Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson turned in a strong spring debut Monday, pitching a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout of Juan Soto in a 9-2 Grapefruit League win over the Yankees. The 23-year-old said that he has been working on altering his arm angle this off-season, bringing his delivery down from directly over the top. Woods Richardson spent most of his time last season at Triple-A St. Paul, going 7-6 with a 4.91 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and 19.3% strikeout rate in 113 2/3 innings pitched. While he has time in his career left to figure out how to deliver effective results, fantasy managers can keep him on the back burner for now.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have traded outfielder Manuel Margot to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for shortstop Noah Miller. At this time, it's unclear who the Dodgers have received in return. It was certainly a short tenure for Margot in the Dodgers organization after the club acquired him as part of the trade that also landed them right-hander Tyler Glasnow on Dec. 15. The veteran hit .264 with four home runs and nine stolen bases in a platoon role in Tampa Bay last season, appearing in just 99 games and fewer than 100 contests for the second straight season. He could be deployed similarly with the Twins in 2024 as he should take over right field from the lefty-swinging Max Kepler versus left-handed pitching.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis is open to a contract extension with the team, but as of right now, that is looking unlikely to happen. The first overall pick in 2017 is a client of agent Scott Boras, but Lewis said he'd be "an idiot" to not listen if the Twins wanted to discuss a long-term deal. Lewis had a breakout 2023 after missing two years with a torn ACL in his right knee. The Twins are in the midst of trimming payroll, potentially up to a $30 million reduction from last year. The 24-year-old is under team control through 2028, too, so the Twins are in no rush. He hit .309/.372/.548 with a .921 OPS, 15 home runs, 52 RBI and six stolen bases in just 58 games for Minnesota in 2023 and is now firmly a top-10 fantasy third baseman heading into the 2024 campaign, although he does come with considerable injury risk.

Minnesota Twins first baseman Alex Kirilloff (shoulder) was scheduled to face live pitching at spring training on Monday at Hammond Stadium. It's a notable development for Kirilloff after he had surgery last October to fix the labrum in his right shoulder. The 26-year-old left-handed slugger doesn't appear to be limited at all at camp and should be good to go for Opening Day in 2024. In an effort to keep him healthy, the Twins figure to use Kirilloff mostly at designated hitter this year, although he can play both first base and the outfield. The former first-rounder has shown plenty of offensive ability in the minors, but he's only appeared in 192 games in three seasons with the Twins, mainly due to wrist injuries. Despite the injury risk, Kirilloff is worth a late-round flier in deep-mixed leagues for his power at a corner-infield spot.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (knee) said he's been talking with Willi Castro about how many bases they can each steal this season, and Buxton said he thinks he's got 30 in him this year. "That means I'm on a lot and running a lot. I feel good. I feel real good," Buxton said. The 30-year-old oft-injured outfielder just needs to worry about staying healthy first. He's played in over 100 games in a season just once (in 2017) in his nine-year MLB career and has gone over 20 steals just once (also in 2017), so fantasy managers would be wise not to have that high of expectations for him on the basepaths in 2024. Buxton had arthroscopic knee surgery in September and couldn't even play defense in Minnesota at all in 85 games in 2023. He did manage 17 homers last year, but his plate skills overall declined, putting him outside RotoBaller's top-100 outfielders entering the 2024 season.