Article: Surprises Mark Twins Opening Day Roster

[Coyner]

 

Reports out of Ft. Myers tell us that the Twins have made their final roster cuts and we know that - at least tentative - Opening Day roster. (Please note that the Twins have not made these moves official yet, so it is subject to some editing if we learn anything more.)

• Aderlin Mejia is the 5th starter.
• Tyler Duffey will pitch out of the bullpen.
• Chris Gimenez will be added to the 40-man roster and be the backup catcher.
• John Ryan Murphy was optioned.
• Byungho Park was reassigned to minor league camp. (as were JB Shuck, Matt Hague, Bengie Gonzalez, Ben Paulsen, and Eddy Rodriguez)
• It is not yet known whether Kennys Vargas has been optioned or whether he'll start the season on the Disabled List.

What does it all mean?In a strange and surprising decision, the Twins have decided to start the season with 13 pitchers.

Aderlin Mejia has won the fifth starter job, but Tyler Duffey is also on the roster. With two off days in the first nine days of the season, it's an interesting decision to go with 13 pitchers.

It certainly limits Paul Molitor's bench, but then again, it isn't as if there are guys on the roster that will be used as pinch hitters. The core of the lineup is comprised of guys that won't be pinch hit for. But it is limiting, no doubt.

With both Vargas and Park heading to AAA to start the season, it means that the Twins primary Designated Hitter will be Robbie Grossman (A move I discussed in our forums two weeks ago, and yet am a bit surprised about). If Park was on the 40-man roster, there would be no doubt that he would be on the roster, but since he isn't, many will be very surprised by the decision. He hit over .350 and hit six home runs. Though, as we always remind people, spring training stats don't matter.

So here is the Twins tentative Opening Day roster:

Starting Pitchers:
Ervin Santana
Hector Santiago
Kyle Gibson
Phil Hughes
Adalberto Mejia

Bullpen
Brandon Kintzler
Matt Belisle
Ryan Pressly
Taylor Rogers
Craig Breslow
Michael Tonkin
Justin Haley
Tyler Duffey
Ryan O'Rourke (DL)

Catchers
Jason Castro
Chris Gimenez

Infielders
Joe Mauer
Brian Dozier
Miguel Sano
Jorge Polanco
Eduardo Escobar
Ehire Adrianza (DL)

Outfielders
Eddie Rosario
Byron Buxton
Max Kepler
Robbie Grossman
Danny Santana

So there you have it. A long, extended (due to WBC) spring training is all-but-complete. We have our tentative Opening Day roster, and the team will soon travel to Minneapolis for Monday's Opening Day.

Why do I keep saying 'tentative Opening Day roster?' It is also likely that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are fielding phone calls from other teams or agents looking to find roster spots for their players.

In reality, it's possible the roster changes by April 3rd. It's also likely the roster is very different even within the next two or three weeks. In fact, John Bonnes flies out of Ft. Myers today, but he was able to be in the clubhouse this morning where he reported the following after the press met with manager Paul Molitor. Molitor referred to the roster as "short term."

 

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What do you think?

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[TheLeviathan]

 

Sure, sometimes situations out of their control prevent players from making a roster. Contracts, service time, roster spots, roster makeup play a factor. I never suggested otherwise.

 

But that wasn't the case with Chargois. Not even a little bit. It was his spot.

 

Actually, that's precisely what I said and you took issue with it.  

 

And I'm not convinced Chargois ever had a spot to lose.  This roster feels intentionally older and more floor-oriented than ceiling.

 

That's the exact opposite of the approach I'd like to see a 103 loss team take.

Edited March 30, 2017 by TheLeviathan

[drjim]

 

There is no faith in the pitching staff, or possibly a trade is in the works for one of the Twins starters. That is the only explanation.

 

I'll take Option A.

 

Wouldn't be stunned with a waiver claim tho.

[GP830]

Now I'm speculating on how many homers Park had to have hit this ST to have been considered for the opening day roster?

[clone52]

 

I honestly think if Park would have gotten a full season of AB's he could have hit .250 ish with 30 homers. Hoping he's up very soon. Disappointed that he didn't make the roster.

 

You think Park would have hit .310 the rest of the season?  That would have been a hell of a turnaround.

[Mike Sixel]

At the rate they are fixing problems, the Twins should be great in 15 years, assuming everyone they bring on is still good then....

 

On a more serious note, people keep typing the following:

 

"it's not a big deal, they can just cut him in a few weeks"

"no big deal, they'll make adjustments in a few weeks"

"they won't carry 13 pitchers for long"

 

How do you know any of this? All we can go on is their actual actions. Their actual actions were all about bringing in veterans, and keeping DanSan and 13 pitchers on the roster.

 

There is no evidence, at all, that decisions were driven by best performances, since none of the guys that were here before they came, that were not on the 40 man, made the roster. Only guys they acquired were added from off the 40 man. 

 

So, I guess what I'm saying is, we don't know at all what they are going to do, but we sure as heck know what they did. And what they did, so far, isn't pretty.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Grossman and Danny Santana baby!

Grossman and Santana? One of those guys will probably start Opening Day in left field, since the Twins will be facing a lefty and Rosario will be platooned. Oh and if we're facing a lefty that means Mauer will have to rest, Kepler comes in to play first base, so the other one starts in right field.

 

Wait, what?

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Looks like Gimenez at 1b.

I love that Gimenez owns a 1B mitt and has played a few games there in the past, but I hope that's not their 1B platoon partner for Mauer...

[Squirrel]

I wonder if a lot of this offseason and now this are directly tied to waiting to hire the new front office until after the World Series. They just don't know the players they're working with yet.

I don't think delaying decisions on players is not knowing them but rather not sure they want to lose them yet. I don't know. I'm just trying to come up with logical explanations that don't make me hurt so bad with disappointment.

[Vanimal46]

I'll take Option A.

 

Wouldn't be stunned with a waiver claim tho.

Agreed. I'll be interested to see if they do make a waiver claim or 2 in April while they have top priority.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I think the back up might be Grossman in the short term

Grossman has never played a professional inning at first base.  Has he been worked there this spring?

[Mike Sixel]

This team got older, with no ceiling to be good in a year or two. No chances at all are being taken on high upside players that weren't already on the 25 man roster. Indeed, they somehow managed to decrease the number of guys from the end of last year that were young with upside. On a 103 loss team...

[clone52]

 

That is a good observation.

 

Who is the backup 1B?  If the backup is the LHB Kepler, that probably doesn't bode well for platooning Mauer.  Or could it be Sano?  Has he taken any reps there this spring?  He only has 14 career pro innings at the position.

 

Not necessarily.  It sounds like Gimenez can play OF our  1B, so in theory, he could be the platoon with Mauer.  He's got much better splits againts lefties.

[drjim]

 

I love that Gimenez owns a 1B mitt and has played a few games there in the past, but I hope that's not their 1B platoon partner for Mauer...

 

I'm just going by media reports. 

 

I didn't mind giving Santana another shot as the 4th bench guy, but keeping him on this roster seems ill advised.

[Mike Sixel]

Somehow I am out of likes for the day. Now, I know that's not possible, since it is only 721 am here.....

[drjim]

 

Agreed. I'll be interested to see if they do make a waiver claim or 2 in April while they have top priority.

 

They might keep the coveted top waiver claim spot all season!

[Blackjack]

 

I would guess Kepler is the backup 1B, yes.

 

13 pitchers, with off days. Must be some kind of stat head nerd geek thing no else has thought of....

Did Kepler play any first base in spring training?

[alarp33]

 

Fwiw:

Danny Santana has -2.1 WAR over his last 160 games. That's not value, that's the opposite of value.

 

Only a 49 wRC+ and .567 OPS in his last 525 PA but thank God he has so much positional flexibility (ie; he owns multiple gloves)

Edited March 30, 2017 by alarp33

[Willihammer]

Incidentally Seth, he's still Adalberto Mejia right? Or did he switch to Aderlin?

[tobi0040]

What exactly has Paul Molitor accomplished as a manager that should give him any say whatsoever as to who should head north?

 

He has been no different than Ron Gardenhire. And by the looks of it our new FO looks a lot like Terry Ryan.

[drjim]

 

This team got older, with no ceiling to be good in a year or two. No chances at all are being taken on high upside players that weren't already on the 25 man roster. Indeed, they somehow managed to decrease the number of guys from the end of last year that were young with upside. On a 103 loss team...

 

It's opening day. It'll change fast. Their last day moves actually made them younger than expected. They'll still be around the 5th youngest roster on opening day. You might need some new material.

[Otto von Ballpark]

To focus on the positives:

 

Very exciting that Mejia made the rotation!

 

While I also wanted to see Duffey continue starting, I guess it will be nice to see him in the majors too.  Hopefully with Haley around, Duffey isn't just put into mop-up spots either.

[DaveW]

What exactly has Paul Molitor accomplished as a manager that should give him any say whatsoever as to who should head north?

 

He has been no different than Ron Gardenhire. And by the looks of it our new FO looks a lot like Terry Ryan.

That's not fair to gardy. Gardy was a great manager during his time here. It is clear that Gardy wasn't the main issue with the Twins, it was FO. Hiring a worse manager (Molitor) only compounds the problem IMO

[gunnarthor]

 

This team got older, with no ceiling to be good in a year or two. No chances at all are being taken on high upside players that weren't already on the 25 man roster. Indeed, they somehow managed to decrease the number of guys from the end of last year that were young with upside. On a 103 loss team...

I'm not sure it's fair to say they got older.  They have a roookie in the rotation and a rule v in the pen. And obviously they have a ton of young guys in the starting lineup.  Most of the complaining is that 30 year old Park is in AAA and 26 year old Santana is in the majors.  

 

I don't think they have the 25 best players on the roster right now but it's not age that's the problem.

[tobi0040]

And to add on.

 

I love that the new front office has assembled a pitching staff that they somehow have zero faith in AND has no upside prospects. That is an accomplishment. If you weren't going to have faith in them, maybe give me a little upside

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Incidentally Seth, he's still Adalberto Mejia right? Or did he switch to Aderlin?

Adderall Mejia.  His starts will be the ones to stay awake for and pay attention to.

[drjim]

 

To focus on the positives:

 

Very exciting that Mejia made the rotation!

 

While I also wanted to see Duffey continue starting, I guess it will be nice to see him in the majors too.  Hopefully with Haley around, Duffey isn't just put into mop-up spots either.

 

I suspect Duffey piggybacks on Hughes (or Mejia) to start the season. While I think he would be a good reliever, I hope they keep him stretched out before they change his role.

[Vanimal46]

I mentioned this in a thread yesterday and firmly believe this...

 

We wouldn't be talking about D Santana making the 25 man roster if Adrianza didn't get hurt. I think this glitch will be fixed as soon as he's off the DL.

 

The Gimenez move is baffling. Not sure why they don't trust JRM in a backup role.

 

Carrying 13 pitchers IMO is because there is minimal trust that Santiago, Hughes, or Mejia can make it 5 innings in a regular season start.

[Vanimal46]

Adderall Mejia. His starts will be the ones to stay awake for and pay attention to.

I mean, honestly he may actually be the only starter I care to watch at the moment.

[DaveW]

This team got older, with no ceiling to be good in a year or two. No chances at all are being taken on high upside players that weren't already on the 25 man roster. Indeed, they somehow managed to decrease the number of guys from the end of last year that were young with upside. On a 103 loss team...

Most damning of all is that in addition to not improving the 2017 team in any meaningful manner (Castro over Suzuki is maybe one win best case scenario) they also managed to NOT improve this team for the 2018-2020 seasons. By failing to trade any of Dozier, Santana etc or anyone really they have managed to more or less improve zilch overall.

 

Not

 

 

Good