The Minnesota Twins against all odds are in line to appear in the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Just who will be making the playoff roster?
Before games start on Friday, September 22 the Minnesota Twins find themselves in the 2nd wild-card spot. Which at this point seems incredible after they were just swept by the New York Yankees who are now 6.5 games ahead of the Twins for the top wild-card position.
While the Twins sit 2.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers, the playoffs in 2017 are not a certainty but it is seeming more realistic each day. If the Twins are able to stay where they are in the standings they will be a playoff participant for the first time since the 2010 season.
As the standings are currently constructed the Twins will face that familiar playoff foe, the Yankees, just like they did in 2010. It was in that series the Yankees swept the Twins out of the playoffs 3-0. And after the most recent series, it certainly feels like history is doomed to repeat itself and the Yankees will deal the Twins another playoff exit.
The big difference between 2017 and 2010 is the playoff format. Instead of a 5 game series, the Twins will only have a one-game playoff to battle the Yankees in. Meaning the Twins only need one good game against the Yankees and they can continue into the next round of the playoffs. For the moment we will try and forget that all they need is one bad game and they will head home once again.
As playoff fever starts to become very present amongst Twins fans we can now start to speculate on who might make the Twins’ playoff roster and reverse the losing trend when facing the Yankees. There are some difficult decisions that the Twins’ leadership will have to make. Especially since playoff rosters take on a different feel than regular season rosters do. Beginning with the starting lineup we will take a look at the Twins’ roster options.