Are the Minnesota Twins going to be good in 2023? There’s some growing hype about their chances after signing Carlos Correa and trading for Pablo Lopez and Michael A. Taylor. Let’s take a look at the depth chart to see what’s different now that we’re just over two months from opening day.
Starting pitchers
- Joe Ryan
- Pablo Lopez
- Sonny Gray
- Tyler Mahle
- Kenta Maeda
This may be the deepest rotation without a true ace in all of baseball. You can argue that all five are No. 3-caliber starters, with No. 2 upside. That’s great depth on paper, but keeping them healthy will be critical and all of them with the exception of Ryan have extensive injury history.
Lopez made 32 starts last season but that was the first time in his career that he made more than 21 starts. Why? His shoulder. Gray was on the injured list multiple times last season, mirroring his career track record that dates back to days with the Reds, Yankees and Athletics. Mahle made just four starts after the Twins traded for him. Why? Shoulder. Maeda missed all of last season while rehabbing Tommy John surgery, but he was second in Cy Young voting during the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
If any of them do get hurt, the Twins have depth with Bailey Ober, Josh Winder, Louie Varland and potentially Simeon Woods Richardson. Again, no aces, but a bunch of solid arms that should be good enough to compete for a playoff spot and division title.
The lineup
If the season started right now, this could be what the starting lineup looks like (batting average/on-base percentage/OPS):
- C: Christian Vazquez .250/.278/.585
- 1B: Jose Miranda .268/.325/.751
- 2B: Jorge Polanco .235/.346/.751
- 3B: Kyle Farmer .255/.315/.701
- SS: Carlos Correa .291/.366/.834
- LF: Joey Gallo .160/.280/.638
- CF: Byron Buxton .224/.306/.833
- RF: Max Kepler .227/.318/.666
- DH: Alex Kirilloff .250/.290/.651 or Trevor Larnach .231/.306/.712
Trading Luis Arraez means the Twins need to figure out who bats leadoff. Buxton is a natural choice, though Jorge Polanco might make the most sense because of his ability to get on base. Last season, Polanco’s .346 on-base percentage was third on the team behind Arraez and Carlos Correa. With that in mind, how about this batting order?
- Jorge Polanco, S
- Carlos Correa, R
- Byron Buxton, R
- Jose Miranda, R
- Max Kepler, L
- Joey Gallo, L
- Kyle Farmer, R
- Christian Vazquez, R
- Alex Kirilloff, L or Trevor Larnach, L
The lineup competition will get more complicated when Royce Lewis returns from ACL rehab sometime over the summer. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli certainly has a lot of options and lineup combinations to work with, especially when considering the lineup sample above doesn’t include outfielders Michael A. Taylor, utility man Nick Gordon, catcher Ryan Jeffers, or first baseman/outfielder Matt Wallner.
The bullpen
The back end of the bullpen should be strong with flame-thrower Jhoan Duran closing games in 2023, and even better if Jorge Lopez gives the Twins the All-Star version of himself that they traded for last season. Lopez had a 1.68 ERA in 44 appearances with the Orioles and then posted a 4.37 ERA in 23 appearances with the Twins.
The rest of the bullpen also looks familiar with Griffin Jax, Jorge Alcala, Emilio Pagan and Caleb Thielbar looking like locks to make the team out of spring training.
Trevor Megill, Danny Coulombe, Ronny Henriquez, Cole Sands and Jovani Moran will also be competing for a spot on the roster.
