The Twins have selected outfielder Emmanuel Rodríguez and utility player Austin Martin to the 40-man roster just ahead of the 5:00 pm CT Rule 5 deadline, the team revealed (as reported by several sources, including Bobby Nightengale of the StarTribune). These moves bring the 40-man roster up to 38 players.
Rodríguez, 20, is highly unlikely to appear in the majors this coming season, but evidently, the Twins believe the promising young outfielder is too talented to leave unprotected. After missing most of the 2022 season with a knee injury, the slugging center fielder came back strong in 2023, hitting 13 doubles, 9 triples, and 16 home runs, good for a 145 wRC+ at High-A. On top of that, he showed off his speed, stealing 20 bases, and his strong arm, recording seven outfield assists.
Martin, 24, is not quite as highly-regarded a prospect as Rodríguez, but he is more likely to contribute at the major league level in 2024, and thus, the team saw reason to protect him from the draft. A versatile defender, Martin is primarily a shortstop but also has experience playing all three outfield positions. He is also a quick runner and a disciplined hitter, as demonstrated by his 19 stolen bases, 39 walks, and only 46 strikeouts last season in 67 games. His offensive ceiling is limited by his lack of power, but he has the skills to contribute off the bench for a big league team.
Earlier this month, the Twins added 24-year-old infielder Yunior Severino and 24-year-old catcher Jair Camargo to the 40-man roster, preventing them from reaching minor league free agency and protecting them from the Rule 5 Draft. Notable names that were not protected include 26-year-old outfielder DaShawn Keirsey, 25-year-old utility player Anthony Prato, and 27-year-old utility player Michael Helman.
as expected
These were no brainers.
Jair Carmago and Yunior Severino were less likely roster add ons who were selected a couple weeks ago. Seems to suggest the Twins might have been shopping them.
Side note, saw Gilberto Celestino elected MiLB free agency. I doubt he’ll be back on the Twins.
Pretty sure both those guys were going to be minor-league free agents if not added to a 40-man roster, and MiLB free agency took effect sooner, so it was a de facto earlier deadline.
Was hoping for those two to be added. Why not put them on to fill the 40? What’s to lose? Do they have to be kept on the roster until a certain date? Which would stop them from adding anyone else
If they filled the 40 man it would prevent them from being able to sign any FA’s without first releasing someone from the 40 man roster.
Rodriguez needs to clean up his contact%; otherwise, this dude isn’t much to like or roster.
145 WRC+ is a 145 WRC+.
Yes as well as no. Walk rates are inflated due to the bad pitching, which inflates the value that his amazing walk rate adds. Therefore, it is not the most reliable way to judge his ability. I believe the most important factor is his elite 90th percentile EV at 109mph. This is on par with the league’s best sluggers; nevertheless, he could regrettably turn into the next Franchy Cordero, whose rare and godly power only touches the Mendoza line, unless his zone-contact or contact rate don’t stabilize at league averages.
He’s 20, so of course he does. And he has time to do it. The 40 man isn’t the active roster, you know. He’s not expected to help the big league team until the ’25 season, if he continues at this pace. I’m not going to regurgitate stats or anything, but this was an obvious 40 man decision.
After reviewing it, I stand corrected and retract the quip about his contact%. 69.5% isn’t that bad for a 20-year-old. There is plenty to like about how hard he hits the ball. I just need to see him hold his strikeouts into AAA before I buy a ticket. As for whether he makes it up in ’25, I don’t think it will be pretty. I expect he’ll need a big adjustment period to settle his o-zone and in-zone discipline typical of low-hit tool phenom.
If the twins do cut payroll by as much as $30 million.
Martin maybe planning lot’s of center field next season.
Martin is as super utility as you could get. Hopefully he can take a step forward in batting. His trip-A line signals he’d get wrecked in mlb, even though they are okay.
One note about the expanded article. Martin is probably not viewed as a SS in the organization at all anymore after his UCL tear last year. He was able to rest/rehab, but with Martins arm already over-stretched on the far side of the infield and the UCL tear, that was it. He only played OF and the short side of the infield after that.
Most scouts pegged Martin as destined for a corner OF/2B position anyway.
Exactly. Hard to say Martin is “primarily a shortstop” when every scouting report says he isn’t a long-term SS and would need to play somewhere else in the majors. It seems like the Jays and Twins orgs both kept him playing there in order to keep him as high on the defensive spectrum as they could when they didn’t know what his long-term position would be.
With the Twins not protecting Prato, watching Celestino walk, and probably casting off Polanco, and possibly Kepler, I think Martin is likely to see quite a bit of playing time at the MLB level this year.
I wonder if the Twins are planning to see whether or not Martin can handle CF at the MLB level?