Should Twins Fans Be Worried About Designated Hitter Production in 2022?

[Cody Christie]

Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson, and Mitch Garver are no longer with the Minnesota Twins. Does that mean Twins fans should be worried about DH production this season?

In recent years, Nelson Cruz was penciled in as the team's primary designated hitter, and he performed at a high level in this role. Throughout the offseason, the Twins planned to rotate through various players in the DH role, but there has been a roster turnover since the lockout ended. Here are some of the names expected to fill the DH role in 2022. 

Gary Sánchez
2021 Stats: .204/.307/.423 (.730), 13 2B, 23 HR, 121 K, 117 G
It seems likely for Sánchez to get the majority of his at-bats in the DH role this season because he is atrocious behind the plate. Sánchez has played 74 games as a DH for his career while hitting .224/.306/.469 (.775) with 11 doubles and 19 home runs. If Ryan Jeffers misses time or struggles, Sánchez will be pressed into service behind the plate. He's also in his final year of team control, and he likely wants to hit the market known for being a catcher and not just as a DH. There is an outside chance that Minnesota will include Sánchez in a trade before Opening Day, and then the team will have to turn to other DH options. 

Miguel Sanó
2021 Stats: .223/.312/.466 (.778), 24 2B, 30 HR, 183 K, 135 G
Expectations were for Sanó to be used more regularly at the DH spot this season with Cruz out of the picture. Since switching to first base, he's made marginal defensive improvements, but SABR's SDI ranks him as the second-worst defensive first baseman. Also, Sanó isn't a stranger to the DH position as he's played nearly as many games at DH (155) as first base (195). He has a .753 OPS as the DH for his career, which is lower than when he plays a defensive position. Minnesota has a $14 million team option attached to Sanó with a $2.75 million buyout for next season. That's a steep price to pay for someone that has shifted to a more regular DH role. 

Brent Rooker
2021 Stats: .201/.291/.397 (.688), 10 2B, 9 HR, 70 K, 58 G
Rooker has run out of things to prove in the minor leagues as he has a .932 OPS in nearly an entire season at Triple-A. The 27-year-old was used sporadically at the big-league level in 2020-21, and a DH role might be his best shot to earn a permanent role. Last season, he lost out on an Opening Day roster spot because the team was concerned with his defensive ability in the outfield. Those concerns likely remain, but Rooker is already behind the aforementioned names, and he may be relegated to a bench role this season. 

Other Options
All three players mentioned seem to fit the prototypical DH mold, but others on the Twins roster will have the opportunity to fill the DH spot. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has preached a mantra around giving players adequate rest, including moving a regular position player to the DH role for the day. Four outfielders currently project to make the Opening Day roster, so one of those players could fill in at DH on any given day. 

Besides the outfielders, Luis Arraez and Jorge Polanco have played through in-season injuries in the past. A day at DH may take some of the wear and tear off their knees (Arraez) and ankles (Polanco). Jose Miranda is also coming off a tremendous season, but he doesn't have a clear roster spot this spring. Would the team consider bringing him up to get at-bats in a DH role? Some other powerful prospects like Matt Wallner and Aaron Sabato are also working their way towards Target Field. 

Minnesota's DH plan seemed much clearer at the beginning of the offseason, but those plans have changed. Now, these options seem worse than the Twins' production out of the DH spot with Cruz. Should Twins fans be worried about production from the DH spot? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[GeorgiaBaller]

Please don’t mention MS’s name again so I can pretend we moved on!

DH can be handled by Sanchez, Larnach and Kiriloff alternating.  Rooker is still in prove it territory

[terrydactyls]

One note about Sanchez as a catcher.  On MLB radio this morning, the topic of Sanchez's defensive skills was discussed.  One of the commentators said that Sanchez is better than most people think.  His reasoning was that Sanchez is a big guy and not very agile, but the Yankees insisted on him adopting the one knee on the ground technique.  This further erodes a catcher's flexibility.  If the Twins allow Sanchez to play in a more traditional style, his defense would be at least average.  I'll take average for a second catcher over "atrocious" any day.

[roger]

The Twins can't possibly go into the season with Sano, Sanchez and Rooker all on their roster, can they?  

[ToddlerHarmon]

21 minutes ago, roger said:

The Twins can't possibly go into the season with Sano, Sanchez and Rooker all on their roster, can 

Agreed. Larnach or even Cave make a better fit

[a-wan]

5 minutes ago, ToddlerHarmon said:

Agreed. Larnach or even Cave make a better fit

I'd rather have Garlick using a catcher's mitt than another year of Cave. But I maybe a tad biased.

[PatPfund]

The problem with a rotational DH comes when you only have 6-7 good hitters (Arraez, Polanco, Buxton, Correa, Kiriloff, Urshela, ?) on your team. Any of them work on rest days. If Jeffers starts to hit again, you could add him (same for Max if he'd ever realize 'pull the ball harder' isn't an answer to the shift, but I'm pretty faded on that happening). Sanchez and Sano in the same lineup sounds awful; I'd rather see one or both traded with a prospect for a starter. Rooker/Larnach got extended runs last year and got worse; they need to pick it up soon, or Miranda/Celestino will have their roster spots by mid-May. This only becomes a 'good problem to have' if the Twins develop more sticks (Miranda or Lewis come up, or Celestino/Larnach/Rooker figure it out, or Sanchez/Sano figure out how to hit over .210). Until then it is more of which option smells the least on a particular day.

[RJA]

Cody, do you have a life outside of writing articles?  Awesome production, my friend.  Depending on future trades, we have Urshela, Correa, Polanco, and Sano in the infield, with Kirilloff, Buxton and Kepler in the outfield, and Jeffers behind the plate.  For DH, we have Arraez, Sanchez, and a fourth outfielder to rotate, along with Sano when Kirilloff plays first, or Urshela/Polanco when Arraez is in the field.  If Larnach is the fourth outfielder, or if Miranda comes up in June, that is ok by me.

[ashbury]

Yankees had no room for Sanchez at DH, with Stanton on the roster.  If we get 2020-21 Sanchez at bat, Sanchez has no place on the team, but if his hitting bounces back to what it has been at his peak, I'd be fine with him as our replacement for Nelson Cruz.  We need a better second catcher than Godoy, though.

[Rosterman]

I would go with a third catcher if Sanchez will be a primary DH. That is assuming Kirilloff is in leftfield and Sano mostly at first. 

 

Sadly, it would look mroe like Cave or Garlick as nthe 4th outfielder, especially if Arraez is traded. Of course, Miranda could also be in the mix, too. I think the Twins will do just fine at DH if their bench is Sanchez, Miranda, Gordon, Garlick (or Cave), and Godoy.

[Brandon]

I think we will be fine at DH.  I don’t expect a lot of stolen bases.  But 25 -30 Hrs isn’t out of the question.  Maybe a .230/.320/.430.  Not horrible not great.  But definitely lots of power. We will be fine now about LF…..

[ashbury]

13 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I think we will be fine at DH.  I don’t expect a lot of stolen bases.  But 25 -30 Hrs isn’t out of the question.  Maybe a .230/.320/.430.  Not horrible not great.  But definitely lots of power. We will be fine now about LF…..

A .750 OPS at DH would be disappointing, and likely put us at a disadvantage in the batting lineup versus the day's opponent more times than not.

[Mike Sixel]

Not even a tiny bit. 

[Brandon]

1 minute ago, ashbury said:

A .750 OPS at DH would be disappointing, and likely put us at a disadvantage in the batting lineup versus the day's opponent more times than not.

I put that out there as a floor.  If we add 20 points to batting average then DH is nearly .800 OPS and that should be fine.

[ashbury]

Just now, Brandon said:

I put that out there as a floor.  If we add 20 points to batting average then DH is nearly .800 OPS and that should be fine.

Fair enough.  Sometimes the word "maybe" gets interpreted as a ceiling.

[Brandon]

1 minute ago, ashbury said:

Fair enough.  Sometimes the word "maybe" gets interpreted as a ceiling.

I put the average down in case Sanchez, Rooker, and Sano have a low average to make up.  But Arreaz getting around 100 PA should help the average department.  Since the DH will be shared anyone could spike or drop their production.  Will be fun to watch play out.

[Danchat]

I don't get the point of Sanchez being added to the roster when we've already got Sano and Rooker here, plus Wallner and Sabato in the wings. We have enough DH-only guys who are below average at OF/1B, we don't need another one at catcher. Certainly not one who hasn't hit well since 2019. 

I'd be fine with rotating the DH to rest guys up rather than putting them on the bench, that makes more sense with Baldelli's liberal resting philosophy. Arraez makes sense to be put at DH due to his issues defensively.

[SkyBlueWaters]

With all of the talented hitters we have, I've got no problem with a rotating DH. This is going to be an intense season, as the 162 game schedule is getting squeezed into a tight calendar.

We're going to need to rotate our hitters through the DH spot to get through this.

I'm waay more concerned about a rotation of Gray, Bundy, Ryan, Ober & Dobnak or Jax.  Fine to make a deal with Mr. Sabrmetric in Oakland; if he's putting the squeeze, find someone else who can give us a frontline starter. But this team is too good to stand pat with the starters we have. Gray might be a no. 2 starter, the rest are more like 4th or 5th starters--perhaps Ryan will develop into a reliable no. 3. 

Frankly, for this team, the DH spot is a welcome problem to have.

[The Mad King]

They'll get production one way or another. I miss Cruz like crazy but I don't miss wasting a roster spot for a guy that can't play defense. We may already have guys playing defense that can't play defense...

Edited March 20, 2022 by The Mad King
Typo

[specialiststeve]

We have a couple of weeks to figure this out and a good chance that some of the log jam will be moving on to a new team for pitching.. 

As is Rooker is in AAA...

Sanchez the "main" DH and 3rd catcher. With Godoy the occasional 2nd catcher... jeffers getting full time. 

Sano showed defensively he can play well at 1st so will stay there and occasionally get a DH role. 

Sano and Sanchez will get the most AB's at DH ... at least at this point. 

[gman]

This team has a lot of sticks. Getting them all regular bats will be interesting. Hopefully the lineup will start the year hot and it won't matter who gets too DH on any given day.

[DJL44]

In December I was certain Miguel Sano should be moved to DH full time. After the roster moves I'm still certain of that.

[jmlease1]

I'm not worried about DH production. Arraez has bad knees and DH is a fine way to get his bat in the lineup. Sano will gets some run there (with Kirilloff shifting in to 1B, I suspect), Sanchez will get some ABs in there, Miranda will probably get some time, maybe even Kirilloff or Larnach. It's great to have a primary DH when it's someone who hits like Cruz, but otherwise, why not use it as a rotational spot to keep a quality bat in the lineup while giving a guy's legs a break? We have enough guys who play corner spots who can add offensive value that rotating makes sense to get them playing time and will hopefully keep people healthy.

It's not like we're going to be running Chip Hale out there as a DH again.

[stringer bell]

Okay, players who are below average defenders: 1) Sanó 2) Sanchez and 3) Kirilloff (LF). Arraez is okay (neutral) at both second and third. Sanó has been the superior hitter to Sanchez and if he’s the primary DH, Kirilloff can play first where he’s above average. Baldelli had a silver slugger catcher in 2019 and played him about 60% of the time (when healthy)), so if Sanchez is the second catcher, he gets 30-40% of games behind the plate. 
 

Arraez should platoon at third with Urshela and get some starts at second when Polanco gets a day off or is the DH. A left fielder is needed in this scenario (with Kirilloff also serving there on occasion and also to give Kepler a day off). Hopefully Larnach or someone else steps up. 

[Doctor Gast]

It's too bad that we're stuck with Sanchez even at DH, I hope he'll be flipped and find a better back up catcher. Rooker would be a good selection at more full time DH, then he can focus on hitting and not on fielding which he's not that good at. As long Polanco stays at 2B there's no problem w/ his ankles. Everybody wants Arraez to get his ABs so DH makes sense. If we can spare Kiriloff from OF, he could relieve Sano' so he can hit at DH.

There is no way we can match Cruz's production DH. But Rooker and Sano' could  surprise people and Arraez will get more than his share of getting on base.

[wsnydes]

I'm far more worried the pitching situation.  DH isn't even in the rearview mirror.  There's almost too many options to fill the spot...

...which leads me to my biggest non-pitching concern.  How do all of these pieces fit together for a lineup?  There's only one DH spot.

[se7799]

I'd like to go on record as saying...no worry about our dh.  Our combined DH starts will be better than what Cruz puts up this year.  My opinion! But feel strongly 1 or2 guys will take it and run with it

[se7799]

7 hours ago, Danchat said:

I don't get the point of Sanchez being added to the roster when we've already got Sano and Rooker here, plus Wallner and Sabato in the wings. We have enough DH-only guys who are below average at OF/1B, we don't need another one at catcher. Certainly not one who hasn't hit well since 2019. 

I'd be fine with rotating the DH to rest guys up rather than putting them on the bench, that makes more sense with Baldelli's liberal resting philosophy. Arraez makes sense to be put at DH due to his issues defensively.

Sanchez was added to the roster to help facilitate the Donaldson trade.  Also he is our back up cather as of now.

[se7799]

9 hours ago, roger said:

The Twins can't possibly go into the season with Sano, Sanchez and Rooker all on their roster, can they?  

If we have Buxton, Correa, Polanco, and Arraez...absolutely.  

[bean5302]

Rooker's exit velocity, hard hit, barrel rate were better than average last year and xwOBA were far higher than his actual results. Not to mention Rooker runs faster than the MLB average player. If he's on the team, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was traded, I expect Rooker will probably be a starting corner outfielder.

Sano going to be on the team. He makes a better DH than he does a 1B.

Sanchez is going to be the starting catcher. Not sure why he's in the discussion as a likely common DH. He might have a handful of games at DH, but unless he's hitting far better than he has recently, I don't expect him to come out from behind the plate much.