Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Minnesota Twins right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (elbow/forearm) will begin the season on the injured list. He will visit Dr. Keith Meister to evaluate the next steps on his ailing right elbow. The right-hander was shut down by the team early in the spring but has recently thrown bullpen sessions. He has yet to appear in a Cactus League game to this point, however. The veteran was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Mariners this offseason after tossing a 4.88 ERA across 19 outings (18 starts) with the Giants in the 2023 season. He was involved in a deal for Mariners left-hander Robbie Ray before being dealt to Minnesota in a trade that saw Jorge Polanco head to the Mariners.

Minnesota Twins reliever Jhoan Duran (oblique) will begin the season on the injured list due to a moderate oblique strain, according to president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. The fireballer has endured a rough spring as he sports an 11.57 ERA with four strikeouts and 10 hits allowed across five appearances and 4 2/3 innings of work. He also sports a 2.36 WHIP, although he has not allowed a home run. However, the 26-year-old has been nothing short of stellar in his young big-league career, working to a tidy 2.15 ERA alongside a dynamite 25.3% K-BB% across 116 appearances through his first two seasons. He has averaged a whopping 101.3 mph on his four-seam fastball in that time and is one of the top closers in fantasy baseball despite what could be a minimum stay on the injured list to begin the season.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (back) was scratched from Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Boston Red Sox due to lower-back tightness on his right side, according to the team. It's unclear exactly how serious Buxton's back injury is, but given his lengthy injury history, we shouldn't be surprised if it ends up being something that causes him to start the 2024 season on the injured list. The oft-injured 30-year-old was unable to play a single game in the outfield for Minnesota last year due to a knee injury that required offseason surgery. Buxton played in only 85 games in 2023 and hit a weak .207 (63-for-304) but also hit 17 home runs and drove in 42. He has played in over 100 games just one in nine big-league seasons, so Buxton's inability to stay on the field now far outweighs his actual power/speed capabilities.

Minnesota Twins second baseman Edouard Julien (wrist) left the visitors' clubhouse at LECOM Park with his right wrist wrapped up after being hit by a pitch in the first inning of Friday's spring training loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the team has no initial concerns about his health. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and a team trainer went to first base to check on Julien but left him in the game. Once back in the dugout, Julien was replaced in the field by Michael Helman in the bottom of the frame. Julien's ability to stay in the contest echoes the club's sentiment that the Canadian infielder's setback is of minimal concern. Following the offseason trade of Jorge Polanco, Julien is locked into Minnesota's everyday role at the keystone and is slashing a robust .421/.476/.789 over 21 plate appearances this spring. Don't let this recent injury influence the 24-year-old's 217.9 Yahoo ADP in fantasy drafts.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler has had a rough start to his spring ahead of what is a pivotal season for the 31-year-old. Kepler is just 2-for-16 (.125) with one homer and two walks versus three strikeouts across 18 trips to the plate, good for a lowly .535 OPS in that time. A free agent following the 2024 season, Kepler is coming off an excellent 2023 campaign that saw him hit .260 with 24 home runs, 72 runs, 66 RBI, and an .816 OPS across 491 trips to the plate. He saw a decrease in his walk rate and an increase in his strikeout rate a season ago but his 124 wRC+ was a career-high. He projects for a .247 average with 20 homers and four steals by ATC for the 2024 season, giving him fair value with an ADP of 282.6.