7 takeaways from first month of Twins' Spring Training

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Greetings from sunny Florida. As I write this on Wednesday, it’s exactly one month since my first day in Spring Training, so it seemed like a good time to take stock. Here are seven thoughts on what I’ve seen in camp so far.

The Twins truly don’t know who’s going to close, and he may not even be in camp yet
Manager Derek Shelton was asked a couple days ago about how he intended to handle the ninth, and this was his answer:

“I’m still trying to figure it out. Sometimes, that’s the answer where you’re trying not to answer it. I’ve probably done that before. But right now, I’m trying to figure it out. I don’t think we have an idea of what’s going to happen.”

It could be Liam Hendriks. It could be Cole Sands. It’s possible there will be no designated closer and the Twins will just play matchups. And I think you can’t rule out the possibility that the pitcher who gets the most save chances for the 2026 Twins is currently in another camp. Relievers tend to get shuffled a lot late in camp, and there’s no doubt that Minnesota needs at least one more righty in the 'pen. I will be zero percent surprised if they add a righty and that pitcher ends up closing.

They probably do need to make a trade
We knew this before camp started, but games have made it clear that this is an oddly constructed roster. It will be hard to carry both Alan Roden and James Outman. Trevor Larnach’s skill set is basically redundant when you’ve got Matt Wallner, Victor Caratini, Josh Bell, Kody Clemens, Roden and Outman. There’s not currently a spot for Eric Wagaman, an intriguing player who would bring needed righty balance. Separate from the need to add a reliever, it really feels like there’s a need to move a lefty outfielder/DH type for roster construction reasons.

Mick Abel has been legitimately impressive …
Of all the starters, Abel has pretty easily impressed me the most. His start in Lakeland against very close to an “A” Tigers lineup is the best pitching performance I’ve seen this Spring Training. He’s throwing strikes, missing bats and generally looking in control. I know we said a lot of the same things about Zebby Matthews last spring, but I think Abel has been better than that.

… but I don’t love his chances to make the rotation
Here’s a thing I’ve learned over many years covering baseball: Never underestimate the power of the path of least resistance. Players with options get sent down. Guys making a lot of money get extra chances, etc. In this case, “least resistance” means keeping the more experienced starters and choosing Abel as the guy who spends more time in Triple-A. I’m very confident we’ll see him this year, but my guess right now is he’s the odd man out.

Brooks Lee looks faster … but the data isn't there yet
It’s been a topic since last summer -- Lee made it a point to be faster. It’s obvious that his body composition is different. He weighs the same, but he looks leaner because his weight is distributed differently. I’ve seen him make a couple of plays that I don’t think he’d have made last year, and he looks quicker on the bases. But I asked my friends in the MLB.com research department, and the short answer is, thus far, there’s really not any data to indicate that Lee is measurably quicker. It’s too early to know for sure, so this will be a thing to watch as we get deeper into the spring and season.

Gabriel Gonzalez is a name to know
He doesn’t have the prospect pedigree of Top 100 stars Walker Jenkins (Twins' No. 1 prospect, No. 14 overall), Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota's No. 2 prospect, No. 52 overall) and Emmanuel Rodriguez (Twins' No. 4 prospect, No. 74 overall), but it won’t be shocking if Gonzalez (Minnesota's No. 7 prospect) makes it to the Majors before any of them. He has a unique skill set, with an aggressive approach and special bat-to-ball ability, and Shelton clearly likes the way he plays. He’s also right-handed, which may make it easier to find an opportunity for him.

I’m intrigued by Zak Kent
Kent was the quietest of the multiple pitching additions the Twins made over the past several weeks, but he’s a righty with an impressive slider. He’s on the 40-man roster. And he’s been excellent so far, with six strikeouts, no walks, one hit and no runs in three innings. He’s gotten 13 swinging strikes on 43 pitches, and the Twins could really use a right-hander who can miss bats.