Twins' 2021 Opening Day roster
April 1, 2021 at 2:34AM
Starters
Miguel Sano, first base, 27
Base salary: $11 million
Led the majors in strikeouts last season, fanning in 43% of his at-bats. Switch from third base to first went smoothly, however.
Jorge Polanco, second base, 27
Base salary: $4.33 million
An All-Star shortstop in 2019, he moves to second after playing most of last season on an injured ankle that caused a career-low slash line of .258/.304/.354.
Josh Donaldson, third base, 35
Base salary: $21.75 million
The highest-priced free agent in team history (four years, $92 million) was limited in 2020 to 28 games and six homers because of calf injuries.
Andrelton Simmons, shortstop, 31
Base salary: $10.5 million
Signed as a free agent, the former Angel has the best defensive metrics for runs saved and ultimate zone rating at his position over the past four seasons.
Luis Arraez, left field, 23
Base salary: $570,500
The starting second baseman last year after a surprise rookie season, he takes over Marwin Gonzalez's role as the super utility player.
Byron Buxton, center field, 27
Base salary: $5.12 million
One of baseball's best defensive players, he has a potent bat (13 homers in 39 games in '20) but injuries have always been a major nuisance.
Max Kepler, right field, 28
Base salary: $6.5 million
Versatile outfielder has 101 homers in past five seasons, but .237 batting average and .319 on-base percentage over that stretch make him an unorthodox leadoff hitter.
Mitch Garver, catcher, 30
Base salary: $1.88 million
A season to remember in 2019 (31 HRs in 93 games and a Silver Slugger) was followed by a miserable (. 167 in 23 games) and injury-marred 2020.
Nelson Cruz, designated hitter, 40
Base salary: $13 million
The team's offensive MVP and the league's best DH over the past two seasons (57 HRs in 173 games) is battling Father Time.
Reserves
Ryan Jeffers, catcher, 23
Base salary: $570,500
Emerged when Garver was hurt and was impressive as a rookie both at the plate (.273/.355/.436) and behind it.
Willians Astudillo, utility, 29
Base salary: $570,500
The third-string catcher and utility player (third, first, maybe left) comes up swinging; has only seven walks and 13 Ks in 317 plate appearances.
Jake Cave, outfield, 28
Base salary: $570,500
Entering his fourth season as a backup for the Twins, he had decent power at the plate (25 HRs in 660 plate appearances).
Kyle Garlick, outfield, 29
Base salary: $570,500
A journeyman who was DFA'd by the Phillies in January and Atlanta in February, he showed a lot of pop in spring training to earn a spot.
Starting pitchers
Kenta Maeda, righthander, 32
Base salary: $3.12 million
The American League Cy Young runner-up in 2020, he was 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA and a league-leading 0.750 WHIP.
Jose Berrios, righthander, 26
Base salary: $6.1 million
One of MLB's best-fielding pitchers, he's a two-time All-Star who enters his sixth season 48-38 with a 4.19 ERA.
Michael Pineda, righthander, 32
Base salary: $10 million
His two seasons with the Twins were marred by a suspension for using a banned diuretic. He's 13-5 in 31 starts in that time.
Matt Shoemaker, righthander, 34
Base salary: $2 million
A reclamation project for pitching coach Wes Johnson, Shoemaker has been hit hard by injuries since his great rookie season of 2014.
J.A. Happ, lefthander, 38
Base salary: $8 million
Veteran joins his seventh MLB team for his 15th season. Was 21-10 in 50 starts the past three years for the Yankees.
Randy Dobnak, righthander, 26
Base salary: $570,500
A remarkable success story, Dobnak ran out of gas after a great start in 2020 and wasn't on the playoff roster.
Relief pitchers
Alex Colome, righthander, 32
Base salary: $6.25 million
Signed as a free agent after closing for White Sox the past two seasons. Had league-high 47 saves in 2017 for Tampa Bay.
Taylor Rogers, lefthander, 30
Base salary: $6 million
After two strong seasons, Rogers struggled in 2020 when his WHIP sailed to 1.500 and he had to share closing duties.
Tyler Duffey, righthander, 30
Base salary: $2.2 million
Two superb seasons in a row (113 Ks in 81⅔ innings) for the converted starter; he was lights out in 2020 with a 0.792 WHIP.
Hansel Robles, righthander, 30
Base salary: $2 million
A free-agent signing, Robles had 23 saves for the Angels in 2019 before falling on hard times last season (18 games, 10.26 ERA).
Caleb Thielbar, lefthander, 34
Base salary: $650,000
The Minnesota native and former St. Paul Saint reinvented himself and returned to the bigs after a five-year absence.
Cody Stashak, righthander, 26
Base salary: $570,500
Splitting between Twins and minors over the past two seasons, the righthander has been somewhat effective, with a 1.100 WHIP in 29 games.
Jorge Alcala, righthander, 25
Base salary: $570,500
Alcala emerged last season (2.45 ERA in 18 games), two years after coming from the Astros in the Ryan Pressly deal.
CHRIS MILLER
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The Tampa Bay Rays will play their 2025 home games at the New York Yankees’ nearby spring training ballpark amid uncertainty about the future of hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field, Rays executives told The Associated Press.
