Is Nick Gordon the 2019 second baseman?
It is no secret at this point that there is a big hole in the Twins clubhouse after the trade of Brian Dozier to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is a free agent at the end of the season so there was never any guarantee he was going to be with the Twins in 2019. Dozier now in Los Angeles does provide an opportunity for the Twins to see who might be filling his shoes in 2019 since it has never seemed that the front office had any desire of bringing him back on another deal.
The big question now is to find out if former first-round selection Nick Gordon is ready to take on a role with the major league club. Gordon began 2018 by tearing up the Southern League with Double-A Chattanooga. He batted .333/.381/.525 in 42 games before his promotion to Triple-A Rochester. Since in Rochester he has faced one of his first real challenges as a pro ball player.
In 68 games Gordon is only slashing .212/.240/.299. While we never want to see a top prospect scuffle, in all fairness Gordon is only 22-years-old and playing at four and a half years younger than the average player in his league. He has plenty of time to become a major league regular. The Twins will need to make an evaluation on whether he will be ready to help the major league club in 2019.
If Gordon isn’t ready for 2019 to take over a starting role, it seems safe to say the Twins starting second baseman likely isn’t on the roster right now. They could turn back to Dozier or Eduardo Escobar to try and fill out their infield. There will certainly be other infielders available and they will have the payroll to even pay for the top end of available players like Manny Machado.