More spring training jersey numbers announced

Last month, we learned the jersey numbers of the Twins’ first five off season acquisitions. Today, as was brought to my attention on the Twinkie Town slack by a fellow who once made sandwiches for a living, team communications director Dustin Morse announced the numbers for several other noteworthy signings and non-roster invitees. Below, I’ll write far too much about them.

Skipping those discussed in the first article and proceeding numerically:

Josh Donaldson: #24
Last worn by: C.J. Cron, 2019

While Donaldson’s signature number is 20, that’s currently worn by Eddie Rosario, and Donaldson has either not yet been able to acquire the number or has accepted #24 for the year. If the former, they’ll have all spring to settle the score.

Jhoulys Chacin: #45
Last worn by: Taylor Motter, 2018

A pair of clarifications regarding the “last worn by”: it always lists the last player to wear the number in the regular season. Last year, assistant pitching coach Jeremy Hefner wore #45, but as he is now the Mets’ pitching coach, the number has become available for Chacin. Chacin has always worn a number in the 40s, but 45 is his most-donned number, worn for six years as a member of the Rockies (his first six years in the majors) and for a year and a portion with the Brewers. Motter appeared in nine games for Minnesota in 2018 and played terribly.

Brent Rooker: #50
Last worn by: Aaron Slegers, 2018

Rooker wore #66 last spring, but that number is currently on the jersey belonging to Jorge Alcala. Rooker’s new uniform last belonged to the tall right-hander Slegers, who is now in the Rays organization.

Luke Raley: #57
Last worn by: Ryan Pressly, 2018

Raley wore #57 last spring as well. If he keeps the number while playing in a Minnesota uniform, he’ll be the first Twin to wear #57 who was not a pitcher. All 11 Twins to wear 57 — most recently Pressly, most famously Johan Santana — have been moundsmen.

Royce Lewis: #75
Last worn by: N/A

Here’s another repeat from last spring. There’s pretty much no chance Lewis keeps this one long-term.

Alex Kirilloff: #76
Last worn by: Felix Jorge, 2017

This is the third repeat in a row — what’s up with that? Anyway, Kirilloff’s #76 is, interestingly, the reverse of the number another highly-touted corner outfielder wore in his first appearance in the majors... that’s Max Kepler’s #67 at the tail of 2015’s September call-ups before he took #26 the following season. Jorge made two starts for the Twins in 2017, thus far the only two starts of his major league career.

Trevor Larnach: #81
Last worn by: N/A

Larnach wearing #81 surprises me, as the Twins usually reserve the high 70s for catchers and pitchers; last year, non-roster catcher Wynston Sawyer wore the number. The only Twin to wear a number in the 80s was Ryan Eades’ cameo last year in which he became the first major leaguer ever to wear #80.

Ryan Jeffers: #87
Last worn by: MarQueis Gray, 2014 N/A

Of course Gray was a Viking, not a Twin, but that #87 looks odd. The Twins have only issued numbers up to #81 over the last few springs, so skipping over a few numbers and going straight to #87 stands out. But I’m sure Jeffers will make it look good.