Keep an eye on this roster battle in Twins’ camp

This story was excerpted from Do-Hyoung Park’s Twins Beat publication. To learn the total publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it recurrently in your inbox.

This has already been a wierd camp in a single vital approach: Seemingly for the primary time in my time overlaying the Twins, there actually aren’t many vital roster battles to generate hypothesis as Spring Training video games get underway in earnest.

The Twins have a transparent high 5 within the beginning rotation. They have (many) extra veteran place gamers than spots within the beginning lineup, with the well being of Alex Kirilloff seemingly the figuring out issue for now, greater than any performance-related competitions.

Which leaves … the bullpen. And that’s the place some intrigue is perhaps discovered.

Jhoan Duran is a lock, as are Griffin Jax, Jorge López and Caleb Thielbar. There’s Emilio Pagán, who’s pursuing a bounceback from his powerful 2022. Then, supervisor Rocco Baldelli has mentioned that he’d choose to have an extended aid choice in his bullpen who can go 50-75 pitches as usually as doable — and that’s most likely a Cole Sands or Josh Winder kind.

That means there’s room for 2 extra pitchers — with three candidates for these roles, at this second: Jovani Moran, Trevor Megill and Jorge Alcala. If Alcala hadn’t missed primarily all of final season with an elbow harm that finally required season-ending surgical procedure, he’d doubtless be a shoo-in for a spot. But early this camp, the Twins have indicated that they’re extra centered on him regaining his really feel than the rest.

“I don’t want to lay too much on him,” Baldelli mentioned initially of camp. “I want to use this Spring Training to get him in the best possible place. … We’re just going to keep watching him and massaging him and working with him and getting him in the right spot.”

Then, there’s Moran, whose large changeup helped him submit a 2.21 ERA in 31 appearances with the Twins final season as he bounced between Triple-A and the Majors (the sufferer of getting Minor League choices), and Megill, who can throw 100 mph however was solely too hittable with a 4.80 ERA final season — and obtained off to a tough begin this spring, permitting six runs (together with a grand slam) in his first outing.

“When those guys are in the zone, getting ahead, and then attacking with the pitches they want, they are very tough, and they’re going to be good Major League relievers when they do that,” Baldelli mentioned.

Injuries might resolve the roster battle, but when not, regulate these final three pitchers (and maybe the lengthy aid spot) as a possible roster query in camp.