Imaging showed a moderate strain, which figures to set the team’s could-be star slugger back quite a bit. With Lewis likely to miss several weeks, Brooks Lee should make the roster to help fill in at third base—if he wasn’t going to already. The day after Lewis’s injury, Lee was the starting third baseman against the Pirates, indicating what the Twins’ plans could be. That should leave one more spot for a position player on the roster.
Mickey Gasper has quietly had a strong spring, and could grab the last spot.
The Twins traded for Gasper this winter, surely thinking of him as little more than depth to be stashed at St. Paul. Gasper is a journeyman, playing only 13 games at the MLB level despite being 29 years old.
His lack of experience is surprising, given his production at all levels of the minor leagues in his career.
This 2025 Twins roster may be the best opportunity for legitimate playing time that Gasper has been presented with to date…
For starters, the Twins did the bare minimum to address first base this winter.
Carlos Santana departed for Cleveland. Ty France was brought in as a bounce-back candidate, and we’re likely to see Jose Miranda and maybe even Edouard Julien fill in at some point this season.
It’s not a particularly strong group, and the only left-handed hitter (Julien) has the least experience.
In addition to being an option at first base, Gasper has seen increased playing time at second base. Rocco Baldelli has praised his flexibility and the team’s trust in him to play multiple positions competently.
While Julien has had a strong spring at the plate, the same cannot be said for his time in the infield dirt. It’s clear Julien’s glove will still be a significant problem for him and may even be part of why Gasper has seen time up the middle.
Comparing Gasper’s offensive abilities to Julien’s is an interesting exercise. Gasper’s calling card in the minor leagues has been his ability to get on base at an elite rate, typically walking 12% of the time or more.
While he lacks Julien’s power, he’s rarely struck out more than 20% of the time and has a decisive advantage in the batting average department. If Julien is Gasper’s main competition, the Twins viewing Gasper as having a defensive advantage could be the tiebreaker.
Other competition for the last roster spot could include names like Austin Martin or DaShawn Keirsey.
Martin now appears to be primarily an outfielder, and Keirsey’s left-handedness likely leaves him as the next man up in St. Paul if Trevor Larnach or Matt Wallner misses time.
It doesn’t seem like either of the young speedsters will be in a strong position to make the roster.
While breaking camp with a career minor-league journeyman may be odd for a team with playoff aspirations and so many younger options, Gasper could fit in nicely to a bench role. His professional plate approach should play, and Steamer agrees.
It pegs him for a slash line of .249/.344/.375. If he can play a solid first and second base and post a slash line 10% above league average from the left side, there’s plenty of opportunity for him.
Gasper could be the frontrunner for the final position-player spot, now that Lewis is likely to miss time, and there’s an argument that he should be.
Do you think another player deserves the final roster spot? Let us know below!
