Twins day at camp: Decisions loom on veteran outfielders
Outfielders Ryan Sweeney and Carlos Quentin, each of whom sat out 2015, have 10 days to earn a spot on the Twins' roster. If they don't, it's not certain whether either would play for Class AAA Rochester.
Sweeney signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training, so the Twins can send the eight-year big-league veteran to Class AAA Rochester if they choose. But after he skipped a season rather than play Triple-A last year, Sweeney hasn't decided if he would make the same decision again.
"I'm up in the air about it," he told mlb.com Tuesday. "I'll just have to weigh my options. If it comes down to going to Triple-A, I'd have to see the other guys there and whether I'd have a potential to even play."
But Quentin's contract includes a clause that lets him walk away June 1 if he isn't in the majors, assistant general manager Rob Antony said. His out clause is immaterial, Antony clarified, because of a handshake deal they made when the ex-All-Star was signed that the Twins would release him if he's not in their MLB plans.
"He wanted to know how we evaluated him at the end of the spring. Whether he made the club or not, he has no problem going to the minor leagues if we see him as a guy who just needs more at-bats [to get ready]," Antony said. "But if we just don't see [a major-league roster spot] happening, I'm not going to run you down to Rochester for two months."
Both players seem to have more to offer. Sweeney was 10-for-30 (.333) entering Tuesday's game, and Quentin was 8-for-26 (.308) with a pair of home runs.
One other player has an out clause: lefthanded reliever Fernando Abad, who can walk away May 1 if he's not in the majors.
Sano ankle 'good'
Miguel Sano tweaked his left ankle in the third inning in Clearwater on Tuesday while sliding into second base. He remained in the game but then was removed after striking out in the fifth. Time to panic?
"Strength is good," manager Paul Molitor said. "Everything is good. He was fine. I took him out because he has been playing a lot. He's playing again [Wednesday]."
Sano worked the count full in each of his first two at-bats Tuesday, drawing walks each time. He leads the team with nine walks in spring training games. Even his strikeout in the fifth came after a six-pitch at-bat. It seems as if Sano is a lock to work a full count at least once a game.
"I would think 100 walks is something that is going to happen for him," Molitor said, "along with the strikeouts and the power."
Etc.
• Rookie Max Kepler was scheduled to start in center field Tuesday but was scratched an hour before the game due to a migraine.
• Byron Buxton was 2-for-5 in Clearwater but struck out three times and was not happy. "One of them days where I was not seeing it too well and swinging and pretty much anything," he said.
On deck
Ricky Nolasco, one of two candidates for the Twins' final starting-rotation spot, makes what could be an important start Wednesday, facing the Tampa Bay Rays at Hammond Stadium.
Phil Miller and La Velle E. Neal III
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Major League Baseball switched a pair of series involving the Tampa Bay Rays to the first two months of the season in an attempt to avoid summer rain at open-air Steinbrenner Field, their temporary home following damage to Tropicana Field.
