From Carlos Correa to Alex Isola, everyone has questions this year.
Every spring, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic gives a single thought on players reporting to Spring Training. I’m going to borrow from the beloved Twins beat writer and switch it up a bit. On a roster filled with question marks, I have some questions to ask. Let’s get into it!
Starting Pitchers
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Pablo Lopez: Can Pablo be more consistent?
The Pablo Lopez/Luis Arraez trade has been a rousing success for the Twins, with Pablo making an All-Star team and spinning one of the best playoff starts in Twins history in 2023 against the Houston Astros. In both years in Minnesota, the Venezuelan native has started the season slowly and picked things up as the weather warmed.
Joe Ryan: Is Ryan’s improved stuff a detriment to his health?
Before an injury ended his season early, Ryan was arguably the Twins’ best starting pitcher thanks to his improved splitter and sweeper along with his typical elite invisi-ball four seamer. He’s spent a lot of time at Driveline improving his velocity and secondaries, but is the new version of Joe Ryan more injury-prone as a result?
Bailey Ober: Does he have one more gear?
Ober took a huge step forward throughout 2024, developing into one of the most reliable mid-rotation arms in the game. If he can take one more step forward, he’ll be an All-Star in 2025.
Simeon Woods Richardson: What is he?
Let’s get existential. SWR was good when all his advanced numbers said he shouldn’t have been and then cratered at the end of the season. None of his pitches graded out that well, he didn’t strike out enough batters, walked too many of them, and allowed way too many hard-hit balls. But he’s also only 24 and has shown an ability to adapt his approach.
Chris Paddack: Will he be traded?
At this point in the offseason, it seems more likely that the Twins will roll into 2025 with Paddack rounding out the rotation, but there could still be plenty of buyers for the Texan. In a market where Matt Boyd got $30M and Michael Soroka got $9M, Paddack at $7.5M is still a bargain.
Zebby Matthews: Can he be less predictable?
Zebulon was rushed to the Bigs last season and, understandably, got beat up a bit. The control artist put up historically low walk rates in the minors largely thanks to his ability to overpower lower-level hitters. He’ll need to work on pitch sequencing and potentially add another breaking ball this Spring.
David Festa: Can he limit walks?
This one is the most straightforward question of all. If Festa limits walks, he’ll be one of the Twins’ four best starters by the time October rolls around. If he can’t he may be bullpen bound eventually.
Matt Canterino: Can he stay healthy?
Louie Varland: Will the Twins keep trying to make him a starter?
Marco Raya: Will the Twins finally let him go deep into games?
Travis Adams: Is he more like SWR or Varland?
Huascar Ynoa/Darren McCaughan (NRI): Can the Twins turn them into an effective relievers?
Andrew Morris/Cory Lewis (NRI): Can they earn 40-man roster spots before the end of the season?
Randy Dobnak (NRI): Does he get one final shot with the Twins?
Position Players
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Carlos Correa: Can his feet stay together this season? Please?
This one is more of a prayer to whichever deity you prefer.
Byron Buxton: Is he healthy this time for real?
Buxton put together his best, most complete, and healthiest season of his career in 2024. If that’s the new normal, Twins fans can rest easy. Since this is Byron Buxton we’re talking about, I’ll need to see it again before I’m comfortable.
Royce Lewis: Can he put together a complete season?
There’s an argument to be made that if Royce Lewis was just average down the stretch last season rather than unplayably bad, the Twins would have been in the playoffs. He has all the talent in the world, but the Twins need him to be conditioned for the full length of the regular season after years of injuries.
Matt Wallner/Trevor Larnach: Were either of these breakouts real?
Larnach’s surface numbers are worse than they should have been and Wallner’s are better, but both players made meaningful strides in 2024. This Twins lineup desperately needs one or both outfielders to be forces in the middle of the order.
Willi Castro: Where will he play the most games?
I love you, my sweet, summer prince. You can do no wrong.
Ryan Jeffers/Christian Vazquez: Will Rocco finally break his 50/50 catcher usage?
If Vazquez is on the roster, probably not. That being said, Jeffers’ offensive ceiling could make him a fixture of the lineup if he can be a touch more consistent.
Edouard Julien/Brooks Lee/Jose Miranda: How will the 1B/2B playing time shake out?
Factor in Castro to this conversation as well. The Twins would have loved for one of Lee or Julien to break out of their prolonged slumps at the end of 2024, but no such luck. They’ll head into Spring Training with these three battling for two lineup spots, but all three should rotate fairly regularly in the regular season. For the record, my money is on Julien and Lee over Miranda.
Austin Martin: Can he defend well enough to be a contributor?
Martin has a good offensive floor with his contact-heavy, high walk, and low strikeout-rate approach. Unfortunately, he was a disaster defensively everywhere the Twins played him. With Castro a free agent at season’s end, the Twins need a new utility man and they would love Martin to develop into that player.
Harrison Bader: Can he hit well enough to be a contributor?
Bader is this year’s version of Michael A. Taylor/Manuel Margot as the Buxton backup who will get playing time in the outfield corners against lefties. He’s just as good, if not better, of a defender as Taylor but doesn’t have the lefty-mashing ability of Margot.
Emmanuel Rodriguez: How soon can he contribute?
I already went in-depth on Rodriguez a few weeks ago, but there’s a not-insignificant chance that Rodriguez could be a staple in the Twins lineup by the All-Star break. He’s likely the first man up should Larnach or Wallner get hurt/underperform or Buxton miss extended time.
Jair Camargo/Diego Cartaya/Mickey Gasper/Patrick Winkel (NRI)/Alex Isola (NRI)/Jeferson Morales (NRI): Do the Twins have a single MLB-caliber catcher among this bunch?
Vazquez is a free agent after this season and could still be traded as part of a larger move before Opening Day. Jeffers is a free agent the following year. The Twins’ long-term catching future is as murky as it’s been since before Jeffers’ and Mitch Garver’s breakouts. Camargo and Gasper have defensive questions, Cartaya lost his ability to hit, and Winkel/Isola/Morales are career minor leaguers on non-roster invites.
DaShawn Kerisey Jr.: How long can he hold onto his roster spot?
Mike Ford (NRI): Dear god, is he going to be our Opening Day first baseman?
Yunior Severino (NRI): Can he strike out less?
Luke Keaschall (NRI): How aggressive will the Twins be with his timeline?
Armando Alvarez (NRI): Is he actually the Willi Castro replacement?
Relief Pitchers
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Jhoan Duran/Griffin Jax: Who leads the team in saves?
Saves don’t matter anymore, but I think we will continue to see Rocco’s typical strategy as long as both are healthy, with Duran deployed in the ninth and Jax as the fireman at other high-leverage spots. Having two of the five best relievers in baseball is such a luxury.
Brock Stewart: Can he stay healthy?
Another Twin, another health question. Stewart is not far from the Duran/Jax tier when he’s healthy, but he’s missed a ton of time since his 2023 breakout.
Cole Sands: Was his 2024 breakout real?
Other AL Central teams to Derek Falvey when he turns another middling SP into an elite reliever…
Jorge Alcala: Will Rocco stop using Alcala in the worst ways possible?
I think Rocco is genuinely a good manager, but his usage of Alcala over the past two seasons has been baffling to me. Stop using him as a multi-inning reliever!!
Danny Coulombe/Michael Tonkin: Are the blasts from the past still effective?
A Gardy-era and pre-pandemic Twin are both projected to make the Opening Day roster. Both pitchers are 35 years old and were surprisingly effective last season, but could drop off at any moment. Coulombe’s roster spot is probably safer thanks to being one of two lefty relievers on the roster.
Kody Funderburk: Can he get lefties out?
The other lefty on the roster has the unfortunate inability to get lefties out, an important part of being an MLB left-handed reliever. He’s primarily fastball-changeup, so developing a slider/sweeper would seem to be the key here.
Eiberson Castellano: Can the Twins work out a trade with the Phillies?
The Twins love Castellano, but as a Rule 5 draft pick, he has to remain on the 26-man roster for the duration of the 2025 season. Under Derek Falvey, the Twins have always saved their final bullpen slot to rotate long relief options, so I find it unlikely that they will be able to keep Castellano. If they can work out a trade with the Phillies, from whom they drafted him, they can option him to St. Paul like any other prospect.
Justin Topa: Is he the odd man out?
Speaking of limited options, the Twins have too many relievers as it stands now. That will likely get worked during Spring Training thanks to unexpected injuries, but Topa has the unfortunate situation of being one of the Twins’ few relievers not named Jax/Duran who has options left. Cole Sands also does, but he’s more than earned his spot.
Anthony Misiewicz (NRI)/Scott Blewett (NRI)/Alex Speas (NRI)/Ryan Jensen (NRI): Do any of these journeymen have some juice?
The Super Bowl has passed, pitchers and catchers report in two days, and the Dodgers officially signed Kiké Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw. That means it’s baseball season, folks!