My guess would be

Santana

Gibson

Hughes

Milone

Nolasco

 

Perkins

Jepson

May

Fien

Abad

Pressley

O'Rourke or Tonkin

 

Mauer

Dozier

Plouffe

Escobar

Nunez

Park (dh)

 

Buxton

Rosario

Sano

Santana

Arcia

 

Suzuki

Murphy

 

Id actually like to see Centino or Hicks as that backup catcher for the first month of the season just to get Murphy regular PT.  Then bring him up in May.  Suzuki wont be all worn down the first month of the season, so he wont need as many days off until they get into the warmer months of the season.  Also Centino looks pretty good stat wise, 4 extra base hits in 15 at bats.  Not bad

 

Also, there will be tons of turnover during the season, there always is.  Heres to hoping that Buxton doesn't need to be sent down halfway through the season a la Aaron Hicks, etc....

I like the depth in AAA. Kepler and Polanco can come up and start in several positions. Vargas can tear it up and force his way onto the roster. Catching as a whole has more depth with Murphy, Hicks and Centino replacing Herrmann and Fryer.

 

Berrios and Duffey give depth and upside when a starter is needed and there are some strong arms very close to ready in the bullpen.

Terry Ryan confirmed that the 13 hitters listed will be up... including Buxton.

 

Buxton starts the season and bats ninth? Or lead-off?

 

Arcia is the bat off the bench. In a pinch, Nunez and Santana can supposedly play the outfield, too.

 

Tonkin gets the magic coupon and stays on the roster. But if he doesn't produce, and the Twins need to flip out Buxton for, say, Mastro, then Tonkin is the odd body to go.

 

Barring an injury, the Twins really don't have many names to remove on the 40-man roster. Tonkin is one. Pat Dean is another. Then you start getting into Landa, O'Rourke, Pressle, Graham, Rogers or letting go Fien if he doesn't stay consistent. Or even Polanco or Vargas. But besides the first two mentioned, you pretty much WANT to keep everyone else, barring a trade. (The Twins have some hard 40-man decision for 2017).

 

So picture some of the raw talent pitchers seeing action if someone goes on the short-term DL. And Polanco, Vargas and Kepler are it for minor league position player call ups!

Boy it would do the lineup a boatload of good if Buxton magically became a stud leadoff hitter. the whole lineup could slide down,

 

So picture some of the raw talent pitchers seeing action if someone goes on the short-term DL. And Polanco, Vargas and Kepler are it for minor league position player call ups!

And the catchers at AAA.

I'm asking those of you who have been in Fort Myers--has Centano been as impressive as I have seen? I don't know about his defense either, but he's had good ABs and hits lefty. He's gone from off the radar to the last cut,so he certainly has upped his profile.

If Buxton starts the year in AAA, which I don't think will happen, I could see Mastroianni getting the start in center.

The Maestro is not actually a very good CFer, from all the reports I recall seeing. He's merely serviceable in the field, and since his bat is below par, it's tough to see him getting enough playing time to be a starter even on a temporary basis.

Id actually like to see Centino or Hicks as that backup catcher for the first month of the season just to get Murphy regular PT.  Then bring him up in May. 

That's assuming Murphy is batting north of .230 in AAA by May, which at the moment doesn't seem like a sure bet...

 

 

The Maestro is not actually a very good CFer, from all the reports I recall seeing. He's merely serviceable in the field, and since his bat is below par, it's tough to see him getting enough playing time to be a starter even on a temporary basis.

I agree but it's something that wouldn't have surprised me.  Now it's all a moot point anyway.

 

Is it opening day yet?

 

The Maestro is not actually a very good CFer, from all the reports I recall seeing. He's merely serviceable in the field, and since his bat is below par, it's tough to see him getting enough playing time to be a starter even on a temporary basis.

 

I would have trusted him defensively over Santana in CF.  They both likely wouldn't have hit.  Thankfully we have Buxton. 

Why do we care about the backup center fielder? We all remember the Twins' left fielder is also a natural center fielder, right? Santana can spot start in the field and if something happens to Buxton, Eddie can slide 100 feet to his left.