The Twins announced Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Oliver Drake off waivers from the Blue Jays and outfielder Johnny Field off waivers from the Indians. Drake will step right into the MLB bullpen, while Field will head to Triple-A Rochester for the time being. Minnesota already had two open spots on the 40-man roster, so no additional 40-man moves were necessary to accommodate the pair of claims.
The 31-year-old Drake has already pitched for the Blue Jays, Brewers, Indians and Angels in 2018, making the Twins an incredible fifth MLB organization for which he’ll appear in a single season.
Drake has been rocked for a 7.57 ERA so far, but teams keep taking a chance on him, perhaps in part due to a strong 9.6 K/9 mark against 3.3 BB/9, as well as a healthy 13.3 percent swinging-strike rate. Drake also boasts terrific numbers in Triple-A, where he’s pitched to a 2.05 ERA with 155 punchouts against 43 walks in 110 innings of work. He’s out of minor league options, so the Twins (or a sixth MLB team) will have to carry him on the 25-man roster or try, once again, to pass him through outright waivers.
As for Field, the 26-year-old has batted just .213/.253/.373 through 179 MLB plate appearances this season, but he’s displayed some power and a bit of speed with six homers and a .160 ISO to go along with four steals. He’s drawn positive marks at all three outfield spots, in an obviously small sample, and has a career .271/.325/.440 slash in parts of three Triple-A seasons.
Good claim with Field but its beyond me as to why teams insist on claiming a 31-year old out of options righty with poor control and a 5.00 career ERA. It makes absolutely no sense. I would have expected him to clear waivers from Baltimore.
Field is nothing more than AAA depth
Because there is always a team/coach/manager that thinks they can be the one to turn Player X around.
What’s the record of teams played for in a season? I’m rooting for crappy Oliver to play for all of them
i thought it was 4 with Jose Bautista….
Casper Wells with 5
Looks like record for most MAJOR LEAGUE teams played for in a season is 4, by multiple players (list about two-thirds of the way down the page… link to baseball-almanac.com
So if/when Drake appears in a game with the Twins, he’s the new record holder.
Just to clarify, Both Jose Bautista and Casper Wells did sit in the dugout for 5 teams in one year, but Bautista only got into games with 4 of those teams. Wells played for only 3.
Cool, now my Tribe will get to exact revenge on him.
but they didn’t claim Merritt like two weeks ago when he’s a 10 times better pitcher.
^^^ this
Waiver maneuvering nakes no sense. You would think talented players wouldn’t clear.
Guess it all has to do with timing
Two weeks ago, the Twins hadn’t traded off a bunch of players yet.
I’m surprised they didn’t sign Drew Hutchison, who is actually a far better pitcher than Drake.
Sigh… it’s time for the Twins to play their rookies born in the 1990s, not retread castoffs like Drake from other teams.
I hate the Drake!
I do too. He doesn’t even write his own music.