Five weeks ago, the Minnesota Twins had little to show for their offseason work. Despite manning the phones all winter, the front office had only the $950,000 free-agent signing of rehabbing reliever Josh Staumont and a few waiver claims completed.
Everything changed with the Jan. 29 trade that sent Jorge Polanco to Seattle.
Once the seal was broken, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine didn’t slow down, making two more trades and two free-agent signings including last week’s acquisition of outfielder Manuel Margot and cash from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
None of the moves made over the past 35 days could be considered earth-shattering. But considering they’ve had to work under the constraints of ownership’s decision to trim payroll by nearly $30 million, the Twins’ front-office decision-makers have done a solid job of building out a roster with minimal wiggle room.
Last week, Falvey said the Opening Day roster is likely mostly in place. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes and Aaron Gleeman took a look at the end result.
Catchers (2)
In: Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vázquez
Others on the 40-man roster: Jair Camargo
Gleeman: I saw recently that new Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington said he wants Logan O’Hoppe to catch 125 to 135 games this year. First of all, that’s a super high number considering Philadelphia Phillies iron man J.T. Realmuto is the lone catcher to start 125 games in any of the past six seasons. Setting that aside, it just runs so counter to the Twins’ view of the catcher position and the importance of limiting workloads.
The Twins were the only American League team to make it through last year using just two catchers, giving 91 starts to Vázquez and 71 starts to Jeffers. Jeffers has played himself into the No. 1 job, so it wouldn’t be surprising if their slices of the playing time pie were flipped, but the Twins are generally aiming for a split in the 60/40 or 55/45 range, with the most-used catcher making fewer than 100 starts.
Hayes: I’m interested to see whether the work Vázquez put in at Driveline to improve his bat speed helps him this season. Even though he’s never been a big hitter, his .598 OPS last season was astoundingly low.
There’s not much else to write about here we haven’t written before this offseason. Since this is our first calendar year without Bob Barker, here’s a reminder to spay and neuter your pets.
The @Twins now up 2 to 1 in the 4th as Ryan Jeffers hits his 1st homer of the Spring. Meanwhile, Bailey Ober has looked sharp giving up just 1 hit and striking out 7 through 3 innings. pic.twitter.com/RTr2raxN5I
— TwinsRadio (@TwinsRadio) March 2, 2024
Infielders (6)
In: Carlos Santana, Edouard Julien, Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer
Others on the 40-man roster: Jose Miranda, Yunior Severino
Hayes: We’ve previously discussed Farmer being somewhat of a luxury at $6 million, but it’s evident the Twins’ coaching staff supported his return. This isn’t just about being a great voice in the clubhouse, though Farmer is that. Ask Julien what Farmer means to him, and after the normal hemming and hawing that comes with trash talk, you’ll receive a genuine answer about an important mentor who’s seen it all.
Farmer is an outstanding role model for a bunch of young infielders through his work ethic as well. I wrote a feature for Tuesday that highlights the outstanding work he put in during the middle of last season to increase his bat speed, a program that resulted in a massive jump in velocity. It helped Farmer have a great second half, one of the best of his career as he finished with an .803 OPS.
What I think particularly benefits the Twins is that Farmer — and the players affected — know the ins and outs of manager Rocco Baldelli’s platoon system. They won’t need to acclimate to it this season and understanding it from the outset should help the club.
Gleeman: Polanco’s departure also changed Farmer’s on-field situation quite a bit and made him less of a “luxury item.” Now, with Julien as the primary second baseman, Farmer is being counted on to platoon with him versus lefties and to serve as the backup at three infield spots. That’s a sizable role, and probably in line for 300 to 400 plate appearances like last season.
When the Twins signed Santana, I assumed he’d platoon with Kirilloff versus lefties and play sporadically versus righties, but I’m now convinced he’ll be the primary first baseman no matter the matchup. They think highly of Santana’s glove and seem to believe he’s still an everyday-caliber hitter at age 38.
That doesn’t change much for Kirilloff, other than that he’ll likely be starting less at first base and more at designated hitter. Either way, he needs to stay healthy and consistently productive at the plate, and there’s some thought that the DH spot will make both easier to accomplish.
Outfielders (5)
In: Matt Wallner, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Manuel Margot, Willi Castro
Others on the 40-man roster: Austin Martin, Trevor Larnach, Emmanuel Rodriguez
Gleeman: It took four months, but the Twins finally added the right-handed-hitting outfielder we were expecting all offseason. Margot checks two key boxes with one roster spot, providing Buxton insurance in center field and a quality platoon option to take the place of corner outfielders Wallner, Kepler, Kirilloff and Larnach against tough left-handed pitchers.
Nick Gordon held the last bench spot by default in our previous projection, but his left-handed bat was always a poor fit for the makeup of the Twins’ roster. Margot is basically an ideal fit stylistically — he’s a strong defender with above-average speed and a good bat versus lefties — but his upside is limited and money may also have played a factor in trading for him instead of re-signing Michael A. Taylor.
Whatever the case, Margot brings a lot of clarity to the Twins’ outfield. He’ll back up Buxton in center field and play alongside Buxton in the corners when lefties are on the mound, pushing Castro into more of a bounce-around role that will include a decent number of infield reps. Margot’s arrival ruined whatever shot Martin had of being on the Opening Day roster, but he’ll be needed as in-season depth.
Yeah, the @RaysBaseball crush dingers, but they can play small ball too! #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/5owrqR0g29
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 13, 2023
Hayes: As you noted, Martin took the biggest hit when the Twins traded for Margot. But odds are he’ll wind up making his major-league debut at some point this season. I spoke with Martin in camp last week and it sounds like he’s feeling as good as ever about where he is as a professional.
Martin was confident about how he performed last year after he shook off the rust of missing most of the first three months of the season. Though he slowed down in September, Martin batted .329/.460/.544 in August. If the Twins need an injury replacement for anyone in their group, Martin, who turns 25 later this month, is as prepared to take over as he’s been at any point since the Twins acquired him in the José Berríos trade in July 2021.
Starting pitchers (5)
In: Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, Anthony DeSclafani
Others on the 40-man roster: Louie Varland, Matt Canterino, Brent Headrick, Simeon Woods Richardson
Hayes: DeSclafani being shut down with elbow soreness early in camp for even a few days is cause for concern given the veteran had a flexor strain last season. Still, athletic trainer Nick Paparesta suggested it isn’t a surprise it happened early in the ramp-up process. DeSclafani’s quotes to reporters suggest the same. DeSclafani responded fine to the shutdown, performing well enough in long toss to earn a bullpen session on Friday. That’s a positive, but we’ll monitor the situation.
Fortunately, the Twins didn’t take a huge risk here, either. They brought in DeSclafani to be a back-end starting pitcher and are paying only $4 million of his $12 million salary. The situation could benefit Varland and Woods Richardson early in the season. But it still wouldn’t shock me to see the Twins add a veteran starter pitching on a minor-league deal.
Gleeman: It’s a tricky situation because how the Twins respond depends largely on how long DeSclafani will be sidelined and it’s difficult to know that yet. If he’s still on track for Opening Day, they don’t need to do anything. If he’s likely to miss at least some regular-season action, they could simply turn to Varland and reassess whenever DeSclafani returns. But if DeSclafani is out for an extended stretch, they need more veteran rotation depth.
Setting aside big names Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, the free-agent starter pool is very shallow. Michael Lorenzen is presumably out of the Twins’ price range, although who knows at this stage of the offseason. After him, the best (or maybe least bad) bets are probably Mike Clevinger or Rich Hill, or taking a flier on Noah Syndergaard, Vince Velasquez, Jake Odorizzi or Dallas Keuchel.
Varland, Woods Richardson, David Festa and other young arms are going to start plenty of games for the Twins this season, but they’d prefer not to have to rely on them right away.
Simeon Woods Richardson pitches a scoreless inning with a strikeout in his Spring Training debut💥#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/Nl72vpJoWc
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) February 26, 2024
Relief pitchers (8)
In: Jhoan Duran, Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, Justin Topa, Steven Okert, Jay Jackson, Jorge Alcala
Others on the 40-man roster: Josh Staumont, Kody Funderburk, Cole Sands, Zack Weiss, Josh Winder
Gleeman: Things can always change, and injuries have a way of scrambling plans, but right now the eighth and final bullpen spot looks like the only job on the roster that’s truly up for grabs this spring. Duran, Stewart, Jax, Thielbar and Topa, if healthy, are all locks. Okert, whose arrival since our last projection bumped fellow lefty Funderburk, is likely pretty close to a lock, as is Jackson. That leaves one opening.
We’re going with Alcala for now, mostly because he’s looked strong early in camp, consistently throwing 96-98 mph after back-to-back injury-wrecked seasons, but it could just as easily be Staumout. It’s also possible the Twins decide to go with a multi-inning option for the final spot, in which case Headrick and Sands would be in the mix as well. It could come down to the role they want filled.
This is one of the deepest bullpens the Twins have had in a long time, but pitchers still get hurt and even the healthy ones sometimes need time to round all the way into regular-season shape. In other words, the last bullpen spot is wide open.
Hayes: Leg injuries for pitchers can be tricky. Though he threw a bullpen session Friday, it’s worth keeping a close eye on Thielbar after he was sidelined by a left hamstring injury early in camp.
When healthy, Thielbar has been one of the Twins’ best relievers regardless of role during his second go-round with the team, striking out 215 in 174 innings with a 3.21 ERA. Thielbar turned 37 a month ago, which naturally brings up the aging question. But he is one of the team’s better athletes and again reported to camp in outstanding shape. Thielbar also possesses trade value at a spot where the Twins have very good depth after acquiring Okert and the emergence of Funderburk. He’s one of the team’s most asked-about players.
(Photo of Jhoan Duran, Carlos Santana and Christian Vázquez: Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins / Getty Images)
