Friday, March 29

Twins inclined to stick with six-man pitching rotation


After starting spring training with only three concrete starting pitchers, it’s a little difficult to believe the Twins now have a surfeit of them. But that’s the case for Minnesota, which will have to take two players off its active roster on Monday.

That will pose a challenge for the Twins, who have been using a six-man rotation because, well, they have six starters they like — plus Josh Winder, a prospect they like as a starter, in the bullpen.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said he’s inclined to use the six-man rotation as long as possible and keep Winder on the active roster, which makes sense. Heading into Thursday’s series finale against Detroit at Target Field, the Twins led the American League Central largely on the strength of the second-best rotation in baseball, with a 2.31 combined earned-run average and a league-best 25 runs allowed in 86.2 innings.

That should remain realistic as long as MLB allows teams to keep 14 pitchers, but that’s scheduled to end May 30.

“If that number shrinks going forward and does go down to 13, I don’t want to say it would be impossible, but it would be very difficult to have a six-man rotation,” Baldelli said.

There’s a reason MLB teams don’t use six-man rotations. As Baldelli succinctly put it, “You’re going to end up with one less pitcher in the bullpen, which actually does make things challenging sometimes.”

The other issue is injuries. Bailey Ober left Thursday’s start in the fourth inning with groin tightness. Sonny Gray, the team’s biggest offseason pitching addition, has been limited to two starts after straining a hamstring and is on the injured list. He’s scheduled to pitch a rehab start in Fort Myers, Fla., as soon as this weekend.

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“I’m eager to get myself feeling good,” said Gray, who is scheduled to throw a third bullpen session before starting a game for Class A Fort Myers.

On Thursday, the Twins had 14 pitchers on the active roster.

Winder, 25, is the Twins’ long reliever, averaging more than three innings in each of three appearances, but could be a candidate to get a number of starts at Class AAA St. Paul. Added to the 40-man roster before this season, he has all three of his options available.

“I think he feels good. I think he’s as stretched out as we need him to be right now,” Baldelli said. “Going forward, does that change? It could change. We need our guys to be mentally equipped to handle some different scenarios, not just, ‘Hey, you’re pitching on a particular day, and that’s all you have to worry about.’ No, actually, that’s not the case.”

INJURIES

Miguel Sano was out of the lineup for the second straight game because, Baldelli said, the first baseman “felt something” in a knee during a ninth-inning rundown in Tuesday’s 5-4 walk-off victory over the Tigers.

“He’s got a little soreness in his knee right now when he’s moving around and straightening it and things like that,” the manager said. “He’s in the training room getting some work done, and that’s why he’s not in there.”

The team is hoping Sano and catcher Gary Sanchez, out since April 21 with abdominal discomfort, will be available to play during a three-game series with the Rays starting Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

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“We’ve got a few guys that are a little nicked up right now on the bench, but we’ll get through today’s game and see exactly where we sit,” Baldelli said.

The Twins expected Sanchez would be available to start Thursday’s game but backed off when he experienced “minor soreness” after a workout on Wednesday.

BRIEFLY

Center fielder Bryon Buxton was given the day off on Thursday.

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