Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Sunday, April 2, 2017 Minds

Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Sunday, April 2, 2017

 Minds For The Game. Star Tribune (Neal III) p. 1  Souhan: Twins' new bosses inherit the worst and hope for the best. Star Tribune (Souhan) p. 4  Reusse: Gladden first came onto Twins scene 30 years ago. Star Tribune (Reusse) p. 5  Getting analytical with the Twins' Derek Falvey. Star Tribune (Neal lll) p. 6  Breaking down the 2017 Twins roster. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 7  Star Tribune staff predictions for 2017 Twins. Star Tribune (Staff) p. 10  Hartman: St. Peter tells fans to stay patient with Twins. Star Tribune (Hartman) p. 11  Twins starter Phil Hughes says he's ready for regular season. Star Tribune (Neal lll) p. 13  New leaders Derek Falvey and Thad Levine bring new minds to the Twins' game. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 14  Miguel Sano homers, Twins tie AAA team as exhibition season ends. Star Tribune (Neal lll) p. 16  Reusse: Deck was stacked against Park in his push to make Twins. Star Tribune (Reusse) p. 17  Spring training ends with Twins facing Twins hopefuls. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 18  Dave St. Peter says expect Twins to take ‘meaningful step forward’. Pioneer Press (Walters) p. 19  Here’s why Twins pitcher Jose Berrios will start season in Rochester. Pioneer Press (Butherus) p. 20  Twins not sure what to do with limping Kennys Vargas yet. Pioneer Press (Butherus) p. 20  Twins exec Derek Falvey showed initiative, grit from the start. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 22  Lame-duck Twins manager Paul Molitor: ‘Every day counts because you only get so many’. Pioneer Press (Murphy) p. 23  Twins bet on lucky 13 for mound presence. MLB (Bollinger) p. 27  Royals, Twins embrace clean slate in 2017. MLB (Hagan) p. 28  5 Statcast storylines for '17 Twins. MLB (Adler) p. 28  Opening Day Vibes: Baseball as an Emotional State. ESPN 1500 (Depue) p. 30  Predicting Twins' 2017 record. ESPN (Peta) p. 31  Twins Talk: Morse Is The Source. CBS Minnesota (Jones) p. 32  MLB: Naples High grad Jeff Smith ready for big leagues with Minnesota Twins as coach. Naples Daily News (Dorsey) p. 34

Minds For The Game La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | April 1, 2017

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Kyle Gibson didn’t know what to expect when he entered a meeting with Derek Falvey and Thad Levine at the beginning of Twins training camp.

But quickly Gibson was told he was not far from being a top major league pitcher.

“It was an encouraging meeting, for them to have so much confidence in what I can do,” Gibson said.

Brian Dozier, whose 42 home runs formed one of the few bright spots for a 59-103 team last season, liked the concept of having every player meet with Falvey and Levine — the team’s new bosses — and manager Paul Molitor to discuss objectives.

“We’ve joked how many times they have used the word ‘collaborative,’ ” Dozier said. “That’s what we want to see from the brass — because everyone is in this together.”

Falvey was named Twins chief baseball officer and Levine became senior vice president and general manager in early November, leading to a general belief there would be a flurry of offseason activity.

Instead Twins players, from the minors to the majors, have gotten a taste of the duo’s vision of a productive organization. As the 57th season of Twins baseball begins Monday, their plan is being implemented.

There has not been a makeover of the roster, although it might eventually happen. But there was an inside-out build at work in Fort Myers that will sweep through the minor league system and end up at 1 Twins Way.

Falvey and Levine are working over the baseball infrastructure. The player meetings — Levine joked that they were “speed dating” — are just one aspect. Scouting, development, training, nutrition, sleep, game-planning and other areas are all being addressed by the new administration.

No, the two did not make an impact trade or drop a nine-figure salary on a top free agent. But this part of the plan is directed at helping players throughout the system improve. In their eyes, it means more than just bringing in new players.

“I’m totally appreciative of the fact that it doesn’t pay immediate dividends for the fan base, and that’s what they’d demand out of these positions,” said Levine, who joined the Twins after 11 seasons with Texas. “Hopefully this will lead us to making better decisions that will impact a 25-man roster.

“Ultimately when we make those decisions it will heighten the chances that those players will not only succeed but they’ll overachieve based upon some of the resources we put around them. Our focus was to build those resources first and then address the players more specifically.”

An odd couple?

Falvey, 34, and Levine, 45, can’t remember the first time they met. They just remember seeing each other through the years when their respective teams played, at winter meetings and dinners. They developed a mutual admiration for one another through the years.

“Thad is a real respected guy around the game,” Falvey said. “Not just from his baseball acumen, but just the way he connects. I knew I had connected with him the number of times I met him.”

Falvey is a former college pitcher who got into baseball by volunteering his services at the Cape Cod League and turning it into an internship with Cleveland. Levine, also a college player, gained marketing experience with Coca-Cola, Reebok and Rockport before working for the Rockies, then joining the Rangers.

Mark Shapiro, the current president and CEO of the Blue Jays, was Cleveland’s GM when a young Falvey joined in 2007 and also has provided career counseling to Levine through the years.

Falvey’s vision and patience, Levine said, belie his age. Levine is the quick-witted wordsmith who, Falvey says, is trying to help the boss tap into his humorous side.

During a Rangers-Indians series in August — before they knew they’d be working together in Minnesota — Levine was chatting with Falvey when Cleveland slugger Mike Napoli, a former Rangers player, came over to greet him.

“I tried to convince Derek that it would be a good idea for them to give us Mike Napoli,” Levine said, “and he cordially declined.”

Finding roles

Falvey’s strengths are scouting and development, especially when it comes to pitching. Levine oversees contract negotiations and trades and provides statistical and financial analysis.

Both are neutral in the “analytics vs. scouting” debate, embracing a blend.

“They take the old school and collaborate it — ha, ha — with new-age baseball,’’ Dozier said, “and they find what’s best.”

The Twins fired longtime executive Terry Ryan on July 18 and spent the rest of the summer hunting for a new leader. With the help of search firm Korn Ferry, the Twins zeroed in on Falvey, a relative unknown — even among the baseball cognoscenti. 2

After Falvey was named chief baseball officer on Oct. 6. his search for a GM brought him to Levine.

“It was really easy to see we were well-aligned on the details,” Falvey said.

Falvey brought the player-meetings concept with him from Cleveland, and it will be an annual event, a way for players and staff to get on the same page. Falvey and Levine also spent more time in the clubhouse than predecessor Ryan — a growing trend in the industry. They want to be accessible if players want to speak with them.

“It makes for a better environment when you have a close relationship with your bosses,” righthander Phil Hughes said. “You probably see that more and more these days.”

A different direction

Their work over the past five months has produced some bullet points.

• Communication is important to the new regime. Since Falvey and Levine have taken over, the annual scouts’ summit has evolved into a hitters’ summit and pitchers’ summit, where the coaches from the majors through the minors fortify their philosophies.

• The scouting department met with the development department to share ideas on what to look for in prospects. This will be key as the Twins head into the June draft with new leadership and a new scouting director in Sean Johnson, who embraces analytics.

• Zane McPhee was hired as a full-time baseball researcher as the buildup of that department goes on.

• Every minor leaguer will meet with his manager, coaching staff and training staff to create a personal development program. Both parties will sign off on objectives and goals, making sure the player has a vested interest in his outcome. The program will be reviewed during the season.

• Answering what Twins players have requested for years, a full-time massage therapist will travel with the team.

• The club hired a nutritionist/dietitian who has overhauled the menu in the dining room. Healthier meals, including some tailored for the Latin players, are prepared. Soda has been banned. If bacon is on the menu, it’s turkey bacon. Clubhouse attendants on the road will be sent a list of food the Twins want to eat during their stay.

• Jeremy Hefner, who pitched for the Mets in 2012 and 2013, joined the club as an advance scout. He will be a bridge between the front office, analytics department and on-field staff.

Time for change

“We are starting to see the vision that Derek outlined for us during the interview process,” Twins President Dave St. Peter said. “When Thad came on, it was accentuated further that they had a vision of how they wanted to build out this organization.”

Nothing excites a fan base — and sells tickets — like a splashy player transaction. That has been lacking. Falvey and Levine prefer to put in play plans to help developing players improve but would like to augment the roster with talent down the road.

They are being given the time — and resources — to build their vision.

“We owe them a little more runway,” St. Peter said, “and I assure you that’s how ownership sees it.”

If last year was, in the words of ownership, a “total system failure,” this year is a reboot, with the implementation of new approaches to Twins baseball.

“I was hoping to implement Adrian Beltre, Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels,” joked Levine, referring to stars who helped Texas stay strong, “but I haven’t been able to figure that out just yet.”

Souhan: Twins' new bosses inherit the worst and hope for the best Jim Souhan | Star Tribune | April 2, 2017

Monday is signified as Opening Day, which for the 2017 Minnesota Twins is unfortunate. This is a franchise much more desperate for closure than the false promise of a baseball holiday.

The 2016 version of the Twins earned the right to be called the worst in franchise history. The Boys of Spring posted the worst winning percentage in the Minnesota version of the franchise, and the worst since the 1955 Washington Senators were inspiring jokes.

The 2016 Twins — playing in a still-beautiful ballpark, coming off 83 victories and stocked with promising young players — managed to perform even worse than Twins teams that admitted they weren’t trying to compete.

Remember 1995? Andy MacPhail had seen the advent of competitive imbalance and fled to Chicago, the team’s run as the most admired in baseball had ended, Terry Ryan traded everyone he could before the end of August and the team actually tried a platoon of Jerald Clark and Kevin Maas at first base. But that team was better than the 2016 Twins.

Remember 1998? Twins ownership had decided to play “studio” baseball, meaning a minimal investment in players. Otis Nixon celebrated his 98th birthday in a Twins uniform and played 110 games. But that team was better than the 2016 Twins.

The 2016 Twins lost their first nine games and wasted another summer at Target Field. Ownership fired Ryan and hired Derek Falvey and Thad Levine to mop up the mess. And what has transpired since “Falvine” took over is almost as remarkable as what preceded their arrival:

They have done close to nothing.

The business side of the franchise is withering. Ownership is embarrassed. The manager knows he’s likely a lame duck. The All-Star closer, who has been this team’s most effective player for most of the past four seasons, might be near the end of his career. Expectations are as low as they have been since the 1990s.

Falvine responded by signing a catcher known for pitch-framing.

Their inactivity could be an admission, a complaint, an homage, a cry for help or a cry for patience. Most likely it is all of those.

Falvine know this team has little chance to contend. The 2017 Twins could improve by 20 games and not reach .500.

They know that making one major signing in free agency would make little impact, even if they could persuade a major free agent to sign with a 59-win team, which is unlikely.

They know they are new at their jobs and that the incompetence on display last year buys them time.

They know that despite his mistakes, Ryan amassed an impressive group of young position players who should mature in the next year or two, and that Ryan’s primary fault — failing to develop quality starting pitching — can’t be fixed in one winter. The promise of the position players and the desperation for homegrown pitching both require patience.

Falvey and Levine couldn’t admit this publicly — “This can’t be fixed quickly” would be the worst marketing slogan in sports history — but they might as well spend this season assessing the organization, from Molitor to the last statistical analyst.

Most likely they will begin 2018 with a manager of their own choosing and with a better firsthand understanding of what needs to be done to fix the franchise.

They’re lucky that while doing little they are almost certain to see improvement in the Twins’ quality of play and record. It would be almost impossible to lose 103 games again.

There is no better job in sports than taking over a broken franchise. Mathematically and aesthetically, Falvine’s new team can’t get worse.

Reusse: Gladden first came onto Twins scene 30 years ago Patrick Reusse | Star Tribune | April 2, 2017

Dan Gladden remained officially a rookie with the San Francisco Giants in the spring of 1984, having played in 18 games after a September call- up the previous season.

The Arizona portion of spring training was over on March 28 for the ’84 Giants, and they were on buses at the Scottsdale ballpark, heading for the Phoenix airport.

“They came out and told the manager [Frank Robinson] to get me off the bus,’’ Gladden said. “The Giants had signed Gene Richards, and that was my spot on the roster.’’

Gladden was called up in late June and played 330 games for the Giants over the next 2½ years. The Giants made a trade for Cincinnati’s Eddie Milner in January 1987, adding to a glut of outfielders for the season ahead.

“We were getting to end of the spring training and we still had a bunch of outfielders,’’ Gladden said. “I wasn’t going to get pulled off the bus again. I went to the manager’s office — then Roger Craig — and said, ‘What’s going on? Am I on the club or off it?’

“Right then, [General Manager] Al Rosen walked in and Craig said, ‘Danny Gladden wants to know what’s going on.’ Rosen looked at his watch and said, ‘We can tell you but we can’t announce it yet. You’ve been traded to Minnesota.’

“They had to wait because the Twins hadn’t told Mickey Hatcher that he was being released.’’

The date was March 31, 1987, meaning this past Friday — the day the 2017 Twins left spring training for the Twin Cities — was the 30th anniversary of the Glad Man, of Gladwrench, of the Dazzle Man, becoming a major character in Minnesota’s major league baseball story.

Psychology isn’t my major, but after those three decades, I’ve decided this is among Gladden’s strongest traits:

He has radar. He sees what’s going on in the background. If he doesn’t know what’s going on over there, he finds out.

For instance: He asked Rosen for one item for the flight from Phoenix to Orlando after the trade.

“I wanted a 1987 Twins media guide,’’ Gladden said. “I wanted to do some research on those guys.’’

There’s better evidence of Gladden’s observational talent:

He was a shortstop for De Anza College, a two-year school in Curpertino, Calif., in 1976. He noticed a young woman who would run on a daily basis around the athletic facilities. The route took her behind the outfield fence.

“Our coach was Eddie Bressoud; remember him, a big-league shortstop?’’ Gladden said. “One day, I said, ‘Coach, I think I should take a few fly balls in the outfield.’”

He turned this into a conversation with the runner, Janice Murphy, and they were married on July 7, 1979, and they raised daughters Ashley and Whitney, and Ashley married Joe Gaetti, Gary’s son, and in February, the Gladdens became the grandparents of Luca Gaetti.

“They say Luca means, ‘He sees the light,’ ‘’ Gladden said.

Which could be interpreted to mean, “He sees what’s going on,’’ which means Luca will be just like grandpa.

The first call Gladden made after Rosen told him of the trade was to Janice. His message was simple: “Murph, we’ve been traded to Minnesota.’’

His first view of the Twins organization was not impressive: The rundown and limited facilities at Tinker Field.

“I found the general manager, Andy MacPhail, in a trailer,’’ Gladden said. “I said, ‘I’m here to play.’ ‘’

Gladden paused a second and said:

“T.K. [manager Tom Kelly] had me as the DH on opening night in the Metrodome. I led off with a routine fly ball, the A’s lost it in the roof, and it fell for a double. I raised my arms and said, ‘This place is great.’

“Then, I struck out three times and my new teammates gave that thing they had, the hood with three Ks on it, and I thought, ‘I’m not going to show this to Murph.’”

Janice is African-American. The trophy used by those Twins to honor three strikeouts was an example of outrageous clubhouse humor, which also could have left a poor first impression of Minnesota for “Murph.’’

The Gladdens learned to love us, of course, and Minnesota them. Dan spent five years with the Twins and won the two World Series, he was gone to Detroit and then to Japan to play ball, and worked as an advance scout for Colorado, and a roving instructor with the Giants.

Through those travels, Janice worked for Target Corp. and the Gladdens had their primary home in the Twin Cities. In 2000, Herb Carneal decided to reduce travel substantially as a broadcaster, and Twins president Dave St. Peter convinced Gladden to join Herb and John Gordon in the radio booth as an analyst.

Carneal became sick in the winter and died on April 1, 2007. In spring training, Gladden was given a shot at doing play-by-play in the middle innings.

“The first time was right here in this booth,’’ Gladden said last week, at Hammond Stadium. “John Gordon got up, said what he always said, ‘Just be yourself, Danny,’ and left the booth.

“I gripped the counter top with both hands, I was so nervous. It was only a seven- or eight-pitch top of the fourth, and even with that, my shirt was soaked with sweat.’’

Another decade later, Gladden is very grateful for the mentorship of Gordon, admires the work of his current partner Cory Provus, and he’s still being himself.

“Do you know this? My birthday is July 7, Gordo’s birthday is July 7, and Cory’s birthday is July 7,’’ Gladden said.

It is also the wedding anniversary for Dan and Janice. “Getting married on July 7 was intentional,’’ he said. “That way, I’ll never forget our anniversary.’’

Getting analytical with the Twins' Derek Falvey La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | April 2, 2017

In the advanced era of baseball numbers-crunching, Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey talked with Star Tribune baseball writer La Velle E. Neal III about meaningful statistics.

Offense: What is WOBA?

We have graduated from batting average to the slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) and even to OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). But Falvey likes weighted on-base average (wOBA), considered to be the best way to measure total offensive value.

“Take a look at the top 30 teams and rank all of them by runs scored,” Falvey said. “Any other stat next to it — batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, etc. What’s most highly correlated to runs scored? Weighted on-base.”

The Twins scored 722 runs last season, 16th in baseball. Their team wOBA was .317, good for 14th.

Brian Dozier led the Twins with a .370 wOBA. Leaguewide, he was 26th. Guess who was second? In 99 games, Robbie Grossman had a .363 wOBA. And you wondered why he was still on the team.

If you’re baffled while trying to put together a batting order, look at wOBA, bunch the best at the top of the order and go for the ambush.

Defense: Metric debate

There’s range factor, ultimate zone range, defensive runs saved, John Dewan’s plus-minus system and others. Those stats help tell the story of 6 defensive efficiency but miss the mark in various ways. Why give someone credit for a great catch when he runs a poor route? What about the effect of shifting?

It has led some to synthesize their own formulas.

“Every team has its own internally developed defensive metrics,” Falvey said.

The folks at Statcast introduced catch probability, which categorizes catches from low to high probability. It notes where the fielder was positioned and how far he ran, where the ball was hit and how long it was in the air.

“That’s probably going to end up being my favorite,” Falvey said. “If you are shifted or you’re playing somewhere in the outfield where you have to make up meaningful ground to make a play — that’s different than a ball hit right at the guy. It is important to know where a guy is positioned and how much that plays into the defense.”

Starting pitching: It's WAR

There are many ways to evaluate pitchers beyond win-loss record and ERA. There’s batting average on balls in play, walk percentages, strikeout percentages and fielding independent pitching (FIP) that focuses on outcomes over which a pitcher has control, such as strikeouts, walks and home runs.

Falvey leans toward wins above replacement (WAR), perhaps the best way to look at a player’s overall contribution.

The Mets’ Noah Syndergaard led baseball with a 6.5 WAR last season, according to fangraphs.com. The Twins’ leader was Ervin Santana at 3.2.

Falvey thinks WAR can help in comparing pitchers who have produced differently.

“We have a hard time as an industry sometimes separating out the guy who throws 200 innings but has a league-average performance vs. the guy who throws 120 innings but at a much higher performance,” Falvey said. “What’s more valuable? If there’s a way to blend quality and quantity, WAR gives you that.”

Relief pitching: Specializing

A specialist reliever like Craig Breslow can be valuable in a vastly different way than someone like Cleveland’s Andrew Miller, who can pitch two or three innings if needed.

“You are going to look at something different for those guys than for the overall volume metric,” Falvey said. “How they perform against lefties, guys who are so unique and specialized that you will want to look at more unique stats for them.”

General Manager Thad Levine agrees. He looks more at strikeout rates and walk rates for relievers “because preventing baserunners becomes more important later in the game.”

Michael Tonkin struck out 10.0 batters per nine innings last season, and the Twins could use more relievers with that type of production. But Tonkin walked 3.0 batters per nine innings, and opponents had a .344 average against him on balls put in play (BABIP) — both of those could be better. His WAR of 0.1 reflects the unevenness of his season.

Breaking down the 2017 Twins roster Phil Miller | Star Tribune | April 2, 2017

It’s a new era, all right. Given carte blanche to raze the roster, new Twins bosses Derek Falvey and Thad Levine open the 2017 season with a radically reconfigured club that includes … let’s see … just five players who didn’t play for the Twins last year. Truthfully, Falvey and Levine are probably the most intriguing Twins employees of 2017, as they evaluate their assets and execute their blueprint for a team that has certainly avoided the weight of expectations following a disastrous, 103-loss crash landing. Here’s the team ...

Position players

Joe Mauer, 1B .261, 11 hr, 49 rbi

Paul Molitor hinted that he agrees the time has come to move the three-time batting champ down in the order — all the way to cleanup hitter. Regardless of whether that happens, his still-sharp ability to get on base is valued on a low-OBP team, though he will probably get more days off against lefthanders.

Brian Dozier, 2B .268, 42 hr, 99 rbi

Yes, you Twitter doubters, he hears you. He knows you think his 42 home runs were a fluke, that he’s an offensive bubble headed for a burst. Dozier has repeated several times that he intends to prove people wrong, but if he’s successful at it he becomes more likely to be marketed at the deadline.

Jorge Polanco, SS .282, 4 hr, 27 rbi

The second-baseman-in-waiting continues to wait for that opportunity, so the Twins have chosen to occupy the 23-year-old by moving him over to shortstop in the interim. Doubts about his range were dispelled in camp, where he looked more than adequate at his new position, and he showed surprising power.

Miguel Sano, 3B .236, 25 hr, 66 rbi

Some Twins insiders doubt that Sano-at-third-base will go much better than right field, but by releasing Trevor Plouffe, they’ve committed to a keep-Miguel-happy policy. It’s an understandable gamble; if the pitcher-eating monster of 2015 re-emerges, habitual strikeouts and errors will fade into mere annoyances.

Eddie Rosario, LF .269, 10 hr, 32 rbi

His young teammates get far more attention, but Rosario, still only 25, appears more permanently settled into a major league job. Still, his mid- May demotion to Rochester remains fresh, and he says he realizes he needs to gain a better grasp of the strike zone.

Byron Buxton, CF .225, 10 hr, 38 rbi

September was a lost month for the Twins, but not for their top prospect, who accomplished more in those 30 days than in the previous 18 months. His defense alone would keep him in the majors, but his confidence and strength have grown so much at the plate, he’ll hit in the middle, not at the bottom, of the lineup.

Max Kepler, RF .235, 17 hr, 63 rbi

No player has made bigger strides, year to year, than the German outfielder, and Paul Molitor said last week he’s optimistic that Kepler will continue that habit. An understandable streakiness (he’s barely 24) and perhaps his willingness to take unnecessary risks on defense are the deficiencies that need work.

Jason Castro, C .201,11 hr, 32 rbi (hou.)

The Twins’ emphasis on upgrading their defense appears most obvious in the signing of Castro, a catcher tasked with controlling the running game and helping pitchers gain strikes on borderline pitches. He showed encouraging pop at the plate, too, batting .281 with a pair of homers this spring.

Robbie Grossman, DH .280, 11 hr, 37 rbi

Worked hard all spring on improving his defense, but the Twins found a different solution: All of a sudden, he’s a designated hitter. Hard to tell how long he’ll hold that job, but his patience at the plate makes him a valuable bench player, too.

Chris Gimenez, C .216, 4 hr, 11 rbi (cle.)

He could write a book on impressing evaluators and winning jobs, because even at 34 he was an easy choice for backup catcher. The Twins love 8 his versatility — he played left field and first base, too — plus his eagerness to work on his game and help pitchers. A good platoon fit with Castro, he’ll mostly face lefties.

Eduardo Escobar, SS .236, 6 hr, 37 rbi

Another year, another need to win a job. The popular utility infielder wasn’t given an opportunity to keep his old shortstop role, not after a disappointing 2016, and there were doubts about whether he could stave off Ehire Adrianza for the backup job. Injury intervened, but he could use a return to his 2015 form.

Danny Santana, OF .240, 2 hr, 14 rbi

Still says he prefers to play the infield, but it may have been his ability to cover ground in the outfield that kept him on the roster. Santana’s speed also makes him useful off the bench, though Grossman’s new role makes it more likely Santana will patrol the outfield a couple of times a week.

The starting rotation

Ervin Santana, RHP 7-11, 3.38 ERA

Even as he begins to show hints of aging, the 34-year-old Santana is by far the Twins’ best, most reliable and most serene pitcher. That makes him unlikely to finish 2017 in Minnesota; anything close to a normal season by the amiable righthander figures to ignite trade rumors.

Kyle Gibson, RHP 6-11, 5.07 era

Give the five-year veteran credit, he wasn’t willing to stay the course and simply hope his mediocre 2016 results improved organically. A new arm angle, buttressed by an unconventional workout regimen, carries some risk, but Gibson remains determined to be more than a back-end- of-the-rotation pitcher.

Adalberto Mejia, LHP 0-0, 7.71 era

A steady if unspectacular spring paid off for the big Dominican lefthander, who watched a series of unexpected circumstances derail one rotation candidate after another. He has strikeout-an-inning stuff and the frame of a workhorse; now in the rotation, he could be difficult to unseat for a long time.

Hector Santiago, LHP 3-6, 5.58 era

A fastball-heavy repertoire for a pitcher who rarely tops 92 mph seems a recipe for trouble, but somehow Santiago makes it work. Clean innings can be scarce, but the fast-working lefty has a knack for working his way out of difficulty by moving the ball around and surprising hitters with offspeed spinners.

Phil Hughes, RHP 1-7, 5.95 era

He’s a post-op patient, one rib lighter, so inconsistent results should be expected. Even healthy, though, his strikeout ability has significantly declined, while home runs have climbed. The Twins would probably be happy if he simply became an innings-eater.

The bullpen

Brandon Kintzler, RHP 0-2, 3.15 era, 17 sv.

He’s no lights-out closer, but he gave up only one run in March and doesn’t appear ready to cede the ninth-inning role. Oddly, the specter of Kevin Jepsen, who couldn’t repeat his success in the job last year, seems to produce the biggest doubts among fans.

Ryan Pressly, RHP 6-7, 3.70 era 9

Walks are down and strikeouts are up for a reliever who clearly gained Paul Molitor’s trust last year, when he quietly led the Twins in appearances and bullpen innings. At 28, he’s matured into a confident, unflappable presence.

Michael Tonkin, RHP 3-2, 5.02 era

Some preseason fantasy analysts called him a dark horse candidate to pick up saves for the Twins, because of his team-high strikeout rate. But his velocity too often is used against him, in the form of a high home-run rate.

Taylor Rogers, LHP 3-1, 3.96 era

Held lefthanders to a .202 average in 2016, so he’ll get a steady diet of the toughest lefty bats this season. He’s skinny and seemed to wear down in September, so Paul Molitor might focus on keeping him fresh.

Matt Belisle, RHP 0-0, 1.76 era (was.)

A spectacular resurgence the past two seasons earned this 36-year-old a job with the Twins, and he will probably be assigned a bigger role and more innings than he’s been given in a few seasons.

Craig Breslow, LHP 0-2, 4.50 era

People who own Yale degrees in molecular biophysics must find this baseball stuff pretty simple, because an increasingly ineffective Breslow simply engineered himself into a new pitcher. His semi-sidearm delivery has worked even better than he hoped.

Tyler Duffey, RHP 9-12, 6.43 era

Seemingly headed to the minors after losing a battle for a rotation spot, the curveball specialist was granted a reprieve so he can serve as long reliever, at least temporarily. Just being in the majors could get him back into the rotation if anyone falters.

Justin Haley, RHP no mlb experience

The Twins have a habit of keeping Rule 5 pitchers lately — Ryan Pressly and J.R. Graham were most recent examples — so granting Haley a roster spot after an up-and-down spring wasn’t a surprise. He’ll spend the season soaking up major league knowledge but probably pitching mostly in lost causes.

Star Tribune staff predictions for 2017 Twins Staff | Star Tribune | April 2, 2017

Columnists and beat reporters get their chance to predict the future.

Sid Hartman

Predicted record: 80-82

AL Central finish: 4th

I was surprised they didn’t take a big step last year. There are reasons for optimism. Buxton, Sano and Kepler will have good years. There are other young players who should be OK. But the pitching is a big question mark.

Phil Miller

Predicted record: 74-88

AL Central finish: 3rd

It seems odd but perhaps inevitable that a 15-win improvement would be seen as another terrible Twins season, but they did this to themselves. Amid the most negative spring vibes in a long time, good things will sprout: They’ll score nearly 800 runs, most since their playoff 10 seasons. Brian Dozier will go to the All-Star Game, and he won’t be alone. Byron Buxton will have the long-awaited breakout season and run away with the Sophomore of the Year Award. (There’s not? Oh.)

La Velle E. Neal III

Predicted record: 74-88

AL Central finish: 4th

Twins fans will be entertained by the development of the young position players. But rebuilds generally aren’t complete until the pitching staff is fixed. The Twins still have a way to go in that area. Still, 74 wins would be a 15-game improvement from last year’s debacle.

Patrick Reusse

Predicted record: 68-94

AL Central finish: 5th

The Twins have averaged 67.7 wins over the worst six-year stretch in the Minnesota history of the franchise. Let’s round it off to 68. Bad pitching meets suspect fielding on the left side meets cleanup hitter Miguel Sano still striking out at a ridiculous rate meets the likelihood of dumping Erv Santana and other veteran assets in July meets … yeah, 68 could be a bit on the high side.

Chip Scoggins

Predicted record: 71-91

AL Central finish: 5th

A year ago in this space, I predicted 86 wins. Just a bit off on that guess. The Twins won’t lose 103 games again, but the product on the field will remain a slow build. I just don’t see enough quality pitching on the roster for them to be competitive.

Jim Souhan

Predicted record: 72-90

AL Central finish: 5th

In the spring of 2016, I saw the Twins have one of their smoothest and most promising spring trainings. Coming off an 83-victory season, I thought they were on the way up. Then they lost close games in April, lost their All-Star closer and an important starter and fell apart. I think they have to be better this year. Better, but not good. Not yet. The lineup will be improved; the pitching might not be.

Hartman: St. Peter tells fans to stay patient with Twins Sid Hartman | Star Tribune | April 2, 2017

Dave St. Peter joined the Twins in 1990 as an intern when they were in the midst of turning a last-place club into a World Series winner one year later.

St. Peter has seen more losing seasons than winning seasons as he has advanced to become the Twins president and chief executive officer. He’s watched the Twins lose 90 or more games 10 times in 28 years while they’ve made the playoffs in seven of those seasons.

Still, ask St. Peter what he sees out of this year’s squad and he believes there’s much more positive on the horizon at Target Field than negative.

“We have been here before. We’ve had other groups of young players that have emerged,” St. Peter said this week as the Twins prepared for Opening Day on Monday. “It happened in the early ’80s, happened in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and it can happen again and I suspect it will, led by the [Byron] Buxtons, the [Miguel] Sanos, the [Max] Keplers, the [Jose] Berrioses, the [Eddie] Rosarios, [Jorge] Polanco, others across our minor league system that I think will emerge here in the near future.

“We’re bullish on our future. We’re going to have to earn back a level of credibility across our game and frankly in this market. But you know I believe that a period of sustained success is on the horizon and closer than a lot of people think.”

New management

The biggest change the Twins made in the offseason was behind the scenes with the hiring of Derek Falvey as chief baseball officer and Thad Levine as general manager.

“They have been really thoughtful, I think, in their approach and diligent in trying to take the time needed to get to know the organization, to assess the current people that are in place but maybe most importantly to start to share their vision and expectations for really how our organization will look over the long term,” St. Peter said of his early impressions. “We have a lot of work to do. By no means is our organization, our baseball operations, where we want it to be.”

The Twins didn’t make a ton of moves in free agency, signing catcher Jason Castro and relief pitcher Matt Belisle. St. Peter said he thinks that could help the team in the long term.

“I think we want to find out what we have in this core of young players to ensure that they’re given every chance to develop at the major league level,” he said. “Sometimes in signing free agents it would have made that more challenging, it would have limited at-bats, it would have limited innings.

“This is going to be a franchise that is reliant on the development of young players that we draft and bring through our farm system to the big leagues.”

When asked if anyone in spring surprised him, St. Peter quickly mentioned ByungHo Park, who responded from being cut from the 40-man roster by hitting .353 with six homers and 13 RBI in 19 games. Park will start the season at Class AAA Rochester. He said the team also liked the spring pitching of Kyle Gibson (1.59 ERA in 28⅓ innings), and he praised Buxton for his improvement.

“He appears to be a more mature player both on the field and off the field,” St. Peter said of the former No. 1 overall pick. “There is no doubt in my mind that [new Twins special assistant to the general manager] Torii Hunter has had a positive influence on him in terms of trying to demonstrate a level of leadership inside of that clubhouse.”

Bringing back the fans

When Target Field opened in 2010 the Twins were one of three teams to average a sellout, finishing third in overall attendance (3.2 million fans). In 2011 they stayed strong, finishing fourth (3.2 million), but things have fallen since — 12th in 2012 (2.8 million), 17th in 2013 (2.5 million), 19th in 2014 (2.3 million), 20th in 2015 (2.2 million) and finally dipping to 23rd last season (2.0 million).

“[The team’s record] has had an impact,” St. Peter said. “Obviously our season ticket base is going to be down some. We lost probably about 1,500 full season ticket equivalents. We had just shy of 14,000 [in 2016]; this year we should end up with at least 12,000, hopefully.

“It has had some impact. Make no mistake, we have done this to ourselves. All of that being said, I think if we can play reasonably well throughout the early part of the season I remain optimistic that we can push our attendance to last year’s attendance total and hopefully back beyond north of 2 million fans.”

In that search for fans, the Twins have introduced a spring ballpark pass that costs $99 for 30 games in April and May. The ticket gives access to the stadium but not a seat. St. Peter said the team has already sold 750 of those passes and expects to go over 1,000 sales. He also said the Twins added new LED lights throughout the stadium, costing about $3 million, and the Twins are already looking at other ways to improve the fan experience in 2018.

Still for the team to get Target Field back to feeling like the home field it once was, there’s only one answer for St. Peter and this new Twins squad, and that’s winning.

Jottings

• The website 247sports.com had the Gophers’ 2018 football recruiting class ranked No. 14 in the country. They are in a great class, as the following schools were ranked ahead of them, in order: Miami (Fla.), Penn State, Notre Dame, LSU, Florida State, Clemson, Washington, USC, Oklahoma, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Wisconsin and Ohio State. If the Gophers can keep that ranking it would be the best recruiting class in 12 team history.

• Even though the Gophers football team’s depth chart is awfully short at offensive and defensive tackle, coach P.J. Fleck has made only one position change, and that was to move Mark Williams from quarterback to wide receiver. “I think that Mark will help us at wide receiver somehow, someway, special teams, and if it doesn’t work there we’re going to look at corner, as well,” Fleck said. “I’m just getting to know all of these players in terms of their football skill-set right now.”

• Quinn Carroll, the son of former Gophers tight end Jay Carroll, is a sophomore offensive tackle at Edina and one of the highest-rated prospects in the state for the Class of 2019. Carroll is on schedule to make a six-school tour starting with Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. His brother Collin Carroll was a long snapper for Virginia Tech for four seasons.

• NFL.com named Vikings defensive lineman Danielle Hunter to its list of best players under 25. “The amazing thing with Hunter is that he was a rookie at 20 years old, so despite having played two years in the league, he will turn all of 23 in October,” NFL.com said.

• Tre Jones, who led Apple Valley to the Class 4A state championship and averaged 23.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists, told GopherHole.com that he plans to take all five of his official recruiting visits after the AAU season. Jones also said that the school recruiting him hardest is Butler, though the Bulldogs haven’t offered a scholarship.

Twins starter Phil Hughes says he's ready for regular season La Velle E. Neal III |Star Tribune | April 2, 2017

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Twins righthander Phil Hughes on Saturday threw four scoreless innings in a minor league game.

Big deal. It was against Class A Salem. The bigger questions are if he is healthy, serious about throwing more changeups and ready for the regular season.

Hughes said he was as he prepared to fly back to the Twin Cities on Saturday night.

“You don’t take too much from the results here,” he said. “Overall, I feel good.”

Hughes has said that he wouldn’t pay attention to his velocity until the end of camp. The radar gun Saturday had Hughes’ fastball at 89-91 miles per hour. The 30-year-old, who has topped out at 92 this spring, had been hoping for it to increase a little more, but he is ready to go with whatever he’s got.

“That’s what it has been, 90-91,” Hughes said. “Obviously I’d like for it to be tick higher than that, but that’s not necessarily a problem. Plus you get a little tick once the adrenaline kicks in when the season starts.”

It could be important. Hughes has thrown dozens of changeups this spring as he plans to make the pitch a big part of his repertoire for the first time. When he throws it hard, around 84-85 mph, it stays up in the zone and is a batting practice pitch. When it’s 81-83, it’s down in the zone with good movement and forces missed swings. Hughes has dealt with both of those outcomes this spring.

If his fastball is around 90-91 mph, he will need that changeup to be no higher than 82-83 mph. A variance of at least 8 mph is desired to throw hitters’ timing off.

“It would be good to get it around 10 mph,” he said, “which would be ideal.”

Hughes went 1-7 with a 5.95 ERA in 12 games during an injury-plagued 2016 season for the Twins.

Etc.

• The Twins were able to reach contract agreements with every player on their roster with zero to three years of major league experience, except one. The Twins were unable to agree to a deal with outfielder Byron Buxton and ended up only renewing his contract for 2017. Historically, teams that do that take off a few thousand dollars off their final offer. If the Twins did that is unknown, but Buxton will get a raise from $512,500 in 2016 to $535,000 this season because that is the new major league minimum.

• Class AAA Rochester righthander Jake Reed, who left Friday’s game vs. the Twins in the ninth inning, has a strained lat muscle and will miss a couple of weeks. 13

• Rookie lefthander Adalberto Mejia will pitch in a minor league game Sunday, then join the team for Opening Day.

New leaders Derek Falvey and Thad Levine bring new minds to the Twins' game La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | April 1, 2017

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Kyle Gibson didn’t know what to expect when he entered a meeting with Derek Falvey and Thad Levine at the beginning of Twins training camp.

But quickly Gibson was told he was not far from being a top major league pitcher.

“It was an encouraging meeting, for them to have so much confidence in what I can do,” Gibson said.

“We’ve joked how many times they have used the word ‘collaborative,’ ” Dozier said. “That’s what we want to see from the brass — because everyone is in this together.”

Falvey was named Twins chief baseball officer and Levine became senior vice president and general manager in early November, leading to a general belief there would be a flurry of offseason activity.

An odd couple?

“Thad is a real respected guy around the game,” Falvey said. “Not just from his baseball acumen, but just the way he connects. I knew I had connected with him the number of times I met him.”

Mark Shapiro, the current president and CEO of the Blue Jays, was Cleveland’s GM when a young Falvey joined in 2007 and also has provided career counseling to Levine through the years.

Falvey’s vision and patience, Levine said, belie his age. Levine is the quick-witted wordsmith who, Falvey says, is trying to help the boss tap into his humorous side. 14

“I tried to convince Derek that it would be a good idea for them to give us Mike Napoli,” Levine said, “and he cordially declined.”

Finding roles

Falvey’s strengths are scouting and development, especially when it comes to pitching. Levine oversees contract negotiations and trades and provides statistical and financial analysis.

Both are neutral in the “analytics vs. scouting” debate, embracing a blend.

“They take the old school and collaborate it — ha, ha — with new-age baseball,’’ Dozier said, “and they find what’s best.”

After Falvey was named chief baseball officer on Oct. 6. his search for a GM brought him to Levine.

“It was really easy to see we were well-aligned on the details,” Falvey said.

“It makes for a better environment when you have a close relationship with your bosses,” righthander Phil Hughes said. “You probably see that more and more these days.”

A different direction

Their work over the past five months has produced some bullet points.

• Zane McPhee was hired as a full-time baseball researcher as the buildup of that department goes on.

• Answering what Twins players have requested for years, a full-time massage therapist will travel with the team.

• Jeremy Hefner, who pitched for the Mets in 2012 and 2013, joined the club as an advance scout. He will be a bridge between the front office, analytics department and on-field staff.

Time for change

They are being given the time — and resources — to build their vision.

“We owe them a little more runway,” St. Peter said, “and I assure you that’s how ownership sees it.”

If last year was, in the words of ownership, a “total system failure,” this year is a reboot, with the implementation of new approaches to Twins baseball.

“I was hoping to implement Adrian Beltre, Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels,” joked Levine, referring to stars who helped Texas stay strong, “but I haven’t been able to figure that out just yet.”

Miguel Sano homers, Twins tie AAA team as exhibition season ends La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | March 31, 2017

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Jose Berrios plunked Brian Dozier in the left arm with a pitch in the second inning on Friday. Dozier began to jog to first base but then turned and took a few steps toward the mound.

That's all the Twins needed, their best starting pitching prospect rumbling with their best batter right before the start of the season.

Fortunately, Dozier was kidding.

"I would have taken more steps, but his back was turned," Dozier said.

The Twins and Rochester, their Class AAA affiliate, played to a 3-3 tie on Friday in an exhibition game to cap spring training.

Now it's time for the real games.

"I think we are ready," righthander Kyle Gibson said. "You see offensive guys hitting their stride. You see pitchers with confidence. We've played a lot of exhibition games, and we're ready to play ones that count."

Gibson gave up two runs over three innings in his tune-up before he faces Kansas City on Thursday.

Both runs came in the second inning when ByungHo Park, who was cut from camp on Thursday, singled sharply to right and went to second when Ben Paulsen was hit with a pitch. Park moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored as Mitch Garver hit into a double play.

Daniel Palka followed with an impressive home run just left of the batter's eye in center.

"Don't throw Palka first-pitch fastballs," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

Despite the runs, Gibson finishes camp with a 2.30 ERA. The Twins are optimistic that the alterations he's made to his delivery will pay off.

"We're all excited about what he has done here and what it might lead to," Molitor said. "It's a different animal once you get going. Games count. You hope some of that stuff carries over. Not just in terms of his stuff, but the confidence he's throwing it with."

Rochester led 3-1 when Miguel Sano lined a homer to left. Eduardo Escobar's RBI single in the seventh scored Byron Buxton as the tying run.

Sano was 2-for-2 with a homer and a double down the right field line. He has looked awful for a large part of camp but went 4-for-11 over his last four games, including three home runs.

"We've seen the strikeouts," Molitor said, "but we have seen an emergence here of late."

Sano also made a nice diving stop of Garver's grounder in the fifth but then threw wildly to first for his third error of the spring.

"He hasn't had the best spring in terms of throwing the baseball," Molitor said. "A couple high, a couple wide." 16

Etc.

•Kennys Vargas, slowed by a sore left foot, was 0-for-3 with a strikeout on Friday. Vargas will play in minor league spring training games on Saturday and Sunday and then be re-evaluated. The Twins want to get him ready for Rochester's season opener Thursday, an indication that he will be optioned or placed on the disabled list.

•Two pitchers and one catcher will remain in Fort Myers. Righthander Phil Hughes will pitch four innings or 60 pitches on Saturday, and Adalberto Mejia will pitch five innings or 75 pitches on Sunday. Chris Gimenez will catch both.

•Molitor did not reveal his Opening Day lineup, but indications are that Dozier will lead off and Buxton bat third.

Reusse: Deck was stacked against Park in his push to make Twins Patrick Reusse | Star Tribune | March 31, 2017

FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Twins’ decision not to keep ByungHo Park was a puzzle to most everyone with an interest in the team, including the players who will open the season on Monday afternoon at Target Field.

Paul Molitor came off as being fully rattled on Thursday, as the news on Park circulated and the manager was about the get on a bus to Port Charlotte for the last official exhibition game.

Derek Falvey was hired last fall with the title of chief baseball officer, and Thursday’s quotes from him came with the political twist that would be expected:

The Twins were appreciative of the obvious effort Park had put in to improve himself from a poor first season in American baseball and also impressed with the results of his slugging in this exhibition schedule: .353, with six home runs and 13 RBI.

Falvey’s excuse for not opening the season with Park was the need for an eighth reliever because of extenuating issues with the starters: Hector Santiago’s time in the WBC, Phil Hughes’ return from surgery and Adalberto Mejia’s rookie status.

There’s a degree of truth in that, but what we didn’t give proper attention with the Park news was this:

Falvey and his front office dropped Park from the 40-man roster on Feb. 3 for a reason. It was more than bookkeeping. He was not seen as a serious candidate to make the opening roster or to have much of a future with the team.

He was in the same category as J.B. Shuck, Ben Paulsen, Matt Hague: a nonroster invitee destined for assignment to Class AAA Rochester, except with three years and $9 million left on the contract that brought him from the Korea Baseball Organization.

It was never an open competition between Kennys Vargas and Park to be the designated hitter and backup first baseman. It was supposed to be Vargas, but Big Kenny made the misguided decision to join Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic and mostly sat on the bench. Worse, he came back to Florida and the rush to get him ready was halted with a foul ball off his foot.

There are eight relievers to open this season because Vargas did not claim the job that was waiting for him.

We old-time baseball watchers are trained to look at the small picture: The Twins don’t have an established DH. Park and Vargas were given shots in the past. So, Park vs. Vargas in spring training … best man wins.

That’s the narrow lens that has provided sports writers with stories from Florida and Arizona for decades.

Forget ’em, colleagues. Baseball operations are big picture now, surely with the Twins, and most everywhere.

Whatever the keys to projecting a player in the Falvey operation — bat speed, pitch recognition, more exotic stuff — it’s apparent the new Twins saw Vargas as the DH requiring a final answer in 2017.

Park did open eyes in the Falvey universe with his hammering in exhibitions. This did get him back in the conversation as perhaps having a future in a big-league lineup. But here’s the deal:

The new Twins see value in having Park off the roster. If they had put him back on the 40-player list, and then the preferred candidate, Vargas, 17 started slugging in Rochester, Park would be back in the minors and taking up a spot on the big-league roster.

“Short term, short term,” Molitor said Thursday, when asked about having eight relievers and a three-man bench of Eduardo Escobar, Danny Santana and Chris Gimenez.

At the time, I took “short term” to mean that Park would be in Class AAA only until the Twins could go through the rotation a couple of times and hopefully lessen the need for an extra relief pitcher.

There was a new conclusion reached Friday:

Molitor’s “short term” was not a timetable for the return of Park or the need for eight relief pitchers. It was about Vargas.

Big Kenny was taking at-bats as an extra hitter for Rochester in Friday’s unofficial exhibition. He has not yet been optioned to Rochester.

Vargas will continue to play in minor league games over the weekend in Fort Myers. Asked about Vargas still being officially on the Twins active roster, Molitor said the Twins were “trying to get him ready for Rochester.”

Fair enough, although it does appear that when the “short term” of eight relievers expires, it won’t have to be a knockout over Park for Vargas to be the DH/1B promoted from Rochester to the Twins.

Spring training ends with Twins facing Twins hopefuls La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | March 31, 2017

The Twins are facing a Rochester team with a few players who could have plenty of motivation to do well against them today.

ByungHo Park tops the list. He looked like a lock to make the team after hitting .353 with six home runs this spring. But the Twins sent him down yesterday because they wanted a 13th pitcher on the staff. Teammates were stunned by the news. Park is batting cleanup today and could be aiming for a seventh spring homer.

Righthander Jose Berrios complicated his spring by pitching for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. He would have improved his chances of making the Twins if he had remained in camp, but he needs to stretch out and continue to work on the mechanical adjustments he needs to make so he can throw more strikes.

J.T. Chargois was disappointed when he was cut from camp, but he really didn't pitch well and the 97 mph fastball he had when he debuted last season has not been there. Still, there was time for him to rally, but the Twins sent him out with a week to go.

Buddy Boshers was given chances to get on a roll and make the team, but he posted a 10.61 ERA this spring.

Nick Tepesch posted a 4.41 ERA this spring and looked like a good fit as a long reliever. But the Twins decided to keep Rule 5 pick Justin Haley, who can strike out a few batters.

Alex Wimmers posted a 2.00 ERA and looked on the verge of making his first Opening Day roster. It would have been a cool story for the 28-year old Wimmers, who has been through a lot in his career. If he had been on the 40-man roster, he might have slid in front of Michael Tonkin, who had an uneven spring.

So there are a few players on Rochester who could be out to make a point today. The last time these teams met was in 2006, when Mike Redmond and Terry Tiffee got into a spat at home plate and a ticked-off Jason Bartlett went 4-for-5.

After this big brother-little brother moment, the Twins will leave Fort Myers and the curtains will be lowered on spring training 2017. They will work out on Sunday at Target Field then take on the Royals on Monday.

Kennys Vargas (left foot) is scheduled to play in a minor league game down the street. Vargas told me yesterday that his foot still bothers him when he runs, but a second exam on Thursday found no structural damage.

Phil Hughes is hanging back in the Fort Myers to face minor leaguers on Saturday before joining the club. That will keep him on line to be the fourth starter.

Charley Walters: Dave St. Peter says expect Twins to take ‘meaningful step forward’ Charley Walters | Pioneer Press | April 1, 2017

The Minnesota Twins, who open their season on Monday afternoon against the Kansas City Royals, lost 103 games last season, by far the most in major league baseball.

What can fans expect from the Twins this season?

“They should expect us to be better, to play the game the right way, to play better defense, be more astute at running the bases, and expect us to take a meaningful step forward,” club president Dave St. Peter said.

“I don’t think that is unrealistic. I’m not suggesting that they can expect us to contend. I’d like to think we can play meaningful games deep into the year and then see what happens. Put ourselves into a position to contend.”

St. Peter said he’s “ecstatic” about his new baseball executive leadership, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine.

“Those guys aren’t miracle men, but I can assure you that we believe very strongly they’re the right leaders for this organization,” St. Peter said. “And they’re very much focused on the long term. Yes, they’re focused on 2017, but they’re really working to build an organization here.

“2017 will not be, on its own, an indicator of their success or their impact. I think, frankly, it’s going to take three to five years to fully understand their impact within our organization.

“I’m not saying it’s going to take three to five years for us to win, but I think it’s going to take three to five years for us to really evaluate Derek Falvey as the chief baseball officer. I think he’s deserved of that much time.”

Ryan Lefebvre, the former Gophers outfielder, will be at Target Field on Monday beginning his 19th season as the adroit TV-radio broadcaster for the Royals, who two years ago won the World Series but last year slipped to a Central Division third-place finish with an 81-81 record.

The Royals were 95-67 in 2015, and 89-73 in 2014 when they lost to the Giants in the World Series.

It doesn’t look good for the Twins for the season-opening three-game series.

“The majority of the core of players who went to the two World Series are free agents at the end of this year, so there’s a lot on the line for them personally and then there’s a lot on the line for them as a group, because this group is not going to be the same,” Lefebvre said. “There’s going to be three or four guys who they just can’t sign. So this is kind of like the last hurrah for this gang. And they all know that.”

And, Lefebvre said, the Royals are healthy.

“The only reason they were .500 last year is that they just had so many injuries,” he said. “It was a pretty big accomplishment for them to finish at .500 last year with everything that happened.”

There is no reason to figure that the Twins will win as many as 70 games this season.

The Royals?

“I’ll say 89,” said Lefebvre, 46, who is in the first season of a new three-year broadcasting contract with Kansas City.

Drew Butera, the ex-Twins backup catcher, for the Royals this spring batted .219 in 13 games. He hit two home runs for Italy in the World Baseball Classic.

The six children and wife Noreene of beloved late Twins public relations director Tom Mee will sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch of Monday’s Twins-Royals opener.

“It’s really cool of the Twins to do that — it means a lot to us and we really appreciate it,” said Tom Jr., the former Gophers outfielder who begins his 30th season as the St. Louis Cardinals TV director.

Noreene and Tom Sr. were married 62 years. 19

Here’s why Twins pitcher Jose Berrios will start season in Rochester Scott Butherus | Pioneer Press | March 31, 2017

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Twins pitcher Jose Berrios reminded us there is still work to do before he is ready to rejoin the big-league club.

The former first-round draft pick got the start for the Rochester Red Wings in a 3-3 tie with Minnesota in the spring exhibition finale at Hammond Stadium on Friday afternoon. He allowed just one earned run on two hits in his 2 1/3 innings but walked five and hit another.

“It was a microcosmic look at who he is as a young pitcher,” manager Paul Molitor said. “His stuff is through the roof and he was throwing extremely hard today, maybe harder than we’ve seen him, and then not enough command.”

On the other side, right-hander Kyle Gibson, the Twins’ No. 3 starter, finished up his spring season without a hitch. He allowed two runs in three innings, struck out a pair and walked none.

“I was a little tired. This week is a little bit tough with all the packing,” Gibson said. “I’m one of the few that actually lives down here, so I’ve got to pack up a little more stuff.”

Berrios arrived at camp this spring as a favorite to make the starting rotation, but was optioned to the minor league camp on March 25 after posting a 2.25 earned-run average in his two spring starts. He missed the bulk of the spring to play for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. Last season, in his first stint with the big-league team, Berrios went 3-7 with an 8.02 ERA in 14 starts. “He’s still a little behind in terms of what he has done this spring, but those are the things we are trying to address,” Molitor said.

Berrios found himself in bind from the start of Friday’s game. A single by Max Kepler and walks to Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano loaded the bases in the first inning. After a third consecutive walk to Jason Castro scored a run, Berrios coaxed a ground ball out of Jorge Polanco to end the inning.

The control problems continued in the second. Berrios hit leadoff man Brian Dozier and walked Kepler but again was able to manage after getting Byron Buxton to pop out. He left the game after walking Castro again in the third.

Gibson also had some control issues early, including a hit batter and a wild pitch, which set up an RBI-groundout double play by Mitch Garver in the second. The next batter, Daniel Palka, cleared the bases with a solo home run to the opposite field that just cleared the fence in left. Palka finished the day 2-for-3.

Gibson, who will start against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, finished his spring 1-1 with a 1.59 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 28 innings over seven starts.

“He had a really good camp. I think he’s in a good place,” Molitor said.

Twins third baseman Miguel Sano hit a solo shot for the Twins and finished 2-for-2 with a walk. Center fielder Zack Granite was the only other Red Wings player to have multiple hits, going 2-for-3.

The Twins will have the next two days off before hosting the Royals on Opening Day at 3 p.m. Monday. Rochester will begin its season on April 6.

“I think we’re ready,” Gibson said. “I think you see the offensive guys kind of hit their stride and you see the pitchers throwing with confidence. I think now that the whole team is set, we’re ready to go and ready to get it started. We played a lot of exhibition games, but now we’re ready for the ones that count.”

Twins not sure what to do with limping Kennys Vargas yet Scott Butherus | Pioneer Press | March 31, 2017

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Kennys Vargas was an extra batter for the Rochester side on Friday, though no official moves regarding his place on the Minnesota Twins’ roster have been made.

Vargas, a designated hitter and first baseman, is recovering after taking a foul ball off his left foot in last Saturday’s exhibition game and could end up on the disabled list to start the season. Twins manager Paul Molitor hinted that he likely would be headed to Triple-A and not the disabled list to start the season. 20

“We talked to him about where he was at in terms of how much he has played this spring and with the foot injury that he needs to play and get some at-bats against live pitching,” Molitor said. “We are going to see if we can get him ready in time to go to Rochester, most likely, but we are going to see how it goes the next couple days.” Vargas spent the morning with team trainers before becoming the 10th hitter in the lineup in the Red Wings’ game against the Twins’ big-league club. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

“I feel good. No problems,” he said.

The switch-hitter underwent CT and MRI scans on Thursday which showed no structural damage to his left foot, according to general manager Thad Levine. He had not appeared in a Grapefruit League game since the injury and will finish the spring with an 0.67 (1-for-15) average. Vargas missed much of camp to participate with Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

Teams have until noon Sunday to finalize their rosters.

PARK KEEPS CHUGGING

A day after being assigned to Rochester, ByungHo Park, who like Vargas is a first baseman and designated hitter, was in the lineup facing his former teammates as a member of the Red Wings.

He singled in his first at-bat against Twins starter Kyle Gibson and came around to score the first run of the game. It was his only hit in four at- bats.

Park was not added to the Opening Day roster despite finishing the spring with a .353 average and team highs in home runs (6), runs scored (10) and RBIs (13).

REED EXITS EARLY

Rochester reliever Jake Reed had to exit the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth because of an injury to his oblique. He didn’t allow a baserunner in his 1 2/3 innings and struck out two.

“It wasn’t arm related,” Molitor said.

Reed spent the early part camp on the Major League side, going 1-1 and allowing four runs in four innings.

ALWAYS SUNNY

The Twins managed to dodge the temperamental Southwest Florida weather all the way through to the end this spring.

Rain didn’t affect any of the team’s home games at Hammond Stadium, including Friday’s exhibition finale, despite a line of thunderstorms stretched from Tampa Bay to the Keys that swept in from the Gulf of Mexico on Friday. The front caused a steady mist to fall for the majority of the game but no delays.

Twins exec Derek Falvey showed initiative, grit from the start Mike Berardino| Pioneer Press | March 31, 2017

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Twins teammates Kyle Gibson and Jason Castro were on opposing sides at the 2007 Cape Cod League All-Star Game.

Also listed in the official box score from that July night at Spillane Field, 3,000-seat home of the Wareham Gatemen, were the likes of Buster Posey, Yonder Alonso and journeyman Matt Hague, who was in Twins camp on a minor-league deal this spring.

Watching all of this unfold through the lens of his video camera was an aspiring scout named Derek Falvey, better known today as chief baseball officer of the Twins.

Then just 24, Falvey possessed an economics degree from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., where he graduated in 2005 after an unremarkable career as a right-handed pitcher. More importantly, he had a clear vision of his future, one that included a career in baseball in some capacity.

“I wanted to work in baseball and I didn’t necessarily know how,” Falvey said. “What I did was I started reading what other people had done to break into the game. I did learn from guys at Baseball America or that started writing (for other publications) to find a way to navigate in.”

Falvey did this over a two-year post-graduate period that included living at home with his parents, Steve and Candy, in the north Boston suburb of Lynn, Mass., and working part-time jobs at a Boston office building. Among his duties was “a monitoring of their computer areas,” which gave him a chance to “build out some of my business plans” and expand the small marketing business he had launched as part of an academic project while still a senior at Trinity.

TrendFactorGP, it was called then.

One of his first clients was a Trinity engineering student who had devised a microchip for a robotics competition. Falvey taught himself how to build websites and marketing platforms, which included uploading video.

“The only relevant aspect of that experience was to be a little more progressive in what was happening on the web and understanding how to use those technologies,” Falvey said. “I was able to apply that experience directly to the Cape Cod League because I knew how to upload video, I knew how to build a web site and I wrote my own scouting reports.”

Asked for the names of any buddies who might have helped him with that undertaking, Falvey shook his head and smiled.

“Just me,” he said. “That was me. I dove all in.”

‘INCREDIBLY NICE’

The same laser focus and dogged commitment has served Falvey well in his first six-plus months on the Twins job after making the leap from assistant general manager of the Cleveland Indians, a position he held for less than one calendar year.

Hired by then Indians general manager Mark Shapiro in the fall of 2007, months after the Cape Cod League helped him meet current Indians scouting director Brad Grant and pro scout Brent Urcheck, Falvey steadily rose through the front office of the game’s top executive finishing school.

Heading into his first Twins Opening Day as the most powerful man in the franchise’s baseball operations, Falvey no longer must go it alone as unknown outsider. Rather, he is charged, along with hand-picked general manager Thad Levine, with building consensus and momentum across a variety of baseball departments, all in the name of ending a six-year downturn that ultimately cost beloved predecessor Terry Ryan his job.

“Everybody speaks so highly of him,” Cleveland Indians reliever Andrew Miller said of Falvey. “Even in the brief time I was there, I had conversations with him and he was incredibly nice.”

The warmth of Falvey’s personality cannot be overlooked, both in his ability to put co-workers at ease and shepherd a famously stable organization through what could otherwise be an awkward transition. With Shapiro now in Toronto, where he hired former Indians official Ross Atkins as his GM, Falvey joins another former co-worker, Milwaukee Brewers GM David Stearns, as part of the increasing Clevelandization of baseball front offices.

“They do such a good job over there, especially in terms of passing information on to players and making it useful for us and helping us go out and perform and giving us the best chance to perform,” Miller said. “(Falvey) is going to bring all that stuff with him. There’s no doubt in my mind it will pay dividends for the organization he’s with now.”

Whether it’s implementing individual development plans for every player in the organization, majors and minors; tweaking instructional approaches and emphases or improving the flow of information between amateur and pro scouts and the coaches and managers at each level, Falvey is placing his stamp on this new Twins Way a little more each day.

Ron Wolforth, the former University of Nebraska softball coach who recast himself as an experimental baseball pitching instructor through his Texas Baseball Ranch, first met Falvey five years ago.

“Derek has been to the ranch several times,” Wolforth said of the informational visits that have included Indians officials as well as manager Terry Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway. “He really is a very progressive thinker. I think the Twins did a really good job; that was a great hire.”

PROVIDING VALUE

The plan easily could have gone awry. Falvey, after all, was a jobless interloper attempting to carve out a niche for himself in a notoriously insular business.

That’s what was at stake as he drove up to five hours roundtrip each day between his parents’ home and The Cape, setting up shop behind home plate along with a few dozen scouts at the prestigious gathering of the top college draft prospects.

“It wasn’t that (the scouts) were necessarily mean; it was a very unique person,” said Falvey, who recalled no other job seekers quite like himself that summer. “Ninety percent were really gracious to me and willing to help.”

Fortunately for Falvey, it didn’t take long before he met Urcheck, the Indians scout who sent a glowing report back to his bosses. Oakland A’s assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz, a former minor-league player then working in the St. Louis Cardinals’ front office, was another voice of encouragement, along with Tom Battista, a coach and scout who signed Freddie Freeman, Kris Medlen and Tommy Hanson for the Atlanta Braves.

“They were incredibly gracious to me,” said Falvey.

Because most scouts would have to leave The Cape before the summer season ended, many passing through for no more than a week or so, Falvey made a point of handing out his card and offering to send along links to his website with updated reports, video and statistical analysis on 2008 draft prospects.

Even before getting his big break, Falvey already knew he had found his calling.

“I enjoyed scouting, I enjoyed evaluating players, and I felt like I had some sense for how to do that,” he said. “I had studied. I’d played some, so I knew some about that.”

For Falvey it was all about showing teams he could provide value or fill a need in some corner of the mysterious world of a baseball front office.

“I said, ‘Hey, I’m not working for a team, so if I can provide you with any additional information while I’m here, I’m happy to help,’ ” he said. “There was no charge or anything like that. I just wanted to develop relationships. Fortunately, over the course of the summer, I built those.”

Since taking that flier and betting on himself, Falvey has found opportunities over the past decade to pay forward the good fortune and kindness he experienced in his home state. As he steadily builds out the Twins’ baseball operations department or comes across wide-eyed young people seeking advice on a similar career path, the kid from Lynn never forgets his humble beginnings.

“When I went to The Cape, I realized that in order to do something that was potentially productive for a team, I had to show them I had the ability to contribute right away,” Falvey said. “Baseball front offices are not very big, so the only way to get hired, I thought, was to show them I could make an impact right away.”

The Twins are banking on the same thing.

Lame-duck Twins manager Paul Molitor: ‘Every day counts because you only get so many’ Brain Murphy | Pioneer Press| March 31, 2017

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Lame duck is a foreign term to Twins manager Paul Molitor, who has lived 40 years in professional baseball on his terms, from the moment he graduated in 1974 from Cretin High School in St. Paul.

St. Louis drafted him in the 28th round and offered him a $4,000 signing bonus. Molitor demanded $8,000. The Cardinals didn’t budge. University of Minnesota baseball coach Dick Siebert dangled a scholarship. Molitor forged ahead and became one of the greatest Gophers ever.

Three years later, the Milwaukee Brewers drafted him third overall. Molitor signed for $80,000. He played all of 64 games in Class A before earning a major-league job at 1978 spring training and debuting as a 21-year-old shortstop.

In 1992, as a 36-year-old free agent, Molitor leveraged a three-year, $13 million contract from the defending world champion Toronto Blue Jays and went on to win the 1993 World Series MVP.

A free agent again in 1995, Molitor returned to Minnesota, collecting his 3,000th hit for the hometown Twins and retiring in 1998 two weeks shy of his 42nd birthday.

“I played a lot of games, but the thing I still try to convey is, every day counts because you only get so many,” Molitor said during an interview at his Hammond Stadium office.

It is 8 a.m. March 17. St. Patrick’s Day is evident by the green-tinted lineup card Molitor filled out for an exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays and his emerald cap embroidered with a white shamrock the Twins will wear that afternoon.

Molitor is banking on more than the Luck o’ the Irish to rebound from a 103-loss season in 2016 that was finished before it started, compliments of an 0-9 start in which incompetent play metastasized into a fundamental crisis. He is 142-182 (.438) in two seasons managing the Twins. Without a contract beyond this year, and nary a hint about an extension, the beloved hall of famer is in the twilight zone as he auditions for new executive vice president and chief of baseball operations Derek Falvey and first-year general manager Thad Levine.

It is the elephant in the board room and clubhouse as the Twins embark on the 2017 season essentially with the same roster that produced the worst record since the franchise moved to the Twin Cities from Washington in 1961.

Yet there is no authority gap, according to second baseman Brian Dozier.

“It doesn’t affect us any,” he insists. “We know there’s new brass and all that kind of stuff. I don’t know if half the guys even know Molly’s on the last year of his deal. It doesn’t faze him in our meetings or how he goes about everything or putting on more pressure. That’s a good thing.

“I know Molly probably better than anybody in here. He would never manage for his job,” Dozier continued. “He took the job a couple years ago to win and win only. It’s not about being a manager and money. He loves this organization and he wants to win here. None of that other stuff fazes him. It doesn’t faze us either.”

Molitor, 60, has reached the decade of conventional retirement. He still is energized and curious about the game he fell for growing up in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood and playing on the sandlots at the Oxford playground.

“In the words of Mr. Bruce Springsteen, rock ‘n’ roll and professional sports, they extend your adolescence,” he said.

Secure in what he has accomplished in baseball, Molitor is not projecting beyond the daily grind. Forces are in motion beyond his control, from the vulnerability of his roster come the midseason trade deadline to the value his new bosses place in his field skills.

Molitor might not dictate the terms of his future with the Twins. But he is confident in how he will go about commanding his dugout, however long he is still welcome in it.

Here is an edited transcript of the Twins manager’s spring training interview with the Pioneer Press:

In camp and entering the season, what are the priorities in on-field work, messaging, accountability, that you want to convey?

That’s a broad canvas. Well, I think the early messaging was about, it’s not drastically different because you’re coming off a 103-loss season. I think you use that somewhat as a point where you can talk about how the nucleus of your team had to experience that as a whole. And as a whole, we grew through that together. I know some guys did individually. It’s one of those things you try to turn it around and use to your advantage as a learning experience.

My focus on camp here has been to try to find a way to assemble a more competitive pitching staff and a lot of emphasis not only catching the ball but protecting the baseball. I think you can probably develop a lot of theories or hypotheticals trying to explain how our (2016) season went the way it did. There are a lot of tools that are available if you want to try to break those things down. But in a simple baseball world, if you’re worst in pitching and fielding, it’s not going to be a very good combination.

We’re here trying to find the right people. The competition has gone relatively well, which I don’t put a lot of stock in because last year’s camp went really well. Trevor May’s injury, notwithstanding — which is a big blow for him and for us — it’s been relatively healthy.

How critical is it to get off to a productive start?

I feel that we’re doing what we need to in terms of addressing questions that hindered us last year. There’s such an unpredictability factor when you start. But I think all these guys know that we’ve started poorly the last two years. We recovered from one but not the other. Yes, you try to get ready for 162 but you’ve got to do everything you can to get off to a great start, which could really help the mind-set and confidence of this team.

The fundamentals you mentioned — baserunning, and defense in particular. Those are things casual folks saw and thought, ‘Why should I buy in again this year because of those deficiencies?’ What’s been done to tighten those aspects?

In addition to just the rhetoric, you’re more vocal during drills. You reiterate points that somewhat seem basic to the game, when people don’t have the focus they need to in those drills. You don’t try to make it personal with anybody but you try to call out what’s unacceptable and go about it that way. The baserunning is a little bit trickier. I think you can work really hard on catching the ball and doing the drills. Baserunning, we’ve tried to do things differently in drills this year, whether it’s sign-awareness, situation-awareness, but it’s not the game.

Is baserunning more instinctive than any of the other areas?

Baserunning has a tendency to be more instinctive than the other areas and there are some guys that have that feel better than others, whether it’s innate or experience or whatever. There’s a mindfulness that needs to become present when you’re a baserunner. And the more extenuating circumstances you can put into your mind before the ball’s put in play, the better chances you have of making a good decision.

The old adage that you’ve done your job when you get on base, now it’s somebody else’s responsibility to drive you in, it’s way too simple. There’s an art to trying to score runs. That’s why some guys seem to be at the high end every year. It doesn’t work out this way, and you make the point — I know I said it one day — if you do nothing as a baserunner and you score 60 runs or 70 runs, if you can somehow add five, seven, eight, 10 (runs) by taking your job as a baserunner more seriously, you start adding those numbers up, it could be a huge difference.

We all know there are so many one-run or two-run games where a baserunning play can change the momentum to get you a run. Sometimes a game might be lopsided, where we win by five but did something in the third inning that extended the inning and we found a way to score more two-out runs and you win the game handily and people might not remember that one little thing we did.

The continuing gaffes last season had to grind on you.

It’s frustrating for me, the baserunning mistakes, making the third out at third (base), and not being ready on balls in the dirt, getting doubled off on line drives in bases-loaded situations … whatever we do that’s foolish. As much as baserunning can be momentum-changers, it works conversely. Somebody does something that takes you out of an inning, it’s very deflating. So you dry to address that. But when you combine how fast our game is, and the emotion of the game — you see it in the batter’s box, you see it on the mound — when guys get sped up, their clarity and ability to make decisions gets clouded.

You mentioned getting off to a good start to instill confidence in the clubhouse, I imagine it would take the edge off your situation as well.

It would be more fun to manage a more competitive team for me. Too many days last year where I was trying to get through a game rather than try to win a game. As far as my situation, I haven’t thought about it a lot. There’s been a huge transition for our organization with new leadership. There was some talk about how I fit into that equation. I get all that. But it really hasn’t changed too much for me. I’m not looking at this year any differently than I did the previous two years.

I know the vulnerability of roles such as these. Sometimes you can self-inflict and cause yourself to get moved, and other times it’s the nature of the game. It’s just not a huge concern for me.

For the record, has there been any initiation or discussion about a contract extension?

There has not.

What about the clubhouse? Does having a lame-duck manager resonate at all? Some guys might have no clue about your status. Others might. You tell me.

I don’t think they think about it, whether it’s the most experienced in a guy like Joe (Mauer) or a guy trying to win a major-league job out there. I don’t think that’s an issue that’s on their radar, which is fine. 25

You strike me as someone who’s very secure in an occupation where all managers, to a certain extent, are managing for their jobs. Do you ever feel that?

No. We all know that my journey to this position is different. To have a chance to compete and be in leadership and try to develop people, men, players, that’s where I try to get my value. I want to win. That should be your primary focus. People who are watching our team and our game, that’s what it’s about. People want to cheer for a winner. So I try to do what I can to move it in that direction. Everyone talks about relationships and how you’ve got to have good relationships. And that’s true. If somewhere along the way you can bring young people over hurdles they’re facing and steer them in a direction that can elongate their careers and find some solace in how they’re going about attaining that, then you’re having an influence.

After two seasons, what kind of self-evaluation have you done about how you can improve in the dugout in terms of in-game strategy, or communication in the clubhouse?

After 21 years playing, in hindsight, I know I learned all the way through, but I wish I would have learned more. And then you’re done. In player development and coaching for ‘X’ number of years, these last three years for me, you look at all those ways of trying to improve, whether it’s trying to find the right buttons to push for different people, trying to make good decisions during the game. Learning to run the bullpen has been a work in progress. You try to lean on people you can trust. I feel like I’m in a much better place than I was 2 1/2 years ago. But far from perfect.

You’ve experienced a lot over 40 years in the game. What still drives you? What gets the juices flowing every day?

There’s not much that replaces competing in a sport at its highest level. Managing and coaching is not playing, but there’s something that’s still very rewarding about not only winning but watching people that you’ve tried to help start to get it. I don’t know if I could find the fulfillment in anything else than being around the game.

Have you set any timeline or any goals like, ‘I want to win a World Series by X?’

No. I’m not projecting two or three years. A lot of people talk about, well, the Twins 2018, 2019. Derek and Thad talk about long-term extended, competitive, championship-type team. That’s what they should have as goals. For me, while you don’t lose vision of the future, my thinking is more present. Mine’s day-to-day.

Well, you have to do something to get to that future.

You see some funny things in our game, the ups and downs of teams and players. I don’t put limits on what could happen. Playoff formats, .500 teams, come mid-August, can find a way to get into playoff contention. There are a lot of things that have changed about reasons that encourage you to try to envision how rapid things can change.

Do you sense that come July or August, you’re going to lose control of your roster depending on where the team’s at?

Yeah, that’s out there. How many times during spring training will a manager talk about the 25-man roster, how it’s going to shake out, and then you get to June and it’s all irrelevant because things change so dramatically? It can have an affect on me. Those things kind of unfold how they’re going to unfold.

Is this still fun?

Yes.

What about this is still fun?

All the clichés that you hear from the people in our game, in the clubhouse, my coaches. One of the hardest things about our game is we’ve got to play 162 games. But it’s also one of the best things about our game. You get about 20 off days in six months and the other days you get a chance to go out and do something. That’s pretty good. I enjoy that part.

I love that there’s tomorrow.

Twins bet on lucky 13 for mound presence Rhett Bollinger | MLB | April 1, 2017

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It took until the final day of Grapefruit League play for the Twins to finalize their roster Thursday, but they announced all 25 players who will come north with the club for Opening Day against the Royals on April 3 at Target Field.

The biggest surprises were 13 pitchers on the roster, and the reassignment of ByungHo Park, the best hitter (.353/.414/.745, 6 HRs, 13 RBIs) in camp, to Rochester. It means the Twins will open with an eight-man bullpen, with Adalberto Mejia winning the fifth spot, and Tyler Duffey heading to the 'pen.

After projecting the roster before Spring Training and in the middle of Grapefruit League play, here's a look at the current roster and how the projections fared:

Starting pitchers (5): Ervin Santana, Hector Santiago, Kyle Gibson, Phil Hughes, Mejia. The first four spots in the rotation were always locks, barring injury, but the race for the fifth starter was hard to predict. Trevor May was the projected starter, but underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in March. Jose Berrios was thought to be the slight favorite halfway through, but didn't get enough innings in the World Baseball Classic. Mejia was a dark horse coming in, but shined throughout camp to beat out Duffey.

Bullpen (8): Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Pressly, Taylor Rogers, Matt Belisle, Craig Breslow, Justin Haley, Michael Tonkin, Duffey. The first projection had six of the eight correct, but Glen Perkins will start the year on the 60-day disabled list after undergoing labrum surgery last year. At the midway point, Ryan Vogelsong and J.T. Chargois were the picks for the final two bullpen spots, but Vogelsong was released and Chargois struggled. It opened the door for the Twins to keep Rule 5 Draft pick Haley, and Tonkin, who was helped by being out of Minor League options. Duffey gives the Twins an extra pitcher with Hughes coming off an injury and Santiago not being fully stretched out.

Catchers (2): Jason Castro, Chris Gimenez. Castro was always a lock to be the starting catcher, but non-roster invitee Gimenez played his way onto the roster, beating out John Ryan Murphy. Gimenez had a strong spring offensively batting .257 with seven RBIs, and the Twins love his leadership skills behind the plate. Murphy was initially projected to win the job.

First base (1): Joe Mauer. Mauer quietly had a strong spring offensively, but didn't play as much as most regulars. He remains likely to see his playing time decrease against tough lefties.

Second base (1): Brian Dozier. He is the club's best player, and after he wasn't traded in the offseason, he was always a lock at second base.

Shortstop (1): Jorge Polanco. Shortstop was Polanco's to lose, and he had a decent spring, showcasing some power, but still must prove he can stick at short defensively.

Third base (1): Miguel Sano. Sano's strikeout rate (22 K's in 54 plate appearances) in spring was alarming, but he also showed his power with three homers as he's worked to refine his mechanics. Defensively, he was adequate, but like Polanco, he has to prove he can stay at third long- term.

Outfield (3): Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler. There were no surprises in the outfield, as all three were projected to be starters from the beginning of camp. Rosario, unlike Vargas, saw plenty of action in the Classic, and had a strong spring offensively.

Designated hitter (1): Robbie Grossman. Kennys Vargas (1-for-15) was the favorite at DH heading into spring, but by the middle of camp it appeared Park was going to make the roster, however, he was surprisingly reassigned to Triple-A Rochester. Grossman becomes the de facto DH.

Bench (2): Eduardo Escobar, Danny Santana. Both were projected to be bench players from the start, but they were helped by an injury to infielder Ehire Adrianza, as he'll open the year on the 10-day disabled list (right oblique strain). Adrianza showed off his strong defense and came on late defensively. They'll have a decision to make once he's healthy because Adrianza is out of options.

Royals, Twins embrace clean slate in 2017 Paul Hagan | MLB | April 1, 2017

The Royals and Twins, who have higher expectations for themselves than most outsiders, will try to take the first step toward proving their doubters wrong when they face off Monday at Target Field.

After winning the World Series in 2015, the Royals fell to third place in the American League Central last season with an 81-81 record. Most forecasters have the Indians repeating as division champs.

"Don't really care," said manager Ned Yost. "Don't really think about it. I think we'll match up against anybody. I like our team. I like our depth. We've had guys show up in camp ready to go. We have tremendous depth in the outfield, tremendous depth in the pitching department. We have great infield depth. We feel like our core guys are here and healthy and hungry. We feel very good how we match up against anyone." The Twins went into last season with confidence, but dropped their first nine games and never got back on track on the way to 103 losses for the season.

"I don't think our group as a whole was reflective of 103 losses last year," said chief baseball officer Derek Falvey. "No one is running from that. There is talent on the field that we believe will take a meaningful step forward this year. I think our club will be better and a lot of guys in that clubhouse feel that way, too. We'll take that next step toward the team we're trying to build long term."

Added manager Paul Molitor: "I think some guys will carry big chips. It's on some guys' minds. I think to have it in there is not a bad thing. Everyone talks about turning the page and a new season, but some guys are motivated by it. It could be a huge motivation for some guys."

One big change for the Royals will be at second base, where 21-year-old Raul Mondesi beat out Whit Merrifield, Cheslor Cuthbert and Christian Colon for the job.

"Mondi just came into camp and played great and won the job outright," Yost said. "He looks like a different person this spring. He's more outgoing, more confident. He's a guy who can impact a game in a lot of different ways -- with his legs, with his defense, with his power." Danny Duffy will get his first Opening Day start.

"He's earned it with what he did [12-3, 3.51] last year," Yost said. "He has emerged as one of the elite left-handers in the league." For the Twins, getting off to a faster start is a focus.

"Last year it was pretty evident that we were hoping for a good start, but we ended up with the worst start," second baseman Brian Dozier said. "I don't want to put too much pressure, like we can't lose on Opening Day, but the fact of the matter is that we can't put ourselves in ruts we're incapable of getting ourselves out of. And we did that last year, and you saw how that ended up. We have to get off, I'm not going to say to a great start, but we have to find things that are going to make us successful."

The Twins are hoping that right-hander Ervin Santana, starting on Opening Day for the second straight season, will help get them moving in the right direction.

Three things to know

• This is the fourth time the Royals and Twins have faced each other on Opening Day; Minnesota won two of the first three.

• The Twins are looking for their first Opening Day win since 2008.

• Molitor is looking for a big improvement in his team's pitching after the staff finished with a 5.08 ERA last season. "If we expect to compete on a higher level, the largest component that can make a difference over a long season is your pitching," he said. "I think it's pretty common knowledge that we need to pitch better."

5 Statcast storylines for '17 Twins Dave Adler | MLB | March 31, 2017

As the 2017 season begins, so does the third season of Statcast™, the state-of-the-art technology that has tracked every play in every Major League ballpark since Opening Day 2015. And with two full seasons of data now collected, plus advances in applying that data, Statcast™ is better than ever. New metrics, such as Catch Probability and Hit Probability, will provide a deeper layer of analysis and further our understanding of the game. 28

With that in mind, here are five Statcast™ facts to know about the Twins heading into the 2017 season.

1. 5-star outfield Based on Statcast™'s new Catch Probability metric, the Twins' outfielders made as many spectacular plays as anyone in 2016. They combined for 18 5-star catches -- plays that have a catch probability of 25 percent or less -- tied for the most in MLB with the Billy Hamilton-led Reds. In Minnesota, all those 5-star plays were mostly thanks to Byron Buxton in center and Max Kepler in right, who made six each (although even Miguel Sano chipped in with a pair of 5-star grabs).

Most 5-star catches by an outfield in 2016 1 (tie). Twins: 18 1 (tie). Reds: 18 3. Royals: 17 4. Braves: 14 5. White Sox: 13 2. They've got cannons, too The Minnesota outfielders' throwing arms also stand out. The Twins outfield projects as having MLB's strongest arms in 2017. Three Twins are among the top 10 average arm strengths on "competitive" throws (90th percentile or higher) from 2016 -- Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Danny Santana. Rosario and Buxton recorded two of the five hardest Statcast-tracked outfield assists last year -- Rosario's 99.5 mph, Buxton's 99.4 -- and Rosario had 12 assists on 90-plus-mph throws, tied with Adam Eaton for second-most in MLB, one behind Ender Inciarte.

Highest average OF competitive arm strength, 2016 (min. 10 throws) 1. Aaron Hicks: 99.4 mph 2. Starling Marte: 97 mph 3. Danny Santana -- 96.8 mph 4. Carlos Gomez: 95.8 mph 5. Jake Marisnick: 95.7 mph 6. Carlos Gonzalez: 95.5 mph 7. Michael Taylor: 95.4 mph 8. Eddie Rosario: 95 mph 9. Tyler Naquin: 94.8 mph 10. Byron Buxton: 94.8 mph *MLB average: 88.9 mph

3. And Buxton's got wheels Buxton's speed in the outfield naturally translates to the basepaths. His 14.1-second home-to-home time on his Oct. 2 inside-the-park home run was the fastest tracked by Statcast™ all year. Buxton also had three of the five fastest overall home-to-third times on triples in 2016. Even when going from home to first (not counting bunts), Buxton's average max effort time of 3.98 seconds was tied for 10th-fastest in baseball, according to Statcast™.

Fastest triples, 2016 1. Billy Hamilton: 10.5 seconds (8/13/16) 2. Billy Hamilton: 10.7 seconds (5/11/16) 3. Byron Buxton: 10.7 seconds (6/3/16) 4. Byron Buxton: 10.7 seconds (9/29/16) 5. Byron Buxton: 10.8 seconds (4/18/16) 4. Good days ahead for Joe Mauer?

Mauer is a long time removed from his MVP season, but he hasn't forgotten how to hit, and Statcast™'s Hit Probability suggests the Twins' great could have had a much better 2016 than his numbers showed. Mauer hit .261/.363/.389 with 11 homers, producing a .338 wOBA, but based on exit velocity and launch angle, his Statcast-expected wOBA was .372 -- a 34-point difference that was fourth-largest among qualified hitters. That's the same expected wOBA as Manny Machado had for 2016, and just better than Jose Bautista, Mark Trumbo and Anthony Rizzo's.

Largest gap between estimated and actual wOBA, 2016 (min. 500 PA) 1. Kendrys Morales: 56 points (estimated wOBA .399; actual .343) 2. Miguel Cabrera: 50 points (estimated wOBA .459; actual .409) 3. Albert Pujols: 43 points (estimated wOBA .381; actual .338) 29

4. Joe Mauer: 34 points (estimated wOBA .372; actual .338) 5. Howie Kendrick: 32 points (estimated wOBA .341; actual .309) 5. Dozier's power source

Brian Dozier set the American League single-season record for home runs by a second baseman with 42 in 2016, and he has 70 over the last two years. Two noteworthy aspects of Dozier's dingers are how high he's hit them and the location of the pitches he's hit them on. In 2016, Dozier's home runs averaged a 30.7-degree launch angle, eighth-highest in baseball of the 60 hitters with 25-plus homers tracked by Statcast™. And in the Statcast™ Era (2015-16), only four hitters have hit more homers than Dozier on pitches Statcast™ tracked as outside the strike zone.

Most out-of-zone HR, 2015-16 1. Nolan Arenado: 27 2. Evan Gattis: 20 3 (tie). Anthony Rizzo: 17 3 (tie). Nelson Cruz: 17 5 (tie). Brian Dozier: 16 5 (tie). Rougned Odor: 16

Opening Day Vibes: Baseball as an Emotional State Jake Depue | ESPN 1500 | April 2, 2017

On Opening Day 2008, I drove my beat up ’95 Mazda 626 slowly down I-94, through the remnants of a late-season Minnesota snowstorm, to watch the Twins play the Angels at the Metrodome. All around me, signs of winter loomed. A tow truck flashed its emergency lights as it sat behind a stalled car on the shoulder of the highway. Ice glistened off the corners of my windshield, partially obstructing my view. Men in ski masks and parkas, only their eyes exposed, stiffly pointed in the direction of my parking space.

I walked quickly from my car to the dome, fighting the snow and wind, my breath visible in the cold air, frustrated and disillusioned that I lived in a place where I still had to battle winter as the calendar turned to April. Settling into my seat along the third base line, my huge winter coat spilled into the seats next to me.

The Angels were in the middle of batting practice, lacing line drives all over the field.

Crack.

With the sound of bat on ball, a rush of dopamine flooded my brain and a wave of euphoria crashed over me. Like Pavlov’s salivating dogs, my body was responding to a stimulus I associated with something I loved, and in my case, hadn’t experienced in six months. Classical conditioning at work. In that moment, the struggle and depression of a long Minnesota winter was gone, replaced by the bliss of being around baseball again. I suddenly remembered sensations I’d seemingly forgotten during winter’s marathon– the smell of freshly cut grass, the feel of a sweaty softball uniform clinging to my body, the sight of fireworks crackling over a northern Minnesota lake. My physiological state had actually changed, to one of profound elation, just from hearing players taking batting practice. I’ll never forget the intensity of that feeling.

That’s what baseball is to me. It’s not a sport, it’s a feeling. It’s the enduring symbol of summer; the time of year I’m most happy, relaxed, at ease, warm. I love everything about the game—statistical analysis, strategy, player development, athleticism. Those are the things that are fun to write about, discuss, and dissect over the course of a long season. Ultimately, though, I’m drawn to baseball because of how it makes me feel, and I think that day at the dome was the first time I fully realized it.

Most of our lives are spent engaging in mundane, everyday tasks that don’t make us happy or euphoric or nostalgic, or elicit much of any emotion at all. Comparing prices at the grocery store. Doing the dishes. Driving back and forth to work, day after week after month after year. Those activities aren’t trivial, and doing them effectively is important to being a functioning member of society. The most important parts of life, though, the ones that shape who we are, are almost always rooted in emotion, in the subjective, in how they make us feel. That’s how I know something’s important to me–when it naturally elicits a feeling I can’t control.

For years, I tried to chase those feelings artificially. I was up for pretty much anything that could get me a quick rush of dopamine, make me feel the way I wanted to feel, and I sacrificed a lot to get it. I still get a shot of adrenaline when I hear something similar to the sound of chips pushed 30 into a pot in online poker, which I spent two years of my life playing obsessively.

I’m not one to judge anyone who seeks those thrills, and I don’t regret doing so myself, because we’re all struggling in our own way and we all need something to get through the day. For me, though, after over a decade of chasing those highs, and years after that March day in the dome, I decided to stop chasing for a while, and just see what happened. Without a life dominated by cheap thrills, what, if anything, could satisfy me? I was fully prepared for the answer to be ‘nothing,’ and go on living as I had, but I got to a point where I had to answer that question definitively.

After years of slowly, and often painfully, figuring out what actually makes me happy, I’ve realized that baseball is still part of the equation. What I felt that day at the dome, it turned out, was real, however you want to define that. Baseball’s not close to the most important part. Like most of us, what truly defines my happiness, keeps me going, is the people I really care about. But baseball is one of a handful of things that still gives me an organic feeling of contentment; whose sights and sounds would cause my brain to light up in an MRI machine. Every year on Opening Day, I feel it most strongly. Maybe it will never be as intense as on that cold, snowy day in 2008, when the juxtaposition of winter and summer was so overwhelming. But it’s always there, and I’m reminded again, each spring, that baseball is something I truly enjoy, and that I don’t need a winning team to enjoy it. Baseball, somehow, stayed inside me, even after I stripped almost everything else away and started from scratch.

So, yes, I romanticize Opening Day. Too much, to be sure. But if you operate on the premise, like I do, that everything’s subjective, the world is random and unpredictable, and it doesn’t matter what makes you happy so long as something does, then you should celebrate those moments of happiness. Because they don’t come nearly often enough. Opening Day is a day that makes me genuinely happy. If it makes you happy, too, then I hope you’ll enjoy the dopamine rush as much as I will.

Predicting Twins' 2017 record Joe Peta | ESPN | April 2, 2017

Reason for optimism: With the exception of their respected elder, first baseman Joe Mauer, the entire starting lineup is under 30, stocked with power and upside.

Reason for pessimism: Thanks to an inability to strike out batters, the rotation will give up runs faster than the offense can score them.

If a team were forced to allow an opponent to bat 10 times over the course of a game, instead of nine, you can quickly calculate the effect it would have on that team's win percentage. Rather obviously, you'd expect this team to allow 11 percent more runs over the course of a season. In the present scoring environment, that's 80 runs a year. Think of the consequence like this: An otherwise .500 team that was league average in every other way would end up 73-89, or 16 games under .500.

Allowing a team an extra at bat each game is the same as letting it hit three extra balls into the field of play each game, which is exactly what the Minnesota Twins allow to happen year after year after year.

Although they broke their five-year streak of striking out batters at the lowest rate in the majors by finishing 28th, Minnesota's rotation still finished last among starters and fell slightly further behind the league average compared to 2015.

Here's how the effects of that disadvantage stack up with the team the Twins have no hopes of catching for AL Central dominance, the Cleveland Indians: Minnesota allowed opponents to hit 428 more balls into the field of play than Cleveland did. That's close to three a game, hence the example that led off this piece. In other words, based on one skill possessed by the pitching staff, the Twins are seven or eight wins in the hole to Cleveland.

It's an incredible stat, and as I seem to write every year, the Twins' front office has never taken any steps to address this massive shortcoming. (In fact, by constantly backing those pitchers with one of the worst defensive units in the majors, it only makes the problem worse; if your child had a peanut allergy, you wouldn't move next to a Jif factory.)

So, it should come as no surprise that all five pitchers slated to constitute the Twins' rotation this year made at least double-digit starts for the team last year. Worse, with 39-year-old Ryan Vogelsong in line for a relief role, you can be certain the Twins have plans for him to be a spot starter at some point this year. With his 16.7 percent strikeout rate with Pittsburgh last year, he certainly has the right résumé for Minnesota's starters.

From a critical reasoning standpoint and as it relates to the rotation, the Twins' roster construction is infuriating. From the rest of the team's standpoint, it's truly a shame. Despite losing more than 100 games for the first time since 1982, Minnesota scored more runs last year than any season since 2010, and it's because they are getting younger and more talented at the plate. This is really an exciting lineup. 31

There's the possibility of offensive upside at every position, with the exception of catcher, thanks to the signing of free agent Jason Castro. His bat is weak, but Castro at least can take steps to mitigate the rotation's weakness. He arrives from Houston, where he ranked third in framing/stealing strikes last season, according to Baseball Prospectus. That's a whole lot better than the man he's replacing, Kurt Suzuki, who annually ranks among the worst framers (103rd last year).

Oddsmakers gave us a true gift last year, when fooled by the mirage of 2015's over-.500 finish, they priced the Twins at 79.5 wins, the team's highest total since 2011. This year, the opening Vegas market stood at 75.5 and then dropped a game.

Minnesota has an offense that should score more than the league average, and beyond that there's upside. That would normally make a 75 or lower wins total, a screaming buy. I can't get there, though, because of the rotation and its inability to get strikeouts. Neutral baseball fans are going to be treated to a lot of 8-6 games on their MLB Extra Innings package. If it's true that Castro's framing work alone is going to raise staff strikeout rates across the board, or if the youngsters in the field improve the defense to league average, then my projection is far too conservative.

2017 projection: 72-90 (fourth, AL Central)

Twins Talk: Morse Is The Source Gordy Jones | CBS Minnesota | March 31, 2017

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to write about a key figure in the Twins’ front office who is invisible to most fans – though he goes about his business in such a positive way that it’s a shame all of the fans can’t meet him.

His name is Dustin Morse. He is the Minnesota Twins’ Director of Baseball Communications and Player Relations — a big title, for a big job. It’s a stressful position that has many deadlines and long hours. You might think Dustin would be tense or edgy – but that’s not the case. Dustin Morse is pretty cool as he coordinates interviews, writes press releases, accommodates broadcasters and beat writers with news and notes, introduces speakers at nationally televised press conferences, and many other things that arise during a season and the offseason. Almost anything you hear, read, or watch about the Twins might have originated in the office of Dustin and his crack staff. Dustin also oversees photography, the Twins’ publications, endorsement deals, interview requests, statistical information, and more.

He began his career at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and he likes to say he began his career where most people in baseball would like to finish. He has also worked for the Rangers and the Padres, and has been with the Twins since 2006.

Dustin now has a new title to include in his already extensive resume. “I was the media liaison for Team Netherlands,” he said proudly. I asked him how this came about, and he said: “The World Baseball Classic (WBC) has always been kind of a bucket-list thing for me. I was with the San Diego Padres in 2006, and they hosted the first-ever WBC. My boss at the time did the PR work for Team Mexico. He told me about all of his experiences, and I said, ‘Someday, I would like to do that.’ All the stars kind of aligned. I’ve built some good relationships within Major League Baseball, and I have established myself here with the Twins. I asked them if they would allow me to pursue this opportunity, and they saw nothing but good coming from it. I got to expand my knowledge and understanding of the game: international play, build some relationships networking, and just working closely with Major League Baseball. As we got closer to go-time for the 2017 games, Major League Baseball did indeed ask me. We lined up the teams with what made the most sense, and the Netherlands were a team with which I aligned well. I wanted to go to Asia and see games over there, Bert Blyleven was the pitching coach, there were a few ex-Twins players on the team, and English was the common language. So it all worked out for me, and I got to experience baseball in Seoul, Korea; Tokyo, Japan; a pit stop in Arizona, where I got to see Ron Gardenhire, and we finished the championship round in Los Angeles — and we made it to the final four! That’s all I could ask for! It was a three-week journey where I got see a lot of things…I’m still trying to digest all of the take-aways.”

Dustin is a Lakeville native. He and his wife, Meghann, have a 9-year-old daughter, Madison, and a 4-year-old son, Griffin.

A couple of years ago, Dustin told me the toughest part of his job: “Pleasing everybody. I like to figure out a way to help everybody. But you’re trying to please your players, the front office, the fans, the media, and yourself. Sometimes, somebody is going to be at the wrong end of that decision.”

What is the best part of his job? “It is how important Minnesota Twins baseball is to the community, to the state, and to Twins’ Territory, and to know that you’re a part of that. You can create magic moments for people, and lasting memories — just by the shake of a hand. Our star players are looked up to in so many ways. Joe Mauer can just shake a hand, and put a smile on a young kid’s face for years. And to know you can control those situations or bring those situations to the attention of our guys — it’s pretty rewarding to see the smiles on all of the kids’ faces, and on all of the fans’!” 32

I asked Dustin what it will take to make 2017 a successful year for the Twins, and he said, “It all starts with pitching. We need everybody to step up a little bit, and we believe that’s possible. We have a good defense: The younger guys, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, and Eddie Rosario, make a good outfield that can track down some baseballs. Brian Dozier is solid up the middle, and we’re going to see what Miguel Sano can do at third base. If we get the starting pitching, we’re going to be competitive — we’ll take a step in the right direction, and I think we’re all confident that’s going to happen. It’ll be a year of experience for all of the young players. It’s a time when Ryan Pressly can emerge out of the bullpen, Brandon Kintzler’s in the backend of that bullpen — I think we’re going to go in the right direction. Winning is a lot more fun than losing, and I hope that’s the case.”

Team Netherlands had a unique travel situation. They flew out of Tokyo Friday morning, but, because of crossing the International Date Line, arrived in Arizona Thursday night. That’s another example of Dustin’s aim to please people. With the team’s hectic travel schedule and a need for rest, only he could arrange for the team to leave today and arrive yesterday.

MLB: Naples High grad Jeff Smith ready for big leagues with Minnesota Twins as coach David Dorsey | Naples Daily News | March 31, 2017

Jeff Smith will reach the big leagues at 4:10 p.m. Monday as the Minnesota Twins first base coach. He will do so following more than 2,000 games in the minor leagues as a player, coach and manager over 20 seasons.

“I’ll tell you what,” said Smith, who managed the Fort Myers Miracle in each of the two past years and also in 2008-09. “Being able to go on the plane with the major league team, it’s really exciting.

“There was a lot of hard work to get to this spot. Opening day will be very special. There will probably be a lot of emotion.”

Smith, 42 and a Naples High School graduate, is the fourth former Miracle manager to reach a big-league staff. Baltimore Orioles bench coach and former Pittsburgh Pirates manager John Russell, retired Twins bench coach Steve Liddle and former third base coach Al Newman are the others.

“For as much as I’m excited about our players, it’s going to be great to be a part of his first opening day,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “He’s familiar with the people in our system.”

Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson and second baseman Brian Dozier are among many on the Twins roster who were managed by Smith in the minors.

“It’s very rewarding for him,” said Dozier, who played for Smith in 2011 in New Britain, Connecticut, where Smith managed from 2010-2014. “I think everyone is really happy for him. He has your back. I can remember in New Britain, he liked to work way too much. But when you leave, you have a respect for a guy who will put that much work into helping you get better.”

Although Gibson does not work directly with Smith, the pitcher said he expected to benefit from his presence on the coaching staff.

“When I got to Double-A, I saw how he enjoyed working with the catchers,” Gibson said. “Every day, I’d see him out there working with the catchers, doing blocking drills, footwork, stuff like that.”

Smith’s niche as a former catcher and cultivator of catchers also played into him landing the job.

“Especially during spring training, I’m with the catchers quite a bit,” Smith said, “developing a routine for game and non-game situations.”

Smith’s duties as first base coach meant he had to get adjusted to seeing the game from a different vantage point. While posting a 794-746 managing record (.516 winning percentage) from 2006-2016, Smith doubled most of the time as the third base coach.

Molitor and Twins roving instructor Sam Perlozzo, himself a former big-league manager with the Orioles, have been on hand to tutor Smith in the nuances of being the first base coach.

“It was a combination of the fit – even though he wasn't your prototypical first base coach – and his ability to help out with the catching duties that I thought would make him valuable,” Molitor said. “I've always been impressed from my time in player development, when I went to his clubs, with his preparation and his thoughtfulness. He certainly improved tremendously in his ability to teach and coach, and to handle personalities.”

Smith's role on offense will be to advise base runners and not just when they reach first base.

“The first base coach will always look at how to get runners over to the next 90 feet,” Smith said. “A lot of stuff happens before games. We’ll have information from the scouts, information on the pitchers. There are a lot of different functions.

“It’s obviously a different angle than what I have been used to. You’re into it every pitch. You’re into it even when guys aren’t on base. Maybe you’ll see something that you can use later that game or even later in the season against the same team.”

Ronna Smith, Jeff’s wife, will be back and forth between Naples, where she is the principal of Corkscrew Elementary School, and Minneapolis, especially after she and their sons, Cooper, 14, and Cutter, 10, get out of school.

“He’s been away before,” Ronna Smith said. “He was in Connecticut for six years. So we have a lot of practice. Everything falls into place.

"We’re very lucky with the support of both of our parents. Without them, we couldn’t do it. We are very blessed.”

The Smiths are approaching their 20th wedding anniversary and have been together since dating at Naples High.

“When you work hard and attain something, you are so happy,” Ronna Smith said of her husband. “So he is ecstatic. He is enjoying the experience. It’s just exciting. It just keeps getting better.”

Tommy Smith, 71 and Jeff Smith’s father, was the founding baseball coach at Lely High School. He went on to coach basketball and baseball at Naples High, and he coached his son during the 1990s with the Golden Eagles.

“I’m happy he was able to achieve his goal,” Tommy Smith said. “He’s excited. He loves to be on the baseball field. It just so happens that the Twins are giving him this chance."

Tommy Smith will be at Target Field on Monday, witnessing his son run to first base for the first time during a regular-season, major league game.

“It’s truly exciting,” Tommy Smith said. “Every first time that he has done something different, I’ve been in the stands.”

Jeff Smith

What: Twins first base coach

High School: Naples, Class of 1992

College: Stetson University

Drafted: Selected in the 20th round by the Minnesota Twins in 1994

Age: 42

Family: Wife, Ronna, sons Cooper, 14, and Cutter, 10

Playing career: Hit .282 with 115 doubles, 44 homers, 285 RBIs in nine minor league seasons, seven with the Twins (1996-2002), one with the Boston Red Sox (2003) and parts of two with with the Texas Rangers (2003-04)

Coaching career: 794-746 overall record: Belioit (2006-07), Fort Myers (2008-09), New Britain (2010-14), Fort Myers (2015-16)