Roster decisions down to a few for Twins

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- And then, there were ... 32.

That's how many players remain in contention for spots on the Twins' Opening Day roster following the latest round of cuts on Sunday, when Jake Cave, Devin Smeltzer and Jake Faria were reassigned to Minor League camp and Jovani Moran was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul.

Following the additional news that Cody Stashak will not be ready for Opening Day against the Mariners on Friday at Target Field due to biceps tendinitis, Minnesota's roster picture has cleaned up considerably, with only one or two overarching decisions likely to remain (barring waiver-wire transactions).

Let's take a quick look at those decisions.

Who's the fourth outfielder?
Following Cave's reassignment, there are two candidates remaining in camp for the fourth outfield spot: Kyle Garlick and Brent Rooker.

Garlick won that exact competition in last year's spring camp, but the challenge this year is that he's not on the 40-man roster, meaning the Twins would need to free up space among their already-full group for him to win the job once again. Rooker, on the other hand, is on the 40-man, but he missed the last week of spring games due to a right shoulder strain that has since resolved.

A right-handed bat who hits lefties well is a needed component to round out that picture, considering Minnesota's starters at the corners -- Max Kepler and Alex Kirilloff -- both hit left-handed. The Twins lauded Garlick's ability to hit lefties last fall and even hit him leadoff in such scenarios.

Rooker is a former first-round Draft pick whose opportunities were limited by injuries in both 2020 and '21, and he's done nothing but hit in the Minors, where he owns a career .875 OPS. Has he shown enough in limited action this spring to win a spot? And what if an external option, like, say, the recently cut Justin Upton, becomes a possibility?

Do they need a third catcher?
Ryan Jeffers and Gary Sánchez are making the team. Will José Godoy join them?

The question here lies in manager Rocco Baldelli's tolerance to risk when both Jeffers and Sánchez are in the lineup. That could be often, as Sánchez stands to see plenty of at-bats at designated hitter when he's not behind the plate.

Baldelli has acknowledged that the risk of any emergency scenarios arising in such situations is low, though, and has expressed that two- and three-catcher scenarios are on the table. This is an important piece of the puzzle due to the next point on this list ...

Is there an odd man out on the pitching staff?
There are 17 pitchers remaining in camp, and Stashak won't be an option for Opening Day. If the Twins take Godoy as a third catcher, that would likely give them a 13-man position player group, leaving 15 openings on the pitching staff. If they go with two catchers, chances are, they break camp with 16 pitchers.

In the latter case, they've got the exact number of pitchers they need, though obviously, waiver-wire acquisitions could lead to additional shakeups before Opening Day. In the former case, they would need to trim down by one more pitcher, likely from a group involving Jharel Cotton, Danny Coulombe, Griffin Jax, Jhon Romero or Josh Winder.

Jax and Winder could have value as stretched-out bullpen options, which the Twins need due to the limited nature of the spring buildup for their starting rotation. Coulombe could have value as an additional lefty in a bullpen that skews heavily righty. Does that leave Cotton and Romero fighting for a spot, if need be?

The other factor at play is that Coulombe is a non-roster invitee, meaning the Twins will need to clear a 40-man spot for him if he makes the team.