TWINS ROTATION CANDIDATES
Ervin Santana: Carried the Twins with an All-Star season in 2017 but also had hand surgery in January that will keep him sidelined until May.
Jose Berrios: His second season was a big success — 14-8, a 3.89 ERA — so the only question about the 23-year-old is whether he will start on Opening Day.
Lance Lynn: Missed 2016 because of Tommy John surgery, but in each of his five other full seasons, he has pitched at least 175 innings, won 11 games and posted an ERA below 4.00.
Jake Odorizzi: Acquired from Tampa Bay via trade, he is a solid midrotation righthander who figures to improve by moving out of the AL East.
Kyle Gibson: The Twins won nine of his final 11 starts in 2017, and his ERA was 3.55 in them, making him the presumptive fifth starter. But he was sent to the minors twice, too.
Adalberto Mejia: Came to camp slimmer and more determined, and his presence could keep the rotation from being entirely righthanded.
Anibal Sanchez: An inexpensive salvage experiment, but his time might be up: The Twins might need his roster spot to make room for Lynn.
Phil Hughes: The $26.4 million still owed him may keep him on the staff as he recovers from surgery, but Lynn's presence makes a bullpen role more likely.
Tyler Duffey: He is having a strong spring, and gets his first start on Wednesday. But it's going to be difficult to crack the rotation.
Aaron Slegers, Stephen Gonsalves, Fernando Romero: Rookies had long shot hopes of sticking, but they appear headed to Class AAA Rochester now.
Trevor May and Michael Pineda: Tommy John cases who hope to win a rotation spot.
Accomplished group
With the addition of Lance Lynn, the Twins have five starting pitchers on their roster who won 10 or more games in 2017:
Ervin Santana (2017 stats: 16-8, 3.28 ERA, 211⅓ innings pitched; Age: 34)
Jose Berrios (2017 stats: 14-8, 3.89 ERA, 145⅔ innings pitched; Age: 23)
Lance Lynn (12-11, 3.03 ERA, 175⅓ innings pitched; Age: 30)
Kyle Gibson (2017 stats: 12-10, 5.07 ERA, 158 innings pitched; Age: 30)
Jake Odorizzi (2017 stats: 10-8, 4.14 ERA, 143⅓ innings pitched; Age: 27)
