Celestino finds his role with Twins, as former team comes to town

When the Houston Astros visit Target Field starting Tuesday night, a familiar face will be waiting for them, a former teammate to many of the current Astros and one of the Twins' hottest hitters.

But not who you think.

Carlos Correa's right middle finger is still sore from being hit by a pitch last Thursday, and the Twins' shortstop is as likely to land on the injured list for a week as he is to face the team that allowed him to walk away as a free agent last winter.

Gilberto Celestino, however, hopes to build on the most effective month of his big-league career this week, and do it against the team that paid him a $2.5 million signing bonus just five months after his 16th birthday.

"He was a high-dollar, high-profile signing for the Astros," Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said shortly after acquiring the Dominican outfielder, along with righthander Jorge Alcala, in exchange for current Astros closer Ryan Pressly in 2018. "Next to [Byron] Buxton, Gilberto may be the most natural center fielder in our system, in terms of going to get balls."

Next-to-Buxton, however, is a difficult spot to occupy on Minnesota's depth chart, given that the Platinum Glove outfielder leads the major leagues in home runs and is signed for the next seven seasons. Yet Celestino, despite having played only 72 games above Class A, has begun carving out a role for himself as a backup outfielder, having inherited the job from Jake Cave, who held it for four seasons.

"He's got a great feel for the position. He's a very instinctual, Jim Edmonds-type center fielder, not a true burner but someone who gets tremendous jumps and takes great routes," Falvey said, referring to the Angels' eight-time Gold Glover. "We exposed him to more playing time in left and right field at the alternate site in 2020, where those instincts continued to show up well, so we feel comfortable with him playing all three outfield positions."

And now, less than a year after his major-league debut, they feel more comfortable with Celestino in their lineup, too.

"His at-bats have just been phenomenal," Twins acting manager Jayce Tingler said this weekend, after Celestino went 4-for-8 against the Athletics and struck out only once.

Tingler said he considered pinch-hitting for Celestino on Friday, when the A's brought in righthander Lou Trivino with two runners on base in the eighth inning of a one-run game, but chose not to. It didn't work out, but Tingler said he's comfortable with his decision.

"Celly has earned the trust," Tingler said. "He's commanding the strike zone, he's having quality at-bats, he's barreling the ball."

And aside from that at-bat, he's starting to get results. After an .083 start to the season that uncomfortably resembled the 0-for-15 start to his career last June, Celestino has gone 11-for-25 in his past eight games, with three doubles and a 1.042 OPS. A tiny sliver of playing time, certainly, but it's an encouraging sign.

"Young guys, you have to be careful about their confidence," hitting coach Rudy Hernandez said. "He's feeling better. Every hit helps you feel better."

That wasn't so easy last season, when the timeline to his career was suddenly sped up. Expected to spend the season at Class AA, Celestino suddenly found himself in the majors at age 22 as an emergency call-up after Buxton, Cave and fill-in Rob Refsnyder all went on the injured list.

It took Celestino five games before he got a hit, and his average never rose above .200. A 1-for-17 stretch finally got him sent down for good on July 27, his average at just .136.

"It was a little difficult, the adjustment. But I don't regret that. I actually take it as a positive thing," Celestino said. "It helped me a lot, mingling with the veteran players and learning from them. It helped me with my development."

He understands he has more development to do, and it likely will require a return to the minor leagues at some point. But Celestino, who married his longtime girlfriend in the Dominican Republic during spring training, believes he'll soon be in Minnesota for good.

"It's a huge difference, obviously," he said. "But I'm executing my plan, working on it every day to try to do the little things. And it's working for me."