CHICAGO – With roughly two weeks left in the regular season, the watch is on to see if the Twins will break that 90-loss barrier for a fourth year in a row. The Twins need to go 11-5 to avoid that, but that's not the immediate goal of a team with 13 players on the roster with less than a full season of major league experience.
"Of course, I hope we don't lose 90. I'd like to win them all," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "There are so many things involved now."
Gardenhire will try to put competitive teams on the field, especially when facing teams with playoff chances. But he needs to see some of the inexperienced players and as they begin to make decisions that will shape the 2015 roster.
"I also have kids I need to see right now," he said. "It is important to let these guys get experience and see what they've got and see if they can handle things. The record right now is secondary. We're not going to be in the playoffs. I worry about letting these guys get better and we are building something for next year."
With that in mind, here are four things to pay attention to as the Twins close out the season, beginning with a doubleheader against the White Sox on Saturday after Friday's game was postponed because of rain:
1. Where will Santana play? Gardenhire will look to start Santana at shortstop a few times over the final weeks of the season. Santana, a more natural shortstop who has bailed out the Twins by taking over center field, has been the revelation of the season. He looks to be a difference-maker at the top of the order, but needs work at short if the club feels that will be his position.
But Gardenhire on Friday acknowledged one option could have Santana starting in the outfield next season. With Eduardo Escobar playing well at short and hitting .273 with 34 doubles, one option could be to leave Escobar there. Santana could open next season in left field, with Aaron Hicks, provided he earns it, starting in center.
"You have to play it out and see what happens," Gardenhire said. "If we do that, we could put Santana in left because Hicks is the best center fielder. You have a guy who could fly out there and cover ground in left field and a leadoff guy."
2. Places for Pinto. Gardenhire on Thursday sent Josmil Pinto up to hit for Oswaldo Arcia in the ninth inning of a 8-2 loss to Cleveland in the first game of a doubleheader. It was more than to get a righthanded hitter up to face a lefty.
"I want to see how he does coming off the bench," said Gardenhire of a role Pinto could play in 2015, as a backup to catcher Kurt Suzuki. "There's all kinds of reasons why I'm trying to do things.
"Those are things you need to see if you're moving forward here."
Pinto remains a work in progress behind the plate, but will get occasional starts during the rest of the season. Bench coach and former All-Star catcher Terry Steinbach continues to work with Pinto, who has pop in his bat and could bring some thump off the bench next season.
3. Vargas to get reps at first. Gardenhire raved about Vargas' ability to make adjustments at the plate, like in the first inning of Game 1 Thursday, when he went with a pitch to drive in the first run of the game. "He's pretty heady when it comes down to it," Gardenhire said.
He plans on playing Vargas at first base a couple times before the season ends. Vargas has gone from being unwatchable at first base to decent, but needs more work. On Thursday, he went to field Michael Bourn's bunt despite agreeing beforehand that he would cover first base and let Brian Dozier field the bunt. Bourn ended up reaching first and eventually scoring.
The Twins hope Vargas can get extensive time playing first base during winter ball when he returns to his native Puerto Rico.
"He's got a lot of work to do," Gardenhire said. "How do you do it? You've gotta DH Joe [Mauer] or whatever. Right now he needs more work."
4. Relievers thrown into the fire. Righthanders Ryan Pressly, Michael Tonkin and Lester Oliveros and lefthander Aaron Thompson have a chance to win a spot in the bullpen next season. So Gardenhire might alter his late-game maneuvering to see how these pitchers handle highly leveraged situations.
"Yes," Gardenhire said. "They have got to be in those situations."
With nothing to play for, there's not much else the Twins can get out of these final weeks.
"It is an important opportunity for younger guys and new players with limited Twins service to open some eyes, especially for our staff that hasn't seen them at all or since spring training," Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said in an e-mail. "It is also beneficial to see these players against teams that are fighting for a playoff berth."
