3 Minnesota Twins who won't make the Opening Day roster but could still have an impact in 2023
As the Minnesota Twins prepare for Spring Training, a number of questions will need to be answered before Opening Day rolls around.
None of them have easy answers, and here's a chance the season starts with some loose ends still dangling. The situation at first base ranks high on that list, as the health of Alex Kirilloff is a linchpin to either solid consistency or a hole that springs a leak in the lineup.
Among the things that will be interesting to watch develop is who will and won't make the final cut for the Opening Day roster. The entire 40-man roster will be in Fort Myers, as well as the most non-roster invitees the Twins have brought to camp in three years.
Unfortunately, not everyone who comes to camp is going to make the cut but that doesn't mean the story of their season ends there. Something to keep tabs on this Spring are guys who won't be on the roster when the season starts but could still have an impact on the Twins at some point later in the year.
Bailey Ober, P
As far back as I can remember, the Twins have always had pitching problems.
It's not exactly Goodfellas, but the Twins pitching situation has been far from a masterpiece despite the team's best efforts. Going back to the 2000s, the Twins have been searching for the right pitching combination even though there have been some intriguing options on paper.
Fans can rattle off a list of Pitchers Who Were Promised: Scott Baker, Kyle Loshe, Francisco Liriano, and Jose Berrios. All of those guys had varying degrees of success but for one reason or another they all failed to live up to expectations.
Then there's the constant search to add the right veteran mixture: Carl Pavano, Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana, and Chris Archer to name a few. Again, varying degrees of success but never at the same time or at the right moments.
Once again the Twins come into the season with what feels like an embarrassment of riches at starting pitching, but fans know better than to get too excited. Talk of a six-man rotation is exciting, but the Twins might need to do it to keep everyone healthy which instantly changes the mood. Even in a six-man rotation
All of this is to say Bailey Ober is a fine young pitcher who might find himself at Triple-A to start the season. He spent time in the Twins rotation last year but much of that was out of necessity rather than Ober being ready. Still, he showed some potential and could be tabbed as the next-man-up if something should happen to one of Minnesota's starters.
There's also an outside chance he's added to the bullpen at some point in the season. Minnesota has dug its heels in against adding a free agent arm to the pen, but fans know the unit is anything but a sure-thing. If someone struggles and a move needs to be made, Ober could find himself in line to make it back to the Majors through that pipeline as well.
Royce Lewis, SS
This is a little unfair to Lewis, but the fact of the matter is he almost certainly won't be on the Twins Opening Day roster. Lewis will be at Spring Training but he's still recovering from an ACL injury that prematurely ended his season in 2022 and will likely hit the 60-day IL once camp closes at the end of March.
Lewis is a comeback story waiting to happen. After two devastating ACL injuries derailed his ascension to the Twins lineup, this season is gearing up to finally be the one where fans get a good taste of what he can offer in the lineup.
One thing that immensely helped Lewis was the return of Carlos Correa. Without the pressure to step right into an everyday role at shortstop, Lewis can both take his time in recovering while both learning from Correa and testing his utility range.
Minnesota is rich with young shortstops who could succeed Correa, but Lewis was once looked at as the next in line. The Twins don't need any more outfielders either, for that matter, but Lewis has spent time with that unit as well and done so successfully. If he can bounce back from his ACL injury, there's absolutely a place for him on the roster and somewhere defensively. Think of him as a guy Joe Maddon would have fawned over in Chicago, not unlike how he used guys like Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant at the corner of the infield as well as the corner of the outfield.
If everything comes together for Lewis, he can be a true utility man for the Twins and have an impact all over the field in 2023. We still haven't yet gotten the completely healthy Royce Lewis experience -- and we won't get a full season of him this year -- but if he's in the lineup it's hard to see him not having an impact.
Edouard Julien, 2B
Julien's ascension this offseason has been wild to watch. He was already a fast rising prospect in the Twins farm system, but he was added to the 40-man roster over the winter in a move that seems to signal his Big League debut might be in the near future.
Since Julien is on the 40-man roster, he'll be in Fort Myers this spring and the Twins will get their first good look at what he can offer. The team already knows he offers a ton, as he slashed .300/.441/.490 and 17 home runs at Double-A Wichita last season. That's up from a .267 average, with 144 strikeouts and a 28 percent strikeout rate the year before.
Not only did Julien take a step forward year-over-year, but his ability to adjust his game the way he did is a good sign that he'll be able to handle Major League pitching and adjust his game further.
He's also fresh off dominating the Arizona Fall League where he won Breakout Player of the Year. His performance there is what prompted the Twins to add him to the 40-man roster in November.
Barring something massive happening -- none of which would be good -- Julien will start the year in the minors. He may not stay there long, though, as the Twins have already stated that he could be a part of the team's plans as soon as this upcoming season.
“He took major steps forward,” Derek Falvey, Minnesota’s President of Baseball Operations said of Julien back in the fall. “He’s always been a pretty good hitter. We knew that he had good plate discipline — he knows the strike zone and will take his walks — and this year he learned how to get his bat to the ball more efficiently, and more consistently.”
An impressive Spring Training can go a long way in convincing the front office that he should be one of the next men up and he could be playing meaningful innings for the Twins late in the summer as they try to make it back to the Postseason.