Friday, March 20

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It’s the final week of Spring Training, and the Twins have scarcely tipped their hand about their biggest position battle on the offensive side. We have a pretty good idea as to who will start at eight of the nine positions on Opening Day, but left field remains something of a mystery.

More specifically, it comes down to this: Either Alan Roden or James Outman is likely to form the larger half of a left-field platoon, while the one who loses out will probably not be on the roster. Austin Martin, currently sidelined due to a concussion, would most likely form the right-handed side of that platoon if he’s healthy and available.

The Twins will almost certainly carry four bench players. Catcher Victor Caratini, who will start quite a bit, is one. Kody Clemens, a left-handed hitter who will see some time in left field and can credibly play at least four positions, is another. Someone will make the roster as a backup shortstop, with Ryan Kreidler, Orlando Arcia and Tristan Gray the leading candidates.

And that leaves one other spot, barring a trade. And while there are a variety of ways the Twins could go, the rest of the roster composition points to a left-handed outfielder and a right-handed outfielder-slash-infielder. If the latter isn’t Martin, Eric Wagaman’s chances at a roster spot would seem to spike, but again, we just don’t know what Martin’s status will be in a week.

So for now, we focus on the left-handed side of that platoon. And it’s something of an unusual battle because, again, while the winner will likely play quite frequently, the loser will probably be on a roster other than the Twins, be that Triple-A St. Paul (if it’s Roden) or another organization (if it’s Outman).

Roden came over from the Blue Jays last summer in the deal that sent Louie Varland to Toronto. The Twins were high on him at the time, inserting him into the lineup regularly upon his arrival before a thumb injury ended his season prematurely. Roden has hit throughout the Minor Leagues, has a strong approach and on-base skills, and he's a solid corner outfielder who may be somewhat stretched in center field.

“There’s not a lot to the swing, and I mean that in a really positive way,” said manager Derek Shelton earlier in camp. “There’s not a lot of movement. The bat to the ball is really good, and he’s had … you’d be hard pressed to say that he hasn’t had some of our best at-bats this spring. Kid can hit. He has a really good approach.”

The only real downside to Roden is that he’s not as much of an asset as Outman as a center fielder. But it’s unclear how much that will matter. If Kreidler makes the roster, he could also back up Byron Buxton in center, making center-field defense less of an issue for the starting left fielder.

Outman also arrived at the Deadline last year, acquired from the Dodgers for Brock Stewart. He’s regarded as an exemplary defender at all three outfield positions, and back in 2023 he hit 23 homers and finished third in National League Rookie of the Year balloting. He’s struggled at the plate since then, though he’s enjoyed a nice offensive spring.

“The last two years have been super frustrating for me at the big league level,” he said. “But yeah, it always feels good to play well, no matter what. Just trying to be the player that I know I can be is the biggest thing.”

Complicating Outman’s situation is that he is out of Minor League options. So if the Twins wanted to send him to the Minor Leagues, he would have to clear waivers, and given his center-field prowess, that seems unlikely. On the flipside, Outman could have trade value for a team that is in need of relief help.

Saturday brought the annual softball game between the partners of Twins players and Rays players, on the field inside the main stadium at Lee Health Sports Complex. The Twins wives and girlfriends triumphed by a 17-9 score in an event that raised $10,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Charlotte County and Lee County. It was the sixth playing of the charity game, and the third time the Twins team has won.

Among the game’s standouts were Jessica Larnach, Trevor’s wife, who homered, and Steven Matz’s wife Taylor, who starred at the plate and at third base. Martin’s fiancée, Kayde Clampitt, started at catcher for the Twins team, which allowed Martin an unusual perspective.

“That’s her World Series right there,” Martin said. “She loves doing it, ever since the first time she played was maybe three years ago. Ever since then, she loved it. … The day before the game we were in the cages hitting for like an hour, doing some defensive work. She really wanted to impress, and I think she did. She had a really good game.

“It's awesome. It’s being able to see it from their perspective. They have to be there for 162, I can’t miss one. It’s awesome to be able to see her out there having fun and just being able to support her.”

Let’s go with another album side. Tuesday was the 40th anniversary (yikes!) of the release of another of my favorite albums, though a very different one from last newsletter: Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration. So let’s go with the last five tracks on that incredible record. Y’all be kind and look out for each other, OK?

“Here Is The House”
“World Full Of Nothing”
“Dressed In Black”
“New Dress”
“But Not Tonight”

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