Written By Tom Schreier
Photo Credit: Brian Curski
We kinda stayed away from it for a while, and then we got to the point where we had to consider it as an option, just out of common sense and looking at our personnel and how it fits right now.
— Paul Molitor on Miguel Sano playing third base, April 27, 2016
If you want an easy explanation as to why the Minnesota Twins started the season so poorly, look no further than who is playing where. Miguel Sano and Danny Santana, for example, have spent a significant amount of time in the outfield, meaning two converted infielders have played alongside Oswaldo Arcia — a poor fielding, hard-hitting outfielder — early in the year.
Santana has become a super-utility player that can play in the outfield, but shouldn’t be an everyday center fielder. Sano plays best a third, and while giving him the versatility to play in right is not a bad idea, he should spend most of his time in the hot corner.
“His reaction was we got that big Miggy smile, he said he was ready and tells me he loves third base and all that kind of stuff,” said manager Paul Molitor when he played Sano at third on April 27. “I think he misses being in the infield, that’s what he’s done his whole life. He’s been a good soldier about right field, but there’s something about him that I know he really enjoys the opportunity, even if it’s in the short term, to get a couple games out there defensively at third.”
Santana’s move was prompted by Byron Buxton’s demotion, and he has recently been called up in conjunction with Santana being placed on the 15-day disabled list.
“Defense: okay. Range: great. Everything defensively, I’d say, is what we were hoping to get out of him,” general manager Terry Ryan said when he sent him down in late April. “There is no question that the makeup and the work ethic and being the type of teammate you’re looking for, he’s got a lot of those things. A lot of people are rooting for him, it’s not like he’s taking an approach here where he’s not trying — he certainly was.”
This highlights another issue the Twins have had: Their best prospects have not seized major league jobs, forcing the team to turn to low-upside veterans to try and keep things from getting worse than they already are. Jose Berrios came up, flashed some good stuff, and then was shelled in Detroit and was sent down. Eddie Rosario went through a sophomore slump. Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco came up but barely got any playing time.
Even with the understanding that many, if not all, of these players will secure major league spots in years to come, the Twins should still be thinking about who they want around long-term and trade the rest to give those players ample playing time. Simply put, when a team can’t compete with the rest of the league, the competition becomes internal.
The logjam extends beyond the outfield, of course. Minnesota has to find a way to get Sano back to third base, and that means figuring out what to do with Eduardo Nunez, Eduardo Escobar, Trevor Plouffe and Brian Dozier.
Plouffe is a logical candidate to be traded. He has his final year of arbitration eligibility next season, is 29 years old and would have some value to a team looking for an above average player at an important position. He’s adopted a leadership position in the locker room, but with the team’s poor start, getting to the playoffs is unlikely and player development should become a priority.
Moving Plouffe would allow Sano to go back to third, creating competition up the middle. Escobar started the year as the incumbent shortstop, but he has to prove that he can be an everyday player there for years to come. If he’s more of a utility player, he has less value than Danny Santana, who is better in the outfield and can play short and second.
“He’s given us a little spark. I like the fact that he seems to be a lot freer, mentally, about his game,” Molitor said of Santana in late April, acknowledging that he had a sophomore slump after a strong rookie season in 2014. “I don’t think he’s having the internal discussions with himself about questioning his ability or things of that nature. He just seems to be going up there confident that he’s gonna get a good pitch, and he’s gonna hit it hard somewhere.”
Nunez was supposed to be the heir apparent to Derek Jeter in New York, but obviously fell short of those lofty expectations. There was some question as to why the Twins re-signed him in the offseason, given that he was entering his age 29 season and only played in 72 games the past two seasons. But he is off to a hot start, hitting .338/.366/.510 with five home runs through Sunday, topping his home run total from the past two seasons.
The question with Nunez is how well he plays if he’s in the lineup every day, and where he fits best on the field. It would be ideal if he could take over at short, but given his track record, it appears unlikely that that will happen. More likely he’s a solid backup for Sano at third who can play second or left field in a pinch.
“One thing I have thought more of, as of late, is Nunez and his deserving to get at least some consistent at-bats here. He’s played well, he’s been one of our steadiest players here,” Molitor said recently. “The fact that we have some other people involved in the middle infield, I’m gonna have to try and play with that on a day-to-day basis, given matchups and how things are going.”
Dozier made the All-Star team last season, but since then has been pedestrian at the plate. He finished last season with 28 home runs, but owned a .236/.307/.444 line, and is hitting .204/.293/.335 this season. He’s signed through 2018 and has $9 million left on his contract, so he’s unlikely to be moved, even with Polanco waiting in the wings.
“We talked about some of the pitches that he’s getting, especially in big situations, they’re not gonna make mistakes in; they’re gonna go away,” pitching coach Tom Brunansky said of Dozier, who has a reputation of being a pull hitter. “And basically what we talked about is you’re gonna have to walk before you start to run, so he’s gonna have to take those pitches and be able to show the league that he’s gonna take those pitches and try to do something with them rather than pull them.”
Polanco, 22, has had 32 plate appearances this year, and appears to be blocked by Dozier. It’s hard to tell, given his minimal playing time, how good he is or what his role will be. Still, while his ideal role would be shortstop of the future, but it looks more like he slots in at second base. If so, he may be floated as trade bait or shelved in the minors as a replacement if Dozier gets injured or until his contract expires.
In an ideal world, the outfield will work itself out. A Rosario-Buxton-Kepler combination is intriguing, with Arcia and Robbie Grossman, who has played well since being acquired mid-season, sitting on the bench next to a super-utility guy like Santana and Nunez.
Finally, the catching position appears to be in most peril. The team’s two best prospects at the position, Mitch Garver and Stuart Turner, are at Double-A and are not major league ready yet. Kurt Suzuki, 32, has seen his production drop since making the All-Star team two years ago. Juan Centeno is 26 and got off to a hot start after being called up, but is a career minus-0.5 WAR player after major league stints with the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers.
Outside of the catching position, however, it appears that the Twins could fill out a strong roster in years to come, as long as they are willing to make the difficult decision to part with players that do not fit their long term plans to develop the ones that they do.