The Twins have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran outfielder Drew Stubbs, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). The Lagardere Sports client will be invited to Major League Spring Training and compete for a role with the club.
Minnesota’s outfield currently figures to feature Eddie Rosario in left field, Byron Buxton in center field and Max Kepler in right field, so there won’t be a clear-cut starting role for Stubbs to pursue. However, both Rosario and Kepler hit left-handed and have struggled against same-handed pitching to this point in their young careers, making Stubbs a potential platoon partner. In 841 career plate appearances against lefties, Stubbs is a .272/.348/.444 hitter with a 10.3 percent walk rate but a more troubling 29.8 percent strikeout rate.
Switch-hitting Robbie Grossman could be a better option than Stubbs against left-handed pitching, as most of his damage is done from the right side of the dish, but Stubbs is a considerably superior defender that is also capable of playing center field. Converted infielder Danny Santana is also in the mix for an outfield role, and he’s out of minor league options, which could give him a leg up with a solid spring performance.
The 32-year-old Stubbs was once regarded as one of the game’s top all-around prospects and showed a nice mix of power and speed early in his career with the Reds, but his production has tapered off, relegating him to reserve role in recent seasons. Last year, he appeared with the Braves, Rangers and Orioles in the Majors in 2016, batting a combined .225/.330/.338 in 94 trips to the plate. He hasn’t received regular work in the Majors since a monster 2014 season with the Rockies, during which he hit .289/.339/.482 with 15 homers and 20 stolen bases.
Stubbs would have been a better signing for the Tigers than Lough. Some power, some speed. I don’t think either player is exciting, but given a choice, I’d take the guy with tools.
Totally agree and thought the same thing.
Agreed! I guess it makes too much sense.
Instead, the tigers will go with a class act like… Tyler Collins,
The Twins do need to create competition in their corner outfield spots. But I was thinking more of a Angel Pagan over a Drew Stubbs type.
Pagan on a 2-3m one year deal. I like the idea of his spark and athleticism on this team.
but he is a full-time player I would want to see what we can get from the young guys not like we’re contending a anyway
He’s 35 and has had nagging injuries the past few years. He’d be around to hedge their bets and to ensure a MLB job isn’t given, it’s earned. Rosario especially doesn’t come to play everyday.
I wish the twins would have went after franklin gutierrez instead of Stubbs
Good depth piece I guess.
Trade bait at the deadline if he has a decent year start. That’s all he is. A roll of the dice.
Low risk, possible high reward, I like it for the twins
Yep, the Sano in RF experiment failed, he’s going back to third where he’s at least average – if you’re going to get someone, may as well be a good athlete on the cheap.