Minnesota Twins Daily Clips. Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Transcription

1 Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Wednesday, March 30, 2016 Duffey, O'Rourke optioned as Twins set roster. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 1 Dozier, Sano, Suzuki hit solo homers. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 2 Final step for Berrios is refining command. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 3 Tyler Duffey among four cuts as Twins reach roster limit. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 4 Twins major leaguers-in-waiting: Jose Berrios, Max Kepler lead a talented list. Star Tribune (Neal lll) p. 5 Twins day at camp: Sano knows the loud art of calling off infielders. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 6 Milone, home runs help Twins win their sixth in a row. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 8 With cuts, Twins set rotation, pen, active roster. Pioneer Press (Mullen) p. 8 What must go right for Twins in 2016? Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 9 Miguel Sano, Byung Ho Park could be keys to Twins' offense in ESPN.com (Crasnick) p. 11 Predicting Twins' 2016 season record. ESPN.com (Peta) p. 13 Ricky Nolasco makes Twins starting rotation over Tyler Duffey. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 15 Wetmore s 5 thoughts: Nolasco over Duffey, bullpen, catching, Byung Ho Park. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 15 Twins 2016 outlook: Tommy Milone is a solid option at the back of the rotation. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 17 Sano, Suzuki, Dozier homer as Twins rock Red Sox. Associated Press p. 18 Spring training: Transitions going well for Minnesota s Miguel Sano, Boston s Hanley Ramirez. Naples Daily News (Butherus) p. 20 Duffey, O'Rourke optioned as Twins set roster Rhett Bollinger MLB.com March 29, 2016 The Twins set their 25-man roster, barring any last-minute changes, as they optioned Tyler Duffey and Ryan O'Rourke to Triple-A Rochester and reassigned Logan Darnell and Brandon Kintzler to Minor League camp on Tuesday. It means Ricky Nolasco won the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation over Duffey, which also opened up an extra spot in the bullpen. The bullpen, barring any last-minute waiver-wire transactions, will be composed of closer Glen Perkins, Kevin Jepsen, Trevor May, Casey Fien, Fernando Abad, Ryan Pressly and Michael Tonkin. "It was a tough call," general manager Terry Ryan said, "but we decided to go this way. Ricky pitched well this spring, and Duffey OK. It's just consistency. He's a young guy and had a wonderful taste of the big leagues last year, but we were looking for more consistency this spring. And sending a guy down isn't punishment, he just has to fine-tune it a little bit." Abad, who needs to be added to the 40-man roster, joins Perkins as the only lefties. Perkins, Jepsen, May and Fien were locks, while Pressly was one of the better relievers in camp and Tonkin is out of Minor League options. O'Rourke had an impressive spring with a 1.35 ERA, while Darnell put himself in good position, as he's the only candidate to pitch in long relief. But Ryan said the Twins plan to stretch out Tonkin and Pressly to pitch multiple innings, if needed. "We have guys we can count on who can go more than an inning," Ryan said. "Pressly can go more than two. We're going to stretch out Tonkin, and Abad

2 can go a couple." Duffey was considered a front-runner to be in the rotation after Twins manager Paul Molitor said early in camp it would take something "fairly significant" for him not be one of the club's five starters. But Duffey, who had a 3.10 ERA in 10 starts down the stretch as a rookie last year, posted a 7.30 ERA, including allowing four runs in four innings against the Pirates on Monday. The 33-year-old Nolasco, who is owed $25 million over the next two seasons, had a 4.05 ERA in four Grapefruit League outings. "I didn't do myself a lot of favors," Duffey said. "I came in hearing about being the No. 4 starter and this and that. I worked on stuff and didn't get ready to go, and it showed the last two outings. I needed to execute and I didn't have that ready to go. So you can take whatever from that. But I've been through it now and know the ropes for next time." Molitor said Duffey was disappointed but professional. "We rode this thing as long as we could," Molitor said. "He knows he had a plan of what he wanted to work on this spring, but some of the other things weren't as consistent as we would've liked to have seen. So he's going to try to make sure he can get back on track early so if we need to dip down, he'll be ready. So it was hard, knowing his contributions in his 10 starts last year." The rotation order will be Opening Day starter Ervin Santana, followed by Kyle Gibson, Phil Hughes, Tommy Milone and Nolasco. It sets up Gibson to start the home opener against the White Sox on April 11. The Twins already set their position players last week, as the four bench spots will be catcher John Ryan Murphy, outfielder Oswaldo Arcia and utility men Danny Santana and Eduardo Nunez. Molitor also rolled out what is expected to be his Opening Day lineup and batting order in Tuesday's 6-2 rain-shortened victory against the Red Sox. The Twins' regular lineup is expected to be second baseman Brian Dozier as the leadoff hitter, followed by first baseman Joe Mauer, right fielder Miguel Sano, third baseman Trevor Plouffe, left fielder Eddie Rosario, designated hitter Byung Ho Park, shortstop Eduardo Escobar, catcher Kurt Suzuki and center fielder Byron Buxton. "I feel real good about this roster," Ryan said. "We're in good shape. We've got a good sprinkling of young kids, guys in their mid-careers and veterans. Our pitching staff is mostly veterans. But if you look at the average age of this roster, we're real young." Dozier, Sano, Suzuki hit solo homers Rhett Bollinger MLB.com March 29, 2016 Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano and Kurt Suzuki each homered to help lift the Twins to a 6-2 win over the Red Sox in a rain-shortened game on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium. Dozier led off the first with a solo homer on the first pitch from Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly before Sano launched a mammoth dinger that cleared the boardwalk area in left field two batters later. Suzuki later added a solo home run of his own in the fourth. Suzuki, who had five homers last season, is now tied for team lead with four homers this spring, while Dozier has three and Sano has two. "We got off to a good start with Dozier and then Miguel hitting a high changeup," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "[Sano] really has a good approach, and his strike-zone knowledge is impressive for how youthful he is." Kelly mostly struggled, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks over four innings, but he did strike out four. He finishes Grapefruit League play with a 2.63 ERA. "Just a couple mistake pitches," said Kelly. "Obviously the leadoff homer. The first pitch of the game I threw a fastball down the middle and he jumped the gun. When we play him in the regular season and I match up, he's definitely not going to get that pitch. But the homer was a righty-righty changeup I 2

3 just left up to Sano. And the pitch that Suzuki hit out was a pretty good fastball in. He was probably just sitting fastball cheating, put a good swing and hit a homer." Red Sox manager John Farrell was impressed with Kelly's outing. "He had great stuff today -- power to his fastball, he was down in the strike zone quite a bit," Farrell said. "Made some pitches up, out over the plate that, when you look at the first pitch of the game, Dozier rides one out of here. But power stuff. Not as efficient as the first two, three times out for him. Still, we got him to 90-plus pitches on a day when you're getting close to Opening Day and you want to get close to 100 pitches. We were able to do that today." Left-hander Tommy Milone started for the Twins, going six innings, surrendering two runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Milone, who won the competition to be Minnesota's No. 4 starter, finishes the spring with a 2.57 ERA. The Red Sox scored both of their runs against Milone in the third, when Mookie Betts and Brock Holt singled with one out. After a wild pitch from Milone, Chris Young brought home Betts with a sacrifice fly before Hanley Ramirez scored Holt on an RBI single to right. Sano paced the offense for the Twins, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. He had an RBI single in the fourth to score Dozier and added another RBI single in the sixth off Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel to bring home Byron Buxton. Twins closer Glen Perkins also saw action, throwing a scoreless seventh inning and getting helped by a double play. The game was called with one out in the seventh with Junichi Tazawa on the mound for the Red Sox. Juan Centeno plated a run with an RBI groundout, and the game was called with Oswaldo Arcia at the plate. Up next for the Red Sox: Ace David Price will make his final tune-up for Opening Day when he pitches a split-squad game in Bradenton, Fla., against the Pirates on Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. ET. Blake Swihart, Pablo Sandoval, Betts and Rusney Castillo will make the trip. Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz will be among the regulars who travel to Port Charlotte to face the Rays at 1:05 p.m. John Farrell will manage in Port Charlotte, with bench coach Torey Lovullo going to Bradenton. Both games will air on MLB.TV. Up next for the Twins: Right-hander Ervin Santana, Minnesota's Opening Day starter, is set to make his final tune-up of the spring on Wednesday, as he gets the start against the Blue Jays in a 12:05 p.m. CT game that will air on MLB.TV. Santana has been impressive this spring with a 1.13 ERA. Other pitchers scheduled to throw include Trevor May and Ryan Pressly. Final step for Berrios is refining command Rhett Bollinger MLB.com March 29, 2016 While the Twins believe their rotation is the best it's been in recent years, it's still not a group that misses many bats. Minnesota's rotation has had the fewest strikeouts in the Majors in each of the last five years, but that trend could change this season with the help of one key addition -- top pitching prospect Jose Berrios. Berrios, ranked as the club's No. 2 prospect and No. 19 overall by MLBPipeline.com, led the Minor Leagues with 175 strikeouts in a career-high 166 1/3 innings last season. It was a breakout season for the 21-year-old, who went 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester. But it wasn't enough to earn him a September callup, as the Twins wanted to monitor the 6-foot, 185-pounder's workload heading into this year. The restrictions are now off, however, and while Berrios is starting the year at Rochester, he figures to give the Twins a boost in their rotation at some point this season. "I wanted to be here last year and they didn't call me, but I'm ready this year," Berrios said. "I wanted to play in the Majors, but I respect the decision of 3

4 [general manager] Terry Ryan and the staff. And now I'm just ready for the 2016 season." Berrios, a Bayamon, Puerto Rico, native, was a first-round Draft pick in 2012, and he has excelled at every level in the Minors, posting a career 2.98 ERA and 464 strikeouts in 440 1/3 innings. There were worries that, given his smaller frame, he'd have trouble keeping the ball in the park because of a lack of plane on his fastball, but he's never given up more than 12 homers in any season. Berrios, though, isn't quite a finished project, as he struggled with his command a bit in spring and needs to work on locating his fastball better to set up his curveball and changeup. "Probably location more than anything else, but it's not so much control because he does throw strikes for the most part," Ryan said. "Now it's just about commanding the zone a little bit. But there's not much that you're going to hear from my mouth that's not positive about last year. He had a very good solid year from basically start to finish." Berriois' work ethic certainly isn't the issue, as he's active on Twitter and Instagram, posting all of his grueling offseason workouts. He trained six days a week this offseason, and said he enjoys being able to show what he's up to, such as workouts in which he runs on the beach with a parachute being deployed behind him. "I put it on [social media] because I want people to see me and enjoy what I do in the offseason," Berrios said. "It's great. Everybody knows what I do." He's also leaned on veteran right-hander Ervin Santana for advice, as Santana made his debut as a youngster, pitching with the Angels as a 22-year-old in Santana raves about the quality of Berrios' stuff, and believes he'd be able to get Major League hitters out now. "He's got great command and I think he's ready," Santana said. "He has a lot of life on his fastball and has good offspeed. He can throw them for a strike, and that's what you're looking for at the big league level." Tyler Duffey among four cuts as Twins reach roster limit Phil Miller Star Tribune March 30, 2016 Tyler Duffey came to Twins camp with a plan: practice throwing changeups, a pitch that hasn't been too useful in his brief career. And he accomplished his goal, frequently offering hitters his third-best pitch in situations where his nasty curveball might have worked better. On Tuesday, Duffey realized the flaw in his blueprint. He forgot to get his other pitches ready for the season. Duffey was optioned to Class AAA Rochester as the Twins reached the 25-man roster limit, ending with a resounding thud a camp he had hoped would be a simple checkpoint toward the Twins' 2016 rotation. Ricky Nolasco, hoping to salvage a comeback season after two injury-filled years, will be the Twins' fifth starter and make his season debut April 9 in Kansas City. "I came in thinking, or at least hearing, that I was No. 4 [in the rotation], so I worked on stuff and didn't get ready to go," said Duffey, who "fully expected" the news manager Paul Molitor delivered Tuesday morning. "That showed in the last two outings, when I needed to execute, and I didn't have that. I've been through it now. Now I know the ropes for next time around." Next time won't be long, Molitor figures, if Duffey recovers the form that helped him go 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA in nine starts from Aug. 15 on last summer. "We rode this thing as long as we could," said Molitor, who earlier in the month said it was "difficult to picture" Duffey not being in the rotation. "Some of the other things weren't as consistent as we'd like to see. He's going to try to go make sure he gets back on track quickly, so when we dip down [for a starter], he's a guy we look at." Molitor and pitching coach Neil Allen told Duffey that "the changeup is still an important component for him," Molitor said, "but he knows that to get 4

5 swings on his curveball, he has to do better with his fastball." Duffey posted a 7.30 ERA in four starts against major league teams, and was knocked around by a Class AAA team last week, too. "I know that I didn't pitch well, plain and simple," he said. "Had I thrown like I did last year, I don't think it would have been an issue at all, but I didn't do that. So now I'm here. I've just got to go and pitch well." He'll be joined by Tuesday's three other roster casualties, a trio of relief pitchers who mostly pitched well but couldn't lock down a spot. Lefthander Ryan O'Rourke was optioned to Rochester, and lefty Logan Darnell and righthander Brandon Kintzler were assigned to minor league camp. "I thought I pitched well enough to make the team," said O'Rourke, who posted a 1.35 ERA in eight spring games, "but obviously, I didn't." It was more about how the pieces fit together, Molitor said. By making those cuts, he completed the Twins' bullpen, with lefthander Fernando Abad and righthanders Michael Tonkin and Ryan Pressly earning the final spots. "I have high hopes for Pressly. I thought his chances were pretty good, and he pitched well. He earned it," Molitor said of the reliever, who struck out 10 in 10 innings with a 1.80 ERA. "Fernando, he kind of grows on you his ability to throw it over, to get lefties and righties out." Molitor also informed Nolasco, who had a good but not great spring, that he will be in the rotation once more. His reaction? "He simply said, 'I'm ready,' " Molitor said. Twins major leaguers-in-waiting: Jose Berrios, Max Kepler lead a talented list La Velle E. Neal lll Star Tribune March 29, 2016 Jose Berrios entered the clubhouse at Hammond Stadium one morning during spring training carrying a shiny new mantel clock, his award for being named Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year in It s nice. I have two now, said Berrios, who also won the award in Across the clubhouse, outfielder Max Kepler packed away his clock for being the Minor League Player of the Year. Speaking of timepieces, tick-tock, is it time for Berrios, Kepler or another prospect to get a shot to stick in the majors? One year after Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Tyler Duffey and Eddie Rosario debuted, Berrios, ranked second among Twins prospects by ESPN, and Kepler (third) should lead another wave of young talent to Target Field. We ve got a pretty good group coming along, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. I think we saw this a couple of years ago. We had some pretty good players. Now you have Kepler on the verge and you ve got [Jorge] Polanco on the verge, and you ve got a number of others who are pretty close. You can deduce that there is a wave coming, but they have a lot to prove. Berrios skills he throws a mid-90s fastball with an average to above-average changeup and curve were on display during spring training. The Twins broke camp with their rotation set, but Berrios, 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA between Class AA Chattanooga and Class AAA Rochester last season, could be the first starter summoned if there s an injury. Max Kepler Kepler was the Southern League MVP last season, batting.322 with nine home runs, 71 RBI and a.416 on-base percentage. Working with Chattanooga manager Doug Mientkiewicz and hitting coach Chad Allen, Kepler became more aggressive at the plate and pulled pitches better. He can play all three 5

6 outfield positions he s better in the corners and some first base. He was outstanding last year, said Brad Steil, the Twins director of minor league operations. Just how he matured at the plate. Berrios and Kepler aren t alone in the waiting room. Twins fans have seen Polanco in cameo appearances over the past two seasons, including a call-up from Class A Fort Myers in He projects as a good offensive player who can play short but might be better suited at second base. ESPN has him ranked as the sixth-best prospect in the organization. Polanco is blocked by Eduardo Escobar at short, Brian Dozier at second and Trevor Plouffe at third. So he will simmer at Rochester, ready to fill in if needed. For him to get at-bats, Ryan said, we re going to have to branch him out. Nick Burdi The Twins have focused on adding power relief arms in recent drafts, and four of them righthanders Nick Burdi, Jake Reed and J.T. Chargois and lefthander Mason Melotakis could be called up by the end of the season. Burdi stood out during spring training, throwing several pitches at 99 miles per hour while adding a wipeout slider and improving a split-fingered changeup. Reed and Chargois throw in the mid-90s. Melotakis is healthy following Tommy John surgery and has touched 97 mph in the past. These prospects are why the Twins didn t feel pressed to spend on free-agent bullpen help. A wild card is former starter Alex Meyer, who throws in the upper 90s but is battling control problems. There are things to work with there, Ryan said of the group. There are starting prospects, too, such as Taylor Rogers, who was with a 3.98 ERA at Rochester last season, and Pat Dean (12-11, 2.82). Both are finesse lefthanders who could be called up in a pinch. Keep in mind the Twins might have as many as eight starters in front of these two. Adam Brett Walker Adam Brett Walker looms as a power option if the Twins need an outfielder or designated hitter. Walker led Class AA in home runs (31), RBI (106) and extra-base hits (65) while at Chattanooga. But he hit just.236 and struck out a minor league-high 195 times, and the Twins are reworking his throwing mechanics. Some in the organization believe he has more power than Sano, which is hard to imagine. Overall, it s a deep group, deeper than in recent years. And many of them could be in a Twins uniform by the end of the season. We ve got some good players coming along here, Ryan said. All you have to do is read these lists that all of you pay attention to, to some extent. [But] we know our guys a little better than the national guys. Twins day at camp: Sano knows the loud art of calling off infielders Phil Miller Star Tribune March 30, 2016 When Sano's got it, infielders sure hear it Miguel Sano is trying to absorb a lot of information as he learns to play right field, but he has already mastered the instruction Little League coaches have imparted to onrushing outfielders for decades. 6

7 Train whistle. Use your train whistle, Miguel. Sano screamed "I got it, I got it!" so loudly as he charged toward the infield to snag Rusney Castillo's shallow fly ball Tuesday, he could be heard outside Hammond Stadium. And nobody heard him more clearly than Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier, who briefly tracked the pop-up, then smartly evacuated the area. "I say 'I got it, I got it, I got it!' Everybody hears me," Sano said proudly after the game. "Everybody moves, so I can catch it." Yeah, not many infielders will get in the way of a 270-pound outfielder hustling at top speed. Not if they value their careers. So the Twins have emphasized to Sano the importance of communication. Of 120-decibel communication. "Between the spin and height [of fly balls] and who's around you and where they were at the start of the play we're just learning what his range is going to be," manager Paul Molitor said. "Balls he needs to take charge of, he definitely has precedence over the infielders, so it's good to see him call them off on those sort of plays." But it's even better to see him bash those baseballs out of stadiums, as he did Tuesday to a changeup from Boston's Joe Kelly. The 22-year-old slugger cleared the boardwalk in left-center, only his second home run of the spring, but one of the most majestic all month. "Really far. I don't know how far, because I don't watch the ball. But when I got it, I knew it's a homer," Sano said. "Good day for it. With the season coming, I have to show the power." Tonkin's new role Michael Tonkin will open the season in the Twins' bullpen, a place he's plenty familiar with. But the role he fills will be new. The 26-year-old righthander is Molitor's choice to be the team's long reliever, a specialty Tonkin hasn't tried much as his career closed in on the major leagues. That pitcher is summoned if there is an injury or early knockout of the starter, and he's sometimes asked to pitch anywhere from three to five innings. "I talked to Michael about how he is going to fit and how he can contribute, and right now, that's the way it's going to be for him," Molitor said. Tonkin has pitched two innings only 24 times in his 184 appearances over the past three major and minor league seasons, and only once in that time has he gotten nine outs in a game. But "your roster is never shaped perfectly," Molitor said. To prepare him, the Twins will ask Tonkin to throw 40 pitches, or roughly double his normal workload, Wednesday, then have him stay behind in Fort Myers for an outing of at least 50 pitches Saturday. He'll rejoin the team in Baltimore on Sunday. Etc. Tommy Milone will also remain in Fort Myers after the Twins leave for Washington on Thursday, so he can start on his regular rotation day Sunday. Outfielder Darin Mastroianni, assigned to the minors last week, impressed his manager Tuesday by racing from first base to third on a pitch that skipped back to the screen. With Tuesday's win, the Twins have beaten Boston five times in six games. It's the first time since 2011 that the Twins have won the "Chairman's Cup" championship between the Fort Myers-based teams. The Twins hold a advantage since the annual series began in

8 Milone, home runs help Twins win their sixth in a row Phil Miller Star Tribune March 30, 2016 Tommy Milone seems to be in top form just in time for the season to start. Twins manager Paul Molitor hopes closer Glen Perkins is, too. Milone easily shut down a makeshift Red Sox lineup Tuesday, allowing two runs over six innings and pitching the Twins to a rain-shortened 6-2 victory over Boston at Hammond Stadium. "He just doesn't misfire very often. You see a lot of balls that are just right there," exactly where he wants them, Molitor said. "He's going to give you a chance to win most games." Perkins needed only nine pitches to record three outs, even after walking the leadoff hitter. That appears to be a good sign, Molitor said, though he didn't sounded completely certain. "We have to just trust that he's doing what he feels he needs to do. We'll see what happens when he gets into the season," Molitor said. "Obviously he's been more finesse than power in camp, but we'll see what we've got pretty soon." The Twins got all the offense they needed from home runs, with Brian Dozier smacking Joe Kelly's first pitch onto the left field berm. Miguel Sano, who also collected a pair of RBI singles, followed moments later by blasting a pitch far beyond the boardwalk above the fence in left-center, his second homer of the spring. Three innings later, Kurt Suzuki belted his fourth homer. The game was called when a violent thunderstorm struck in the bottom of the seventh. With cuts, Twins set rotation, pen, active roster Maureen Mullen Pioneer Press March 29, 2016 The Twins made a series of roster moves before their game against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday afternoon. Right-handed pitcher Tyler Duffey and lefthanded pitcher Ryan O Rourke were optioned to Triple-A Rochester; left-hander Logan Darnell and right-hander Brandon Kintzler were reassigned to minor league camp. With the moves, the Twins now have 25 players in camp, including one non-roster player, 12 pitchers, two catchers, six infielders and five outfielders. That essentially sets their roster for the season opener although there is always the possibility of changes. The day we have a perfect roster is the day that I m going to feel giddy, general manager Terry Ryan said. We ve never had a perfect roster in our best years. But we have guys we can count on. With Duffey going to Rochester, the fifth spot in the starting rotation goes to right-hander Ricky Nolasco. It was a tough call, Ryan said. But we decided to go this way. Ricky pitched well this spring and Duffey OK. Manager Paul Molitor said Duffey was disappointed by the news but professional. Duffey will work in Rochester s rotation and likely be the first depth starter. We rode this thing as long as we could, Molitor said. We talked about the fact that we were trying to consider and make the most of the decision. So, he knows. He had a plan: He wanted to go out and work on this spring, but in trying to do that, some of the other things aren t as consistent as he d like or we would have liked to have seen. He s going to try to make sure he gets back on track quickly so if we need to dip down, he s the guy that we ll look at. 8

9 Nolasco will be preceded in the rotation by right-hander Ervin Santana, right-handers Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes, and lefty Tommy Milone. The Twins will have a bullpen of closer Glen Perkins, with Fernando Abad the only other lefty in the pen and a non-roster invitee who must be added to the 40-man roster and righties Casey Fien, Kevin Jepsen, Trevor May, Ryan Pressley and Michael Tonkin. The position players include catcher Kurt Suzuki, first baseman Joe Mauer, second baseman Brian Dozier, third baseman Trevor Plouffe, shortstop Eduardo Escobar, left fielder Eddie Rosario, center fielder Byron Buxton, right fielder Miguel Sano, designated hitter Byung Ho Park, and John Ryan Murphy, Eduardo Nunez, Danny Santana and Oswaldo Arcia on the bench. GAME DAY Sano went 3 for 4 with a home run, three runs batted in and a run scored as the Twins beat the Red Sox 6-2 Tuesday in game that was called with one out in the bottom of the seventh because of rain. Good day for it. With the season coming, I have to show the power, Sano said. The guy threw me a lot of sinkers. I (fouled) a 3-1 changeup, so he threw me sinker inside, and I hit it to right field. And the last (at-bat), he threw me slider, and I turned to hit it to left field. Base hit. It s spring training, so I m trying to work on everything. So I try to work, when there s man on second, man on third, I work to try to get RBI and score a run for my team. It s a great moment, how it s going right now, and in the outfield, too. Dozier led off with a first-pitch home run off Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly. Five pitches later, Sano hit a solo shot, and Suzuki added another in the fourth inning. Milone went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Perkins pitched one inning, giving up a walk. BRIEFLY The Twins will leave Fort Myers after Thursday s game against the Red Sox for two exhibition games against the Nationals in Washington, D.C., but Milone and Tonkin will stay in Fort Myers to pitch in minor league games at the complex. Tonkin will throw 50 pitches in a game on Saturday, while Milone will start Sunday. The lineup manager Paul Molitor used against the Red Sox looked a lot like what could be the Opening Day lineup Monday in Baltimore: Dozier, Mauer, Sano, Plouffe, Rosario, Park, Escobar, Suzuki, Buxton. What must go right for Twins in 2016? Mike Berardino Pioneer Press March 29, 2016 Plenty of things went right for the Twins last season, a return to respectability after four straight seasons of 90-plus defeats. While 83 wins were an encouraging sign, the Twins still finished three games out of the second wild-card spot in the American League, and 12 games behind the eventual World Series champions from Kansas City in the AL Central. If the Twins are to take that next step and reach the postseason for the first time since 2010, their first season at Target Field, these are some of the things that will need to happen: ROOKIE IMPACT After getting strong offensive contributions from Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario last season, and a late-season rotation boost from Tyler Duffey, the Twins have another wave on the way. Korean slugger Byung Ho Park, a two-time Most Valuable Player in the Korea Baseball Organization, is pretty much a finished product at 29. His ability to 9

10 make a successful conversion to the major leagues will go a long way toward determining if the Twins are able to compensate for the loss of Torii Hunter s power bat. Look for Park to get the bulk of his time at designated hitter, which will require some adjustment for him after playing almost exclusively at first base in the KBO. Just as vital is a successful rookie season by center fielder Byron Buxton, who has slipped behind Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager on most lists of the game s top prospects. Buxton struggled at the plate after a mid-june promotion from Double-A last season, but the Twins are hoping for a healthy breakthrough season for a five-tool threat with the ability to develop into a true leadoff hitter. Right-hander Jose Berrios and outfielder Max Kepler, the Twins minor-league pitcher and player of the year in 2015, respectively, also should push for playing time by midseason. Berrios has yet to appear in the majors, while Kepler has just one big-league hit to his name, but both have all-star potential. CONVERSION TRUCK Rosario s arrival in left field helped the Twins vastly improve their outfield defense in 2015, when they moved all the way to 13th in Defensive Runs Saved (plus-eight) after finishing dead last (minus-49) the previous year. Now it s up to Sano, who reported to camp just south of 260 pounds, to prove it wasn t foolhardy to expect him to make the switch from third base to right field. He had a couple of blips this spring, but he also flashed an arm that consistently ranked among the strongest in the Twins minor-league system. Hunter was surprisingly solid in the field last year at age 40. He joined first-base coach Butch Davis this spring in trying to help Sano make the switch. Set to turn 23 in mid-may, Sano will be counted on to anchor the lineup with consistent slugging and run production from the third or fourth spot. Any persistent issues on defense could threaten to diminish Sano s offense if he isn t able to separate the two. MAUER UPTICK It s not as if Joe Mauer was a lost cause in 2015, when he broke Bob Allison s 54-year-old franchise record by reaching base in 43 consecutive games down the stretch. But the post-concussion symptoms that continued to dog him, most notably occasional blurred vision and sensitivity to light, leave open the possibility Mauer s slow decline could continue. Then again, he seemed to respond well to spring experimentation with sunglasses in the batter s box, so perhaps Mauer can emulate ex-teammate (and fellow concussion victim) Justin Morneau and win a fourth batting title at age 33. Twins manager Paul Molitor has talked with Mauer about sharing time at first base with Park; that would enable Mauer to grab a few more days of rest when he s not serving as the designated hitter. Mauer s career high for starts at DH is 42 games, set in He could surpass that this season if the Twins grow comfortable with Park s defense or they seek to give Sano an occasional look at first. SHUTDOWN BULLPEN Strikeouts remain an issue for Twins relievers, who again finished last in the majors last year with a nine-inning rate of 6.85 whiffs. Closer Glen Perkins, determined to stay healthy for a full season for the first time since 2013, has seen his strikeout rate drop by 23 percent over the past two seasons. A return to missing bats for the three-time reigning all-star would be a huge boon for the bullpen. So would a full season of high-velocity results for right-hander Trevor May, who will remain a reliever for now and join July trade acquisition Kevin Jepsen (10 for 10 in save chances with the Twins) in a setup role. Casey Fien figures to handle the seventh inning again. 10

11 The Twins won t be able to match the high-octane bullpens of the Royals or the Detroit Tigers, who made a series of back-end additions this winter, but it would help greatly if they find a way to narrow the gap. CATCH THEM IF YOU CAN The theory behind dealing former first-rounder Aaron Hicks for backup catcher John Ryan Murphy was simple: If the Twins could afford to give Kurt Suzuki a few more days off, perhaps the all-star bat he showed in the first half of 2014 would return. While Murphy struggled at the plate this spring, the Twins took great pains to limit Suzuki s workload in an effort to keep the 32-year-old fresh. Both have work to do in the areas of pitch framing and throwing out base-stealers, but a shared arrangement would surprise no one while keeping Suzuki s $6 million contract option for 2017 from vesting at 485 plate appearances. Catching prospects Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver were pushed back to Double-A with the offseason acquisitions of John Hicks and Juan Centeno, both of whom have limited experience in the majors. Only the Seattle Mariners received less offense from their catchers last season in the telling categories of combined on-base/slugging percentage and Weighted Runs Created Plus. Miguel Sano, Byung Ho Park could be keys to Twins' offense in 2016 Jerry Crasnick ESPN.com March 29, 2016 If the Minnesota Twins have any intention of building on their surprising 83-win total from a year ago, they'll need more production from the middle of the batting order. The two big wild cards in the equation are Miguel Sano, the team's No. 3 hitter, and Byung Ho Park, who is projected to bat two or three spots behind Sano. A little patience and understanding will come in handy as Sano and Park find their way. One of Minnesota's would-be sluggers is changing positions. The other is changing positions and hemispheres. The dual experiment has made for an intriguing, below-the-radar dynamic at Hammond Stadium. Sano slugged.529 in his first 15 games this spring while trying to learn the intricacies of right field. Park, who signed a three-year, guaranteed $12 million contract in December, is transitioning from first base to designated hitter after putting up some big numbers in the Korean Baseball Organization. If the two righty bashers can fill in the gaps around Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer, Trevor Plouffe and Eddie Rosario in the order and Byron Buxton comes close to justifying his prospect hype in center field, the Twins might be able to graduate from pesky to a legitimate threat in the American League Central. "They're two key pieces to our lineup," Minnesota assistant GM Rob Antony said. "We want to and need to score more runs than we did last year." After ranking eighth in the AL with 696 runs and 13th in OPS at.704, the Twins have reason to believe things will improve if several lineup mainstays can fulfill personal objectives. Mauer is intent on pulling the ball with more authority than he did a year ago, when he hit 10 homers and slugged.380 in 592 at-bats. Dozier wants to do a better job of using the entire field after a dramatic post-all-star Game drop-off. Rosario, who led the majors with 15 triples, needs to improve upon his 13 walks and.289 on base percentage as a rookie. No single Minnesota hitter can change the tone of a game more dramatically than Sano, whose raw power places him in a group with Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout and a handful of other elite righty mashers. Sano can leave a major impression without leaving the yard. In a recent Grapefruit League game against Pittsburgh, he hit a fly ball that traveled 400 feet off the end of the bat to dead center for an out in his first plate appearance. The next time up, he hit a tracer that made a booming noise as it ricocheted off the fence for a double. 11

12 The two swings brought back memories of an August game in Tampa Bay, in which Sano crushed a fly ball that struck a catwalk and was ruled a double. Twins TV color man Bert Blyleven half-jokingly observed that the ball might have put a hole in the Tropicana Field roof if it had continued its trajectory unimpeded. "My gosh," Twins play-by-play man Dick Bremer said on the broadcast. "I didn't think a human being could hit a baseball that far." Miguel, watch Miguel Sano provided an encouraging glimpse of things to come when he arrived from Double-A Chattanooga in July and launched 18 homers in 80 games. He performed while lugging around a heavy heart after the death of his infant daughter, Angelica, because of a heart defect in December 2014 in his native Dominican Republic. Power is Sano's calling card, but he also has a knack for working counts and putting himself in an advantageous hitting position. Last year, he averaged 4.34 pitches per plate appearance and posted a.385 on base percentage, despite 119 strikeouts in 279 at-bats. Opposing pitchers worked Sano carefully as a rule, and the Twins want him to remain patient even when teams refuse to challenge him in fastball counts. To reinforce that message, Minnesota hitting coaches Tom Brunansky and Rudy Hernandez have told him to follow the example of a future Hall of Fame first baseman in Detroit. "We throw a lot of Miguel Cabrera at him," Brunansky said. "That's a good player to watch and emulate: His whole work ethic and how he goes about his batting practice and sets up at-bats and handles situational hitting. It's something we can sit here and talk about. But when you have someone like Cabrera who these kids look up to, it's like free video. If [Sano] can grasp anything from Cabrera that makes him better today, it's a win-win." Beyond the confines of the batter's box, Sano has some hurdles to clear before he's a finished product. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, and his weight has been the topic of some discussion and intrigue in Twins camp. There have been rumblings that Sano hasn't applied himself to learning the outfield as diligently as the Twins would like. In a recent interview with Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse, Boston DH (and former Twin) David Ortiz questioned whether Sano's legs can take the pounding he'll be subjected to as a big man in the outfield. Ortiz contended that the Twins would be better served keeping Sano at third base and moving Plouffe from third to right field. "Sano's the power hitter the Twins have been waiting for a long time, and by the middle of the game, his legs are going to be gone," Ortiz told Reusse. "I saw it with Hanley [Ramirez] last year. He's more athletic than Sano, and Hanley in left field... it was a disaster." The Twins are walking a fine line with Sano. They need him to play representative defense in right field, but he won't do them much good if he pulls a hamstring while chasing a ball down in the gap and misses a month. "Like we've said from the beginning, we want him to be a guy that makes the routine plays and makes good decisions when he's got the ball in his hands," manager Paul Molitor said. "How high the expectations should be from the start, I'm not sure. You have to let him go through it and learn. We just want to make sure he continues to embrace that it's important -- not just what he does in the batter's box." The experiment won't lack for entertainment value. When a Twins beat writer suggested the team might have to reinforce the Target Field wall in anticipation of Sano slamming into it, Molitor expressed more concern about the welfare of his center fielder. "We might have to reinforce Buxton," he said. One of the boys Park, 29, is coming off back-to-back 50-homer, 140-plus strikeout seasons with the Nexen Heroes in the KBO. One AL talent evaluator compared him to 12

13 boom-or-bust slugger Chris Carter of the Milwaukee Brewers, though Park comes in a more compact package at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds. As he learns his way around MLB pitching staffs, Park will have to adjust to starters and relievers who throw harder and with more movement than their counterparts in Korea. The challenge is shortening his path to the ball and minimizing his holes without overreacting and creating more problems than he solves. Initially, Molitor thought he might have to pick his spots and sit Park against hard-throwing righties from the Corey Kluber-Yu Darvish-Justin Verlander fraternity. He has seen enough bat speed and hand-eye coordination in the Grapefruit League to suggest he can remove the training wheels and insert Park's name in the lineup against some top-shelf righties. "I thought upper-end velocity would be a little challenging for him, but he's handled that well," Molitor said. "He's a little bit of a guess hitter, which is OK. Some power hitters do that. You never know how things will go when the bell rings, but I don't think I'm going to have to protect him as much as I thought in the early stages of the season." Park's transition to America has been hastened by a better than expected grasp of the English language. Although Park does media interviews with the aid of a personal translator, J.D. Kim, he nods and smiles during questions like a man who understands what he's being asked. The Twins and Park are navigating some cultural checkpoints as they get acquainted. Team communications director Dustin Morse was recently riding with Park and Kim when he was surprised to hear them queue up Madonna on the car stereo. In mid-march, pitcher Phil Hughes broke the monotony of camp by hosting a viewing party for the final episode of "The Bachelor." Hughes' fiancée made tacos for the team and prepared a traditional Korean kimchi dish for Park, who gave it a hearty seal of approval. "To be honest, I've got to admit I was a little nervous at the beginning in a new environment in a new country," Park said through Kim. "But everybody in the clubhouse and front office has been treating me really nice. They're so kind here. It has made me very comfortable." When asked if he has grown close to any Twins in particular, Park showed a flair for diplomacy. "They're all cool dudes," he said. "It's hard to choose one." As the season opener in Baltimore approaches, the Twins are looking like one big, happy family. If their new DH and right fielder can facilitate more celebrations at home plate and in the dugout this season, so much the better. Predicting Twins' 2016 season record Joe Peta ESPN.com March 30, 2016 Reason for optimism: Miguel Sano has started a parade of lineup talent that can form the core of a championship contender. Reason for pessimism: Until the pitching staff is overhauled with arms that can strike out batters, it won't matter how good the offense gets. Most baseball bettors, including me, got the Minnesota Twins' outlook very wrong in Pegged to finish last in the AL Central, the Twins played like a bottom-tier team for exactly seven games, opening the season with a 1-6 record. From that point on, Minnesota was nine games over.500, occupied first place as late as June 4 and finished ahead of everyone in their division except the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals. I protested all year that the Twins were, at best, a 72-win team that had no business even being in the wild-card discussion -- and yet, it really didn't hurt me on a daily betting basis. Why? Because oddsmakers felt the same way I did all year long. The Twins sported a total wins over/under last spring of 72.5, and that's exactly the way they were priced throughout the season. Looking at the sum of 13

14 their single-game implied win probabilities, Minnesota's outlook never changed from 73 or 74 games each quarter of the season. I've tracked this for every team for years, so I know how unusual that sort of stable pricing is -- especially for a team that outplayed expectations all year long. I may have made a huge forecasting error when it came to the Twins last year, but so did Vegas. This year, as we'll see below, Vegas has blinked, and Minnesota's total win market is seven games higher than last year -- on par with the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox. The question for bettors becomes "does that present an opportunity?" Despite the doubts around Minnesota's success last year, there were differences between last year's squad and the teams of the previous four years, which all lost at least 90 games. Sano is a bona fide star, Brian Dozier provides valuable middle-infield power and there is more lineup talent on the way. However, in one important way, the Twins have yet to solve a huge problem which underscores how unlikely it was that the team finished with a winning record in For the fifth year in a row, the Twins pitching staff finished last in the majors in strikeout rate. There are two ways to combat this competitive disadvantage: acquire pitchers who can strike out batters, or surround your staff with tremendous fielders to handle all the extra balls being hit into the field of play. Of course, attempting solutions assumes the competitive disadvantage is acknowledged; it's hard to credit the Twins' front office with even recognizing the problem. Since 2011, the Twins have used 30 starting pitchers, and only four of them with five or more starts had a strikeout rate above the 2015 league starter average of 19.5 percent. There's no reason to expect anything to change this year -- the Twins have the exact same rotation as in How about the defense? For the third straight year the Twins had one of the six worst defenses in the majors, and catcher Kurt Suzuki is consistently among the worst catchers in baseball at framing pitches. That's like entering a time trial with a bunch of slow runners and then voluntarily making them run uphill and into the wind. A low strikeout rate and bad defense is the exact formula needed to give up the most runs in the American League, and there is no reason to expect things to be any different this year. From a modeling standpoint, unless paired with an offense as powerful as the Blue Jays', it's just about impossible to foresee a.500 record. Make no mistake about it -- Sano would fit very well on Toronto's roster, but realistically, the Twins need a full lineup of Sanos to compete. Top prospect Byron Buxton could join Sano as an exciting offensive addition, but there are too many holes for opponents to exploit over the course of the season. The Twins were incredibly fortunate to come within four runs of outscoring their opponents last year, which means they were even more fortunate to finish four games above.500. Although it didn't move expectations during the season last year, there's some evidence that the emergence of Sano has raised the bar this year. At 79.5 wins, this year's over/under market is at its highest level since I think that's an opportunity, because I still see a team that will struggle mightily to score as many runs as this pitching staff allows. I do think the Twins will be better this year, but the baseline for improvement is the 72-win team they played like last year, not the 83-win team that showed up in the standings. With Vegas boosting expectations, there is value to be had on the under, and if the oddsmakers start pricing the Twins as a.500 team after the season starts, there might be even more value on a daily basis projection: (fifth, AL Central) Bet recommendation: Under 14

15 Ricky Nolasco makes Twins starting rotation over Tyler Duffey Derek Wetmore ESPN 1500 March 29, 2016 The Twins on Tuesday trimmed four more players from their spring training roster to get down to 25 men left in camp. That final wave of cuts included starting pitcher Tyler Duffey, who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, according to multiple reports. That means that in the battle for the final spot in the rotation, the Twins have decided to go with Ricky Nolasco over Duffey. The team also sent out three more pitchers to get down to 25 players: Logan Darnell, Brandon Kintzler and Ryan O Rourke. Darnell had a strong stretch of starts at the end of last year for Triple-A Rochester, O Rourke is a very good lefty specialist who struggles badly against righties, and Kintzler was a nonroster invitee who signed with Minnesota this winter. Minnesota s five starters are Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson, Phile Hughes, Tommy Milone and Nolasco. The team s bullpen is Glen Perkins, Trevor May, Kevin Jepsen, Casey Fien, Ryan Pressly, Michael Tonkin and Fernando Abad. It s still possible the team could make a trade or another roster move before spring training concludes, but this appears to be the 25-man roster the Twins will use to begin the year. Wetmore s 5 thoughts: Nolasco over Duffey, bullpen, catching, Byung Ho Park Derek Wetmore ESPN 1500 March 29, The Twins optioned Tyler Duffey to Triple-A Rochester, electing instead to have Ricky Nolasco open the season in the starting rotation. 1. Ervin Santana 2. Kyle Gibson 3. Phil Hughes 4. Tommy Milone (LHP) 5. Ricky Nolasco Nolasco has been ineffective an injured for the first two years of his four-year, $49 million contract. But he was better this spring, and before signing with the Twins he had a track record that commanded a large salary on the free agent market. The Twins will claim that contracts have nothing to do with the decision, and they can fairly point to the fact that Duffey had a bad spring this year as he works on incorporating the changeup that he abandoned shortly after he was called up to the Majors last year. I think it s possible that he could have succeeded ahead of his expected arrival date. I m sure some people who follow the Twins will be driven mad by the idea that Nolasco is in the rotation while Duffey and J.O. Berrios are in the minors and Trevor May is in the bullpen. Just to provide a little counterweight to those screams, here s the stat line from the final five starts Nolasco made last year before the one in which he had his season ruined by an ankle injury: Starts Innings ERA Strikeouts Walks Twins record / That s not to say that he s great, but when his curve ball is working, he s certainly not worthless. 2. I m surprised to see Michael Tonkin make the team out of spring training. 15