KANSAS CITY, MO. – In the grand Twins playbook, whether it exists physically somewhere in Rocco Baldelli's office or just metaphorically in the staff's collective mind, Gilberto Celestino as the starting center fielder fell somewhere in the Plan E range.
But not to the man himself. Celestino knew even early this past offseason the goal was to be in the big leagues in 2021. On the second day of his major league career, Celestino said Thursday he has already realized he feels "ready for this level."
"Being promoted from Double-A to Triple-A, I was really excited. I thought to myself, 'Well, I don't know how soon it's going to be or how long it's going to take, but this is my chance to prove that I belong here,' " Celestino said. "And then out of the blue, I got the call to the big leagues. And it's like, 'Whoa, this is really fast.' I know the circumstances are because of everything that's happening, but still, I was given a chance, and I'm here, and I'm going to try to take advantage of it."
With Byron Buxton, Jake Cave, Max Kepler and Rob Refsnyder all injured, and Kyle Garlick more of an emergency center fielder than a starter, Celestino made the quick rise to anchor the outfield. And while it's been a whirlwind couple of days, he was able to tamp down some of his anxiety when he first walked into the Twins clubhouse Thursday by just breathing.
He had many welcoming faces from fellow Dominican players, including Jorge Alcala, whom he played with in the Houston Astros organization before they both came to the Twins in the July 2018 trade for Ryan Pressly.
The 22-year-old also knows some of the younger players, such as Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach, who can be his corner outfielders.
"He's a great teammate, very competitive," Larnach said. "He'll battle at the plate. He does a lot of things right. And he's a nice guy to have on your left or your right if you're in the outfield because he covers a lot of ground. He's just, he's a gamer."
Literally, actually, as Celestino revealed about his favorite off-field hobby.