4 biggest questions Twins need to answer in Spring Training
Spring Training is finally here, but the work is only just beginning for the Minnesota Twins.
With minimal activity this winter, the Twins will once again be leaning on in-house talent to try and improve the roster and build on the success of last season. The winter didn't pass without the team making a few moves, like signing Carlos Santana and Jay Jackson while trading away Jorge Polanco for Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa -- among others.
For the most part, though, the Twins laid off any big moves and opted to ride into the spring with its core players back and a crop of young prospects ready to make the jump. Last year's youth movement worked out pretty well, so here's to hoping the success can be repeated.
That's why this Spring Training will be so crucial for the Twins. Snapping a 19-year postseason losing streak was a fantastic way to end last season, but there are a few things the team still needs to figure out before the start of another.
4 biggest questions Twins need to answer in Spring Training
Who will be the Twins' No. 5 starter?
Right now here's the Twins' projected starting rotation:
- Pablo Lopez
- Joe Ryan
- Bailey Ober
- Chris Paddack
- ????
That fifth starter role could go a number of different ways, and the Twins will need to use Spring Training to figure it out.
Arguments could be made for fringe candidates like Simeon Woods Richardson or David Festa, but it seems that the race is likely down to Anthony DeSclafani and Louie Varland.
Varland figures to have the inside track since he's spent more time trying to fight for the role. He made his way into the starting rotation briefly last season, but didn't do enough to hold the position. He's one of a handful of top minor league players on the 26-man roster bubble and could still make the Opening Day roster as part of Minnesota's bullpen.
He might end up there if DeSclafani can come in and take care of business. The Twins acquired DeSclafani from the Mariners as part of the Jorge Polanco trade, and the idea was that he'd be a potential option at the back-end of the rotation. He started 18 games for the San Francisco Giants last season, finishing with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.254 WHIP. Varland projects to have a slightly higher WAR than DeSclafani but if the latter can tap into what he had a few years ago for the Giants then he's far and away the team's No. 5 starter if not more.
Back in 2021, DeSclafani finished with a 13-7 record and a 3.66 ERA that included two complete game shutouts. Most notably, he pitched 167.2 innings, which is exactly the sort of production the Twins need to replace what it lost in Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda.
Injuries have bogged him down, but if DeSclafani can start tapping back into his 2021 magic during Spring Training the decision will be an easy one for Minnesota.
When Will Brooks Lee get called up?
Last year Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien helped lead a youth movement that saw some of the Twins best young prospects make a big impact on the MLB roster. It seems we're in for a continuation of that, with Brooks Lee potentially headlining another fantastic rookie class for Minnesota.
Walker Jenkins jumped Lee as the Twins' top prospect in the farm system, but that's more of a commentary on how bright the future is than anything that went wrong. In fact, Lee's ascension has continued to stun at every turn as he's gone from a fast riser through the minor leagues to potentially being Major League ready by the time Opening Day rolls around.
That begs the question of when Lee will get called up and what role he'll play once he arrives.
It sounds like the answer to the first question is very soon. Even though he was drafted just two years ago, Lee made it all the way to Triple-A last September and has gone from a potential call-up candidate to a guy the team traded its All-Star second baseman to make room for. Jorge Polanco wasn't traded explicitly because of Lee's expected arrival, but he was a big part of the logjam of infield talent that needed to be accounted for.
That dovetails into the conversation about where he'll play. He projects to be a second baseman, with better defensive skills than Julien. He could also be depth behind Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis, as the Twins are expected to try him out at those positions this spring.
It seems like a matter of when, not if, Lee will get called up. He was a non-roster invite to Spring Training and the Twins have to use that time to figure out where he best fits into the lineup.
Will the Twins sign a right-handed hitting outfielder (and who)?
So much has been made of the frustratingly quiet winter the Twins had. Despite needing to make moves, the team opted to use lost future revenue as a crutch to hardly spend any money on roster improvements, but there's still time to rectify that.
There's also a pretty notable need that must be addressed as well. It doesn't seem like the Twins will be tinkering much with the starting pitching market, so all attention should be turned to finding a right handed hitting outfielder to help fill out depth on the corners.
Minnesota will likely lean on in-house talent to fill depth behind Byron Buxton, but things are a bit different behind Matt Wallner and Max Kepler.
Two names who keep popping up in this conversation are Adam Duvall and Tommy Pham. Both are talented right handed hitters and neither has found work elsewhere in the league yet. Duvall struggles with strikeouts but would provide some nice power to the lineup, while Pham was on the Twins radar at the trade deadline before heading out to Arizona where he helped the Diamondbacks reach the World Series.
While nothing has come of the rumors so far, the market feels like it's starting to settle in the right place to the Twins to make a move. Arizona signed Randal Grichuk to a $2 million deal, worth up to $6 million with incentives, which feels like the type of contract the Twins can feel good about handing to either Duvall or Pham.
Time will tell if the front office feels the same way, but it's worth mentioning that the Twins signed Donovan Solano to a fantastic deal around this time last year.
Is Austin Martin going to make the Opening Day roster?
Brooks Lee is by far the most exciting prospect the Twins will be testing out during Spring Training, but don't sleep on what Austin Martin could do.
Martin was a non-roster invite last spring but arrives at Fort Myers as part of the 40-man roster and is hoping to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster when all is said and done. The Twins are hoping for the same thing, as Martin helps solve a few different problems without the team needing to do much more than call him up.
Aside from starting pitching, the biggest area the Twins needed to address was depth behind Byron Buxton in centerfield. All signs point to him being fully healthy this year, but Minnesota needs a plan in place if things go haywire again. Even if they don't, Buxton won't play 162 games and having Martin platooning with him out in center feels like a potential dream pairing.
There's also the potential for Martin to fill in on the left side of the infield. Both Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis battled injuries last season, and Martin can play both shortstop and third base in a hybrid utility role with his duties out in center. He's also a right-handed hitter, which helps Minnesota's quest to fill that need as well.
Martin came over as part of the Jose Berrios trade back in 2021, but injuries have slowed his ascent. We've heard that story before, though, and no one would mind if he followed in the footsteps of the last top prospect who bounced back from injuries that bogged him down.
He's already on the 40-man roster, which means a solid spring from Martin would make it an easy decision for the Twins to make him part of the crew that heads to Kansas City to start the season.
More Minnesota Twins news and rumors
feed