Taylor Rogers: Twins ready for unique 2020 season

Twins reliever and interim MLBPA representative Taylor Rogers met with reporters on Wednesday afternoon, via Zoom. The new normal of not getting close to teammates, no spitting, no high-fiving, and no licking of your fingers is upon us.

The Twins are set to open spring training 2.0 next week at Target Field, then will begin their 60-game season on July 24. They’ll play the White Sox, Indians, Royals, and Tigers 10 times each and the Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Reds, and Pirates four times apiece. The dates will be announced later.

The Twins will also have a taxi squad of 30 players that will include guys on the 40-man roster not on the big league team, then other minor leaguers. Sources tell KSTP that CHS Field and the University of Minnesota have had talks with the Twins about hosting those players for practices.

***Click the video box on this page to watch Rogers’ full session with reporters***

The biggest concern now is keeping guys healthy. Unfortunately, the Rockies, Phillies, Yankees, and Blue Jays have all recently had players test positive for COVID-19. Rogers noted that with guys not living in a bubble, there’s personal and team accountability in play. Guys have to be thinking about more themselves, if they make a decision to go out.

"A lot of it is going to be on [us], on the honor system. Don’t be the one person who messes it up for everybody else," Rogers said.

Rogers also noted the mad scramble for guys to find living arrangements. Fellow reliever Tyler Duffey told our Darren Wolfson on Wednesday that he hopes to bunk up with Rogers.