Don’t miss a word of Brandon Warne’s 2018 Minnesota Twins Guide.

SEASON OVERVIEW
2017 PLAYER GRADES
2017 IN REVIEW
2018 OPENING DAY ROSTER/LINEUP
PROSPECT RANKINGS
SEASON PREDICTION

Old Friends

I don’t know about readers, but I like to keep up with former Twins and the roles they’ll play elsewhere. Here’s a look at where some former Twins are expected to open the 2018 season, with a big thank you to the folks at Roster Resource:

• RP Buddy Boshers is expected to open at Triple-A in Houston’s system.
• Rule 5 RP Luke Bard will begin the season in the Angels’ bullpen, where he’ll have to remain all season long or be offered back to the Twins.
• SP Alex Meyer will miss the entire season after shoulder surgery. He’s on the Angels’ 60-day disabled list.
• RP Liam Hendriks will work late innings in the Oakland bullpen.
• RP Kevin Jepsen will make the Rangers bullpen as a non-roster invitee, and may be in line for late-inning work.
• 3B Trevor Plouffe did not make the Rangers out of spring training, but will head to Triple-A as minor-league depth. The same is true for Bartolo Colon, though he’s expected to join the rotation early in the season.
• SP Dillon Gee signed with Chunichi of the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan. He plans to work as a starter, then return to the states.
• RP Michael Tonkin also signed in Japan, with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He’ll be teammates with Oswaldo Arcia on the Fighters.
• SP/RP Hector Santiago is going to make the Chicago White Sox roster as a swingman after signing as a non-roster invitee.
• OF Daniel Palka is starting the season in Triple-A in the White Sox system.
• RP Matt Belisle is opening the season in the Indians bullpen after signing as a non-roster invitee.
• SP Adam Wilk will function as depth at Triple-A for the Indians, as will reliever Neil Ramirez.
• IF Niko Goodrum will be on the Detroit bench after signing as a non-roster invitee.
• SP Francisco Liriano is expected to open the season as Detroit’s No. 3 starter.
• C Drew Butera is back for another season of backing up Salvador Perez in Kansas City. Perez tore his MCL in a freak injury on March 27, so Butera will probably get quite a bit of time with
• RP Blaine Boyer is expected to make the Royals bullpen after signing as a non-roster invitee.
• IF Danny Valencia has made the Orioles as a bench bat after signing as a non-roster invitee. The Mark Trumbo injury helped him make the roster.
• SS Engelb Vielma was among the final cuts in Orioles camp, and he’ll be in the mix as a call-up if they need depth up the middle. OF Alex Presley, RP Ryan O’Rourke and SP Tim Melville are on the Triple-A team as well.
• IF Eduardo Nunez is opening the season as the starting second baseman for the Red Sox while Dustin Pedroia works back from an injury.
• SP/RP Justin Haley will work as a swingman at Triple-A Pawtucket.
• CF Aaron Hicks will start in center field more often than not for the New York Yankees.
• OF Shane Robinson is expected to be among the outfield bunch at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre for the Yankees.
• OF Denard Span is slated to play left field and probably hit leadoff for the Tampa Bay Rays. Span is married to Anne Schleper, a St. Cloud native who won a silver medal with Team USA hockey in 2014.
• C Wilson Ramos is expected to handle the bulk of the work behind the plate for the Rays.
• SP/RP Chih-Wei Hu is expected to be among the first call-ups if the Rays need an extra arm, most likely out of the bullpen.
• DH Kendrys Morales is expected to get most of the work in that role with the Blue Jays.
• SP Jaime Garcia will be Toronto’s No. 5 starter.
• RP Craig Breslow re-signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays to provide depth at Triple-A.
• C Kurt Suzuki will again be in a timeshare behind the plate for Atlanta with Tyler Flowers.
• IF/OF Danny Santana did not make the Braves out of spring training, and will provide insurance at Triple-A Gwinnett.
• SP Anibal Sanchez was briefly with the Twins this spring, and didn’t make the Opening Day roster for the Braves, but is expected to serve as their No. 5 starter in early April.
• RPs Drew Rucinski and Alex Wimmers are in Triple-A in the Marlins system to open the season.
• RP Anthony Swarzak will be in the back end of the Mets bullpen, setting up closer Jeurys Familia.
• RP Fernando Abad will start the season at Triple-A in the Mets system after recently signing a minor-league deal.
• IF Pedro Florimon will open the season as a utility man for the Phillies.
• RP Pat Neshek will work as a setup man for Hector Neris with the Phillies.
• RP Brandon Kintzler will work as a setup man for Sean Doolittle for the Nationals.
• SPs Tommy Milone and Logan Darnell will start the year as insurance at Triple-A for the Nationals.
• RP Brian Duensing re-signed with the Cubs, where he’ll work as a situational lefty.
• C Chris Gimenez will serve as depth at Triple-A Iowa in the Cubs organization.
• C Stuart Turner will begin the year at Triple-A in the Reds organization, as will SP Vance Worley.
• SP Nik Turley is on the restricted list with the Pirates after an 80-game PED suspension.
• RP Nick Burdi is on the 60-day disabled list as he works back from Tommy John surgery. He’s on the Pirates as a Rule 5 pick.
• SP Sean Gilmartin is Triple-A depth with the Cardinals.
• C John Ryan Murphy is opening the year as the No. 3 catcher for Arizona.
• RP J.T. Chargois is expected to open the year in the Dodgers bullpen.
• SP Dereck Rodriguez appears likely to open the year in the Triple-A rotation with the Giants, as is Chris Heston.
• The following players were in spring training with teams, but were released: Ricky Nolasco (Royals), Chris Herrmann (Diamondbacks), Ben Revere (Reds)
• The following players remain unsigned: SS J.J. Hardy, SP R.A. Dickey, SP Matt Garza
• Mike Pelfrey and A.J. Achter retired/do not appear likely to play again. Both are coaching in college baseball.

Check out the rest of Brandon Warne’s 2018 Minnesota Twins Guide.

SEASON OVERVIEW
2017 PLAYER GRADES
2017 IN REVIEW
2018 OPENING DAY ROSTER/LINEUP
PROSPECT RANKINGS
SEASON PREDICTION

Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne covers the Minnesota Twins for Zone Coverage and is also the site's senior editor. He hosts the Midwest Swing podcast for the site as well. He and his wife Amanda live in the outer Twin Cities suburbs with their daughter, Harper.

All Articles