Twins Designate Zack Granite For Assignment

The Twins have designated outfielder Zack Granite for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for newly signed Marwin Gonzalez, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets.

Granite, 26, forced his way onto the Twins’ big league roster with a .338/.392/.475 showing in Triple-A in 2017, though that output was buoyed by a .371 average on balls in play. His time in the Majors didn’t prove quite as fruitful, as he slashed just .237/.321/.290 in 107 trips to the plate. Granite struggled through a dismal .211/.282/.245 batting line in an injury-shortened 2018 season in Triple-A Rochester and, in the process, saw himself leapfrogged on the organizational depth chart by fellow outfielder Jake Cave, whom the Twins acquired from the Yankees last spring.

While Granite has elite speed and a strong defensive skill set, he’s largely devoid of power, never having totaled more than six home runs in a season (which came in 2017 between the Twins and Triple-A). But, as a career .282/.348/.360 hitter in the minors with a 10.2 percent strikeout rate, an 8.5 percent walk rate and a minor league option remaining, he could certainly hold appeal to another club in need of outfield options. A team thin in the outfield could look to give Granite a chance at regular reps, but his speed and defense would also make him a viable fourth outfielder o a team with an already set mix of starters.