Wednesday, March 12

As Spring Training games approach, MLB.com will continue taking a look at the Twins’ roster, unit by unit. Today, it’s the starting rotation.

There are few things more comforting for a manager than knowing that just about every day, his starting pitcher is likely to keep his team in the game. If all goes according to plan for the Twins in 2025, manager Rocco Baldelli will have that luxury.

The Twins may not have an overpowering, Cy Young-contending ace type, but they have a top 3 in their rotation that would be the envy of most teams in baseball. They have a solid veteran No. 4 and multiple intriguing young options to fill the five spot.

If Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober stay healthy, it should be one of the better rotations in the American League. If they don’t, however, that’s where the questions come in.

On the 40-man roster: Travis Adams, Matt Canterino, David Festa, López, Zebby Matthews, Ober, Chris Paddack, Marco Raya, Ryan, Louis Varland, Simeon Woods Richardson

New arrivals: None

Departures: None

Top 30 prospects: Raya (No. 5), Andrew Morris (No. 6), Charlee Soto (No. 8), Dasan Hill (No. 10), C.J. Culpepper (No. 12), Cory Lewis (No. 14), Connor Prielipp (No. 21), Jose Olivares (No. 28), Adrian Bohorquez (No. 29)

The big question: How’s the depth?

When the Twins reached the All-Star break last year, six starting pitchers had combined to start all but two of their games and they’d only used seven starters total. Not coincidentally, the club was 54-42 and tracking for a postseason berth.

By the end of the season, 10 pitchers had gotten at least one start, and perhaps more telling, eight pitchers had started at least seven games. Not coincidentally, the club went 28-38 down the stretch.

The front of the Twins’ rotation looks like one of the best in baseball, with López, Ryan (assuming he’s healthy) and Ober a formidable top three. But pitchers get hurt, and very few teams get through a year only using five or even six starters.

A year ago, Paddack and Ryan both suffered season-ending injuries. And although the players who were asked to fill in are all promising, it wasn’t a fair ask to try to secure a postseason berth with three rookies in the rotation.

Now all of those rookies -- Woods Richardson, Matthews and Festa -- have a year of big league experience under their belts. And as of now, there’s only one spot for the three of them, with Woods Richardson the favorite.

If there’s a need for reinforcements, the hope is that the more seasoned versions of those pitchers will be equipped to keep the team in the hunt. They’ll need to be, since there were no significant additions to the starting staff in the offseason.

As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, I’m not in camp just yet. Those duties are being admirably handled by Bill Ladson. Here’s Bill’s first newsletter dispatch from Fort Myers.

Harrison Bader brings energy, athleticism and can play all three outfield positions. But according to Baldelli, most of his time with the Twins will be in left field, a position he has not played since 2018, when he was with the Cardinals.

Baldelli believes Bader is athletic enough to handle the spacious left field at Target Field in Minnesota. Bader will also see some time in center field, spelling Byron Buxton.

“[Left field] is a much bigger playing surface than right field,” Baldelli said. “So I think putting one of the best outfielders in the game in left field as opposed to right makes some sense. And there will be times this year where he's going to play some center field, too. But Buxton is going to remain our primary center fielder, and Harrison is going to fill that role [in left field].”

Baldelli indicated that right-hander Louis Varland will most likely come out of the bullpen. In 2024, Varland started the season as the Twins' No. 4 starter, but he was hit hard, allowing 19 runs (17 earned) in 16 2/3 innings before he was sent down to Triple-A St. Paul.

“Varland is just preparing for the season,” Baldelli said. “He's not preparing for one role in particular. He's a guy that can adapt very quickly if we need him to. I think it's very possible that we see a good amount of him out of the bullpen this year. We've seen the way he looks when he pitches out of the bullpen, but I'm not ready to say 100 percent locked in that [Varland] will pitch there.”

Thanks, Bill!

It’s a little dreary here in north Georgia today and I could use a little kick in the pants. Based on the weather report for the Twin Cities, I suspect those of you up there could as well. So here’s some high energy music to put on as you run errands or pick up around the house or whatever it is you need to get done today.

Winona Fighter, “I’m In The Market To Please No One”

Japandroids, “Younger Us”

Sprints, “Heavy”

Frank Turner, “The Gathering”

Pet Needs, “Separation Anxiety”

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