Projecting the Minnesota Twins 2017 Opening Day Roster -- Take 1

Pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers for the Minnesota Twins in nine days, and it won’t take long for the roster to take shape after that. The team’s first full workout is six days later, and it won’t take too much time before guys are re-assigned to minor league camp with the culling of the roster something that takes place gradually all spring long.

Part of the fun keeping track of it is to try to make predictions of your own as far as who will travel north with the team as they open the season at Target Field against the Kansas City Royals at 3:10 p.m. on Monday, April 3. Some guys are lead-pipe locks, while others will need a torrid spring to solidify their place on the bench or even in the starting lineup.

So who do we like so far to break camp on the 25-man roster? Glad you asked:

Regular Starting Lineup

Breakdown: This should be a fairly good bunch. Castro should be really solid behind the plate and can form a good catching platoon with Murphy, who hits right-handed and thus can eliminate the biggest issue in Castro’s offensive profile. Murphy is also very good behind the plate, and no doubt hungry to prove he’s a lot closer to the pre-2016 hitter than he was during a lost season last year. This isn’t a lineup that’ll blow people away, but there’s enough speed, on-base and power talent that if everything clicks, could be a top-five bunch in the AL. A lot of things would have to come together for that, though. Still, it should at least be average with plenty of ceiling left to reach. Signing a DH and letting Vargas start the year at Rochester shouldn’t be ruled out, either. Mike Napoli or Chris Carter would look really, really good in that spot. So would Pedro Alvarez, who could form a quasi-platoon with Grossman there. There are some options here.

Breakdown: This group won’t blow anyone away but it has everything you need from a bench. A good bench needs a backup catcher, someone who can handle short, someone who can handle center and then you fill in the blanks from there. The Twins have three players in the starting lineup who can handle center, leaving Santana as a fourth option and Grossman in an emergency. That’s pretty solid depth. Escobar can be used all over and should be better than last year. The same goes for Murphy, who was a pretty good hitter in his Yankees days. Grossman pounds lefties and gets on base. Santana as a 25th man isn’t grievous, even if he isn’t really good at anything specifically. As an insurance policy, he has value. If Santana can even match his career hitting line -- maybe a stretch, but it’s a modest .268/.302/.382 -- he’s got value.

Breakdown: There’s been a lot of hand-wringing over the Twins not adding much in the way of pitching this offseason, and it’s totally understandable. Still, it’s worth seeing what some of these guys can do with a much better defensive catcher behind the plate. Pitchers like Gibson, or even Berrios -- who despite not being in the projection should see plenty of time -- have a lot to gain from having a catcher back there who can garner a lot of extra strikes. Santiago is the bizarro Ricky Nolasco in that he frequently outpitches his career FIP, and he has a lower career ERA than Santana. How wild is that? If Hughes isn’t ready to start the season, Berrios could easily step in, as could Duffey or even Vogelsong. Don’t sleep on Haley, either. Overall, this group has potential to be better than last year in a number of ways, though it might take a while to mesh with Castro. Don’t expect a miracle right away.

Breakdown: All in all, this isn’t a bad bunch. Eventually, Duffey and Chargois should force their way in and make it even stronger. Trevor Hildenberger and Jake Reed aren’t far off either, and who knows, Nick Burdi could force his way into the conversation fairly quickly. The biggest trouble spots from last year -- Kevin Jepsen and Casey Fien early, and the cavalcade of lesser-known pitchers late -- are nowhere to be seen, which seems to suggest this could be a league-average bunch with some upside. Kintzler is better suited to work the middle innings with his groundball profile, but it’s hard to know for sure right now if the new brain trust will make that happen. If so, Pressly or Chargois becomes the guy to own

Last players out: Chris Gimenez, Tyler Duffey, Justin Haley, Jose Berrios, J.T. Chargois, Ryan O’Rourke

Opening the season on the DL: Glen Perkins

Breakdown: It would be a herculean task to expect Perkins to be fully ready to go to start the season, but the roster projection can certainly be tweaked if the info that comes out of Florida is positive on the lefty. Some of the last players out on the 25-man roster were particularly difficult cuts -- especially Berrios, Duffey and Chargois -- but virtually all of these guys should surface on the big-league roster at some point this season. The only exception might be Haley, who could be headed back to the Boston Red Sox if he doesn’t make the team. Maybe the Twins and Sox could work out a deal? It’s hard to say right now.

Projected Opening Day Lineup (v. Danny Duffy and the Kansas City Royals)

SP - Santana

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