FORT MYERS, Fla. – With six days remaining until Opening Day, the Twins’ roster is beginning to come into focus.
Minnesota made a series of moves on Friday that settled its season-opening starting rotation and brought some clarity to a still-unsettled bullpen. The Twins optioned right-hander Zebby Matthews to Triple-A St. Paul, clearing the way for Mick Abel to make the season-opening starting rotation. Meanwhile, veteran right-hander Liam Hendriks, lefty reliever Andrew Chafin, and infielder Gio Urshela were granted their release.
“We were going to look at the long haul of Spring Training and thought there were other options right now that we feel are going to be better for us in our bullpen,” said manager Derek Shelton.
Hendriks, Chafin and Urshela all had opt-out clauses in their contracts, and upon being informed they would not make the Opening Day roster, elected to exercise them. Another XX(B) free agent, infielder Orlando Arcia, chose not to exercise his opt-out and will likely be assigned to Triple-A St. Paul if he does not make the roster.
While Hendriks was Friday’s biggest name to appear in a transaction, the most impactful news was almost certainly in the rotation.
Abel, acquired from the Phillies last year in the deal that sent Jhoan Duran to Philadelphia, has been the Twins’ best starter in camp so far and forced his way into the starting five after beginning the spring as an underdog.
He’ll join Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, and Simeon Woods Richardson in the season-opening rotation.
“Everything that we challenged him with coming into Spring Training he did,” Shelton said. “He checked those boxes. He deserves to be on the team and that's nothing disparaging toward Zebby. I think Zebby's a big part of what we're going to do moving forward. He's going to get starts for us at some point this year. I think Mick went out and won the spot. That's the simplest way you can put it.”
The Twins lost Pablo López to a season-ending elbow injury at the beginning of camp, but even in López’s absence, the rotation is an intriguing group with significant upside. Matthews, who has shown promise in parts of two Major League seasons, will most likely pitch as a starter in Triple-A and be ready to step in whenever the Twins have a rotation need.
Even with the Hendriks and Chafin moves, the bullpen is nowhere near as settled. There’s a growing sense as to who will comprise the eight relievers on the Opening Day roster, a likely mix of five righties and three lefties, but it’s definitely not set.
“I wish there was an easier answer for that and a clearer answer for that,” Shelton said. “But I think there's still questions to be figured out.”
And the manager acknowledged he has even less read as to the roles that those pitchers will take.
“I'm definitely thinking about it,” he said. “Am I far enough along to know what it is? No. Sometimes that answer will be like, 'I'm not telling you.' Right now I don't know.”
Minnesota had signed Hendriks with the hope he could regain his pre-injury form and serve as both a late-inning stalwart and a positive clubhouse influence. However, he never quite found his form, and following a difficult outing against the Red Sox on Thursday night, he was released.
“It was great to see him healthy,” said general manager Jeremy Zoll. “Obviously big presence in the clubhouse and we appreciate the way he went about his business. Hit all his marks in that regard. Ultimately I think it was just kind of that lack of consistency. … Whether it’s things like fastball swing-and-miss, or overall sharpness and command, just felt like it was not in a spot to make the call to put him on the team.”
Hendriks’ release probably clears room for Dan Altavilla or Zak Kent, or both, to make the club’s Opening Day bullpen. Kent in particular has impressed with his ability to miss bats. As of now, the right side of the Twins bullpen would most likely consist of Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Eric Orze, Altavilla, and Kent.
With Chafin’s release, Kody Funderburk becomes more likely to make the team as one of three lefties along with Taylor Rogers and Anthony Banda. Funderburk has some offerings that could make him more effective against right-handed hitters than a typical situational lefty, and he also could pitch multiple innings.