While some teams have already named their Opening Day starter, Twins manager Paul Molitor said on Monday that he was, "not close," to doing so.
Molitor and pitching coach Neil Allen have to talk about the subject then map out the rotation. They can always juggle things early in camp to line up the rotation to their liking.
Righthanders Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana and Kyle Gibson are candidates to get the ball on Opening Day. Hughes got the nod last season, his first ever Opening Day assignment.
"I don't mind doing that when it's a slam dunk but I'm not sure we're quite at that point yet," Molitor said. "Neil and I have talked about it, obviously, because you kind of have a tendency to work back from where you're going to go. You can shuffle with that a little bit early on, if something emerges."
Order disorder
Molitor said he has thought about his 2016 lineup but it not close to finalizing it. He knows that Brian Dozier should be somewhere in the top third, although he's not a prototypical hitter at any of those spots.
"Brian Dozier is a guy you want at the top of the lineup," Molitor said. "I'm not sure where he fits best. It's not really a leadoff approach, it's not really a two-hitter approach, it's not really a three-hitter approach. But his body of work produces runs. So I have to try to figure out how that's going to play out."
Molitor added that he's not married to batting Joe Mauer third.