FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -It’s arguably the most intriguing question the Minnesota Twins must answer in spring training: Which three outfielders will start and which guy gets sent to the bench?
Denard Span’s success last season is the biggest reason for this dilemma.
Michael Cuddyer is coming off a series of fluke injuries that essentially rendered him useless in 2008. Delmon Young is returning from a disappointing first year in Minnesota. Carlos Gomez brings back his erratic-prone but electric potential and the chance to give the Twins some return on their trade of All-Star ace Johan Santana last winter.
It’s Span, though, with his versatility, speed, prowess in the field and emergence as a leadoff hitter who makes this such an interesting situation.
se he’s a natural center fielder who can also play both corner spots, Span could also be the one moved around the most.
“We’ll see how it all breaks down,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He’s definitely got the athletic ability to do that. So does Gomez, and I think we all know that Delmon can move all the way over to right field. We can do a lot of different things with our outfielders, because they can all move around.”
The Twins’ first-round draft pick out of high school in Tampa in 2002, Span hit plenty of speed bumps in his rise through the minors. The outfield positions in the organization became crowded with both proven veterans and high-ceiling prospects, and for several years the team added well-past-their-prime players like Craig Monroe, Ruben Sierra and Rondell White to fill holes.
Span was upset he wasn’t promoted in 2007 with the rest of the September callups. He was beaten out by Gomez last spring for the job in center and sent back to the minors with more disappointment. He made his major league debut in April, filling in for Cuddyer after he dislocated a finger, and was sent back soon after.
Span was then hurt, breaking a finger of his own, and stuck on the disabled list until the middle of June.
“You play this game long enough,” he said, “you’re humbled. I’ve been through the ups and downs, and I just want to use those experiences to help me now.”
eks after Span returned from his injury with Triple-A Rochester, Cuddyer hurt another finger – a strained tendon that took much longer than expected to recover from. Span came up, and took off.
“It was crazy, man,” he said. “I reminisce a lot from this offseason compared to the year before. I’m a spiritual guy. I’m thankful to God, because it was just unreal how things flip-flopped.
“I never envisioned myself, in my first time in the big leagues, contributing like that and playing that much in the middle of a pennant race.”
The key this spring is to maintain what he built last season. Span, who declared his quest to make the team last spring like going to war, has toned down his rhetoric. Still, he speaks with the same seriousness, confidence and polite determination this time.
“My fuel last year was I want an opportunity,” Span said. “My fuel this year was I want to show that I belong here. I want to show that last year wasn’t a fluke and I wasn’t just getting lucky. I want to show that my skills belong in the big leagues.”
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