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With the regular season start a little over a week away, the Minnesota Twins announced their presence with authority in Port Charlotte. On their field, bats came alive and the pitching was crisp. On the personnel side, the team made several moves, paring down the roster. Take a look at the happenings around camp.* Ervin Santana, who was recently appointed the Opening Day starter, was absolutely unsolvable as he ran through the Rays’ lineup. With eight strikeouts over seven innings (59 strikes on 85 pitches) Santana appeared sharp and ready for the real games to begin. Keep the ball down and throw strikes was Santana’s blueprint but he mixed in a diving changeup and his biting slider which incited plenty of awkward swings off the Rays’ bats. Santana’s batterymate also noticed that the righty had been amping up the velocity. “I think he was throwing a bit harder from the get go than I was used to,” catcher Kurt Suzuki said after Santana’s outing. “He was 94, 95 at the beginning so you can tell he’s starting to get to season form.” * Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki tortured Rays’ starter Drew Smyly. Plouffe belted a pair of home runs to left while Suzuki had a double before launching his first of two home runs (he would get his second later in the seventh inning). Suzuki had fouled a pitch off his Achilles heel and spent some time trying to shake it off. Twins trainers emerged from the spacious Charlotte Sports Park dugout to tend to the catcher. Suzuki eventually returned to the batters’ box and promptly jacked the first offering from Smyly into the boardwalk area over the left-center field wall. “He has a way of beating himself up out there,” Molitor said in reference to Suzuki’s ability to absorb constant punishment from baseballs. Suzuki’s spring has not been necessarily strong but Molitor likes to see all the work Suzuki has been putting in trying to improve on his abysmal 2015 season. “I’ve been working with Bruno and Rudy in the cages,” Suzuki said after the game. “So it’s nice to see stuff paying off.” Suzuki says it is a work in progress but the coaches have been keeping his head still (something I pointed out at Twins Daily last month), not drifting to the ball and keeping a firm base in his swing. Suzuki’s success against Smyly and Jhan Martinez built some confidence in the process. Molitor said the team doesn’t expect Suzuki to hit for power but would like to see him continue to have strong at-bats. “It hasn’t been a really good spring for him but he’s worked hard.” * Bullpen coach Eddie Guardardo was beaming after the game. Why? “He threw BP to [Plouffe] and Suzuki today so he’s trying to take all the credit,” Molitor explained. READ: Will Byron Buxton’s Swing Changes Lead To A Breakout Season? * As expected, the Twins reassigned Max Kepler to the AAA roster. Kepler entered spring with an outside chance of winning a job but it was apparent that he was not going to beat out any of the existing position players for a spot. Still, the Twins were happy with what they saw from the 22-year-old, specifically his defensive chops. “This is the first camp he’s gotten much activity,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said of his performance. “He played left, he played center, he played first. I felt like he did a decent job defensively.” Ryan remarked he was impressed with Kepler’s throw from the outfield during Thursday’s game in Jupiter. “That’s probably the biggest part of his game. I don’t think there is any question that he can field, that he can run.” Kepler is going to play all over the diamond in Rochester -- including time at first base -- but the emphasis will be on getting him time in the outfield. * Earlier in the week, Kepler discussed his improved approach at the plate. He added the leg kick on his own but also said he has changed the mental side of his game as well. In the past he felt like he became timid when pitchers would get a strike on him. Now, he doesn’t let the strikes dictate his approach. “I was more of a patient hitter, didn't like striking out a lot. I was more of a slap hitter once I got a strike on me. I didn't let that phase me in '15 and the leg kick kind of pushed that approach and be more aggressive.” Kepler believes that he is capable of pumping out more home runs when he applies his new approach over a full season. * Twins also announced they released outright Cedar Rapids native Ryan Sweeney. Initially he had told reporters that he was put through waivers but Ryan clarified. The Twins did not have conversations with him regarding a minor league assignment. “Some of the other guys who are still in camp emerged,” Ryan said. “It’s not anything he did not do. He came in and had plenty of opportunity. We gave him a lot of exposure, we gave him a chance. We just got some people that are ahead of him.” Sweeney went 10-for-37 (.270) with six walks (second only to Miguel Sano’s nine) in 16 Grapefruit League games. READ: Minnesota Twins’ Roster Projection 4.0 * Tyler Duffey has been working diligently on mastering his change-up this spring. After allowing a home run on a 3-1 change to Jose Bautista in Toronto in his first major league start, Duffey shelved the pitch. In his most recent spring start, Duffey said he mixed in a decent amount but grounded them early in the outing. When he tried to make an in-game adjustment with the pitch, he hung one in the middle of the zone that was launched into the neighboring property. In evaluating Duffey’s performance, Terry Ryan said that the staff is taking Duffey’s efforts to work on a new pitch into account rather than a review of his results. “You got to be careful about watching a guy out here when he’s working on a pitch,” Ryan said. “You have to take that into consideration. And he’s thrown a lot of change-ups.” Duffey will get one more opportunity this spring in game action when he and Ricky Nolasco will pitch on Monday in separate games. Ryan dispelled the notion that the two are competing head-to-head but it is difficult not to view those two appearances as influential in the decision-making process. * In minor league action, Jose Berrios threw in the AAA game. According to Twins Daily contributor Bob Sacamento, Berrios was sitting 93 but hit 95 with the fastball in his last inning of work. He also mixed in a slider (85 MPH) and change-up (around 75 MPH) to keep Oriole hitters off-balance. The right-hander finished the day with five innings of work, allowing two hits while strikeout out seven. Twins’ 2014 first round draft pick, shortstop Nick Gordon, returned to game action after suffering a hamstring/back injury. Click here to view the article

It’s not likely to make a huge difference in the long run between whether the Twins win in 2016 or not, but the battle for the fourth and fifth outfield spots is shaping up to be interesting just a few games into spring training. With Byron Buxton the presumptive center fielder on Opening Day, Eddie Rosario in left and Miguel Sano in right, and the inevitable twelve-man pitching staff, Minnesota has room for one full- time outfielder and maybe a utility guy to come north. Let’s handicap the field at this point, assuming that two guys out of this group make the club:Ryan Sweeney Sweeney didn’t play in 2015, but is coming back as a 31-year-old. Once a top prospect in the White Sox organization (and considered one of the best BP hitters in baseball history), Sweeney never really clicked. Still, he brings a veteran presence (and we know how much the Twins value that), plays center field, and hits from the left side (to complement Buxton from the right). Through five games, he’s hit .333/.500/.400 in 16 plate appearances. Certainly, we shouldn’t take spring training performance at face value, but he’s also earning rave reviews according to Mike Berardino: Chances he'll come north? 75%. Almost nothing would shock me less. Sweeney’s the kind of guy the Twins could fall in love with, and I think one of the next two guys will flop hard enough that the Twins will want to keep him around. Not that that’s a bad thing. I think Sweeney’s still got the potential to be a useful ballplayer. Danny Santana Santana has the most plate appearances on the Twins so far through six spring training games. And while he’s only hitting .111/.105/.278, it’s clear that the Twins are heavily invested in him winning the job. It looks like Santana might not be willing to cooperate, but they’ll give him every opportunity to fail. And I do mean every single one, as he’s out of options. Plus, as a switch hitter who can play shortstop (in theory), he has added value. If he keeps this slow start up, however, perhaps he’d be a guy you could slip through waivers. Chances he'll come north? 60%. Far higher than his performance has earned. Oswaldo Arcia Left-handed, with incredible power, Arcia is a streaky hitter who runs unbelievably hot and cold. He would almost certainly be better served by a starting role, which would allow him to find his groove. Barring an injury, that’s not likely to happen. Arcia’s already made a bit of news by walking three times in one game over the weekend, something he’s done only once in the majors, and said afterwards that being more patient is a point of emphasis for him. We’ll see. Like Santana, he is out of options, and seems unlikely to slip through waivers. He’s been in the Twins’ doghouse for so long, however, that they may not care. Chances he'll come north? 40%. His power is undeniable, but the defense has been awful (though he's made some impressive defensive plays so far, he can’t play center field, and is seen as a disappointment. My guess is that either Santana or Arcia will get put on waivers. Santana’s positional flexibility gives him the edge, and if Sweeney makes the club, he and Arcia are both left-handed. Carlos Quentin Kind of the right-handed version of Arcia, but Quentin also has that veteran label that the Twins have loved in the past. He didn’t play last year, but has nine years in the league hitting .252/.347/.484 (120 OPS+). He’s also like Coach from Cheers (I’m an old person), in that it’s virtually impossible not to hit him with a pitch and he is incredibly delicate, topping 100 games played just three times in his career. The reviews of his performance so far are a little mixed: Quentin offers a little versatility in that he can also play first base, but God knows the Twins have enough guys who can do that right now, between Mauer, Park, Sano and Vargas. Chances he'll come north? 12.5%. Something would have to happen to one of the other 1B/DH/corner OF guys for Quentin to make the team, especially as a right-handed bat. His other best hope is that the Twins decide to send Buxton to Rochester for a month. Darin Mastroianni If Santana and Arcia had options left, I’d bet the Twins would find some way to keep Mastroianni around. He’s able to play all three outfield spots and is an accomplished base stealer. He also had a previous go-around with the Twins that ended in injury woes. He’s not a good player, but fits fine as a below-average backup outfielder. Chances he'll come north? 6.3%. Mastroianni is just behind too many people on the depth chart, and isn’t good enough to be more than an emergency option at this point. Max Kepler He’s a great young prospect who can handle center field for now, has tremendous plate discipline and good mid-range power to go with a strong hit tool. Kepler’s likely to be the best position prospect in the Twins’ minor league system at the start of the year. He’s had three singles in nine plate appearances so far. Chances he'll come North? 6.3%. There’s simply no chance of Kepler making this team unless Buxton doesn’t or someone gets hurt. The Twins need him to play everyday, and keeping him in a reserve role will stall the development of one of their future linchpins. Others Joe Benson is a 28 year old who has hit .202/.288/.302 at Triple-A. He’ll be depth at Rochester. No one short of Miguel Sano has Adam Brett Walker’s power, but his complete inability to control the strike zone means that he’ll spend almost all of 2016 in the minors. He’ll have to make incredible adjustments to find any success in the Majors. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about Trevor May being bullpen bound, Fernando Abad possibly joining him, all the AL Central teams going for it in 2016, projecting Byung Ho Park from numbers and scouting, when to swear on a podcast, Johnny Cueto's big but reasonable contract with the Giants, eating way too much food at Iron Door Pub, and preparing for New Year's Eve with Harrys.com. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins released their list of non-roster invitees to spring camp. The list included several of the usual suspect and some of the more recent additions. Surprisingly, also included was 30-year-old outfielder Ryan Sweeney, who was last seen in the majors as a Chicago Cubs roster crunch causality heading into the 2015 regular season. So what could the Twins possibly want with him?Sweeney’s addition is a depth move for the organization, placing him alongside Darin Mastroianni and Joe Benson as candidates for a fourth outfielder role. A once lauded prospect, Sweeney was considered among Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects from 2005 through 2007 and was projected to be a source of power based on his 6-foot-4 frame. Even at the upper levels of the minor leagues that power never manifested but his ability to play all three outfield positions allowed him to maintain steady employment among a variety of teams. READ: A Look At The Latest Signings Injuries, however, cut into his playing time during what should have been his peak years. In 2012, while playing for Boston, Sweeney punched a wall at Fenway Park, required surgery to repair the injury and cost him 59 games. Meanwhile, in 2013, Sweeney found his niche once he was recalled to the Cubs in May. From May until the end of June, he hit .295/.342/.527 with four home runs in 121 plate appearances. However, Sweeney wound up cracking a rib in a collision with Safeco’s wall that took him out of action for six weeks. When he returned to the lineup, he hit just .225/.300/.338. Nevertheless, the Cubs re-signed Sweeney shortly after that to a two-year, $3.5 million contract, betting that he could rebound to his pre-injury production. In a part-time capacity in 2014 Sweeney never hit well enough (.251/.304/.338) to merit more exposure, and a hamstring injury in May sidelined him for an extended stretch. "I don't know why I pulled my hamstring. I hadn't done it in seven or eight years,” told the Chicago Tribune while rehabbing the injury in Mesa at the team’s training facility. “But I was dealing with other stuff with my leg, so maybe I was overcompensating for it. Any time I've (injured) it, it has been on the base paths. So to do it while running after a fly was new to me." When the Cubs had to make their final roster decision heading into 2015, they opted to go with an additional infielder in Jonathan Herrera rather than the veteran outfielder, and designated Sweeney for assignment, paying him $1.5 million in the process. While he never played for another team over the rest of the season, Sweeney’s representative said in an email that the seven-year veteran had other playing options for 2014 but choose instead to recover from the various injuries including the hamstring issue and also a case of plantar fasciitis that affected his performance over the last several years. Heading into his age-30 season, Sweeney was committed to coming into 2016 at one hundred percent. READ: Should Mauer Be In The Outfield? What does Sweeney’s signing suggest about the team’s confidence in their outfield? There appears to be a glaring lack of confidence in their center field options but not enough commitment to upgrade with a Rajai Davis-type (who was just signed by the Cleveland Indians). Outside of Bryon Buxton, the Twins have Danny Santana and have cited Eddie Rosario as a potential option. They have brought in Mastroianni and Benson. Sweeney certainly possesses a small level of intrigue as he is capable of playing above average defense with an outside chance of contributing with the stick. However, he will battle two known commodities in Mastroianni and Benson. With Eddie Rosario and Oswaldo Arcia ahead of him, Sweeney’s left-handed presence gives him little advantage in a cluttered outfield. That being said, Sweeney can provide depth at the position and can be a recall candidate playing in Rochester if anything goes sour in Minnesota. Click here to view the article