The surest sign of a healthy competitive team is a constant 40-man crunch — when the roster is so laden with desirable talent that any decision to sign, claim or trade for a new player must be weighed heavily against the cost of losing quality talent that will be eagerly swooped up on waivers.
The Twins have been in this type of position at times during the Derek Falvey era. They are far from it right now.
Following a series of moves in recent days, Minnesota’s 40-man roster is technically full, but it’s not exactly brimming with quality. Particularly on the position-player side, it is staggering just how much of the roster is occupied by borderline (at best) major-league talents who are no longer young enough to offer meaningful upside.
Of the 21 hitters currently on the 40-man roster, I would count a full third (7) in this category. Here’s where each stands in the team’s planning as we head into December:
Edouard Julien – Hasn’t hit for two years and offers no defensive value. Julien is out of options next year and it’s hard to see him making the roster barring injury or a huge spring. He seems to be merely keeping a spot warm, but at the same time, he’s undeniably a tier above almost everyone else on this list in terms of proven track record.
James Outman – Similar to Julien in that he hit well in 2023 but hasn’t since, and is beyond the post-hype phase approaching 30. He’s more likely to stick around because he can play center (kinda) but it’s highly questionable whether he belongs in the big leagues. The Dodgers’ desire to clear him off their own 40-man roster played a role in the trade that sent Outman here for Brock Stewart.
Ryan Kreidler – Has appeared briefly in each of the past four seasons with the Tigers. Among players to receive 200 or more plate appearances during that span, he ranks 343rd out of 343 in OPS. The Twins recently got him off waivers from a fellow cellar-dweller in Pittsburgh. Sub-replacement level player.
Ryan Fitzgerald – A nice story and all, but there’s a reason Fitzgerald was nearly 31 when he made his big-league debut for the Twins this past season. He flashed a bit in 50 plate appearances and I could envision him holding his own in a bench role, but again, we’re talking about the definition of a fringe MLB talent here.
Mickey Gasper – Despite his success in Triple-A, he looked overmatched against major-league pitching at age 29, and he’s a defensive non-factor aside from the ability to serve as an emergency catcher. Would any other team claim him off waivers? I find myself asking that about many of these guys.
Jhonny Pereda – Another waiver pickup, added last July when the Twins needed catching depth. He rarely saw the field thereafter, though he spent a decent amount of time on the roster. Trading for Alex Jackson means Pereda’s days are numbered.
Carson McCusker – Kind of stunning he is still on the 40-man roster after the Twins showed no interest in using him at all despite ample opportunity. Maybe some other team will think he’s a big-leaguer but Minnesota made clear through their actions that they don’t.
That’s seven extremely fringe major-league talents occupying space on Minnesota’s 40-man roster. All but one or two of these players would likely pass through waivers unclaimed. Not an ideal starting point for the offseason, especially considering that several other hitters I didn’t name (Kody Clemens, Brooks Lee, Austin Martin, Alan Roden) are very much in doubt as MLB-caliber bats.
But that’s all this is: a starting point. Which brings us to the flip side. There’s no shortage of room to add!
The big question is how much they will. I would envision a couple of these roster spots going to newly acquired pitchers; they need more relievers and relative to the position-player side, there aren’t many arms you’d want to part with among the 19 currently rostered. That will somewhat limit their ability to shake things up on the offensive end, but there’s zero question that a shakeup is a needed.
You look at the current roster makeup and it’s just structurally unsound. They have eight left-handed hitting outfielders. They have only a handful of hitters with any level of accomplishment in the major leagues. They have six pitchers with even modest experience in a major-league bullpen, and that includes Travis Adams and Pierson Ohl who have ERAs over five.
The front office has a lot of work to do, but still plenty of time to do it as the offseason gets underway in earnest. The Winter Meetings are in less than two weeks and that’s often a catalyst for hot-stove action, though no one’s really expecting the Twins to act quickly or aggressively.
I’m dubious they’ll ultimately invest much at all in upgrading these spots, which is a bummer. But they’ve got to do something. Right now their 40-man roster is at capacity, filled with clutter and redundancy. Even through the scope of a non-competitive rebuilding team, which is the path they seem likely to follow, the makeup of the roster makes little sense at the moment.