Shelton's first Twins camp opens with elaborate pitching puzzle

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Manager Derek Shelton opened his first Twins camp Thursday with an emphasis on attention to detail and an awareness that his challenges begin immediately.

Though the Twins added three veteran relievers over the course of the day, there’s still very little settled in the Minnesota bullpen. And with a starting pitching competition dovetailing with that bullpen uncertainty, the task of making the pieces fit together jumps right to the top of the list for Shelton, pitching coach Pete Maki, bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins and the club’s front office.

Three starters are set: Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober. Four relievers would seem to have spots more or less locked down: Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Taylor Rogers and new acquisition Anthony Banda. There are certainly others whose positions look strong -- Taj Bradley, Eric Orze, perhaps Kody Funderburk -- but the Twins have a ton of moving pieces and six weeks to figure out how to make them all fit together.

“I think there is work to be done, but the undertaking for me is I am trying to learn an entire group,” said Shelton. “So I’m kind of looking at it holistically as there’s an entire group. Now, even the guys that we have slated to be in our bullpen, I’m still learning who they are. So it’s kind of more of the holistic version with me right now. It’s not as finite because of the fact that I really don’t know any of these guys.”

Minnesota would appear to have four viable candidates for the fifth starting spot, or perhaps five candidates for two spots, depending on how secure Bradley is. Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Mick Abel all pitched in the rotation at times last year, and it’s all but certain that one or two of them will start the season in the rotation.

The bullpen mix, however, is nowhere near so clear. The Twins added veteran Liam Hendriks on a non-roster deal Thursday, and if Hendriks shows his old form, he’ll likely not only make the team but pitch in the late innings. But his form remains to be determined. The real complication is that at least one of the starting candidates will probably end up pitching in relief.

What the Twins must determine is not only who makes the Minnesota rotation, but of the runners-up, which ones start at Triple-A St. Paul and which one or ones pitch in the Major League bullpen. Because it is expected that at least one bullpen spot will go to a pitcher contending as a starter. So while there’s a competition for spots, some of these decisions also have long-term ramifications for the careers of talented young pitchers.

“I think we come in with notions if that person could [start] health-wise, number one,” Shelton said. “You have to look at that. Number two, you have to look at the notion of where they fit on your roster. ... Because we’re not going to go through [the season] with five starters. Then, are we making that decision of we keep that person lengthened out and they end up pitching in St. Paul, or do you make a transition depending on what happens in your bullpen? Those things all kind of weigh together. 

“Now, I think we do have an idea because of how stuff would play, or a general idea. No one is going to know until they get down there how their stuff will play, but if we’re going to isolate and maybe minimize stuff to two or three pitches instead of a four- or five-pitch mix, we can articulate that with all the information we have to say this could be a guy that could possibly do it.”