Rethinking The Roster Competition

A lot of assumptions, at least my assumptions, were thrown into disarray this weekend when Ron Gardenhire announced Willingham will be the starting left fielder, not right fielder. That left Ben Revere without a position. In addition, Terry Ryan indicated Chris Parmelee's bat had all but forced them to find him a spot on the roster and Parmelee was out in right field for three straight games. Also, Justin Morneau's lack of playing time at first became an issue. If Morneau is the everday DH, then Doumit's only remaining role is backup catcher with possible occasional appearances at first and in the outfield. That leaves a third catcher without much of a role.

So where does that put us?

There are now only nine players with spots set, Mauer, Doumit, Morneau, Casilla, Carroll, Valencia, Span, Willingham and Plouffe. That leaves 12 players competing or 4 openings with numerous possibilities for how they will be filled.

The puzzle is made very complicated by the flexibility of various players, but there are two likely options for how the four players are positioned:

first base,
outfield,
2 utility infielders

outfield,
catcher,
2 utility infielders;

Either way there remains the question of whether one of the two utility guys has to be able to play shortstop.

Here are the players who can play each position, although I doubt Benson or Dozier are really in the competition:

First base:
Parmelee
Hughes
Burroughs

Outfield:
Parmelee
Revere
Dinkelman
Benson

Utility Infielders:
Hughes
Burroughs
Florimon (ss)
Hollimon (ss)
Dozier (ss)

Third Catcher:
Butera
Rivera
Towles


Gardenhire made it clear that Morneau is a key element here. If he plays first, Doumit is the everyday DH and they need a third catcher and outfield space for Parmelee to play. If Morneau is the DH, Doumit is the backup catcher and Parmelee plays first. That leaves an opening in the outfield and no need for backup catcher. Either way, there remains a competition in the infield between Hughes, Burroughs, Florimon and Hollimon for two spots.

Based on that assessment here is how I see the current rankings in order of the likelihood the individuals will be on the roster:

Parmelee
Hughes
Revere
Burroughs
Florimon

Butera
Rivera
Towles
Hollimon
Dinkelman

Dozier
Benson