Over the past few days, we’ve learned that multiple Twins players have tested positive for COVID-19. Miguel Sano, Willians Astudillo, Nick Gordon, and Edwar Colina were the four that were named.
Colina has since tested negative, but must test negative again to return to the team. Sano and Astudillo are asymptomatic. Colina and Gordon tested positive at their homes, prior to leaving for Minneapolis. Sano and Astudillo tested positive during the intake process.
Miguel Sano will obviously be the biggest impact if any of them miss any time. He is likely going to be the starting first baseman. In 2019 he slashed .247/.346/.576 (.922) with a 137 wRC+ and a .378 wOBA. He also hit a career-high 34 home runs in 105 games.
Willians Astudillo was the other player with major league experience to test positive. He slashed .268/.299/.379 (.678) with a 76 wRC+ and a .288 wOBA in 58 games in 2019. He is a possible candidate to be the third string catcher for the Twins if they decide to go that route.
Edwar Colina is the Twins #16 prospect who went from Adv. A to AAA last season. In 2019, he produced a 2.96 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 4.60 xFIP, 1.17 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, and a 0.4 HR/9 in 97.1 IP across all three levels. He could’ve been a possible bullpen option at some point in the season if they needed a reliever.
Nick Gordon is a former 4th overall pick, and currently their #17 prospect, who has yet to make his MLB debut. The 24-year old slashed .298/.342/.459 (.801) with a 102 wRC+ and a .344 wOBA in 70 games in AAA last season. He has a solid chance of making the Twins 30-man Opening Day roster.
Hopefully these players will recover fast and return soon. If that doesn’t happen, the Twins have a lot of depth to work with.
