There should still be plenty of time for Ryan to be ready for the start of the season. If he were healthy, he could get the ball on Opening Day after Minnesota lost Pablo Lopez for Tommy John surgery. That’s already a huge blow to the Twins as they battle for a playoff spot, making it all the more important that Ryan stays healthy. The bigger question is whether the All-Star righty will be back in a few weeks to represent the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic.
Assuming Ryan is ready for the start of the season, he will be followed in the rotation by Bailey Ober And Simeon WoodsRichardson. There should be a battle for the last two spots Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel and potential David Festa.
One pitcher no longer in the rotation: Marco Raya. The 23-year-old prospect moved to the bullpen in mid-August while pitching at Triple-A St. Paul. That’s a permanent move, like Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star-Tribune writes that the Twins have informed Raya that he will be a full-time reliever this year. The righty threw a perfect inning with a strikeout against a handful of Tigers minor leaguers in his spring debut on Monday.
Raya’s move to the bullpen doesn’t come as a huge surprise. The former fourth-round pick has good stuff, but hasn’t thrown enough strikes in his minor league career. He walked nearly 13% of opponents over 98 2/3 Triple-A frames a year ago, posting a 6.02 earned run average. Raya used six pitches in the minor key, but was able to shorten the repertoire now that he works in short relief. The bigger hope is that Raya’s below-average control in short stints won’t be as much of an issue.
There are plenty of options in Minnesota’s bullpen. Taylor Rogers, Anthony Banda, Justin Topa, Codes Funderburk And Cabbage Sand are likely included in the Opening Day relief corps. Then there are three more jobs up for grabs. Most of Minnesota’s depth weapons on the 40-man roster have little to no MLB experience. They offset this by bringing in a number of veteran arms on minor league contracts with Spring Training invites.
Julian Vrolijkweer is one of the non-invitees trying to force his way into the selection. Merryweather’s team debut got off to a less than ideal start. The right-hander left his first Grapefruit League appearance after suffering a left hamstring strain, Nightengale said. Happy weather was running Justyn Henry Malloy and dropped out Ben Williamson before you leave.
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