Twins have roster spots still up for grabs with no decisions finalized yet
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Mickey Gasper has been fighting for a roster spot practically his whole life going back to high school, and the utilityman has learned a valuable lesson from those experiences.
“I’ve kind of learned how to not play GM and not be like, ‘Well, I’ve got to do this and do that and this has to happen for me to be here,’” Gasper said. “I like to go out and just let my play show.”
Gasper is one of the players the Twins have evaluated all spring and is on the bubble to make the Opening Day roster.
The Twins will play their last spring training game on Tuesday, then head to St. Louis to prepare for the start of their season. But injuries have opened the door for players to make the team, and manager Rocco Baldelli said the staff is still working through its options.
Royce Lewis’s hamstring injury opened up a spot in the infield, and now it appears Brooks Lee (back) could potentially miss Opening Day, as well. The Twins have confirmed that Michael Tonkin (shoulder) has been ruled out, too, and it appears Brock Stewart (hamstring) will be, as well.
“It’s not unusual for a roster to come together in the last day, or two days of spring training,” Baldelli said. “We have a number of guys that competed really well in this camp that are still vying for a spot or two that are open, both on the pitching and position player side.”
One player trying to nab a spot on the 26-man roster out of camp is Rule 5 selection Eiberson Castellano, whom the Twins risk losing if they do not carry him on the major league roster for the entirety of the season.
“I’m calm right now,” Castellano said. “Right now, I come here, do what I have to do, and at the end of the day, the manager is the one that’s going to make the decision.”
The Twins like Castellano’s stuff and believe in his ability, but the 23-year-old — who has yet to pitch above Double-A — has issued far too many walks, eight in 7 2/3 innings pitched this spring. Un the Twins’ 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, Castellano threw a pair of scoreless innings, walking one, allowing a pair of hits and striking out a batter.
“He’s a 23-year-old young man with a very bright future who gave everything he could possibly give in spring training this year,” Baldelli said. “He was very focused. He worked very hard for us — and threw the ball pretty well.”
If the Twins don’t take Castellano, they could opt for a non-roster invite or even claim someone off of waivers. On the position player side, if Lee were to miss Opening Day, the Twins seem to have three spots open with Gasper, Edouard Julien, Austin Martin, DaShawn Kiersey Jr. the 40-man options still in camp.
“I think we’re getting closer to making a call … but I would also say that if I told you I knew who was going to be on our final roster, I’d be telling you something that wasn’t true,” Baldelli said. “We still have a little ways to go.”
Twins on TV
Updates on how to watch the Twins on television — on providers such as Comcast and DirecTV, among others — are expected to trickle in over the next few days. But at least one deal has been worked out and announced for fans: Those with Paul Bunyan Television will have access to Twins games on HD Channel 558 and SD Channel 58.
Twins games also will be available to stream on Twins.TV for those who do not have cable or satellite. That service is offered at $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the full season.
Briefly
Willi Castro left Twins camp Friday to fly to Minnesota to be with his wife for the birth of their third child. … Joe Ryan will get his last start of the spring in on Sunday when the Twins venture across Daniels Parkway to take on the Boston Red Sox. Walker Buehler will start for Boston. … Byron Buxton hit his second home run of the spring on Saturday, accounting for the Twins’ only run.
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