Joe Benson describes his 2015 baseball as “every bit the roller-coaster ride.”

That’s the way things can be when you spend your entire adult life knocking around the minor leagues. Now, however, a fresh opportunity looms with his original team.

A multi-tooled outfielder who will turn 28 next month, Benson was a 2006 second-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins out of Joliet Catholic. He moved up through the Twins’ system and made his major league debut in September 2011, hitting .239 in 71 at-bats.

He has not been back in the major leagues since. Last summer, he spent a few months with Gwinnett, the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A team, had a short stint in independent ball with the Sugar Land Skeeters and then was with Binghamton, the New York Mets’ Double-A team, the second half of the season.

He received his release from the Mets after the season and was looking for work.

“I fielded a couple of calls for Double-A jobs and turned them down,” Benson said. “I told my agent, Mike Holliman, I would like to find a Triple-A job. He called the next afternoon and said the Twins were interested in signing me.”

The first thing the Twins wanted to know was whether Benson had any hard feelings from his previous stint with the team, which ended in May 2013.

“I said, ‘Definitely not,’ ” Benson said. “The Twins gave me a lot of opportunities. I had some unfortunate injuries that set me back.

“I know everybody there, from the grounds crew to [general manager] Terry Ryan. Three or four phone calls later, I found out they were offering me a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training.”

Paul Molitor was a baserunning coach in the Twins’ organization when Benson was there previously. Now he is the manager.

“Molly called and asked me how my body felt,” Benson said. “He said to come to spring training ready to compete at all three outfield positions. They’re looking for someone who can play defense, and it helps that I run the bases effectively.”

The Twins are stocked with talented young outfielders and are planning to go that route. But they want a veteran as a fourth outfielder. Benson, who will compte with nonroster invitees Carlos Quentin, Ryan Sweeney and Darin Mastroianni, was introduced to that role early last season at Gwinnett.

“In Gwinnett, I learned what a bench role would be like,” Benson said. “It was a new experience, but it was not a bad experience.”

As spring training wound down last season, it appeared Benson had made the Braves’ parent club as a nonroster player. Late in the spring, he was summoned to the big-league camp for a few games.

“They were saying that Fredi [Gonzalez, the manager] and his staff wanted to get a closer look at Joe Benson,” Benson said.

But just before the season began, Atlanta traded closer Craig Kimbrel to San Diego, and one of the pieces coming to the Braves was outfielder Cameron Maybin, whose skill set is similar to Benson’s. Benson thus was shipped to Gwinnett.

He had 118 at-bats in a half-season there, hitting .246, then hit .250 in 184 at-bats at Binghamton. In between, he played a few games for the Skeeters, who were managed by former major leaguer Gary Gaetti.

“I got a call from Gary Gaetti,” Benson said. “He told me they were in the Atlantic League, which is the most competitive independent league. He said at worst, I’d have a lot of fun playing baseball one last time.”

But then came the opportunity from the Mets with Double-A Binghamton.

“I was in Frisco [Texas] visiting my cousins and godson, and I got a call from my agent,” Benson said. “He said the Mets would like to sign you. A day later, I was in Portland, Maine playing against the Sea Dogs.”

Benson’s minor league career – a .253 batting average with 183 doubles, 45 triples, 89 home runs and 413 RBIs in 3,347 official at-bats – is marked by ups and downs.

“I can go 20 for 40, and at the same time mix in some 0 for 25s,” he said. “I can go 0 for 4 with four strikeouts or with four line drives or four flies to the warning track.”

He has learned to handle the roller coaster that is baseball.

“I was probably a little hot-headed when I was young,” he said. “I got a little discouraged when I failed. After all the success I had in high school football and baseball, I went right into pro ball and found out that in 140 games, you’re going to fail a lot.

“But I realize now there is always another at-bat. I’ll always strike out some. But it’s not the adversity that matters, it’s how you handle it.”

If Molitor decides Benson deserves at least a bench spot with the Twins, the manager won’t have to worry about intangibles.

“I take pride in being a great clubhouse guy and a good teammate,” Benson said. “I run hard and play hard.”

Regardless of what happens in the spring, Benson said he plans to stay with the Twins’ organization all season.

“It’s a homecoming of sorts for me,” he said. “I will give my all and see what happens. I know they aren’t going to beat around the bush with me. They’ll tell me where I stand.”

However it turns out, another chapter will be added to Benson’s trek through baseball.

“This will be my 11th pro season,” he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to play in Venezuela, Panama and all over this country.

“They say that 27, 28 through 31 and 32 are the prime years for a hitter, and that’s where I am. I still have the urge to play. I am not ready to quit.”

If nothing else, Molitor has promised him the opportunity to compete. That he will do.

• Dick Goss can be reached at dgoss@shawmedia.com.