Minnesota Twins: 5 Goals for the Twins as the Season Winds Down

Minnesota Twins September Goal No. 4: Get Young Players on the Field, Get the Veterans off of it

This feels like it should be common sense for a team that is out of the playoff hunt, but apparently it still needs to be said. Stop giving playing time to veterans who aren’t important to the team’s future and see what the youth can offer.

Every inning that Rob Refsnyder or Jake Cave gets prevents the Twins from seeing if Brent Rooker can ever be anything. No one should kid themselves into thinking Refsnyder or Cave will be an important part of this team going forward, but Rooker could be.

Even if Rooker ends up being a bust, I’d still rather see a younger unknown than a player who likely will be off the roster within the next year. As fun as Refsnyder has been, both he and Cave fit into that category.

The same can be said in the infield. Willians Astudillo has played in 65 games this year. Nick Gordon has played in 54. Gordon will likely never live up to his billing as a Top 5 draft pick, but he can play second, shortstop, left field, third base, and center field and is a capable clutch hitter. That sounds like a solid bench player for the future. I’d rather see him than Astudillo.

It’s hard for teams to continue to trot out young players, but teams going through rebuilds (Detroit, Baltimore Orioles) no to bring out young talent more than veterans who aren’t a part of the team’s future. The Twins should try that right now.