The Minnesota Twins got a bit closer to a final 25-man roster by optioning four player out of Major League camp this morning, most notably center fielder Aaron Hicks and starting pitcher Trevor May.
Hicks and May were both assigned to Triple-A Rochester along with outfielder Eddie Rosario. Relief pitcher Mark Hamburger was assigned to the team’s minor league camp.
Hicks has started in centerfield for the Twins on Opening Day each of the last two seasons but has only produced a .201 career batting average over his 467 career at-bats, leaving the 25-year old’s roster spot in question heading into this 2015. He got off to a nice start in the Grapefruit League earlier this month but the last week and a half has been very rough on Hicks, as he watched his average fall to a miserable .206. He also hit two triples this spring, drove in two runs, stole three bases and drew five walks.
He entered the spring in a battle to earn the starting centerfield job with Jordan Schafer and was even the favorite in many people’s eyes when exhibition games began in early March. Schafer is batting .263 this spring with five runs batted in, a home run and five walks drawn. Today’s news makes it clear that Schafer is on the path to starting on Opening Day and that Shane Robinson will have a spot on the team’s 25-man roster.
May was in contention for the team’s final spot in the rotation but lost the battle mostly due to Tommy Milone and Mike Pelfrey both pitching so well this spring. He was thought to be a long shot for the job from the start of Spring Training and having the players ahead of him outdo themselves surly didn’t help him earn a spot on the 25-man roster. May finishes his time in big league camp with a 4.22 ERA after allowing five runs in 10.2 innings on the mound.
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