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Offseason In Review: Minnesota Twins

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The Twins stunned the baseball world with one of the largest annual-value contracts ever given by any team but took a patchwork approach to bolstering a rotation that needed quite a bit of help.

Major League Contracts

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Extensions

  • Signed CF Byron Buxton to a seven-year, $100MM extension with significant annual incentives

Notable Minor League Signings

The most pressing order of business for the Twins this winter began months before the offseason commenced. July extension talks with Byron Buxton didn’t bear fruit, and the Twins seriously entertained the idea of trading their uber-talented but injury-prone center fielder. Minnesota hung onto Buxton in the end, and those summer talks ultimately served as groundwork for a seven-year, $100MM extension that comes with substantial upside for both parties.

Even a partial season of Buxton is often worth the $14.28MM annual base value on the deal, but Buxton can earn up to $8MM annually based on MVP voting and $2.5MM annually based on plate appearances. It’s a fitting middle ground between a homegrown player who stands out as one of baseball’s best raw talents and a mid-market team that has been perennially vexed by Buxton’s durability woes.

Buxton will earn $10MM this year and $15MM annually from 2023-28, enjoying full no-trade protection from 2023-26 before his 10-and-5 rights kick in and grant him veto power over any trade for the remainder of the deal. In essence, the deal locks the 28-year-old Buxton in as a Twin through age 35. Whether he’ll ever remain healthy enough to reach those MVP-based incentives is anyone’s guess, but the Twins’ payroll bar only figures to increase from this year’s $138MM mark over the life of the contract. It stands to reason that they’ll eventually be staking under 10% of their annual payroll on Buxton’s upside. Viewed through that lens, it’s a reasonable gamble to take.

Buxton negotiations aside, starting pitching was the Twins’ clearest need. Their only locks for the 2022 rotation were right-handers Bailey Ober, who quietly posted solid results as a rookie last season, and Joe Ryan, whom they acquired from the Rays in last summer’s Nelson Cruz trade. With a deep crop of free-agent starters available and several high-profile names on the trade market, it was a good offseason to be on the hunt for pitching.

If you’d told Twins fans in November that they’d spend a total of $116MM in free agency, most would’ve assumed nearly the entire slate would’ve been dedicated to pitching. Instead, the Twins gave the fourth-ever largest annual value to a position player and didn’t sign a free-agent pitcher for more than $5MM.

That $5MM sum went to right-hander Dylan Bundy — their lone pre-lockout addition. It’s a roll of the dice that might not have excited many Twins fans, but it was sensible enough. Bundy’s 2020 was outstanding, and he got out to a strong start with the Halos in ’21 as well before a series of ineffective performances cost him his rotation spot. Eventually, a shoulder strain ended Bundy’s season in August.

The extent to which his struggles can be attributed to that balky shoulder isn’t certain, but his time with the Angels was split evenly between good and bad. In 17 starts from Opening Day 2020 to early May 2021, Bundy totaled 101 2/3 innings of 3.54 ERA ball with a 27% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. In 17 appearances from May 8 through his season-ending IL stint, Bundy logged 54 2/3 innings of 6.72 ERA ball with greatly inferior strikeout (17.6%) and walk (10%) rates.

It’ll be a bargain if Bundy pitches well — to their credit, so far so good on that front — and the fact that there’s an affordable $11MM club option for 2023 sweetens the pot. Still, it was nevertheless a notable surprise that the Twins didn’t do more pre-lockout. Adding Bundy to serve as a fourth or fifth starter is fine, but the Twins more or less idled as nearly every big name pitcher — Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman, Marcus Stroman, Eduardo Rodriguez — signed elsewhere before the lockout.

That seemed to portend a focus on the trade market, which did indeed happen — but only to an extent. Minnesota struck quickly after the transaction freeze lifted, adding Sonny Gray and minor league righty Francis Peguero in a deal that sent 2021 first-rounder Chase Petty to the Reds. Gray looked like a solid next step after Bundy. Getting two years of him (plus a live-armed lottery ticket) in return for a high-risk high school righty who might be four to five years from MLB readiness made some sense for both the Twins and Reds, given the two teams’ trajectories.

However, the Twins didn’t match the Giants’ two-year offer for lefty Carlos Rodon, never had a chance on Clayton Kershaw, and were spurned by Zack Greinke, who took a similar offer from the Royals because he preferred to return to his origins in Kansas City. Eventually, they agreed to an incentive-laden deal with talented but oft-injured righty Chris Archer. As with Bundy, it’s a reasonable price in a vacuum. Archer’s $3.5MM guarantee is a drop in the bucket for most MLB franchises, and if he unlocks any significant portion of the hefty $9.5MM of incentives baked into the deal, it’ll be because he’s pitching well enough to justify that cost.

At the same time the Twins were closing that deal, the trade market was beginning to dry up. Reds GM Nick Krall all but announced that neither Tyler Mahle nor Luis Castillo would be traded, leaving the Twins (and others) to focus primarily on Athletics hurlers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. The latter understandably proved more alluring, given his extra year of team control, but Twins fans (and many others) still raised an eyebrow when Manaea, a free agent at season’s end, was traded to the Padres for what was widely considered to be a light package.

That trade perhaps partially paved the way for the Twins to buy low on former top prospect and Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Paddack, whom they acquired from San Diego alongside Emilio Pagan and a player to be named later (later revealed as pitching prospect Brayan Medina) on Opening Day. That swap sent All-Star closer Taylor Rogers, who ended last year on the shelf with a ligament injury in his pitching hand, and corner outfielder Brent Rooker back to the Padres.

Rogers is a free agent at season’s end, whereas the Twins can control Paddack through 2024 and Pagan through 2023. Minnesota had a surplus of controllable corner outfielders, likely making it easier to part with Rooker. Viewed through that lens, it’s easy enough to see why the Twins would prefer three years of a buy-low rotation candidate with upside and two years of a reliever with an inconsistent track record to one of Rogers — no matter how excellent he may have become in recent years. The swap isn’t without risk, though, and some fans will justifiably wonder why the Twins didn’t make a stronger push for Manaea. Paddack’s 2021 season ended when he was diagnosed with a minor ligament tear in his elbow, which creates some clear downside moving forward. His overall performance has also fallen off since an outstanding rookie season in 2019.

If the Twins can get Paddack back to his 2019 levels, the trade could go down as a steal. But that’s three pitchers the Twins are hoping to rehabilitate in a season they have designs on competing: Paddack, Archer and Bundy. Gray, the most established name added, has had stints on the injured list for back, groin and rib-cage strains since Opening Day 2020, and he’s currently shelved with a minor hamstring strain. He doesn’t have a long history of arm troubles, but Gray also isn’t a 180- to 200-inning workhorse on whom the Twins can bank. Given that their other two rotation members — Ober and Ryan — came into the 2022 season with a combined 25 big league starts, it felt like an underwhelming slate of additions on the pitching side.

Part of that surely stems from the fact the Twins are deep in promising upper-level arms. Right-handers Jordan Balazovic and Josh Winder are among the sport’s best pitching prospects, and Winder cracked the Opening Day roster in a long relief role. Simeon Woods Richardson, Cole Sands, Louie Varland and Ronny Henriquez (more on him in a bit) have all reached the Double-A level at least. Flamethrowing top prospect Jhoan Duran made the bullpen and might stay there this year after an injury-shortened 2021 season, but he could get rotation consideration down the line.

That Duran and Winder are arguably the most notable bullpen additions for the Twins is another perplexing outcome — particularly given the trade of Rogers. Minnesota’s lone bullpen pickup in free agency was veteran righty Joe Smith. He’ll help, particularly against right-handed opponents, but there was ample room for multiple additions of note. The Twins, however, have generally been risk-averse when it comes to free-agent deals for pitching under president Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine, and that continued this winter.

That’s not to say the Twins were inactive on the whole, of course. Quite to the contrary. When looking to the position-player side of things, the Twins had one of the most frenzied and chaotic offseasons of any team in the Majors — and certainly the most shocking and unexpected winter in their franchise’s history.

Waiting this long to address the elephant in the room is burying the lede, but maybe that’s emblematic of the Twins’ offseason as a whole. In a winter that virtually everyone expected to center around pitching help, the Twins’ biggest acquisition was a jaw-dropping, 1:00 am stunner that saw them sign Carlos Correa to a three-year, $105.3MM contract that gave Correa — who perhaps not coincidentally is wearing No. 4 in Minnesota — the fourth-largest annual value in Major League history at $35.1MM.

It took a rather unlikely series of events to make that match possible. Pre-lockout, Correa sought a 10-year deal that would top Francisco Lindor’s $341MM total, reportedly spurning a $275MM offer from the Tigers that included multiple opt-out opportunities. That both Corey Seager and Marcus Semien signed with the same team — rather than filling multiple shortstop voids around the league — and that Seager received a $325MM guarantee likely only emboldened Correa, even as he entered the lockout unsigned. What Correa did not count on, however, was that the Yankees would essentially sit out the free agent market entirely and that the Astros would not budge from their maximum offer length of five years.

Other potential suitors had their own reasons for balking. The Mariners are committed to J.P. Crawford at shortstop and president Jerry Dipoto stressed that he planned to target free agents willing to play multiple positions. The Tigers, rather than reengaging, simply pivoted and signed Javier Baez for half of their reported offer to Correa. The Red Sox opted not to move Xander Bogaerts from shortstop, defensive shortcomings notwithstanding, and may never have been willing to offer ten years to any player. The Cubs spent most of their money elsewhere and were content to give Andrelton Simmons a cheap one-year deal. The Dodgers’ focus was Freddie Freeman. The Cardinals stuck with Paul DeJong. The Phillies, despite an obvious need at shortstop, embarked on a great experiment to prove that defense doesn’t matter.

Even amid all that market context, the Twins wouldn’t have been a fit were it not been for another stunning sequence of moves. Recognizing their need for a shortstop, the Twins flipped catcher Mitch Garver to the Rangers in exchange for two years of Isiah Kiner-Falefa and aforementioned pitching prospect Ronny Henriquez. The trade netted a glove-first bridge to prospects Royce Lewis and Austin Martin, plus a near-MLB pitcher who now ranks ninth in their system at FanGraphs and 14th at MLB.com.

That trade was a mild surprise but hardly a stunner. Falvey said shortly after the deal that the Twins felt they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to add a durable, Gold Glove-caliber defender at a position of need, even if it cost them Garver. But just hours after lauding Kiner-Falefa and his fit with the Twins, Falvey traded him to the Yankees alongside Josh Donaldson and catcher Ben Rortvedt in a headline-grabbing deal that saw New York eat the entirety of Donaldson’s contract while sending both Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez back to Minnesota.

It’s uncommon to see any player pinballed around the trade market as Kiner-Falefa was, let alone by a Twins organization that for so many years was so conservative in its transactions. The trade of Donaldson and Kiner-Falefa left the Twins with a net gain of more than $40MM in long-term payroll flexibility. It also added a solid replacement for Donaldson (Urshela) and a catcher (Sanchez) to split time with former top prospect Ryan Jeffers, who’ll play a larger role following the trade of Garver. Between Sanchez and Miguel Sano, the Twins could challenge some strikeout records, but there’s prodigious right-handed power up and down the lineup.

That net $40MM gain, of course, proved vital in making Correa a feasible option. He, however, was not the Twins’ immediate focus in the aftermath of the Donaldson swap. Rather, the team set their sights on fellow top free-agent shortstop Trevor Story, reportedly expressing willingness to commit a four-year deal worth more than $100MM (via Dan Hayes and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic). The Twins likely felt good about their chances until the Red Sox upped their efforts and showed a willingness to not only go to six years but include an opt-out opportunity. At that point, as Falvey and Correa explained at his introductory press conference, the agreement with the Twins came together in a matter of hours. Agent Scott Boras, hired by Correa during the lockout, reached out to the Twins’ front office and expressed an openness to a short-term deal. Twins owner Jim Pohlad supported the general framework.

Barring injury, it’s effectively a one-year deal for Correa, an All-Star shortstop with an MVP ceiling who’ll slot into the Twins’ lineup alongside the player selected immediately behind him with the No. 2 overall pick in 2012: Byron Buxton. Slow start notwithstanding, Correa substantially raises the ceiling of this Twins team. He’s arguably the best defensive shortstop in baseball and an All-Star caliber hitter. It’s at least of some note that Correa just this week publicly expressed openness to a long-term deal, though it’s hard to call that anything other than a long shot.

It’s the first time we’ve ever seen the Twins land a player of this caliber in free agency, and even if Correa goes the route of a one-year mercenary, as expected, his signing unequivocally alters the manner in which the Twins will be perceived in free agency. They still won’t be seen as favorites to shell out decade-long deals of $300MM or more, but the mere fact that they made a commitment of this nature will make them more credible threats for high-AAV, short-term veterans. The Twins had never topped a $23MM annual salary prior to this deal, so going to $35MM+ for Correa shows a whole new level of willingness to spend.

Whether the quiet pre-lockout period for the Twins was due to strong belief in the in-house group of arms, a desire to see whether the playoff field would expand, or some combination of factors, the end result is that they’re banking on internal development more than most would’ve expected. That Joe Ryan’s sixth-ever big league appearance came on Opening Day symbolizes that bet.

There’s no chance Correa was seen as a realistic target for the Twins early in the offseason, so kudos to their front office and ownership for adapting and taking the plunge when a unique opportunity presented itself. Only time will tell whether the decision to put so many of their eggs in that basket while eschewing more reliable rotation help can yield a return to the playoffs. But at the very least, the 2022 Twins have a postseason-caliber ceiling and will provide their fans with a look at the pitching staff’s future.

Correa Open To Long-Term Deal With Twins

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The common consensus when Carlos Correa signed a surprising three-year, $105.3MM contract with the Twins was that he’d take his opt-out clause at the end of this season and re-enter the market. However, Correa recently spoke with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and revealed that he’s already expressed to Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, general manager Thad Levine and manager Rocco Baldelli that he would “love” to sign a longer-term deal.

“I told ‘em, ’Hey guys, I know I have the opt-outs in the contract. But I really like it here,'” Correa tells Rosenthal. “I love the people here. I love the way I’m treated here. … I would love to have a long-term relationship here if that’s what you guys would like.” Correa adds that his wife already feels “right at home” in Minnesota and that he’s been energized by his teammates, specifically lauding the scalding-hot Byron Buxton as well as the overall win-now temperament throughout the clubhouse.

On the one hand, it’s hardly a surprise to see Correa express a willingness to sign a lengthy contract. He hit the open market this past offseason seeking a contract of at least 10 years in length and only pivoted to the three-year, opt-out-laden deal with the Twins after he did not find a longer-term deal to his liking. Any player would surely “love” to sign a long-term deal of the magnitude Correa sought in free agency. (The Tigers reportedly offered Correa a 10-year deal worth $275MM with multiple opt-out opportunities, but he was said to be seeking a deal north of $330MM.)

On the other hand, it’s also common for players to decline to discuss contractual matters during the season. We regularly see players who are on the cusp of free agency set Opening Day deadlines for a new contract because they prefer not to negotiate during the season. As a newly signed free agent, Correa is in a different boat than, say, Aaron Judge, who did not agree to terms on a long-term deal with the Yankees before his own Opening Day deadline, but it’s nevertheless of at least some note that Correa is publicly expressing a desire to stay put. He’d hardly have been the first player to simply decline to discuss the matter when asked and instead say he’ll think about that after the season.

From the Twins’ side of things, Falvey declined to delve into specifics but said that even when signing Correa to his three-year deal, the organization’s hope was that the shortstop would find Minnesota to his liking and hope to stay long-term. “I certainly expect we’ll maintain open lines of communication with both Carlos and [agent Scott Boras],” Falvey added.

There’s no getting around the fact that Correa is out to a poor start. It’s only 59 plate appearances, but Correa is hitting .192/.288/.288 with a homer and a pair of doubles. Statcast feels he’s been unlucky based on his huge 92.4 mph average exit velocity and a sky-high 58.8% hard-hit rate, but that “bad luck” only applies when Correa actually puts the ball in play. He’s doing that less often than ever, with a 30.5% strikeout rate that’s nearly 10 percentage points higher than his career 20.7% mark. Statcast credits him for an “expected” .230 average and .394 slugging percentage, but he’ll need to curb the strikeouts if he’s to return to his prior levels of production.

For his part, Correa made clear that he’s not concerned. The former Rookie of the Year, All-Star and 2021 Platinum Glove winner said he’s struggled to find his swing in April in the past, and a look at his career splits does reflect, to an extent, that he’s been more productive in subsequent months. That said, Correa has a career 123 wRC+ in March/April that towers over his current 77. Baldelli noted that Correa received fewer than half the spring plate appearances he might’ve in a normal year — a reflection both of the truncated Spring Training schedule and Correa’s own late signing.

Assuming Correa eventually rounds into form at the plate and that the Twins indeed have a desire to keep him longer-term — Baldelli raved to Rosenthal about Correa’s presence in the clubhouse and leadership traits — the question becomes one of whether they can comfortably make such a commitment. Signing Correa would likely require an unprecedented commitment for the franchise, given that the largest contract ever issued by the Twins was Joe Mauer’s eight-year, $184MM pact. That contract came with a unique set of circumstances, as Mauer was a former No. 1 overall pick and St. Paul native who’d just been named American League MVP in 2009 — the final season at the Metrodome before the Twins moved into a new, largely publicly funded stadium, Target Field. The public relations impact of letting Mauer walk as a free agent after the 2010 season would’ve been overwhelming; that’s not the case with Correa, whom many fans expect to opt out and sign elsewhere next winter.

Still, you’d be hard-pressed to claim the Twins “can’t afford” to keep Correa, if the front office and Boras can agree on a structure. Minnesota’s payroll this season is a franchise-record $138MM, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez, and the Twins only have $76MM in guarantees on next year’s books. Correa’s $35.1MM salary accounts for nearly half that sum. By 2024, the Twins have just $54.5MM on the books — again, with Correa representing a major portion of that figure. Beginning in 2025, the Twins only have a bit more than $18MM on the books.

Over the long-term, Buxton’s seven-year, $100MM contract is the only major commitment the Twins have. He’ll earn a $15MM base salary on that deal from 2023-28, though that figure can jump by as much as $10.5MM annually based on total plate appearances and MVP voting. Still, even in a year where Buxton were to max out that figure, he’d only do so by staying healthy and winning an MVP Award. The Twins would happily pay $25.5MM in that scenario, and even pairing that with a hefty annual salary for Correa, the combined $55-60MM would be a fraction of the team’s overall spending. It doesn’t seem likely that the Twins will be running $200MM payrolls anytime soon, but it’s also reasonable to project some modest increases over this year’s $138MM mark.

The Twins would need to fill out the roster beyond those two players, of course, but they’re bullish on a crop of young pitching headlined by Opening Day starter Joe Ryan, to say nothing of young arms like Bailey Ober, Josh Winder and Jhoan Duran, all of whom are already in the big leagues. Prospects Jordan Balazovic, Simeon Woods Richardson, Louie Varland, Cole Sands and others aren’t expected to be far behind, and slugging infielder Jose Miranda ought to make his MLB debut at some point in 2022 as well. Signing Correa would perhaps block top infield prospects Royce Lewis and Austin Martin, but both have experience playing multiple positions. Not all of those players will emerge as contributors, but it’s easier to stomach a long-term, near-market-value deal when expecting an influx of cost-controlled young talent to help fill out the roster.

It’s still difficult to imagine the Twins ponying up with this kind of commitment, if only for the simple reason that they’ve just never spent at this level in the past. There’s a strong likelihood Correa will be back on the market after the season. That said, it was also difficult to imagine the Twins handing out a $35.1MM annual salary to Correa in the first place, and that contract at least changed some expectations and made a larger deal seem slightly more plausible. It’d still register as a surprise, but it’s easier to take the “never say never” tack now that the Twins have already pulled off one Correa stunner.

Fans intrigued by the situation will want to check out Rosenthal’s column in full, as it’s rife with detailed quotes from each of Correa, Falvey, Baldelli and Boras regarding the possibility of Correa extending his stay in Minnesota. There’s no indication that talks will happen anytime soon, but the Twins were active on the in-season extension front last year when trying to hammer out Buxton’s long-term deal prior to the trade deadline. A larger deal for Correa could be even more complicated, but all parties seem open to the idea.

AL Central Notes: Kwan, Tigers, Funkhouser, Manning, Mize, Kirilloff

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The Guardians suffered a 10-2 defeat to the Yankees and also lost outfielder Steven Kwan to right hamstring tightness in the third inning.  Kwan started the game in left field and made his first two plate appearances before being replaced in the field in the bottom of the third.  Guardians manager Terry Francona told MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and other reporters that it was a “preventative” removal for Kwan, and that the outfielder is day-to-day.

Making his MLB debut on Opening Day, Kwan has been one of the season’s early stories, hitting a whopping .341/.456/.500 over his first 57 plate appearances.  Quite a bit of that production came in Kwan’s first five games, yet there is still plenty of hope that the rookie can stick as Cleveland’s everyday left fielder.  Depending on his hamstring’s status, however, Kwan might soon be making his first trip to the big league IL.  Kwan missed almost seven weeks of the 2021 Triple-A season while dealing with a strain of that same right hamstring.

More injury updates from around the AL Central…

  • Kyle Funkhouser has yet to pitch this season due to a right shoulder strain, and the Tigers moved him yesterday from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.  “We’re trying to resolve the symptoms before we can progress more aggressively,” Hinch said.  “The timeline made it virtually impossible for him to be back prior to the 60 days,” manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky).  Hinch also noted that Funkhouser is speaking with doctors about whether or not surgery could be required, so the reliever could be facing a much longer absence than just the minimum 60 days.
  • In other Tigers news, Hinch said that Casey Mize will be resuming his throwing program today at the team’s spring training facility in Lakeland.  Mize was placed on the 10-day IL on April 15 with a sprained MCL, though there were already early indications that the former first overall pick wouldn’t be out of action for too long, and that he has escaped a more serious injury.  Matt Manning is also headed to Lakeland but won’t yet begin throwing, as his right shoulder was still feeling some discomfort when Manning threw off flat ground yesterday.  Despite this update, Hinch said Manning didn’t have “a setback.  It’s nothing we are overly concerned about.  It’s just a slower ramp to playing catch before we get him back on the mound.”
  • Twins outfielder Alex Kirilloff is slated to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday, according to multiple reporters (including Betsy Helfand of The St. Paul Pioneer Press).  Right wrist inflammation sent Kirilloff to the injured list on April 13, so between the injury absence and a dismal 1-for-17 start to the season, Kirilloff will be looking for a reset once he returns to Minnesota’s lineup.  Most importantly, Kirilloff and the Twins hope that this is the end of his wrist problems, as the former top prospect also underwent ligament surgery last year.

Twins Select Jose Godoy, Place Jhon Romero On 10-Day Injured List

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The Twins have placed Jhon Romero on the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of catcher Jose Godoy, per Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Jorge Alcala, out with elbow inflammation, was moved to the 60-day injured list.

Godoy is back on the active roster in part to protect Gary Sanchez, who is day-to-day with abdominal tightness. The Twins will look to avoid an injured list stint for Sanchez. Godoy has been the third catcher for Minnesota thus far this season, backing up Sachez and Ryan Jeffers. If he appears in a game, however, it will be the first time this season. He had 40 plate appearances with the Mariners last season, slashing .162/.225/.189.

Romero’s IL placement is made retroactive to April 20th. He is suffering from right biceps tendinitis. He was claimed off waivers from the Nationals before the season started and appeared in four games before the injury.

Twins Release Lewis Thorpe

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The Twins have released left-handed pitcher Lewis Thorpe, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic.

A native of Australia, Thorpe was signed by the Twins in 2012 to a $500K signing bonus. He made his professional debut in 2013, at the age of 17. He was quickly considered one of the club’s better prospects, with Baseball America ranking him #7 in the system in 2014. He would stay on that list for another six years, oscillating between #11 and #19 through 2020.

However, Thorpe generally struggled in the upper levels of the minors as well as the majors. In 2019, he threw 96 1/3 innings in Triple-A. Despite strong strikeout and walk rates of 29.5% and 6.2%, his ERA was 4.58, thanks largely to the long ball. He logged 59 1/3 MLB innings over the three seasons from 2019 to 2021, with a 5.76 ERA, 17.6% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate.

As noted by Gleeman, he’s lost a few ticks off his velocity. Last year, various shoulder injuries limited him to just 38 total innings between the majors and the minors. When the club signed Chris Archer at the end of March, Thorpe went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to the minors. He made one Triple-A appearance this year, getting bombed to the tune of eight earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. After a decade in the Twins organization, Thorpe will now look for other opportunities and see if a change of scenery can perhaps get him back on track.

Twins Acquire Brayan Medina To Complete Taylor Rogers Trade

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The Twins have acquired right-handed pitching prospect Brayan Medina from the Padres, per Minnesota’s director of communications and player relations Dustin Morse. Earlier this month, the Twins traded Taylor Rogers and Brent Rooker to the Padres for Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagan and a player to be named later, which has now been revealed as Medina.

Born in Venezuela, Medina is just 19 years old. He made 12 starts and 2 relief appearances last year between the Arizona Complex League and the Dominican Summer League. In 33 2/3 innings pitched, he had a 5.88 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate and 14.9% walk rate. Last year, Baseball America ranked him the #26 prospect in the Padres’ system.

After going over the first luxury tax line last year, the Padres have seemed reluctant to do so again this year, as paying the tax in consecutive years comes with escalating penalties. Their current CBT number is just under $229MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That gives them only about $1MM of wiggle room before they are over the first CBT line, which is $230MM under the new CBA. As part of the trade with Minnesota, the Twins agreed to pay almost all of Rogers’ salary, helping the Padres limbo under that line. Medina seems to be their reward for doing so, adding an intriguing young arm to their system.

Twins Outright Jharel Cotton

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Apr. 20: Cotton has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Apr. 13: The Twins have selected the contract of right-hander Dereck Rodriguez and designated righty Jharel Cotton for assignment in a corresponding move, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Rodriguez, 29, will be making his debut for the team that originally selected him in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, though he took a rather roundabout way to getting there. The son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Dereck never got a big league look in seven years with Minnesota before becoming a minor league free agent and signing on with the Giants. He made his MLB debut with San Francisco in 2018 and enjoyed a brilliant rookie season before struggling immensely in 2019-20.

With the 2018 Giants, Rodriguez posted an out-of-the-blue 2.81 ERA in 118 1/3 innings. His 18.3% strikeout rate and 39.5% grounder rate were both well below the league average, but his 7.4% walk rate was strong. Fielding-independent marks weren’t as bullish on Rodriguez as his bottom-line ERA but generally felt he looked the part of at least a fourth/fifth starter.

Rodriguez unraveled in 2019, however, when opponents belted 21 home runs against him in just 99 innings, en route to a 5.64 ERA. His strikeout and walk rates trended in the wrong direction, and by 2020, Rodriguez received just four big league innings (allowing six runs on 10 hits, including two more homers) before being designated for assignment. The Tigers claimed him off waivers but didn’t put him on the mound in a big league game, and Rodriguez elected free agency after clearing waivers that November. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies last year but pitched to a 6.72 ERA in 22 Triple-A games.

Rodriguez returned to his original organization on a minor league contract this winter. He tossed a scoreless inning for the Twins during Spring Training and has gotten out to a nice start with the Saints, tossing four more shutout frames with a 5-to-2 K/BB ratio and 50% grounder rate in his lone start thus far. Rough showing from 2019-21 notwithstanding, Rodriguez has a career 4.27 ERA, a 17.1% strikeout rate and a 7.9% walk rate in 221 1/3 big league innings. He’ll be able to give the Twins some length in the bullpen and perhaps make a spot start if necessary.

As for the 30-year-old Cotton, he was an offseason waiver claim out of the Rangers organization who stuck on the 40-man roster through the winter and through Spring Training. Cotton held opponents to a pair of runs in seven Grapefruit League innings, but he walked five batters during that time and has seen his command woes continue. While Cotton has pitched a pair of scoreless frames for the Twins so far, he’s walked four of the 10 opponents he’s faced and also thrown a wild pitch.

A former top-100 prospect with the A’s, Cotton has tallied 191 innings over 54 big league games dating back to his 2016 debut, but he has a tepid 4.66 ERA to show for his efforts. His 19.4% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 35.5% ground-ball rate are all worse than the Major League average, and the 91.7 mph he’s averaged on his fastball in his two innings so far is down considerably from last year’s 93.6 mph average. The Twins will have a week to trade Cotton, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Injury Notes: Buxton, Walker, Tatis

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Twins center fielder Byron Buxton exited Friday’s game with what initially looked like it could be a notable knee injury, but an MRI over the weekend ruled out any structural damage. Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters Monday morning that Buxton is feeling optimistic and that within the next day or two, the Twins would be “talking about a specific plan for getting him back out there” (Twitter link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). President of baseball operations Derek Falvey joined the booth as a guest during the broadcast of today’s game and added that the hope is for Buxton, who has not been placed on the injured list, to rejoin the lineup at some point during the Twins’ upcoming series against the Royals. The Twins will travel to Kansas City for a three-game set running from Tuesday through Thursday.

The latest on some more health situations around the game:

  • Righty Taijuan Walker is headed out on a minor league rehab assignment this week and is expected to start for the Mets’ Class-A Advanced affiliate on Wednesday, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Walker, who landed on the injured list last week due to a case of bursitis in his pitching shoulder, may only need the one rehab appearance before being cleared to return. DiComo suggests the 29-year-old right-hander will likely line up to start one of next week’s games against the Cardinals. Walker’s first outing of the season lasted just two innings, but it seems he’ll be able to make a swift return to the rotation, barring any setbacks of note during his rehab outing. Walker posted a 4.47 ERA in 30 appearances for the Mets in 2021.
  • Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. has progressed to participating in light on-field baseball activities, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The two-time Silver Slugger award winner simulated taking ground-balls during infield practice before tonight’s game against the Reds, throwing the ball across the diamond to first base. Tatís is still wearing a brace and has yet to progress to fielding or swinging a bat as he rehabs from the mid-March surgery he underwent to repair a fractured scaphoid bone in his left wrist. The Padres initially placed a three-month timetable on his return to the field, though Cassavell writes Tatís recently opined he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery. The organization won’t make any firmer timetable until he begins to swing a bat, which manager Bob Melvin says will be the final baseball activity the team allows him to take. Tatís is on the 60-day injured list and ineligible to return until the first week of June. In all likelihood, he’ll be out for a bit beyond when he’s first eligible to return, but it’s welcome news that he’s progressed to getting some pre-game work in on the field.

Twins To Place Sonny Gray On 10-Day IL, Activate Cody Stashak

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Twins starter Sonny Gray left yesterday’s start with right hamstring tightness and will be placed on the IL, per Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Cody Stashak, who began the season on the IL with right biceps tendinitis, will swap places with Gray and join the active roster.

Gray threw 31 pitches yesterday before the hamstring issue ended his start prematurely. In the immediate aftermath of the game, he was considered to be day-to-day and perhaps not in need of a trip to the IL. Now it seems the team has decided to play it cautious and give him a chance to recuperate. As stated by Miller, the club anticipates he will only miss one start. Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com relays that the Twins will condense their six-man rotation down to five in Gray’s absence, with Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober as the remaining members. Josh Winder pitched well in long relief after Gray’s departure yesterday (2 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings) but will stay in a long relief role.

Stashak had a nice showing over 2019 and 2020, throwing 40 MLB innings with a 3.15 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and excellent 2.5% walk rate. In 2021, he threw 15 2/3 innings with a 6.89 ERA, with his strikeout rate jumping up to 34.7% but his walk rate hitting 13.3%. He was placed on the 60-day IL in June with a left back disk injury and didn’t pitch again. The 27-year-old will now look to get back on track after a lengthy absence.

Several Teams Interested In Justin Upton

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Now that Justin Upton has been released by the Angels, they are on the hook for Upton’s $28MM salary for this year. Any other team that signs Upton would only have to pay him a prorated portion of the new $700K league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what the Angels are paying.

Although the 34-year-old hasn’t produced above the league average rate since 2018, that no-risk situation has led to interest from several teams, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. However, all of the interested teams are non-contenders, whose interest in Upton is merely in hoping for a quick bounceback and then flipping him to a contending team at the trade deadline.

Upton’s preference is reportedly to play for a contender, which is why he hasn’t accepted any of the overtures from other teams just yet. Although these suitors intend to trade Upton to a contender later, there’s always the chance that a trade doesn’t come together, either due to injury or poor performance, leaving him stranded. It seems he doesn’t want to take the risk of that happening, at least for now. As Nightengale notes, Upton hasn’t played in the postseason in almost a decade, with his last appearance coming in 2013.

It was recently reported that the Diamondbacks were considering a reunion with Upton, which would make for a nice story since that’s where Upton started his career and blossomed into a star. Although Nightengale doesn’t mention any teams by name, it’s possible that the D-Backs fit the mold of a non-contending team that Upton is hesitant to join. They’re coming off a miserable 52-110 season where the top two teams in the division, the Giants and Dodgers, won 107 and 106 games.

It had also been reported that the Twins had checked in on Upton last week. Like the Diamondbacks, they’re also coming off a down year, but were aggressive in reloading for 2022, perhaps making Minnesota a more likely contender than Arizona. Since their reported interest in Upton last week, their outfield need has grown, with Alex Kirilloff landing on the IL and Byron Buxton leaving Friday’s game with a knee injury, although it’s possible Buxton will avoid a trip to the IL himself.

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