Who will join the Saints to open the 2025 season?

The active roster in MLB is 26 players until September, when the roster limit increases to 28. The rules in the minor leagues are slightly different, as 28 is the active roster limit in Triple-A.

Let's take a look at who may start with Triple-A St. Paul and provide depth to the Twins going into 2025.

In this exercise, I have Mike Ford exercising his opt-out. While the Twins could bring him back and push back his opt-out date, I do not have that happening for this exercise.

Also, if you are wondering where Louis Varland ended up, I think he will be on the Opening Day roster because there will be at least one bullpen arm that is not ready for the beginning of the season.

The bullpen is a fickle thing to predict and I think one of Brock Stewart or Justin Topa might not be ready, or Varland forces the issue during Spring Training and takes a spot over one of the other bullpen arms.

Catchers (4):

• Jair Camargo
• Diego Cartaya
• Patrick Winkel
• Alex Isola

Four catchers might seem like a lot for one level, but Isola will likely get some time at first base and in the outfield. The catchers also might serve as the DH to get some at-bats, as well, so there are options for this group.

Camargo has been the Twins' third catcher for the past few years, and as long as Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez are healthy, he will likely start the year at St. Paul and be on the short list of potential call-ups if an injury to one of the top catchers occurs.

Cartaya was acquired from the Dodgers earlier this offseason after being designated for assignment in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jose Vazquez. Cartaya will get an opportunity to play some and see if he can tap into the upside that made him an MLB top-20 prospect as recently as 2023.

Winkel has climbed up the minor leagues pretty steadily since being drafted in the ninth round in 2021 out of the Univesity of Connecticut.

Winkel mostly played behind the plate in 2023 and it will be interesting to see how he fits into that mix for the Saints. A left-handed hitter, Winkel hit .228/.280/.362 in 78 games played.

He will serve as depth behind a few other guys and might get some time at DH and possibly even first base, depending on where others end up.

Isola was a 29th-round draft pick by the Twins in 2019, and since that time, he has risen up in the minor league ranks. Isola plays behind the plate occasionally, but listing him as a catcher might be a stretch now.

He played six games as a catcher in 89 games between Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul. He played 26 games at first base and 39 in the corner outfield. He also served as the designated hitter 19 times.

While Isola can play behind the plate, he will likely get more time at other positions due to how many catchers are ahead of him on the depth chart.

Infielders (6):

• Luke Keaschall
• Mickey Gasper
• Yunior Severino
• Armando Alvarez
• Anthony Prato
• Will Holland

Keaschall is the Twins' No. 3 prospect behind Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez and is on the precipice of making his major league debut, provided he can stay healthy.

Keaschall's 2024 season ended early due to an elbow injury, but he thinks he will be ready by mid-March to play in the field. Keaschall is likely a long-term second baseman, but he can also fill in on left and center field. He has even played a little bit of shortstop going back to his college days at Arizona State.

One could list Gasper as a potential catcher, but when he was called up to make his major league debut with the Red Sox in 2024, he played second and first base.

Gasper earned his call-up after crushing Double- and Triple-A pitching (.970 OPS in 92 games). He got a cup of coffee with the Red Sox and did not get a hit in 13 games. If he hits Triple-A pitching like he did in 2024, he might emerge as an option off the bench for the Twins, depending on what else happens.

Severino made noise in 2023 when he combined for 35 HRs between Double- and Triple-A. He didn't show quite as much power in 2024, hitting 21 home runs with the Saints.

He's moved down the defensive spectrum since starting his professional career as a second baseman. In 2024, he mostly played first base, but also got a handful of games at third and in right field. He also got a good amount of games at DH.

His bat will carry him to the majors, and time will tell if he will play anywhere else with the Saints to start the year.

Alvarez, 29, was signed to a minor-league contract after electing free agency at the end of the year. Alvarez made his major league debut with the Athletics after crushing Triple-A pitching for a .967 OPS.

He's also shown some positional versatility but has mostly been a corner infielder for most of his career. He will likely serve as depth behind players like Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Ty France and other corner bats.

Anthony Prato has some positional versatility, playing in the corner outfield, and at second base, third base, and shortstop. He will serve as utility depth but is likely behind a handful of other guys when and if an injury occurs.

Will Holland played most of his games at shortstop and center field in 2024 and has shown the ability to play those positions adequately.

Holland can play multiple positions and has stolen bases throughout his minor league career. He had 32 stolen bases in 2022 and 30 in 2023. In 41 games in 2024, he stole 13 bases.

Could he serve in a similar role to Michael Helman at the end of 2024, notably playing defense and pinch-running late in games? It appears he may be an option in the future.

Outfielders (4):

• Emmanuel Rodriguez
• Austin Martin
• DaShawn Keirsey Jr.
• Carson McCusker

The only thing that will hold Rodriguez back is the injury bug. He sprained an ankle at the beginning of camp, so hopefully, that's not a sign for the upcoming year. Rodriguez is ranked No. 37 on MLB to start the year.

He can play center field but could move to a corner long-term. Rodriguez has shown huge raw power and very good pitch recognition (.932 OPS in his minor league career).

Martin will likely be one of the first position players called up, but he will spend most of his time as an outfielder going forward. He can play center field, but I would expect to see him in left field more often with the other guys on this roster.

Keirsey made his major league debut last year and will serve as outfield depth. His ability to play above-average defense and steal a base will always have some value, especially come the end of the year and in the postseason.

McCusker was signed out of independent ball this past year and rose as high as Triple-A. He showed good power, hitting 19 HR in 122 games with the Saints.

McCusker is a high-strikeout, high-power hitter and will get plenty of playing time in the outfield corners with the Saints this year.

Starting Pitchers (7):

• Zebby Matthews
• David Festa
• Travis Adams
• Marco Raya
• Randy Dobnak
• Andrew Morris
• Cory Lewis

Matthews and Festa both pitched in the big leagues down the stretch with mixed results. Matthews started the first spring training game and showed his velocity might have improved from last year.

Festa, with Matthews, will be the first guys called upon if the Twins need another starter.

Adams was added to the 40-man roster and was protected from the Rule-5 draft, so the Twins must have a specific plan for him. It will be interesting to see what type of role he has with the Saints.

Marco Raya has been handled with kid gloves early in his career but it appears this is the year he will be let loose to see if he can cement himself in the rotation plans for the future. Raya was called up to Triple-A at the end of the year and threw five scoreless innings while striking out four.

I've been high on Raya for the past few years, and I am excited to see how he continues to develop this coming season.

Dobnak is another guy with some major-league experience but might end up pitching out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever while starting a handful of games. A finger injury has slowed him down since his solid major-league debut.

Hopefully, he can provide solid depth and get another shot in the future to make a role for himself with the big league club.

Andrew Morris and Cory Lewis are both pitchers who you could say are part of the "pitching pipeline" that folks have been talking about.

Morris was drafted in the fourth round in 2022 out of Texas Tech and has had a solid minor league career, most recently going 10-5 with a 2.37 ERA over 133 innings in 2024.

Lewis was also drafted in 2022, in the ninth round, and has steadily climbed up to Triple-A. He has a deep pitch mix, throwing six different pitches, including a mid-80s knuckleball.

Expect to see him as a main cog of the Saints rotation this coming year.

Relief Pitchers (7):

• Huascar Ynoa
• Alex Speas
• Kody Funderburk
• Anthony Misiewicz
• Scott Blewett
• Ryan Jensen
• Erasmo Ramirez

There are some similarities to the starters here. Six of the seven relief pitchers listed have major-league experience. The bullpen depth goes beyond the major league level, and a handful of these guys will likely be riding the shuttle between Saint Paul and Minneapolis when a fresh arm is needed.

Ynoa is most known in Twins fandom as the prospect they traded for Jaime Garcia, who they then traded after one start. So in reality, Ynoa was traded for Dietrich Enns and Zack Littell. Ynoa has been injured since making his major league debut with the Braves and hasn't pitched in the majors since 2022.

Speas has pitched in the majors both of the last two years. He's had some control problems but has electric stuff, tallying 45 strikeouts in 29.2 innings at Triple-A in 2024.

Funderburk and Misiewicz will likely serve as depth behind Danny Coulombe as lefty relievers. Both have some major league experience, so it will not be shocking to see one, or both, of them at Target Field at some point over the summer.

Scott Blewett also has some major league experience, first being called up by the Royals in 2020 and pitching for the Twins in 2024. He had solid results for the Twins and will serve as depth, which every team can use, especially in the pitching department.

A former first-round pick by the Cubs, Jensen pitched the entire 2024 season with the Saints with some mixed results. He threw 56.2 innings in 44 games so he can serve as a multi-inning reliever. He has some control problems, but is a high-strikeout pitcher as well.

In those 56.2 innings, he had 50 walks, but also had 81 strikeouts in that time as well.

Ramirez is the last pitcher out of the bullpen and you likely have seen him throw for a variety of different teams. He came up as a starter but has been a multi-inning reliever more over the last handful of years.

If you are excited about watching any of these players, you can head over to CHS field in St. Paul and get tickets here.