4 players who could steal Opening Day roster spots for the Twins

We're officially in the thick of Spring Training, as everyone has reported and games are starting to get underway. The Minnesota Twins opened things up on Friday with a game against the Gophers but things will truly start to count on Saturday with a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As such, players who are on the roster bubble will begin to be presented with opportunities to prove that they deserve a 26-man roster spot on Opening Day. We have a pretty good idea of what the bulk of that roster will look like, but it's far from being fully set.

Things remain fluid at the fringes, and a few guys could end up stealing an Opening Day roster spot if they can put together a solid enough spring.

4 players who could steal Opening Day roster spots for the Twins

Jorge Alcalá

Heading into this season the Twins will count bullpen as one of its key strengths, with FanGraphs ranking it as a top unit in the entire league. While largely neglecting additions to the starting rotation, Minnesota went out of its way to fortify the bullpen by adding guys like Josh Staumont, Jay Jackson, and Justin Topa.

One of the most impactful players could be someone who was already here: Jorge Alcalá.

Minnesota loves to find players who have run into some bad injury luck but have high enough upside that they could pay off as low-risk gambles. Alcalá is homegrown in that regard, as he showed insane levels of promise back in 2021 before suffering an injury that wiped out his 2022 campaign and forced him into the category of caveated pitchers who could be good if they can just stay healthy.

He's already seen MLB action, getting called up back in 2019 but truly making a mark three years later when he posted a 3.55 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 83 2/3 innings across 75 appearances for the Twins. He was looking to be a fixture in the bullpen after what he didn't between 2020 and 2021 but an injury ended his season after just two appearances in 2022 and he's been battling back ever since.

Aaron Gleeman wrote a glowing piece recently about how Alcalá seems to be on his way back, which means this spring could be huge for him getting back into the mix. His fastball velocity seems to be back,

If he can tap back into the pitcher he was at the start of the decade -- a guy who posted a 1.042 WHIP -- an already highly-touted Twins bullpen going to border on being potentially elite.

Brooks Lee

This one is pretty obvious, but Brooks Lee belongs on lists like this until he actually gets a roster spot. The good new is that he continues to outperform expectations and is on a fast track to making is debut before too long.

Lee was drafted just two years ago, and since then has been a fast riser through the Twins system. He's done so carrying the weight of being the Next Guy, and he has a chance to show everyone he has what it takes to carry the mantle this spring. Last year he went from a guy who could reach Triple-A to firmly getting there by September, and has now become a prospect who might get called up this season to vying quite seriously for a 26-man roster spot.

While he wasn't the sole reason, Lee's expected arrival contributed to an infield logjam that resulted in Jorge Polanco getting traded. He's also been increasingly teased as a call-up candidate with reports indicated he's nearly MLB-ready.

Everything we've seen so far would suggest those reports are not misguided.

He slashed .275/.347/.461 between stints in Wichita and St. Paul last year, which isn't world class production but the type of stuff that shows the sort of promise he has. A lot of his struggles have come due to the stress of pushing him through the farm system, which is something his Spring Training campaign will shed more light on.

Lee is a popular pick to make the Opening Dar roster, but the Twins are in the infancy of their schedule and there's a lot of runway left before decisions need to be made.

Lee no doubt has the makings of being an important piece of the future, but that's what we're hoping to learn more about over the next month. He's not a shoo-in to get a roster spot, but the foundation is there and he doesn't need to build a lot to once again exceed expectations when it comes to his ascension.

David Festa

If there's been a theme this offseason for the Twins it's pitching depth, and that's going to be a focus in Spring Training. With the team failing to properly replace Sonny Gray via free agency or trade, the task of filling the void falls on the in-house talent the team has been hyping up all offseason.

We've heard this song before, as talent already on the team was justification Minnesota's front office used to explain why the team didn't make any moves at the trade deadline. Now that we've gone an entire offseason without a notable pitching addition, that same reasoning is being trotted out -- and there's admittedly some merit to it.

David Festa is at the front of the line for players bubbling under the Major League surface who could soon have a massive impact on the roster. He's the No. 4 prospect in the organization, according to The Athletic, and is the top pitching prospect next two Marco Raya.

Between the end of July and beginning of September last year, Festa posted a 2.40 ERA and a 35 percent strikeout rate across 30 innings of work and went 9-4 with a 2.43 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings back in 2022.

That's the sort of stuff that has rightly put him on the radar for potentially getting onto the big league roster this season, and more of that in Spring Training could make a compelling argument to get him on the Opening Day roster.

It's a long shot, but the Twins need to find pitching depth before it truly becomes a need. Taking a chance on Festa fits the general vibe the team has of hoping in-house candidates can band together and replace what was lost with Gray and Kenta Maeda leaving in free agency.

The No. 5 starter role is a wide open competition, even if Anthony DeSclafani has the inside track, and if Festa can prove himself in Fort Myers then it might be hard to keep him off the roster in April.