Opening Day is less than a month away. Baseball's lockout is over, replaced by a condensed, bound-to-be-wild free agency period, an open window for trades and a shortened spring training.
What to expect? Derek Falvey, Twins president of baseball operations, isn't quite sure.
"Do you think it'll be that active? Do you think it'll be a little slow? Is everyone going to wait to see how guys are coming in? I think all of that is in play. Every team is going to operate a little differently," Falvey said Thursday evening on a video call from the Twins' spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla. "We're going to try to get a sense of where players are. We haven't seen a lot of these guys through the course of the offseason, and we want to see the other teams' players versions of that, too, because they haven't seen them, either. To the extent that trades happen, it's possible you could lay a lot of groundwork in the early going and really not see anything come together. I could be wrong about that. We'll be prepped in the event it goes faster than that."
Falvey has his questions. Fans have more. Here is a look at the top questions surrounding the Twins in their one-month sprint to Opening Day on April 7:
Who are the starting pitchers?
The Twins' pitching woes have been well-documented, and the abysmal 2021 season might have been a new low. Jose Berrios, J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker were either traded at the deadline or demoted in disgrace. Kenta Maeda had Tommy John surgery and isn't likely to return until late this season, if at all. And his short reign as the Twins' ace was rocky, compiling a 4.66 ERA and a 6-5 record during an injury-riddled second season in Minnesota.
By the end of the year, the Twins had turned to rookies such as Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, who produced solidly in the waning months of the losing season. Michael Pineda is a free agent who could re-sign after finishing 2021 with a 3.62 ERA and 9-8 record. And the Twins did sign free agent Dylan Bundy before the lockout as a potential Opening Day starter after meh stints with the Orioles and the Angels. Some free-agent pitchers remain unclaimed, but the Twins might need to trade to fill out their rotation.
Will the bullpen find reinforcements?
The bullpen wasn't much more reliable than the starters in 2021, posting a collective 4.29 ERA to rank 20th of 30 MLB teams. The Twins turned down Alexander Colome's option and added Jharel Cotton off waivers from Texas back in November. Tyler Duffey and Caleb Thielbar are back on one-year contracts. Taylor Rogers will also return after he ended last season early with a finger injury; Falvey said he spoke to Rogers and heard the pitcher had been throwing bullpens. Randy Dobnak also ended 2021 early with a finger injury, and this was after he flopped during his chance in the starting rotation early in the season.
"We made no secret that's a focus and an area we need to spend some time, and we're going to," Falvey said of the pitching situation. "We've talked about trade market and free-agent market. We're excited about some of the young guys that are coming."
Who plays shortstop?
Andrelton Simmons spent one year at shortstop and did OK. He might have been more memorable for some of his outspoken Twitter remarks about not getting the COVID-19 vaccine than his play on the field. But the free agent agreed to a one-year deal with the Cubs on Friday, and the Twins need to find a replacement in that key infield spot.
Jorge Polanco has done it before, but he's coming off his best post-ankle-injuries season, playing mostly second base and hitting a career-high 33 home runs. So maybe it's best not to mess with that mojo.
It's probably too soon for any prospects to take that mantle, so the Twins could be in for a free agent such as Jose Iglesias, who's already played for five MLB teams since debuting in 2011. Or a veteran minor-league signing from early February, 32-year-old Tim Beckham, who was the No. 1 pick back in 2008, could be a solution, though he hasn't played in the big leagues since 2019.
"We know Jorge Polanco has got experience there, and we know Luis Arraez is a really good infielder for us, and we're hopeful about some of our young players who aren't quite at the major-league level yet but could be really interesting fits for us along the way," Falvey said, naming Nick Gordon, Jermaine Palacios and Royce Lewis as possible future shortstops.
What is Royce Lewis' timeline?
Lewis, the Twins' No. 1 prospect, has had a long layoff from baseball. There was no minor league ball in 2020 with the pandemic, and he tore his ACL in the offseason ahead of the 2021 campaign. He was on the 40-man roster when the lockout started, so he hasn't been able to have any contact with the Twins until it ended Thursday. With a compressed spring training where the staff will also likely be juggling a flurry of roster moves, it will be interesting to see where Lewis is after his recovery.
"Losing the minor league season was difficult because that's just lost development time. He was at the alternate site. He used that time really productively. He's been in the Fall League, had some of those experiences. But ultimately losing last season due to his ACL reconstruction, it's difficult," Falvey said. "But what we do prior to [the lockout], our medical people did a really good job and so did our folks in strength and conditioning and rehab side of things, and position coaches talked to him about how they would want to navigate his offseasons, whether this happened or not.
"We know that he works closely with his agency to prep and get himself ready. He's a tremendous worker, and he's going to put in his time and efforts, so I'm confident in guys like that have put themselves in good positions."
Who goes? Who stays?
Utility man Arraez has never found a solid position or reproduced his rookie-year hitting numbers — he batted .334 — but he is a delight to watch and in interviews. Right fielder Max Kepler is solid in center as well, as the Twins exploited amid an outfield injury crisis last season, and could be attractive in a trade package.
The Twins already shipped off one fan fave at the trade deadline last season in designated hitter Nelson Cruz, and more painful separations could be on the horizon, including some top prospects like Austin Martin or recent rookies in Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach.
What the Twins roster looks like when the team takes to Target Field on April 7 vs. Seattle all depends on whether team bosses want to compete this summer or preserve their future chances.
