To preface, everyone mentioned below deserves Major League Baseball opportunities in the future. However, given the Twins’ 4-8 start to the season, a change of scenery for these players this month would probably be best for all parties involved.
Who should lose their spot on the Twins' roster?
Christian Vázquez
Having a good veteran catcher is always a plus, but if he gets two hits in 19 at-bats, there’s no way his defensive or clubhouse value overweighs what he’s costing his team.
The Twins should move on from Vázquez and give Ryan Jeffers more starting opportunities at catcher. Jeffers is also struggling but put up All-Star caliber numbers two seasons ago and is a much more formidable force at the plate than Vázquez.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli clearly likes the value Vázquez brings from a defensive standpoint, but at this point, the team may as well give someone else an opportunity to catch along with Jeffers, especially given Vázquez is in the final year of his three-year, $30 million contract.
Mickey Gasper
Unfortunately, the Mickey Gasper experiment doesn’t appear to be working out for Minnesota. Despite his impressive 2025 spring training campaign, during which he hit .308/.417/.487, Gasper has looked lost at the plate ever since, striking out six times and collecting just one hit in 12 at-bats. Also, he made a fielding error that led to a run on Tuesday against Kansas City.
If the Twins didn’t have Brooks Lee coming back soon, there would be a better chance of Gasper keeping his spot on the roster. However, as a team with an ugly record but relatively high preseason expectations, Minnesota needs the potential of Lee, not a 29-year-old journeyman.
Gasper doesn’t fit well in Minnesota but probably would elsewhere. The Twins second baseman has a career .392 on-base percentage in the minor leagues, which is at least deserving of a real shot on a major league roster. A team with no plans to compete this season, like the Chicago White Sox or Colorado Rockies, could use a guy like Gasper, who might just need more time in the big leagues, as a potential breakout star and/or future trade piece.
Louie Varland
It appears Varland’s struggles from last season carried over to 2025.
Varland, a St. Paul native, gave up a run in three out of the six innings under his belt this season. The command and ability to induce strikeouts regularly are there, but Varland tends to leave pitches up in the zone too often, leading to his opponents' collective batting average of .333 this year.
With a move to the bullpen for Chris Paddack possibly in the cards for the future, Varland’s roster spot could be in jeopardy.
DaShawn Keirsey Jr.
Keirsey simply doesn’t get many playing opportunities, putting his spot on the roster in jeopardy. He and Gasper are on the roster in large part because of the injuries to Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis. And while the sample size is small, Keirsey has struck out four times in seven at-bats this year.
Once Lee and Lewis are healthy, Keirsey might be headed back to St. Paul.
Edouard Julien
It’s a sad sight to see Julien’s name on this list, but he clearly is a shell of the version of himself who posted a .840 OPS in 109 games two seasons ago. In 2025, he’s 5-for-25 with four singles and a double and hasn’t done what he does best: walk. Julien earned a free pass just once this year and holds a .499 OPS.
Julien was optioned to Triple-A after his struggles last year but still couldn’t produce when he returned to the Twins, hitting .199/.292/.323 in 266 at-bats the whole season.