3 Twins players who can replace an injured Jorge Polanco

Nick Gordon

While there’s a case to be made for Solano to step up for most of Polanco’s absence, there’s a real argument to be made that he should platoon with Nick Gordon.

Gordon has fit all over the place in the lineup since he was called up back in 2021, and this is yet another opportunity for him to help in a time of injury need. While Solano provides a ton of help against left-handed pitching, Gordon can slide into the lineup against righties and be the flip side of the Polanco replacement coin.

Last season Gordon hit .289/.329/.465, which is better than how both Kyle Farmer and Donovan Solano fared against right-handed pitching last season. Farmer isn’t getting his own break out in this thought exercise, but he’s worth mentioning across the board as he is the sand that can fill the jar between the rocks of the guys mentioned.

Solano against lefties, Gordon against righties, and a little bit of Farmer sprinkled between feels like a super solid platoon that could turn Polanco’s injury into a blessing in disguise.

This probably won’t be a case like what the Minnesota Wild dealt with in the absence of Kirill Kaprizov, where the team filled the gap perfectly and somehow got better. It’s not a far off comparison in terms of expectations, though, as Gordon and Solano compliment each other really well offensively and might accidentally help the Twins realize the true depths of its bench talent and they type of lineups that Rocco can put together this season.