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Jake Odorizzi will be Twins' Opening Day starter; roster trimmed

Kyle Gibson will start the home opener, and Lance Lynn will start in Pittsburgh in the season's second series.

March 22, 2018 at 9:16PM
Twins pitcher Jake Odorizzi (12) ] MARK VANCLEAVE ï mark.vancleave@startribune.com * The Tampa Bay Rays played the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018.
Twins pitcher Jake Odorizzi (12) ] MARK VANCLEAVE ï mark.vancleave@startribune.com * The Tampa Bay Rays played the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Jake Odorizzi, picked up earlier in spring training in a trade with Tampa Bay, will be the Twins' Opening Day starter on March 29 in Baltimore.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Manager Paul Molitor set his likely rotation for the first series. Odorizzi (pictured) will be followed by Kyle Gibson and Jose Berrios, who is being set up to pitch in his native Puerto Rico during a mid-May series with Cleveland in San Juan.

Gibson will pitch the home opener on April 5 against Seattle.

Phil Hughes will be on the team as a long reliever, not a starter. Free agent signing Lance Lynn is set to start in Pittsburgh on April 2.

The Twins also sent outfielder Jake Cave to Class AAA Rochester, sent first baseman Brock Stassi to minor league camp and gave outfielder Chris Heisey his release.

Infielder Erick Aybar and catchers Bobby Wilson and Willians Astudillo were also told they will not make the 25-man roster headed to Baltimore. That means Zack Granite and Robbie Grossman are likely to head north as the reserve outfielders (with Ryan LaMarre also a possibility), and Mitch Garver has made the team as a backup catcher.

Earlier Thursday, the Twins sent pitchers Alan Busenitz and Tyler Duffey to Rochester.

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about the writer

La Velle E. Neal III

Columnist

La Velle E. Neal III is a sports columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune who previously covered the Twins for more than 20 years.

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