One more injury may decide one final spot on Twins' roster
FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Twins didn't finalize their 26-man Opening Day roster as they departed for Kansas City on Tuesday, but it appears set after they cut seven nonroster invitees from major league camp.
They have 13 healthy position players and 14 pitchers remaining after they assigned pitchers Matt Bowman and Jeff Brigham, catchers Brian O'Keefe and Chris Williams, and infielders Michael Helman, Niko Goodrum and Anthony Prato to the minor leagues. Josh Staumont, one of the 14 pitchers left in camp, might begin the season on the injured list after he sustained a knee injury Monday and underwent examinations Tuesday.
Staumont "didn't come in feeling great," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Tuesday. "He wasn't moving great today."
Among the position player group, there are no surprises. The Twins will carry two catchers (Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez), six infielders (Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, Carlos Santana, Alex Kirilloff and Kyle Farmer), four outfielders (Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Matt Wallner and Manuel Margot) and one utilityman (Willi Castro).
The rotation has been set since Anthony DeSclafani felt more pain in his elbow. Pablo López will start Thursday in Kansas City with Joe Ryan scheduled to pitch Saturday and Bailey Ober on Sunday (Friday is a built-in off day). Louie Varland and Chris Paddack round out the five starters.
In the bullpen, Griffin Jax, Brock Stewart, Jay Jackson, Steven Okert, Kody Funderburk, Cole Sands and Jorge Alcala were all informed they made the roster. Daniel Duarte, a nonroster invitee to camp, is the leading candidate to fill the last spot.
"Duarte is going to come to Kansas City with us," Baldelli said. "We're going to hold off on making any official roster announcements, but he had a really nice spring and put himself in a great position. … Every other spot on the team is locked in and I've spoken with all those guys."
Duarte is not on the 40-man roster, so the Twins would need to clear a spot to add him. After pitching last season for the Reds, he was traded to the Rangers for cash considerations. The Twins picked him up off waivers in February, then designated him for assignment later in the month. He cleared waivers and was invited to camp as a non-roster player.
Twins win spring finale
Varland permitted six runs in five innings, but the Twins rallied for a 9-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves in their Grapefruit League finale Tuesday at Hammond Stadium. Varland struck out five, but he allowed homers to Jarred Kelenic and Orlando Arcia.
Julien and Buxton opened the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back hits, and they both scored on sacrifice flies. Wallner added a 451-foot, two-run homer over the batter's eye in center field in the fourth inning. Julien produced a team-high .468 on-base percentage in camp, and Buxton had 11 hits in 35 at-bats.
"We're beyond excited with what we were able to see with [Buxton]," Baldelli said.
The Twins ended camp with a 9-19-3 record, avoiding the worst record among all spring training teams. The Chicago White Sox went 9-20-3 in Arizona.
Etc.
* The Twins announced they drew 115,882 fans to their 16 Grapefruit games at Hammond Stadium this spring, their highest attendance total since 2019 and highest average per game since 2016. It was a 17.9% increase over last spring, which was their first camp post Hurricane Ian.
* Margot exited Tuesday's spring training game after he was hit by a pitch, and he suffered a left hand contusion. The Twins expect him to be ready for Opening Day.
