Austin Martin's path to the 26-man roster isn't so clear anymore
It once looked like he was almost certain to be in the mix for an Opening Day roster spot, but after the trade for Manuel Margot things are a little more complicated. Martin's somewhat clear path to the 26-man roster is a little murkier now, and it could be that we have to wait to see his debut until later in the season.
Martin projected to be depth behind Byron Buxton in centerfield, with the ability to platoon at shortstop behind Carlos Correa and Kyle Farmer. There's still value in that, but it now seemingly comes down to whether he's the odd-man-out or if that's Willi Castro.
Castro's ability to provide depth on the corners of the outfield might give him an edge over Martin, but it could also work out that neither player begins the year in the majors. With Margot coming over, he'll need not only a spot on the MLB roster but he's going to take someone's 40-man roster spot as well. Neither Castros nor Martin are in danger of getting removed, but Margot's arrival clogs up the big league pipeline a bit.
There's still a chance that Martin is in the mix for an Opening Day roster spot but Margot plugs a lot of the same gaps. Martin's not far off from getting called up, but instead of being on the roster when the Twins head to Kansas City at the end of March he might come up in a similar way that Edouard Julien did last season where an injury to opens up a spot for him to fill.