Two pieces of roster news up for discussion. First, Rhett Bollinger from MLB.com has quotes from Justin Morneau on starting the season at designated hitter.
"It isn’t necessarily something that I want to do but it’s better in the long run in terms of being healthy and available to play every day," [said Morneau.]
Also, John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press notes on Twitter that Trevor Plouffe will open the season as the backup shortstop.
Gardenhire finally acknowledges he "didn't bring a (backup) shortstop along," says it will be Trevor Plouffe, who started 54 there in 2011.
The Morneau news is expected, as the Twins have plenty of options at first base, including Chris Parmelee, Ryan Doumit, Sean Burroughs, and really half the team.
However, the Plouffe news is less expected; he was noticeably awful at shortstop last year, routinely failing to make plays that most shortstops make, well, routinely. Even with the comedic stylings of Tsuyoshi Nishioka on display, Plouffe was in my opinion the worst infield defender on the Twins last year, and that's a low card in a hand that's filled with low cards.