The Twins have sold the contractual rights of right-handed reliever Michael Tonkin to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links).
The move will benefit both sides, as it clears a 40-man roster spot for the Twins and gives Tonkin the opportunity to land a significantly larger payday than he’d have received in the United States; he’ll sign a two-year, $2.1MM contract with the Fighters, per Berardino. The Wasserman client will also have the opportunity to earn an additional $500K worth of “reachable” incentives, and he’ll have the chance to serve as the Fighters’ closer as well.
Tonkin, 28 later this month, was one of the top-rated relief prospects in the Twins’ system for several years but has yet to capitalize on that promise in the Major League level. He’s received multiple opportunities with the Twins, appearing for the big league club in each of the past five seasons but never seizing a permanent session in the club’s bullpen. In 146 1/3 innings with the Twins, Tonkin has pitched to a 4.43 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9 and a 39.9 percent ground-ball rate. He has, however, consistently dominated the Triple-A level, pitching to a 2.41 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 through 160 1/3 innings.
The move will subtract yet another player from the Twins’ 40-man roster and, according to Berardino, net the Twins more than $500K in addition to the 40-man spot. In the past week, the Twins have lost left-hander Randy Rosario to the Cubs, outfielder Daniel Palka to the White Sox and left-hander Nik Turley to the Pirates (all via waivers). Once Tonkin’s move to the Fighters is complete, Minnesota’s 40-man roster will stand at 33 players. Major League teams have until Nov. 20 to set their 40-man roster in advance of next month’s Rule 5 Draft, so the Twins could yet shed another player or two in advance of that deadline to clear room for additional prospects to be protected.
Love inter-country trades.
Wish they happened more often.
Good riddance.
He’ll make a good ham fighter.
So are the Ham’s fighting or are they fighting hams??
Hmmm…church lady wants you to discuss amongst yourselves
They’re fighters owned by the Nippon Ham corporation. Admittedly, it is a lot less interesting than actual fighters of ham.
I’ve always pictured them running into battle flinging slices of Black Forest ham towards the enemy… before the Chiba Lotte Marines emerge victorious in one of the most lopsided battles in history.
“What’s this? Spiral cut ham? Damn. The stakes have been raised, gentleman!”
“We will never forget that fateful day… the day we nearly saw the end of our people.”
I prefer to think of them as fighting oversized hams similar to the marching fruit from Ms. Pacman or the villainous condiments from Burgertime.
“God help me. I love it so.”
Steaks* XD
Any chance all of this roster clearing includes a plan for a modestly exciting roster addition? I doubt it…but one can hope, right?
I don’t know about that, but there’s definitely room for some quadruple-A retreads on the roster
It’s more just to add a long list of prospects that need protecting from the Rule 5 Draft. Stephen Gonsalves, Zack Littell, Kohl Stewart, Lewis Thorpe, Nick Burdi are among the possible/likely adds.
Talk about a win-win
Without this, Tonkin is outrighted, probably elects free agency, gets a minor league deal and makes AAA salary while the Twins get nothing other than a roster spot.
Guaranteed $ for Tonkin and $500k extra for MIN makes this a clear win for both sides.
This would have been much more interesting if he signed to play in Korea, since the Gulf of Tonkin is a body of water that borders Korea.
It would be more interesting if he signed in Vietnam, you mean…
Son of a… thank you, I got my geography/wars confused. Oops.
Hopefully you’ll be vindicated when the Twins sell Michael East China Sea to the KBO.
I hope you find Resolution to the mental Gulf in your Tonkin geography. If not, consult Robert McNamara, he’ll make up some stats to increase his side’s f-ingWAR.
Is Kennys Vargas next?
I was just thinking that looking at their 40-man. He is exactly the kind of guy that could succeed big time over there.