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The Twins Opening Day roster is becoming more and more clear by the day, and could continue to change as we go forward. Lefty Danny Coulombe has made the roster. He was added to the 40-man roster this morning. Catcher Jose Godoy was DFAd to make room, but there is a new catcher in the organization. Two other players were assigned to minor-league camp. The Twins need their roster for Opening Day to be at 28. As of this moment, it is now down to 30 players following a flurry of roster moves on Monday morning. First, congratulations to lefty reliever Danny Coulombe. The 32-year-old veteran has worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings this spring. he's given up just two hits, walked two and struck out six. When he makes his first pitch in 2022, he will have pitched in eight major-league seasons. Over the past two seasons, he has worked in 31 games for the Twins including 29 games in 2021. From 2016-2018, he pitched in 134 games for the Oakland A's. He has also pitched for the Dodgers in his career. To make room for Coulombe on the 40-man roster, the team designated catcher Jose Godoy for assignment. The move seemed strange at the time as the Twins will only have two catchers on the 40-man roster, one of which is Gary Sanchez. The 27-year-old made his MLB debut a year ago for the Mariners, but this will be his third DFA since the end of last season. However, soon after, the team announced that they have signed catcher Chance Sisco to a minor-league deal. He will report to St. Paul shortly. The 27-year-old backstop was a Top 100 catching prospect in 2017 and 2018. He played in the 2016 and 2017 Futures Games. He debuted with the Orioles in 2017 and has since been a part-timer in the big leagues. In 196 career games, he has hit .197/.317/337 (.654) with 24 doubles and 16 homers. So, basically, he is Jose Godoy. But, he does provide depth behind the plate. In addition, RHP Jake Faria and infielder Daniel Robertson were also assigned to minor-league camp. They will head to the Saints as well, maybe in time for their season-opener on Tuesday in Louisville. That leaves the Twins with 30 players on their active camp roster. There are 17 pitchers. There are now just two catchers. They have six infielders and five outfielders. The lone non-roster player remaining in camp is outfielder Kyle Garlick. So, what does it all mean? Well, basically it means that the biggest decision remaining is whether to add Kyle Garlick to the 40-man roster or just roll with Brent Rooker. It isn't an easy decision. Garlick crushes left-handed pitching, and that is an important trait for a fourth-outfielder. While not great defensively, he can play both corners adequately. Rooker is on the 40-man roster, but he has been slowed by a shoulder injury. On Saturday, he returned to the Twins lineup. He is in the Twins spring lineup for Monday. It is very possible that the decision has been made and they will just wait until after today's game to announce it. The interesting piece will be who would get DFAd to make room for Garlick on the roster. In addition, the Twins will have to decide whether they want to start the season with 15 or 16 pitchers on the roster. if they want 16, they will need to option one pitcher to St. Paul. If they decide to take just 15 pitchers, that would leave possible the idea of keeping both Garlick and Rooker on the active roster, though a roster move would still be needed. How is this going to shape out over the next few days? Will the team make any trades before the season to add another pitcher, or a player from another position? What do you think? View full article

Last season, the Minnesota Twins employed Andrelton Simmons at shortstop while using Jorge Polanco at second base and Luis Arraez in a roving role. Nick Gordon became a utility player down the stretch. The infield is in flux this season without a current shortstop, and the organization may have already tabbed a new utility man. As much as I’d be a proponent for Gordon seeing continued reps in the role, there’s reason to believe it could be recently signed Daniel Robertson. While former first-round pick Tim Beckham is the more prominent name of Minnesota’s minor league contracts signed of late, Robertson is younger and could make more sense. Last season Robertson played in 50 games for the Milwaukee Brewers. It was his worst season as a big leaguer, and he posted just a .164/.303/.274 (.577) slash line. Robertson has never hit for power, with nine longballs being his most in a season coming back in 2018. Like Beckham, Robertson made his debut with the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s played six different positions in a single season and can play shortstop. Similar to Beckham, Robertson is stretched defensively almost everywhere. The utility aspect allows him to fill in anywhere, but his glove isn’t likely to be the first option anywhere. The 816 innings at second base would qualify for his greatest at any position, and he’s compiled a -1 DRS in that time. Unlike Beckham, Robertson has some strong plate discipline skills. Even with the ugly .164 average last season, he still reached base at a .303 clip. That’s mainly due to a chase rate of just 25% and a career whiff rate under 10%. Robertson’s hard-hit rate is not impressive, and he puts the ball on the ground a ton, but the ability to make contact could be something the Twins opt for off the bench. In an interesting comp for Robertson, Baseball Savant has former Twins backstop Chris Gimenez (during the 2017 season) as a similar batter. That year, Gimenez posted a .731 OPS being a low average but high on-base guy. Gimenez also played a more premium position but contributed as a veteran across 74 games. That Twins squad won 85 games and would seem comparable to the current group, depending on how pitching works out. Personally, the inclusion of either Robertson or Beckham on the Opening Day roster would be less than ideal. Gordon likely presents at least the same amount of utility, and I think his speed should be a differentiating factor. That said, Minnesota will go lighter somewhere on the roster to accommodate the pitching needs, and the last bench spot certainly isn’t a bad place to do it. What do you think? Is Daniel Robertson on the Twins Opening Day roster? Does Tim Beckham get that look? Maybe Nick Gordon keeps his role from 2020? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook, or email View full article