The Minnesota Twins wrapped up spring training on Tuesday and now they’re off to Kansas City for Opening Day Thursday afternoon against the Royals.
On Wednesday evening, the Twins confirmed their 26-man roster. Let’s take a closer look:
Consider the roster set 😤 pic.twitter.com/OhMIjXy5Gh
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) March 29, 2023
Starting pitchers
- Pablo Lopez
- Sonny Gray
- Joe Ryan
- Tyler Mahle
- Kenta Maeda
Lopez has been named the starter for Opening Day, but we don’t know how the rest of the rotation will shake out. Bailey Ober put up better numbers than almost every Twins pitcher this spring, but the Twins opted to start him at Triple-A St. Paul.
Relief pitchers
- Griffin Jax
- Caleb Thielbar
- Jovani Moran
- Emilio Pagan
- Jorge Alcala
- Jorge Lopez
- Jhoan Duran
- Cole Sands
The seven relievers feature five right-handers and two lefties. Duran and Lopez figure to be the dominant arms used in late-inning/high-leverage situations, while Moran figures to have a chance to be a strong left-handed arm out of the bullpen.
Infielders
- C: Christian Vazquez
- C: Ryan Jeffers
- 1B: Joey Gallo
- 2B: Nick Gordon
- SS: Carlos Correa
- 3B: Jose Miranda
- UTIL: Kyle Farmer
- UTIL: Willi Castro
- UTIL: Donovan Solano
Farmer hit .308/.362/.692 with four homers this spring while Gordon slashed .241/.267/.345, but it’s Gordon who’s expected to get the starts while Jorge Polanco is injured.
Jeffers also had a much better spring at the plate than Vazquez, but Vazquez seems like the more likely option to start behind home plate because of his defensive prowess.
Outfielders
- Byron Buxton
- Max Kepler
- Trevor Larnach
- Michael A. Taylor
Buxton will begin the season as the designated hitter, so the outfield is set from left to right with Larnach, Taylor and Kepler.
Related: Twins release opening day lineup vs. Kansas City Royals
