The Twins stayed pretty lowkey on the first full day of post-lockout transaction season, bringing back a somewhat familiar bullpen face on a minor league deal.
Twins have quiet start to signing period, bring back reliever Juan Minaya
News and notes: Twins players begin arriving in Fort Myers, and the spring training schedule gets a redo.
March 12, 2022 at 1:02AM
Juan Minaya, 31, pitched in 29 games for the Twins in the latter part of last season. He went 2-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 40 innings in 2021. A source confirmed Minaya had also received an invite to the major league camp.
Pitching, both starters and relievers, is the Twins' most glaring area of need before the April 7 opener. And an already slim-pickings free agent pool became even more tapped out Friday, when lefty Carlos Rodon reportedly agreed to a two-year, $44 million contract with San Francisco.
Shortstop is another key need for the Twins, and last year's primary shortstop Andrelton Simmons is reportedly headed to the Cubs. The in-house options for Opening Day shortstop include moving Jorge Polanco back to the position or relying on veteran Tim Beckham, signed in the offseason.
Early reports
Less than 24 hours after the lockout officially ended, the first batch of 40-man roster players turned up at the Twins' spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla. Right fielder Max Kepler, utility player Luis Arraez and outfielder/first baseman Alex Kirilloff, plus pitchers Randy Dobnak, Cody Stashak and Bailey Ober reported Friday, the earliest players could arrive.
The mandatory report date is Sunday, so all the major league players should be in town by then. Minor league players have already been on-site working with the Twins staff for several weeks.
Spring schedule
With the delayed start of spring training, MLB had to redo Grapefruit and Cactus League schedules. The Twins will play 19 games against regional opponents the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Tamp Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles.
The spring training opener is Thursday at Boston and the first home game at Hammond Stadium is March 19 also against the Red Sox. The Twins' final home game is April 4, also against Boston, before their spring training finale the next day.
Tickets for the home games go on sale at 1 p.m. Monday on twinsbaseball.com.
Talk of competing for the best players or of a potential new owner wielding big bucks doesn’t change this: They are last in popularity among the four major men’s pro sports.
