Recently, the narrative around the Minnesota Twins has not been very positive. Part of the reason for this is that they have not replaced Sonny Grey this offseason, and they recently made the unpopular decision to deal away Jorge Polanco, a fan favourite. However, the state of their roster is actually quite solid heading into 2024.
The Twins have studs at the top of their rotation and in the infield, and the outfield and bullpen are stacked with intriguing players. In a relatively weak AL Central, Minnesota still appears to be a squad that can prosper, particularly if a few of things go their way.
However, not every member of the 40-man roster is a rock star. Far from it. Currently, the Twins’ 40-man roster is full, but that might change if Josh Staumont and Alex Kirilloff begin the season on the injured list. That would only provide temporary relief, however, and if the Twins decide to make any more transactions this offseason or try to claim players off the trash heap following spring training roster cuts, they will most likely need to make some room.
The idea here isn’t to utterly dismiss men because they’re probably good people. However, the reality of running any team is that some players will be more expendable than others on the 40-man roster, and a subset of those players will either have no meaningful path to playing time or will be able to pass through waivers unclaimed. With that in mind, these are the Twins players the team could do without.
Jordan Balazovic
Jordan Balazovic was once seen as a promising young player for Minnesota. However, the results themselves have left much to be desired. He had a 4.44 ERA in 18 bullpen appearances last season, and while he throws hard, the rest of his Statcast stats are mediocre to bad.
Furthermore, it appears that the team is not especially fond of him right now. Last year, after he injured his jaw in a fight, his management called him out. He appears to have healed adequately, but the results were lacking, and he appears to be moving downward in an organization that could benefit from more pitching. There are undoubtedly better choices available that also meet the Twins’ financial limits.
Jorge Alcala
This is a difficult decision considering Jorge Alcala was a valuable member of the Twins’ bullpen between 2019 and 2022. Over that time, he had a 3.39 ERA in 79 appearances, striking out 91 in 87.2 innings. Unfortunately, elbow issues in 2022 led him to miss the majority of the season, and that could have been the beginning of the end.
The fundamental issue here is that bullpen arms are frequently dropped from 40-man rosters. Teams typically carry a million of them on their 40-man rosters in case arms need to be rotated out or replaced due to injury. They are also the types of players who are most likely to make it all the way through the waiver wire, allowing their team to keep them in the minors. Alcala now resides in that bucket.
After being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his forearm in May, Alcala lost a significant amount of time in 2023, and his performance on the mound was dismal. He only had a 6.23 ERA in 11 outings, yet his walk rate of 5.2 BB/9 was quite high. It’s likely that his troubles were caused by an injury, and given that, he shouldn’t be the next man off the 40-man roster. However, in order to avoid getting cut come spring, he must look his best.
Bubba Thompson
It is undoubtedly strange to put a player who was recently acquired by Minnesota on the 40-man watch list. Bubba Thompson was once seen as a promising talent, but his troubles in the major leagues with his hitting tool have caused him to bounce around the league. Most recently, the Twins claimed Thompson off waivers from the Yankees. In a vacuum, this is a low-risk, high-reward decision, particularly if it weakens the Yankees…but his time with the Twins could be brief.
Minnesota currently has an exceptionally high number of outfielders on its 40-man roster. The concept behind claiming Thompson is that it is a low-cost move that provides the team with depth in the event that someone falters/injures themselves during spring training or if Alex Kirilloff is absent for a lengthy amount of time again. Given Minnesota’s existing group of talented outfielders, Thompson is likely to be the odd man out unless he performs exceptionally well this spring.
José Miranda
Normally, a player like Jose Miranda would be kept on the 40-man roster. He can hit, has expertise playing numerous positions in the infield, and performed well in his maiden appearance in the big leagues in 2022. However, he is the victim of a combination of a difficult 2023 season and intense competition for an infield roster place.
In addition to a.211/.263/.303 slash line in 152 plate appearances last year, which led to a 57 wRC+, he was also a poor defensive player. A glove-first or bat-first bench infielder is acceptable, but Miranda was unable to contribute much last season. With the majority of the Twins’ starting infield locked in and players like Austin Martin and Yunior Severino already on the 40-man roster, Miranda is a somewhat redundant and underperforming player who might be cut if the need arises.
Nick Gordon
Finally, we come to the Twins’ outfield, which is already looking a little questionable given that Byron Buxton appears to want to return to the field. While the outfield group outside of Buxton is relatively low in upside, especially if Max Kepler is traded, the Twins have a number of players on the 40-man roster who might be interesting this season, making Nick Gordon’s road ahead difficult.
Gordon has only been at least league average at the plate once in his three seasons in the majors, in 2022, and he has never been an above-average defence. Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner, and Emmanuel Rodriguez are all looking for additional playing time with the Twins, while Gordon was essentially a playoff bench player. When you combine all of that with the fact that Gordon is the only player with whom the Twins have been unable to reach an arbitration agreement, you have a recipe for a player whose days may be limited.
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