The Twins announced that they’ve traded catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder/first baseman Daniel Palka.
The 27-year-old Herrmann will give the Diamondbacks some needed depth behind the plate, although he’s never been able to carry his minor league success over to the Major League level. Herrmann is just a .181/.249/.280 career hitter in 389 plate appearances and batted .146/.214/.272 in 113 trips to the plate this past season. However, he’s a .261/.336/.391 hitter at the Triple-A level. He’s caught 38 percent of opposing base-stealers in his big league career but also comes with below-average marks in pitch-framing.
Palka, 24, hit .280/.352/.532 with 29 homers and 24 steals at Class-A Advanced, though he was a bit old for the level. MLB.com ranked Palka 29th among D-Backs farmhands, praising power as his standout tool but noting that he’ll need to prove he can hit enough to tap into that raw power. MLB.com pegs the 6’2″, 220-pound Palka as more of a first baseman than an outfielder in the long run.
I know the guy probably has plenty of flaws and the Twins already have lots of OF/DH/1B, but this seems like a “huge haul” for a guy like Herrmann..
seems like a great deal for the twins they need some pop in the minors only walker had more then 20 hrs in the minor leagues. all there pop is in rookie ball (minier, diaz, kendrick, and cabbage) or already in the majors (arcia, vargas, sano)
Oh good the Twins give up catching depth (that they’re looking for) for another 1b!
Chris Herrmann was hardly major-league catching depth. Cannot hit major league pitching, and made several gaffes last season. It shows that the Twins will be addressing the catching situation this winter and freed up a valuable spot on the 40 man roster.