Here are today’s minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…
- Righty Stephen Fife was reinstated from the 60-day DL and outrighted to Triple-A by the Dodgers, the club announced on Twitter. Fife, a depth starter for Los Angeles who just turned 28, underwent Tommy John surgery late in the season and will likely miss most or all of 2015. He owns a 3.66 ERA in 91 career big league innings over the last three years, with 6.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9.
- The Twins have outrighted journeyman shortstop Doug Bernier and right-hander Yohan Pino to Triple-A Rochester, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Bernier has already elected free agency, Berardino reports, and Pino is expected to do the same. The 34-year-old Bernier has batted .233/.352/.283 in 73 PA with the Twins over the past two seasons. He was outrighted last year at season’s end as well but returned on a minor league deal and saw another brief callup late in the year. Pino, 30, made his big league debut with Minnesota this season and posted a 5.07 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 11 starts (60 1/3 innings). He was much better in 73 Triple-A innings, registering a 2.47 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
Compared to other SPs on the Twins 40-man, Pino isn’t garbage. Look at the strikeout rate…that’s lights out for a Twins SP. Couldn’t he transition to a Petit-type LR who can pitch with the same length as Swarzak could but with better peripherals (and cheaper)?
Everything is relative I suppose. And you definitely get an A+ for how you compared Pino to the rest of the Twins pitchers. I’m still laughing.
About what I would expect. Solid AAA guys, but they weren’t going to help the ML club.
Fife is a perfect stash guy. If he elects free agency, any team who signs him to a minor league deal, and stashes him on the DL is genius.
Isn’t that what the Dodgers just did, in effect?