By now the Twins announcement regarding their opening day 25-man roster are old news. However there are some nuances that need pointing out:'
- There is a general feeling that the 13 pitcher / 12 position player set up, that cost Spring Training Superstart ByungHo Park a major league position, is temporary
- Again, all signs point out to a general evaluation season, thus the out of options Mike Tonkin made the team. How low his lease will be, has yet to be determined.
- A spot on the 40-man roster has to open for Chris Gimenez; the most logical move will be to place Glen Perkins on the 60-day DL, which means that he will no pitch until June, if ready. Based on the new CBA, he will have to agree on this.
- The Twins have 3 players on the 10-day DL and will have to deal with them: Kennys Vargas, who has options and could be optioned to Rochester, Ehire Adrianza, and Ryan O'Rourke, both out of options. I suspect that the decision regarding Adrianza will be harder than that regarding O'Rourke who will likely be waived, pass those waivers and outrighted. I feel that the presence of Adrianza (who has shown an improvement with the bat under the Twins' tutelage during Spring Training, and will likely not pass through waivers) makes the leash on Danny Santana and Mike Tonkin (if they decide to go with 12 pitchers) very short.
- It has to be noted: It was good to see that Adalberto Mejia (who can miss bats and was one of the best Twins' starters in Spring Training) won the last starting job over Tyler Duffey who has pitched 191 inning with the Twins and has proven that he is better fit for the pen (2 pitches only, big trouble getting through the order second and third time) and can flourish there. Not sure that a Terry Ryan team would have made that decision.
- Only pitchers Tyler Duffey, Adalberto Mejia, and Taylor Rogers and position players Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Eddie Rosario, and Migue Sanó, in other words the Twins' young core, have options in this roster. Justin Haley does technically have options, but as a Rule 5 selection he has to stay the full season with the Twins.
- There are reports that the Twins are interesting in RHRP Jared Hughes who was released by the Pirates, so the composition of the opening day bullpen might be in flux. The Twins have the number one priority in the waiver wire, and this is the time of the year that teams make hard decisions, so there might be some players available the next few days.
