'Opportunities to be had' in Twins' OF mix

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Twins already had a large enough selection of outfielders to sort out as they entered Spring Training -- and then, the new guys started to hit, too.

Now the position group has the makings of a veritable logjam that the club will eventually need to whittle down to fit its 26-man Opening Day roster.

There was always likely to be some degree of competition between Jake Cave, Alex Kirilloff and Brent Rooker to fill the void in left field created by Eddie Rosario's departure. Enter waiver acquisition Kyle Garlick and non-roster invitee Keon Broxton, who have been among the club's most impressive offensive performers early in camp.

The depth of the Twins' outfield personnel was on full display in Sunday's victory over the Rays, when Minnesota's four-run sixth inning was fueled by a leadoff double from Gilberto Celestino, an RBI double from Garlick and a three-run blast by Broxton that sailed completely out of the stadium.

Broxton added a walk in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Orioles to make him 5-for-9 with a pair of walks and a 1.636 OPS in Grapefruit League action, paired with his standout defensive capabilities in center field.

"Keon has had really good at-bats all spring long," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Kyle Garlick’s had really good at-bats all spring long. They’re hitting balls really hard. We have the young Celestino out there running around playing all outfield spots for us and doing a really nice job. [Rob] Refsnyder has had good at-bats.

"I mean, all of our guys have come in and competed exceptionally well, especially some of the guys we weren’t as familiar with as some of the guys that have been here."

Considering how crowded the Twins' outfield already looked, is there still opportunity for a non-roster player like Broxton to break through?

"I think there’s always opportunities to be had," Baldelli said. "Do we know exactly how those opportunities come up? We never do. We know that we’re going to need a lot of guys to help us and do it in different ways. So I wouldn’t be surprised if someone in that [non-roster] group really helped us at the Major League level at some point this year. I think it’s more likely than not."

It's likely that some combination of Cave, Kirilloff, Rooker, Garlick and Broxton would need to fit into two (or potentially three) Opening Day roster spots. Though Garlick (4-for-10 with two homers) and Broxton are the club's leaders in total bases this spring, it's also worth bearing in mind that these batting lines are only one part of a complex roster puzzle -- and a relatively minor one, at that.

"We use Spring Training to try and take a look at guys to see, 'Are they ready, are they prepared, where they physically get their reps in?" president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. "We're not necessarily looking at the batting line -- good or bad, for that matter. But just how ready are they to contribute on a daily basis?"

One factor that could come into play is that the Twins have always erred on the side of giving themselves as many options as possible heading into the season. Broxton is the only one of the group without Minor League options, and also not already on the 40-man roster, which would make it both more difficult to put him on the initial roster and tougher to take him off in the name of flexibility.

Another factor is that the delayed start to the Triple-A season will mean that players on the roster bubble won't have a chance to see live game action at the alternate training site. That could make it tougher to send down prospects like Kirilloff and Rooker, who already missed a season of development and could benefit from live at-bats.

Of course, it's still early in camp, and injuries could still come into play, too. And as they say in baseball, these roster questions usually have a way of working themselves out. But it's also a good problem for the Twins to have.

"We actually don't know what we're going to do," Baldelli said. "We're actually going to see how Spring Training goes, let these guys go out there and play, swing the bat, show us what they can do in the field. It's not a simple answer. We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things, and you can go up and down our list of outfielders and probably put a really good Major Leaguer out there."