Over the course of the past few weeks, I’ve been providing a rundown on who the Twins will have in Spring Training camp at each position, including projected starters and backups, as well as long shots to make the Opening Day roster.

July 4, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Chris Parmelee (27) runs the bases after hitting a home run as Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera reacts during the fifth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

More than half of the Twins positional starters are basically set in stone, but we’ll take a look at the contenders where there is competition; many of the more interesting battles in camp will play out for backup spots as the spring progresses. And while even a strong camp will still mean relegation to the minors for a lot of these guys, they’ll be just an injury away from seeing time with the Twins at some point over the course of the season.

So far, we’ve run down the catchers, first, second and third base, shortstop, left field and center field. Today, we’ll look at the competition in right field before finishing up with the pitchers later this week.

PROJECTED STARTER: Chris Parmelee
Parmelee posted mediocre numbers in the minors, but followed up an impressive September call up by the Twins in 2011 with a solid spring training last year and ended up an Opening Day starter in 2012. He struggled out of the gate last year, was demoted, called back up to the Twins to basically ride the pine, then absolutely crushed in his first taste of AAA after being sent back down to Rochester. Parmelee had hits in 11 of 12 games since being recalled in late August of last year, including three home runs, raising his average from .204 to .250 before cooling off at the end of the season. The hope is that, with consistent playing time, Parmelee can put it all together in 2013.

Mar 19, 2011; Glendale, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Brandon Boggs bats during a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

I covered a couple of different scenarios of how the center field competition could play out for the Twins in my center field spring training preview, but what it boils down to is that I expect Darin Mastroianni to begin the season as the team’s starter in center, and Aaron Hicks coming north once the Twins are assured of an extra year of team control with the stud prospect. At that point, Mastroianni will resume providing outstanding value to the club as a fourth outfielder, but I think Boggs has the best chance of breaking camp as the team’s outfield backup; you can read my write up on Boggs here. Ryan Doumit could also see some time here over the course of the season.

March 16, 2011; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Wilkin Ramirez (30) during a spring training exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

LONG SHOTS

Aug 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau (33) during the game against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark. The Rangers won 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

More than half of the Twins positional starters are basically set in stone, but we’ll take a look at the contenders where there is competition; many of the more interesting battles in camp will play out for backup spots as the spring progresses. And while even a strong camp will still mean relegation to the minors for a lot of these guys, they’ll be just an injury away from seeing time with the Twins at some point over the course of the season.

Earlier this week, we ran down the catchers in camp. Today, we’ll look at the options at first base as we move our way around the diamond over the course of Spring Training.

PROJECTED STARTER: Justin Morneau

After injury-plagued campaigns in 2010 and 2011, Morneau returned to a semblance of respectability at the plate last year, finishing the season with a slash line of .267/.333/.440. His overall numbers were boosted by a strong stretch after the All-Star break–following a slow start to the season–and it’s Morneau’s second half numbers that give the Twins and their fans reason to hope for improved production from the former MVP going into 2013.

PROJECTED BACKUPS: Joe Mauer, Chris Parmelee

September 16, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) during the game against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. The White Sox defeated the Twins 9-2. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

We discussed Mauer a couple of days ago with the catchers, and we’ll take a closer look at Parmelee when we get to right field, but both of these players will see time at first base this spring and into the season. As 2012 showed, Mauer is a respectable defensive first baseman, and cutting down his games behind the plate allowed him to stay in the lineup for a career-high 641 plate appearances last year. Morneau is in the last year of his contract and there are a number of high-upside outfielders in the Twins organization on the brink of the Majors, so Parmelee will almost assuredly move from right field back to his natural position of first base as early as the All-Star break.

LONG SHOTS

Chris Colabello is a great human-interest story for the club, signing last year out of independent ball, and raked in both AA New Britain and the Mexican League. At 29, he’s an older prospect with a relatively low ceiling and moderate floor, so he makes sense as a potential bat off the bench this season. Still, while it may not be the sexiest spot on the 25-man roster, solid, reliable, effective and cost-controlled pinch hitters aren’t the easiest thing to find, so it stands to reason that the Twins will look for Colabello to continue his development in AAA this season with an eye on 2014 and beyond. Injuries, trades or a lack of development by stud outfielders in the minors could still give Colabello a shot as a stop-gap starter in the Majors at some point in 2013. Jeff Clement is a converted catcher and former top prospect in the Seattle organization who signed on as a minor-league free agent over the winter.

CONCLUSION

There’s no real competition here, but the Twins will be looking ahead to moving Parmelee to first base full time after Morneau’s situation is resolved. How will it be resolved? If the team can get anything decent for Morneau before the trade deadline, I think he’s gone. If not, I think they let him walk at the end of the season: facing a rebuilding year, moving Morneau for scraps during the season could alienate the fan base and precipitate a PR nightmare. On the flip side, having Colabello in a Twins uniform could be a PR boost for the club, and I fully expect to see him up for a cup of coffee in September, if not sooner.

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August 14, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Kevin Correia (29) reacts after giving up two runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning at PNC Park. The Los Angeles Dodgers won 11-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Why signing Kevin Correia for two years makes sense.

My brother got a raincoat for Christmas this year. If you’ve ever worn a raincoat while biking or hiking around in the spring, you know that a poor quality raincoat can leave you just as damp as if you were wearing nothing at all. A well-made raincoat is actually a pretty nifty piece of engineering.

But my brother didn’t want a raincoat, he wanted a parka. Or new boots. Or a nice pair of choppers. He had asked for this raincoat last spring, but right now he just wanted something to keep him warm. There’s no way that raincoat is going to keep him toasty this winter, and he’s going to have to wait a few months to really put his Christmas present to use.

We all wanted the Twins to sign a big-name free agent starting pitcher this off season, but instead we got Kevin Correia under the Christmas tree. Kevin Correia is not going to keep us warm this winter. He’s not going to lead a rotation, even one as bad as the Twins’. But if we can have a little patience and put it in perspective, I truly believe this signing will pay big dividends for this team in the long run.

We’ve got a pretty good idea of what we’re getting with Correia, right? A back-end starter, plain and simple. But every potential starter in the Twins rotation other than Correia has major question marks surrounding him coming into the season. Let’s take a look:

• Scott Diamond had minor off-season surgery and will probably regress from 2012

• Vance Worley had surgery in September and may have difficulty transitioning from the NL

• Kyle Gibson has pitched a total of 6.2 innings above high-A since returning from Tommy John surgery

• Mike Pelfrey is returning from Tommy John surgery and is switching leagues

• Liam Hendriks has struggled in the Majors to this point, particularly with consistency

• Rich Harden has had a rash of injuries the past few years, and would need to be on an innings limit if starting

With this mess of injuries, inning limits and other question marks, the Twins are going to need a solid long reliever. In fact, looking at the second half of 2013 and into 2014, the Twins may be more in need of a long reliever than any other team in baseball. That’s when we can expect to start seeing the likes of Trevor May and BJ Hermsen, and possibly Alex Meyer breaking into the big leagues.

In an ideal world, 2014 will see five talented but young pitchers in the Twins rotation, some sort of mix of Diamond, Worley, Gibson, Hendricks,

July 2, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire (35) takes the ball from starting pitcher Liam Hendriks (62) during the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

May, Meyer and Hermsen. Young pitchers get to the majors early because they have the talent to get the job done. But they also tend to be inconsistent.

That’s where signing Correia for two years really starts to make sense. Someone like, say, Trevor May might be lights-out one night, but get knocked out after three innings in his next start. With so many young pitchers, these short starts could easily become a semi-regular occurrence.

Who do you want going out to the mound in the third or fourth inning on a semi-regular basis to try to give a bunch of young batters a chance to put some crooked numbers up and steal a win, Anthony Swarzak? No thanks. Don’t get me wrong, I like Swarzak, but consistency is not his strong suit. A veteran presence on a young team will help when these young starters undoubtedly get beat up early in some games.

Kevin Correia has experience as a reliever, and has actually put up decent numbers in that role. Not great, but decent, and he’s been pretty consistent, which is the sort of thing that comes with experience. Through the first four innings, Correia sports a career ERA of 4.00. I can live with that from a long reliever. It’s after those first four innings that he starts to fall apart.

I want Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia, Chris Parmelee and company to feel that they have a chance to turn a game around when the going gets tough, and I believe that’s where Correia will show his true value. Like it or not, the Twins are going to have an increasing number of young, talented position players learning on the job in the big leagues, and the importance of confidence for young hitters―the mental part of the game―shouldn’t be underestimated.

Look, if Kevin Correia ends up in the starting rotation for the next two years, then it’s going to be a very long two years. But if he ends up as our long reliever sometime around the middle of 2013 and beyond, he could be exactly what this team needs. As cold as it is right now, the spring rain isn’t too far off, and my brother bikes everywhere he goes. It’s all about perspective and a little patience. The Twins just need Kevin Correia to get in where he fits in.

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