Minnesota Twins: 4 Twins who should be ditched by the All-Star Break
By Otto Johnson
Minnesota Twins DFA Candidate No. 4: Nick Gordon
I’ll start this one off by saying that of the four players on this list, Nick Gordon does have a solid argument for remaining in Minnesota. He’s the only bench option that can play shortstop, and even though he’s not great there, he’s an average to above-average defender almost everywhere else.
On top of this, his Baseball Savant page reads very well, as he’s in the 73rd percentile or higher in several key batting areas. There’s something there for Gordon fans to like. Unfortunately, his overall body of work is hard to justify a roster spot.
He strikes out far too often for a player with his skill set (contact, no power), resulting in a decent batting average, but below average on-base numbers and a terrible slugging percentage. It’s why his OPS is so low (.698) and his OPS+ is the second-lowest of any non-catcher who has played 20+ games for the team. He’s often a black hole in the lineup.
Right now, the rest of the Twins lineup is set when everyone is healthy, and if they ride out the year with Gordon as the utility man, that would still be solid. The team might be better off with Spencer Steer spending time at second and third while Polanco plays an occasional short instead of Nick Gordon.