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Minnesota Twins need to figure out the Nick Gordon puzzle

By Kevin Henry

Aug 24, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Nick Gordon (1) hits a double against the Boston Red Sox during the fourth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 24, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Nick Gordon (1) hits a double against the Boston Red Sox during the fourth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /
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After drafting Nick Gordon with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 MLB draft, the 2022 season is shaping up to be the one where the Minnesota Twins will have to decide if he can play a big role for the franchise now and in the future or not.

The Minnesota Twins have to find enough playing time for Nick Gordon in 2022 to decide if he is a part of the team’s future plans

Last season, on May 6, Gordon made his much-awaited debut for the Minnesota Twins, going 1-for-2 and stealing two bases in a 4-3 home loss to the Texas Rangers. He would see only two more at-bats in the month of May, bouncing between the Twins and the Triple-A St. Paul Saints.

The 25-year-old Gordon would end the season with 200 at-bats in 73 games, slashing .240/.292/.355 with an OPS+ of 79. There were glimmers of hope, including a six-game hitting streak in mid-September that had two three-hit games sprinkled in there. But there wasn’t consistency at the plate, and there wasn’t a consistent fit for Gordon in the field either.

Despite playing nearly 5,000 innings in the minors at shortstop, the Twins didn’t give him his first start at the position until September 11, one of eight starts he would get there before the end of the campaign, totaling 75 innings there in all. He would play the most innings with the Twins in center field, logging 222.2 innings there, followed by second base (110.0), left field (64.0), right field (3.0), and third base (2.0).

Yes, Gordon saw time at six positions, but never seemed to own any of them. His large amount of time in center field came in the absence of Byron Buxton’s left hand fracture. Buxton, however, is back for 2022 and the Twins have committed to Buxton with a seven-year, $100 million deal this offseason. That eliminates center field as a potential home for Gordon in the near future.

The Twins weren’t ready to hand shortstop to Gordon last season and made that clear in comments (per The Athletic, subscription required) and the FanGraphs depth chart has Gordon as a backup at numerous positions in 2022, meaning he is seen as more of a fill-in than full-time player.

And there’s the vicious circle with Gordon: He likely won’t get enough playing time to show what he could fully do (or not do) at the Major League level, yet the Twins don’t know if he’s more than a fill-in player because (barring injury) he won’t get the time on the field as a starter.

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Heading into 2022, it feels that Gordon is blocked in Minnesota. Could he be a candidate for a “change of scenery” trade to a team that needs a shortstop or center fielder and is willing to give him the chance to show what he can do? It feels like that’s almost the best-case scenario for Gordon, unless the Twins can quickly figure out the conundrum surrounding him and his place on their roster.

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