Twins rumors: Darin Mastroianni, Aaron Hicks, Joe Benson

The Minnesota Twins are left with a void in center field after trading away Denard Span and Ben Revere this offseason, and general manager Terry Ryan told reporters, including Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, that he expects to fill the position from within:

But Twins general manager Terry Ryan said he expects to fill the position from within, with Darin Mastroianni and prospects Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson competing for the spot.

The Twins have three candidates to fill the center field vacancy; Darin Mastroianni, Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson. Bollinger notes that Mastroianni is the favorite at this point, though Hicks, who’s a top young player in the Twins’ system, and Benson, who is a former top prospect, could push him.

The vacancy opened when the Twins dealt Span to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Alex Meyer. Soon after, Revere, Span’s likely replacement, was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Vance Worley and Trevor May.

Mastroianni hit .252/.328/.350 with three doubles, two triples and three home runs over 163 at-bats for the Twins last season. Hicks batted .286/.384/.460 with 21 doubles, 11 triples and 13 home runs over 472 at-bats for Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate, while Benson hit .202/.288/.336 across four levels of the Twins’ minor league system.