien after their disappointing 2024 seasons. Willi was the subject of trade rumors, but he has value to the Twins because of his proven flexibility.

You're miscounting by one, I believe. One of the bench players you listed is the DH and then there is room for one more player.

To answer the question, I don't think it's comfortable if there is full health of the position players. Miranda should be getting plenty of plate appearances against right handed pitching and Castro will play somewhere. Having one or both of these younger guys sit on the bench against right handed pitching makes very little sense. If Willi is needed in the outfield or if there is an injury to left-side infielders, then Lee can get his reps there.

I just checked the Twins' roster and it appears that Cartaya has been optioned to St. Paul. That leaves three catchers on the roster, plus a slightly more than emergency guy in Mickey Gasper. Ryan Jeffers is 27 years old, has progressed to arbitration contracts and is under team control for two years. The author has continually stated that Jeffers is not and cannot be the primary catcher for the Twins. I disagree. Despite playing slightly over the half the time for the past two years, Jeffers has accumulated WAR in the top third of all catchers. As noted by others, in a 50-50 job sharing of catching, there is no significant difference in the performance of pitchers when Jeffers is catching compared to Vázquez. Jeffers isn't Yadi Molina behind the plate, but he isn't Dr. Strangeglove either. Many predicted Jeffers would regress to the mean in 2024 and perhaps he did, but he did it in an inconsistent manner. He played All-Star worthy baseball for the first two months of the season, but slumped badly and never really had a hot streak in the second half. Was it wear-and-tear, was it a hidden injury, did the league catch up to him, or was it one of those things, a bad stretch with no real cause? We'll find out in 2025 provided Jeffers continues to avoid disabling injuries. I really would put my bet on him improving because he works hard at his craft (listen to the interview G & G did at Twinsfest) and he is still pretty young. We've had two years of Vázquez being one of the worst hitters in baseball who gets continued regular play. At 34, it is tough to imagine him getting significantly better unless being in a contract year does something magical. Given the usage of the Twins' major league catchers, it will be a loss when Vázquez leaves despite the meager offense. Finding the backup or partner for Jeffers will be a high priority for next year, although it could be from the two young catchers that the Twins will carry in St. Paul. I don't hold out significant hope for either Camargo or Cartaya, but another year in the minors might unlock enough for one of them to be a contributing major leaguer. Having two lottery tickets doubles the odds, I guess. To respond to @Doctor Gast conclusion, I don't think Twins' catching is a five-alarm fire, but there is a need for reinforcements and having someone who is more projectable than Camargo or Cartaya would be prudent.

Cartaya optioned to St. Paul.

1) If Ty France is going to start 110-130 games at first, Miranda should get the most PAs as the DH, particularly given his reverse splits. 2) Lee lost prospect luster and Julien pretty much undid all his good work in 2023 (IMHO). Sending either or both to St. Paul to start the season is proper and justified. Lee has been better than Eddie in the spring so far and has played three positions in the IF and is a switch hitter--he's the more versatile tool, but he and Castro would be neck and neck as primary options for second base. 3) As a 29-year-old rookie with less than 25 PAs in the majors, I don't think it would be wasteful or a problem to have Gasper as the last guy. He could pinch hit, maybe DH or play first occasionally, and grab his gear if there's a blowout and catch a couple of innings. As the position player group sorts out, it looks like the Twins could have three very versatile guys (Castro, Lee, Gasper) to fill in at 7.5 positions. Injuries and poor performance will happen and the last three guys cut (out of Gasper, Lee, Keirsey, Julien, and Martin) are all going to get a chance. I'm actually pretty optimistic as of today.

I think Miranda should be the DH against RH pitchers.

I don't know if Martin will make the roster, but he'll play for the Twins this year, barring injury. He (hopefully) will add value and the Twins have him for six more years if they want him that long. They have Woods Richardson for six more years, as well and he is currently older than one pitcher on the 40-man roster (Castellano) so maybe the "kids" aren't passing him since he is younger than most of them, such as Matthews and Festa.

Oh, that's so much better!

I've said for about a week that from 1000 miles away, it looks like the last spot is between Julien and Gasper. If he's going to play a couple times a week, I think I'd prefer Gasper. If it is regular ABs as the DH, maybe Julien, but Gasper is a switch hitter. I didn't see him hit right handed today and I wonder if that might be his weaker side. The photo with this article shows Gasper in catching gear. I know he finished one game behind the plate. I hope he gets a couple more chances to catch in the next two weeks.

Didn't he walk three in one inning in his last outing? Not a real advertisement for a spot on the roster.