NORTH PORT, Fla. — CoolToday Park hasn't been open for a week yet, so the Twins get to be part of the break-in process today.
And that's appropriate: In the third Grapefruit League game in this baseball development's (as they call it) history, Jhoulys Chacin will make his Twins debut, and there are high hopes for him as an exciting baseball development, too.
Chacin is in the running to claim the vacant spot in the Twins' starting rotation, along with rookies Lewis Thorpe, Devin Smeltzer, Randy Dobnak and Sean Poppen, and the righthander obviously has a huge advantage over his fellow competitors: Experience. The 32-year-old Venezuelan has pitched 255 big-league games, more than any healthy starter on the entire staff.
But after a rough 2019, when he posted a 6.01 ERA with the Brewers and Red Sox, Chacin is looking for a new start with the Twins. He'll face most of the Braves' starters today, most of whom he is familiar with from his National League days.
Follow the Twins-Atlanta play-by-play here
Here are the lineups for today's game.
TWINS
Garver C
Astudillo 3B
Sano 1B
Larnach DH
Wade LF
Celestino CF
Rooker RF
Blankenhorn 2B
Reinheimer SS
Chacin RHP
BRAVES
Acuna RF
Albies 2B
Alonso 1B
Ozuna DH
Riley 3B
Inciarte CF
Swanson SS
Duvall LF
Flowers C
Foltynewicz RHP
startribune.com photo of Jhoulys Chacin by Carlos Gonzalez
