What Does Donovan Solano Mean for the Twins

[Ted Schwerzler]

Earlier this week the Minnesota Twins completed their first full squad workout. On Tuesday, Donovan Solano became a part of that full squad. Now, the club must make sense of what the 26-man roster looks like.

Image courtesy of David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

UPDATE: Jon Heyman has reported the terms of Solano's deal with Minnesota.

Ken Rosenthal reported that the Minnesota Twins have come to an agreement with Donovan Solanco on a Major League deal. The particulars have not yet been disclosed, but it should be assumed he’ll make the 26-man roster following an addition to the 40-man. Currently the Twins 40-man roster is full, however, players can be put on the 60-day injured list at this point and that would free a spot. Chris Paddack and Royce Lewis are logical options.

Looking at Solano, he brings an infield profile to Minnesota. Last season with the Cincinnati Reds, Solano played third, second, and first base. Minnesota would seem to be set in those areas starting Jose Miranda, Jorge Polanco, and Alex Kirilloff. It is possible that Solano could provide insurance at first base, although Joey Gallo represents that as well. Polanco missed significant time with knee tendinitis last year, and that could be part of the equation as well.

This offseason, the Twins probably needed to be in the market for a right-handed outfield bat. Solanco doesn’t play the outfield, and even pushing Kyle Farmer there would be a weird fit given his four total Major League innings in the grass. Solano did boast a .309/.380/.568 slash line against southpaws last year.

Last year the Twins rotated through a plethora of designated hitter options. That could again be the way to go this year as Byron Buxton, Polanco, and plenty of others may need time off their feet. Nick Gordon, while he will play multiple positions this spring, is primarily an outfielder. Solano brings a level of redundancy with Farmer, but given that Minnesota acquired him as a baseline shortstop option, regular at bats are something he probably expected.

The deal is pending a physical, and until we see what the financials are, it's hard to understand what level of significance this move takes on. Solano made $4.5 million with the Reds last year but his OPS+ was below league average. It would make sense for the number to check in somewhere around half of that in Minnesota. It's not a bad thing to add this type of depth, and the ability to hit left-handed pitching is something the roster could use more of.

It still stands to reason that there is more to come with this move. Solano may have been a pivot from Yuli Gurriel for the Twins, but his addition to the roster probably pushes outfielder Trevor Larnach down to Triple-A on Opening Day. That's a disappointing reality given he'll be 26-years-old on Sunday and has yet to establish himself in the majors. No injury to Polanco or Kirilloff has been made public, but it has also been notable that the Twins are slow-playing the latter. For now, the Twins have made an addition that certainly changes the roster construction for Rocco Baldelli.

This is yet another reminder that the Twins front office never sees the offseason as over until Opening Day commences. Last season we saw Taylor Rogers and Brent Rooker flipped for Emilio Pagan and Paddack. Maybe another bullpen addition is in the cards, and there is no telling as to whether a team meets the Kepler ask or not. For now, there is more talent in Fort Myers than there was at the beginning of the week and Minnesota continues to spend money. Neither of those things are a negative.

 

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[High heat]

For this to be a major league deal there must be a major injury announcement coming to Polanco or Kirilloff or Nick Gordon.  
Or Nick Gordon is being traded.  With the last 2 additions (Taylor in CF and Solano) Gordon playing time has been replaced.  

Maybe Gordon has some value around the league and is being shopped.

[Nashvilletwin]

18 minutes ago, High heat said:

For this to be a major league deal there must be a major injury announcement coming to Polanco or Kirilloff or Nick Gordon.  
Or Nick Gordon is being traded.  With the last 2 additions (Taylor in CF and Solano) Gordon playing time has been replaced.  

Maybe Gordon has some value around the league and is being shopped.

Why in the world would we trade the ascending and better Gordon while keeping the descending Gallo, Kepler, Taylor and Solano, unless some superior (and I mean superior) offer comes in for Gordon that we can’t turn down? It makes no sense.

If there is a trade among our likely opening day position player roster, I’d think it would be Kepler.  But, at the moment, I agree with Ted that it likely means Larnach is sent to AAA to play everyday and rack up ABs.

But as I said on the other thread, if Solano takes one inning away from a “ready” Julien or Lee, or a healthy Lewis or Kiriloff, it will be one inning too many.

In addition, this must also mean that Martin is further back on the backup IFer list than we thought; after all, he can play 2B as well and is a RH bat. Martin must be an OFer now.

Boy, these additions must be quite disheartening for our young guys banging on the door.

Geez, we add another one year rental retread I have absolutely no interest in watching. I literally can’t wait to watch all of those Gallo, Taylor, Solano and Kepler ABs……what a snooze fest, lol.

 

[Dman]

It is a solid depth move especially from a platoon perspective.  I was advocating for one more right handed bat, but I guess I got stuck on it being a platoon 1st baseman in Guriel. So getting a guy who can hit lefties and play 1st, 2nd and 3rd probably is a better fit for a depth guy.

Still I was kind of hoping to see Larnach this year and looks like he will be the odd man out to start the season.  Probably not for long as someone will get injured at some point but I think there was collective surprise\disappointment with what this signing meant for Trevor.  A trade could still be a possibility as well but seems like a long shot to me.  

It is a good move IMO just surprising is all.

[Trov]

15 minutes ago, High heat said:

For this to be a major league deal there must be a major injury announcement coming to Polanco or Kirilloff or Nick Gordon.  
Or Nick Gordon is being traded.  With the last 2 additions (Taylor in CF and Solano) Gordon playing time has been replaced.  

Maybe Gordon has some value around the league and is being shopped.

This FO and coaching staff has never been high on Gordon.  I do not agree this is taking Gordon playing time though.  He is mainly coming in to hit against lefties and play 1B.  He will play 1B against lefties and be injury replacement should AK not be healthy.  Gordon is basically an OF now with some 2nd or SS, but will not play much against lefties, if at all.  Really, what this move does is takes Garlick out of the running for coming back to MLB roster absent injuries. 

[Jeff D.]

Weird addition. Someone is going. I hope it's Baldelli. 

Twins Geezer .... out!    Go Twins!

[Whitey333]

Kind of a strange addition.  I'm not labeling it bad just strange.  It was kind of like when we added Gallo to an already overflowing outfield.  No I'm not comparing Gallo to Salono at all , just their additions to areas we seem to have an abundance of.  We will see how it all shakes out.  Perhaps another trade or two?

[wabene]

23 minutes ago, Jeff D. said:

Weird addition. Someone is going. I hope it's Baldelli. 

Twins Geezer .... out!    Go Twins!

I'll bet you will be disappointed, lol. 

[mikelink45]

I am baffled. Gallo - Solano both redundant - I am confused by the FO moves unless both of them are actually getting ready to switch to the BP.  I would rather have Larnach than Solano or Gallo and The infield is not only set, but has Julien, Martin, and Lee in the minors who can come up and fill in.

Is there a new anti-youth movement going on here?

[arby58]

33 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

But as I said on the other thread, if Solano takes one inning away from a “ready” Julien or Lee, or a healthy Lewis or Kiriloff, it will be one inning too many.

 

Lee played a handful of games at AA last year, and that was also the level for Julien - neither of them has even played a game at AAA, so calling them 'ready' is a stretch. Meanwhile, using healthy in the same sentence as Lewis or Kiriloff remains to be seen, and in Lewis' case probably won't be known for several months. The move is solid - the Twins have more depth on this team than any in a long time.

[arby58]

Just now, mikelink45 said:

I am baffled. Gallo - Solano both redundant - I am confused by the FO moves unless both of them are actually getting ready to switch to the BP.  I would rather have Larnach than Solano or Gallo and The infield is not only set, but has Julien, Martin, and Lee in the minors who can come up and fill in.

Is there a new anti-youth movement going on here?

Gallo is primarily in outfielder (and a good one defensively). Solano is primarily an infielder.  Gallo bats from the left side, Solano from the right side. Those don't sound redundant to me.

[JD-TWINS]

Nick Gordon is an outfielder - played 98 games there last year. 33 of those were in CF. He plays only against RH pitching, approximately 125-130 games and starts 45-50 games in CF. Remaining starts will be LF.

Taylor will play in CF against LH pitching. He will pinch run - play if there’s an injury - pinch hit v. LH pitching - late inning defense as needed.

Solano will play 1B or 2B against LH pitching. His time on the field has no bearing on Nick Gordon.

Was hoping - still am - that Larnach could DH 80 games this year & playing LF 30-50 games. Seems there may be another move(s) coming.

This depth addition is blah with the guys we have stacked in minors…….must not want Miranda at 1B anymore or at least not in ‘23.

[Craig Arko]

My guess is that either Polanco, Kiriloff, or both may not be ready to go on opening day. This is an insurance policy.

[old nurse]

When there was 600 AB last year by players who should have stayed in Saint Paul it is reasonable to find ways to let them stay there this year until ready

Nick Gordon’s future? Was last year an aberration or is he starting to be a good hitter? I suppose the detailed analysis of that may come from someone. It is better to be prepared for regression than not. Does the FO like him as a player? He was a Ryan prospect when they came, of course not

[arby58]

36 minutes ago, Dman said:

It is a solid depth move especially from a platoon perspective.  I was advocating for one more right handed but I guess I got stuck on it being a platoon 1st baseman in Guriel. So getting a guy who can hit lefties and play 1st, 2nd and 3rd probably is a better fit for a depth guy.

Still I was kind of hoping to see Larnach this year and looks like he will be the odd man out to start the season.  Probably not for long as someone will get injured at some point but I think there was collective surprise\disappointment with what this signing meant for Trevor.  A trade could still be a possibility as well but seems like a long shot to me.  

It is a good move IMO just surprising is all.

Still possible they move Kepler, which frees up a spot for Larnach. I like them getting a right-handed bat for first base, as Kiriloff hit .167 against left handed pitching last year (granted, a small sample size).

[mac098]

I think this, if it is what is happening, is allowing AK to work on getting healthy and make sure his swing is there and not hurting. AK might be out of options and this is just to platoon 1st. But if he does have options available, this might be a move to send him to AAA where the Twins staff can monitor his swing a little more. Of course, we will have to see come ST and end of ST.

[CRF]

Imo...this is kind of an odd move to add Solano. Not saying it's necessarily bad, but just a little odd. Why? We have a lot of overlap position-wise. Some of that is definitely good. It just seems like it's overkill now. There has to be some more moves coming one way or another. Trades? 

[Dman]

6 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Still possible they move Kepler, which frees up a spot for Larnach. I like them getting a right-handed bat for first base, as Kiriloff hit .167 against left handed pitching last year (granted, a small sample size).

Yeah they might still move Kepler but it seemed they weren't getting the value they wanted earlier and if they do play Kepler, Gallo, Buxton against righties the defense in the outfield is plus, plus.  So the return would have be something good to give that scenario up IMO. If they couldn't get someone to pay earlier not sure there has been enough time for things to change all that much.  

They can afford to move a left handed outfield bat if they want to, but I don't think they will sell for pennies on the dollar.  I don't think they are in a place where they "have" to move somebody especially given all the injuries they seem to suffer through the year.  Still moving a left handed outfield bat does better balance the roster and would give them more room to make further moves.

[Nashvilletwin]

23 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Lee played a handful of games at AA last year, and that was also the level for Julien - neither of them has even played a game at AAA, so calling them 'ready' is a stretch. Meanwhile, using healthy in the same sentence as Lewis or Kiriloff remains to be seen, and in Lewis' case probably won't be known for several months. The move is solid - the Twins have more depth on this team than any in a long time.

 

23 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Lee played a handful of games at AA last year, and that was also the level for Julien - neither of them has even played a game at AAA, so calling them 'ready' is a stretch. Meanwhile, using healthy in the same sentence as Lewis or Kiriloff remains to be seen, and in Lewis' case probably won't be known for several months. The move is solid - the Twins have more depth on this team than any in a long time.

I never said Julien or Lee were ready now or that Lewis and Kiriloff were healthy. But once those conditions are met for any of those four players, it’ll be disappointing to see Solano taking away valuable innings from them.

[CharlieDee]

It means we have another former Cincinnati Red.  

[chpettit19]

Just looks like extra injury insurance to me. Most likely for Kirilloff. And having Polanco sit against lefties wouldn't be terrible either. An IF of Farmer, Correa, Solano, and Miranda would be a lefty killer.

I'm all for more depth. I have as high a hopes as anyone for the young guys, but relying on them from the jump is a risky proposition. Especially when very few of them have proven they can stay healthy. To me, this is Kirilloff depth. Gallo is Larnach depth. Taylor is Celestino depth. Do people not remember the lineups the Twins were throwing out there at different points last year? I mean Celestino, Garlick, Palacios, Cave, Beckham and Contreras were starting games last year. More depth and competition is good. There's plenty of plate appearances to go around, and the young guys will get their shots.

Miranda has shown he can stay healthy, and is being handed a job. I think if we'd seen Larnach, Lewis, and Kirilloff stay healthy they'd have been handed jobs as well. I'm excited to see what Martin, Lee, Julien, and Wallner can do, too, but handing those guys opening day jobs isn't what a competing Twins team should do. They will all get chances to prove their worth as injury/performance based fill ins. I think the hope train has taken over too much. The future looks bright, but some of these prospects will fail. Bringing in vets to ease that transition and not put it all on young guys hitting the ground running is smart, in my opinion. Especially a move like this that I'm guessing is for very minimal money and he's easily moved on from if/when one of the young guys overtakes him.

I wasn't expecting this move, and don't think it was of utmost need, but I like it just fine. Nobody can say the FO didn't learn their lesson about depth, though.

[High heat]

1 hour ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Why in the world would we trade the ascending and better Gordon while keeping the descending Gallo, Kepler, Taylor and Solano, unless some superior (and I mean superior) offer comes in for Gordon that we can’t turn down? It makes no sense.

If there is a trade among our likely opening day position player roster, I’d think it would be Kepler.  But, at the moment, I agree with Ted that it likely means Larnach is sent to AAA to play everyday and rack up ABs.

But as I said on the other thread, if Solano takes one inning away from a “ready” Julien or Lee, or a healthy Lewis or Kiriloff, it will be one inning too many.

In addition, this must also mean that Martin is further back on the backup IFer list than we thought; after all, he can play 2B as well and is a RH bat. Martin must be an OFer now.

Boy, these additions must be quite disheartening for our young guys banging on the door.

Geez, we add another one year rental retread I have absolutely no interest in watching. I literally can’t wait to watch all of those Gallo, Taylor, Solano and Kepler ABs……what a snooze fest, lol.

 

Well because other teams see the ascending in Gordon as well.
 Cheap and multiple years of team control is tradable to many small market and rebuilding teams.  
 

If the Twins see Gordon as just a 4th outfielder you have a bunch of LH hitting COF and a replacement CF already on the roster.  Good business to sell on him now and bring in a solid reliever.  
 

I am totally puzzled by the deal and brainstorming how it makes sense.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

This move probably means a few things:

1) There is some question on Polanco's knee and possibly Kiriloff's wrist as well

2) None of the young infielders are not ready to make the club (Lee, Martin, etc.) or are going to be moved to 2B

3) There is another trade in the works involving any of the aforementioned players, but strongly pointing at Polanco.

4) Gordon's life as an infielder in MN is over

Solano is a perfectly fine backup infielder.  Can play all 4 positions, has a respectable bat.  He could also easily serve as a 2B placeholder until one of the prospects is ready.

I can't speak for everyone, but with so many moves this offseason, it sure has been fun to try to figure things out.

[twinstalker]

My first thought is they realized Kirilloff isn't close, and they're moving Miranda to 1B.  Paranoia, maybe, but with a sliver of logic.

[nicksaviking]

I don't like it. Pablo Lopez and Carlos Correa start for every team, so those make sense, but I really dislike the distrust that's being shown to the younger players. Give them the jobs, they've been performing better when called upon than these journeyman kinds of vets.

And I don't even mean having to go with the outfielders who've already debuted like Larnach, Kirilloff and Wallner. They're hurt or they didn't show you what you wanted to see? Fine, next man up. They're scared to push Lee or Martin? Dumb, but fine let them play full time in St. Paul. I'd still rather see Julian, Prato, Severino, Camargo or Isola than Solano, Gallo and Farmer.

[IndianaTwin]

Maybe let's wait until we know a little more before we start speculating/projecting?

It seems like a pretty minor deal/insurance clause to get our shorts bunched up about when we don't know...

• Nature of contract, including how little they'd "waste" with a DFA down the road (i.e. when Lewis is healthy).
• Injury status of a bunch of guys.

What we do (mostly) know is that with Lewis likely available to go on the 60-day IL, it probably doesn't cost us a body to add Solano. But guess what? We'll probably hear that news in a day or two.

 

Yawn. I'll go back to work. Let me know when something significant happens. 

[PDX Twin]

7 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I don't like it. Pablo Lopez and Carlos Correa start for every team, so those make sense, but I really dislike the distrust that's being shown to the younger players. Give them the jobs, they've been performing better when called upon than these journeyman kinds of vets.

And I don't even mean having to go with the outfielders who've already debuted like Larnach, Kirilloff and Wallner. They're hurt or they didn't show you what you wanted to see? Fine, next man up. They're scared to push Lee or Martin? Dumb, but fine let them play full time in St. Paul. I'd still rather see Julian, Prato, Severino, Camargo or Isola than Solano, Gallo and Farmer.

We are stockpiling Grade C players. Unless there are major injuries or outgoings, this makes no sense to me.

[Blyleven2011]

Confusion mostly , don't they have confidence in our prospects  ...

Only sense it makes is depth ...

[TwinsDr2021]

I have been saying on many threads a bunch of the Twins "prospects" are on the older side, unproven side, or unhealthy side. So a front office that believes, relies, and empathizes data is going to throw that historical data aside to run out a lineup full up mid 20 prospects that are unproven and/or unable to stay injury free is frankly crazy talk or maybe not crazy talk but using emotions instead of logic and data. Imagine for a second they threw caution to the wind and started the year with Larnach, Buxton, Wallner, AK, Polanco, Correa and Miranda. and a couple of guys get hurt and or a couple tank or are just terrible, who do they go to the next wave of guys that are 24 and still in the minors? I am not a fan Gallo but he is the type of guy that can get hot an carry a team, but he is also a guy that could easily get benched if things are not going well and give somebody else a chance, guessing the same with Salano but to be honest never heard of this guy. 

This is huge year for a bunch of Twins "prospects"

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Just looks like extra injury insurance to me. Most likely for Kirilloff. And having Polanco sit against lefties wouldn't be terrible either. An IF of Farmer, Correa, Solano, and Miranda would be a lefty killer.

Having an all-righty infield is insurance (and balance) for all the LH outfielders against left-handing pitching.