Twins vs. Twins East at Hammond Stadium

The sun is out but the tarp is on the field at Hammond Stadium as the Twins begin to warm up in left field. There are concerns about rain today, but it's starting to clear now and the forecast suggests that any precipitation will hold off until the late afternoon.

So come on down! Especially if you want to see former Twins.

The Yankees travel roster today includes the following players:

Anthony Swarzak
Chris Parmelee
Deibinson Romero
Aaron Hicks

Twins East. Romero never reached the majors with the Twins but came up through the system. Had 10 RBI in one game for E-Town once.

As I write this, Michael Tonkin, Logan Darnell and Buddy Boshers are pitching in a simulated game on the minor league side. Twins pitching coach Neil Allen said he still needs a bunch of arms in camp with Tuesday's split squad games coming up, but three would be 3-4 days between outings if he waits until then to use them. So they are facing hitters in order to keep sharp.

My guess is that the Twins will cut a couple more players after that split squad day.

One player to watch today - and the game is on FoxSports North - is Byron Buxton. He could use a strong finish to camp to make the Twins feel better about bringing him north. And he doesn't have to get a ton of hits. If he takes good at bats and doesn't look overmatched, that will be something to build off on. With Buxton, he just needs to put the ball in play to get his terrific speed on the basepaths. The Twins know he's going to play great defense in center.

Two pitchers I keep hearing good things about on the minor league side: Ryan Eades and Tyler Jay. Both have been impressive.

One more thing. I expressed surprise on KFAN on Friday about Nick Burdi being cut from camp. I thought he was pitching well and deserved a longer look. The man throws 99 miles an hour and has a wipeout slider. And he was piling up outs.

Well, I've since talked to a very serious baseball man - whose opinions I take seriously - who said Burdi has to get the ball down. Yes, he has more leeway because of his velocity, but too many pitches are up, and major league hitters will get him.

The baseman man held a hand knee-high and said, ``you live down here."' Then he held his hand waist-high and said, ``you visit up here." So we'll see how Burdi starts the season in the minors.

Brett Gardner, LF
Aaron Hicks, CF
Brian McCann, C
Chase Headley, 3B
Dustin Ackley, 1B
Chris Denorfia, DH
Pete Kozma, SS
Ronald Torreyes, 2B
Ben Gamel, RF

Ivan Nova, RHP

Twins

Brian Dozier, 2B
Joe Mauer, 1B
Miguel Sano, RF
Trevor Plouffe, 3B
Eddie Rosario, LF
Byung Ho Park, 1B
Edaurdo Escobar, SS
John Ryan Murphy, C
Byron Buxton, CF