Gordon's glove growing to match his bat

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nick Gordon looks like he's forcing the issue.

The Twins didn't entirely know what to expect from the former No. 5 overall selection from the 2014 Draft entering this season, but it's safe to say that he's delivered on any expectations better than he could have hoped nearly three weeks into his first consistent stint in the Major Leagues.

Now, it's a matter of finding more options for playing time -- and now that he's become a viable option in center field, continued work on his versatility around the diamond could be the key to his unlocking more opportunities.

"I definitely think so," Gordon said. "I double down on my positions. But definitely. If I can learn to play every position, I'm for it. I'm definitely not against any of that. Third base, center field, left field, right, wherever."

The original hope was that Gordon could just show the Twins that his body could hold up to the rigors of a full season following a years-long struggle to manage gastritis and an extended bout of COVID-19 that sidelined him for the entire 2020 campaign. He's gone well above and beyond that.

In a small sample size, Gordon's hit tool has translated quite well to the Majors, to the tune of a .333/.348/.444 slash line through his first 17 career games. Since the start of June, when he was called up for this extended look with the Twins, Gordon has five multi-hit games -- including a double and single in Friday's 8-7 win over Cleveland -- and has gone hitless in only two of his starts this month.

Though Gordon's most commonly played position in the Minors, by far, was at shortstop, the Twins effectively limited him to only second base at the start of his big league career before they also pushed him into center field out of necessity due to the extreme injuries around their roster.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli didn't directly address why Gordon had been held out of shortstop at the big league level thus far, but instead indicated that the Twins' other options at the position held priority.

"We have [Andrelton Simmons], of course, and then [Jorge Polanco], who has played a fair amount at the Major League level at shortstop and is very comfortable moving over there, too," Baldelli said. "So we like the option of moving Polo over there as well."

Gordon is also trying to pick up some third base, where he made only one appearance in the Minors, and noted that it's been an adjustment to get used to the harder-hit balls there.

He said, though, that he still takes ground balls at shortstop almost every day unless he's playing in the outfield that day. With Polanco and Simmons on the current roster and top prospect Royce Lewis likely set to push for the Majors in the coming seasons, Gordon's ability to carve out a Major League role could depend on his ability to have shortstop as part of a versatile skillset in a utility role -- and the Twins seem to have that in mind as well.

"Marwin [Gonzalez], Ben Zobrist, guys that play three or four spots on the field, they played these positions for so long that they don’t have to get hours of work in," Baldelli said. "But Nick hasn’t played all these positions as long as those guys and doesn’t have the experience at those spots, so he does probably need a little more time before the games on a regular basis, whether that be center field, left field, learning third base."

For now, the bat certainly seems to be ready for that.

Baldelli expecting birth of daughter
The Twins are getting ready for a special new arrival in their family.

Baldelli confirmed on Saturday that he and his fiancée, Allie Genoa, are expecting their first child, a daughter, to be born in September, adding to a growing family that already includes a Beauceron dog named Bowie.

"There’s really not anything more that me and Allie are looking forward to in life than this," Baldelli said. "Honestly, this is something that we’ve talked about and anticipated and been very hopeful for and feel very fortunate to be able to talk about this, and in September be smiling and talking about it a lot more. It’ll be a great time."