Twins Rumors

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Polanco, Benintendi

By Nick Deeds | July 9, 2023 at 1:51pm CDT

Tigers right-hander Matt Manning through 6 2/3 hitless innings yesterday, combining with Jason Foley and Alex Lange to throw the ninth no-hitter in franchise history. While the decision to pull a starter in the midst of a no-hitter is always a controversial one, manager A.J. Hinch shed additional light on the decision following yesterday’s game, noting to reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that Manning had been struggling through the outing and was evaluated by team trainers between each inning. Manning expanded on Hinch’s comments, noting that he tweaked his side during the second inning. Fortunately, it appears Manning avoided a more serious injury, and the 25-year-old hurler will have the opportunity to rest during the All Star break ahead of the second half.

The Tigers also offered an update regarding left-hander Tyler Alexander today. Alexander was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left lat/shoulder strain last week, a move that seemingly indicated the lefty’s season could be in jeopardy. Following an MRI, the club has more clarity regarding Alexander’s timeline for return. Per McCosky, Alexander will avoid surgery but be shut down for three months. He’ll resume a throwing program in October that should leave him able to return in time for Spring Training in 2024. Alexander had posted a 4.50 ERA and 4.13 FIP in 44 innings of work across 25 appearances this season.

More from around the AL Central…

Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press) that second baseman Jorge Polanco is expected to start a rehab assignment in the near future as he recovers from a hamstring strain he suffered early last month. Polanco has been limited to just 30 games this season and has slashed .250/.291/.450 when healthy enough to play. While Polanco has been out, youngster Edouard Julien has filled in at the keystone very well with an impressive .264/.345/.273 slash line in 149 plate appearances this season.
White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi has been dealing with a right wrist issue recently, which Scott Merkin of MLB.com says has been “addressed” according to manager Pedro Grifol. Benintendi hasn’t played since Friday, but is expected to return to action after the All Star break in Atlanta. Benintendi hasn’t been as impactful this season as the White Sox were surely hoping when they signed him to a five-year deal this past offseason, slashing .280/.347/.369 with just one home run in 314 plate appearances, good for a roughly league average wRC+ of 99. The Sox entered play today with a record of just 38-53 this season, but are surely hoping an extended rest for Benintendi ahead of the midsummer classic will allow him to return healthy and more impactful in the second half.

AL Central Notes: Twins, McKenzie, Greene, White Sox

By Nick Deeds | July 4, 2023 at 7:14pm CDT

The Twins shuffled their bullpen around a bit today as the club announced that right-hander Jorge Lopez had been reinstated from the injured list. The former All Star was placed on the 15-day IL last month for mental health reasons and told reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) that he’s feeling good about where he’s at as he returns to the mound while expressing appreciation for the organization’s support during his IL stint.

The 30-year-old righty broke out in a big way with the Orioles last season, posting a 1.68 ERA and 2.99 FIP in 48 1/3 innings before Baltimore shipped him to Minnesota at the trade deadline for a package including 2023 relief standout Yennier Cano. Since joining the Twins, Lopez has struggled to a 4.71 ERA and 5.37 FIP in 49 2/3 innings. Lopez, who has two seasons of team control left through arbitration, will look to get his Twins career on track going forward this season as part of a Twins bullpen currently relying on Emilio Pagan, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran in the late innings.

Lopez’s return isn’t the only change in the Twins bullpen on the horizon, however, as manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters, including The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman, that righty pitching prospect Jordan Balazovic, who had recently been pitching in long relief out of the major league bullpen, will be shortened up and used as a more traditional reliever going forward. Balazovic has impressed in his first call-up to the big leagues this season, with a 1.23 ERA in 7 1/3 innings across six appearances.

More from around the AL Central…

Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie will look to recover from last month’s UCL sprain without going under the knife, per The Athletic’s Zack Meisel. Meisel notes that the 25-year-old righty will be shut down for three more weeks but that Cleveland is hopeful McKenzie will be able to return to the big league mound at some point this season. The prospect of McKenzie returning this season is surely a tantalizing one for Guardians fans, as the young right-hander broke out in a big way last season with a 2.96 ERA in 191 1/3 innings of work. With McKenzie on the shelf, Cleveland is currently utilizing a rotation of Shane Bieber, Cal Quantrill, Aaron Civale, Tanner Bibee, and Gavin Williams.
Tigers outfielder Riley Greene began a rehab assignment with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Toledo yesterday, with Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic among those noting that he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow. That Greene is seemingly nearing a return is fantastic news for the Tigers, who returned left-hander Tarik Skubal from the injured list today and are surely hoping to receive a similar boost from the return of Greene. The 22-year-old outfielder has posted a 127 wRC+ in 224 plate appearances this season in conjunction with stellar center field defense.
The White Sox announced today that they had recalled outfielder Oscar Colas to the major league roster. Colas made the club’s Opening Day roster this season as the primary right fielder but struggled to a slash line of just .211/.265/.276 in 84 plate appearances before returning to Triple-A. He’s hit well with the club’s affiliate in Charlotte since then, however, boasting a solid .293/.359/.508 slash line in 212 plate appearances. That performance has seeming earned Colas another shot in right at the big league level, where he’ll likely share time with Gavin Sheets going forward.

Royce Lewis Diagnosed With Grade 2 Oblique Strain

By Darragh McDonald | July 4, 2023 at 11:49am CDT

The Twins placed infielder Royce Lewis on the 10-day injured list on the weekend due to a strained left oblique. The club was initially hopeful that he would only require a minimum stint but manager Rocco Baldelli yesterday informed reporters, including Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune, that Lewis has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain which comes with a standard recovery time of six weeks.

The youngster’s career thus far has alternated between incredible flashes of talent and extended injury absences. The first overall pick of the 2017 draft, he was a top 100 prospect for much of his time in the minor leagues. A torn ACL in his right knee wiped out his entire 2021 season but he was able to return last year. He looked great once back on the field, hitting .313/.405/.534 in 34 Triple-A games and .300/.317/.550 in 12 major league games. Unfortunately, he tore the ACL in his right knee a second time last summer, wiping out the second half of 2022 and putting him on the IL to start this year.

He was activated in late May and didn’t seem to miss a beat, despite all that missed time. He’s hit .326/.354/.474 through 26 games so far this year for a wRC+ of 132. Unfortunately, he’s now back on the injured list yet again and won’t return until mid-August, assuming the six-week estimate proves accurate.

2023 was already going to be an injury-shortened season for Lewis, but he and the club were likely hoping that he could at least build up a decent body of work in preparation for a fully healthy season in 2024. But he’ll now be faced with another extended absence before hopefully returning to get some more playing time down the stretch. Due to the injuries and the 2020 minor leagues being cancelled by the pandemic, he hasn’t reached 50 games played in a season since 2019.

Lewis had been serving as the club’s everyday third baseman over the past month-plus and the Twins will now need to come up with alternate plans for the hot corner. José Miranda was recalled when Lewis hit the IL and has gotten the start there the past two days. He had a solid campaign last year with a .268/.325/.426 batting line but is hitting just .213/.267/.309 this year and even slashed a paltry .255/.326/.360 in Triple-A.

Unless Miranda can get back into a good groove, the club may have to think about pursuing reinforcements at the August 1 trade deadline. Lewis could potentially be working his way back by then but they may not want to be reliant on him with his mounting injury history. The club is currently right at .500 with a 43-43 record but that’s good enough for first place in the American League Central right now, putting them in position to buy.

Jeimer Candelario is having a good season and stands out as one of the most obvious trade candidates, given that he’s an impending free agent on a poor Nationals team. Some less-obvious names might emerge as well with so few clear sellers this year, perhaps leading to more trades between contenders. The Orioles, for example, have many infielders but need pitching and could perhaps line up on something with the Twins. But there will also be competition as clubs like the Angels, Brewers, Yankees and others could be looking for infield upgrades as well.

AL Central Notes: Twins, McKenzie, Tigers

By Nick Deeds | July 2, 2023 at 9:33am CDT

Twins infielder Royce Lewis saw his career-long injury woes continue during yesterday’s game against the Orioles. The 24 year old suffered a strained left oblique while attempting to beat out a groundball. Lewis has played well in the big leagues when healthy, pairing a career 136 wRC+ in 140 plate appearances with strong defense on the left side of the infield for Minnesota. Unfortunately, staying healthy has proved to be a considerable challenge for the youngster, who’s played a total of just 82 games between the major and minor leagues since the end of the 2019 campaign. Per a club announcement, Lewis is headed to the 10-day injured list, though Phil Miller of the Star Tribune notes the club is hopeful he’ll only require a minimum stay on the shelf.

Replacing Lewis on the roster is Jose Miranda, the Twins’ Opening Day third baseman. After a solid rookie season in 2022 where he hit .268/.325/.426 in 483 plate appearances, Miranda scuffled through the first 35 games of his sophomore season. A brutal .220/.275/.318 slash line in 142 plate appearances was enough for Minnesota to demote Miranda to Triple-A, where the results (including a .686 OPS in 39 games) haven’t been much better. That being said, the 25 year old has begun to hit better in recent weeks, with a .300/.370/.456 slash line, a 10% walk rate and a 16% strikeout rate over his last 100 plate appearances. If Miranda has successfully recaptured the offensive form he flashed during his rookie season, he should help to boost a Twins offense that ranks just 18th in MLB with a wRC+ of 98.

More from around the AL Central…

Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie has been shut down from throwing since mid-June with a UCL sprain, but the club is still gathering information regarding their young starter before deciding on how to move forward, as manager Terry Francona told reporters (including Joe Noga of Cleveland.com). Francona suggests that an update on McKenzie’s status could come within the next few days now that the righty has received second opinions from Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. Keith Meister. Any diagnosis involving the UCL- the ligament repaired during Tommy John surgery- is obviously a worrisome diagnosis, so it’s no surprise that the club is proceeding with care. McKenzie broke out in a big way for Cleveland last season, posting a 2.96 ERA in 191 1/3 innings of work, but has managed just two starts this season between his current injury and a strained teres major muscle he suffered during spring training.
The Tigers are expected to welcome left-handers Tarik Skubal and Eduardo Rodriguez back into the rotation this coming week. Manager A.J. Hinch told reporters, including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, that the club has Skubal starting on Tuesday and Rodriguez starting Wednesday written down “in pencil”, with a final evaluation of both hurlers required before they return to a major league mound. It’s great news for Detroit, as Rodriguez as been among the best starters in the sport this season; the veteran lefty’s 2.13 ERA across 11 starts this season is the lowest of any pitcher in the majors with at least 60 innings pitched this season. Skubal could provide the club a boost in his own right, as the lefty broke out last year with a 3.52 ERA and 2.96 FIP in 117 2/3 innings of work before he underwent season-ending surgery in August.

Injury Notes: Wilson, Rucinski, Stewart

By Darragh McDonald | June 28, 2023 at 2:25pm CDT

Brewers left-hander Justin Wilson began a rehab assignment yesterday, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The lefty required Tommy John surgery in June of last year and Milwaukee signed him knowing that he would miss the first half of 2023 even in a best-case scenario. He’s making $850K this year and the club has a $2.5MM option for next season with a $150K buyout.

The 35-year-old has plenty of experience as a solid left-handed reliever, having appeared in 527 career games with an ERA of 3.41. He’s struck out 25.9% of batters faced, walked 10.7% of them and kept the ball on the ground at a 46.8% rate. If he’s able to get healthy and back to his old self, he could give the club a second lefty in the bullpen alongside Hoby Milner.

Wilson will likely need some time to get into game shape, but the fact that he’s beginning a rehab assignment barely a year after going under the knife is an encouraging sign that things are progressing well. His health and performance down the stretch will undoubtedly impact how much interest the Brewers have in picking up that option.

Some other health notes from around the league…

Athletics right-hander Drew Rucinski has had a frustrating season in the health department and those frustrations seem to be continuing. He landed on the injured list in late May due to a stomach illness but that was followed by a low-grade MCL sprain in his right knee suffered during a bullpen session. Now Martín Gallegos of MLB.com relays that Rucinski will be undergoing MRIs on his left hip and lower back due to some apparent degenerative changes. That testing will hopefully shed some light on what’s ahead for the righty, whose return to North America isn’t going as hoped. He parlayed a strong performance in the KBO into a $3MM deal with the A’s plus a $5MM club option for 2024. He began the year on the IL due to a hamstring strain then got healthy enough to make four starts, allowing 18 earned runs in 18 innings before this recent cascade of setbacks. He’s already been transferred to the 60-day injured list and isn’t eligible to return until late July.
Twins right-hander Brock Stewart was placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday, retroactive to June 26, with right elbow soreness. His agent Joe Speed told Darren Wolfson of Skor North that it wasn’t a big issue and expressed confidence that Stewart would be able to contribute in the second half of the season. Manager Rocco Baldelli also seemed to think it wouldn’t be a huge problem, telling Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune that it appeared to be a minor bout of tendinitis. If it ultimately proves to be true that it’s no big deal, that’s a tremendous break for the Twins. Stewart has been utterly dominant this year, with an ERA of 0.70 through 25 2/3 innings, striking out 35.4% of opponents against an 11.1% walk rate. It’s been an incredible comeback story for a guy who is in the big leagues for the first time since 2019 and the club would undoubtedly be thrilled if he could make a quick return after the All-Star break.

Big Hype Prospects: Westburg, Matos, Crawford, Whisenhunt, Anthony

By Brad Johnson | June 26, 2023 at 4:54pm CDT

The Orioles are finally calling up one of their top hitting prospects, and it isn’t the one I expected to get the first call. Jordan Westburg will make his debut later today. I expected Colton Cowser to win the race to the Majors. With Cedric Mullins recently returning, Cowser is left to await another injury or Aaron Hicks’ inevitable collapse (good outcomes, deeply terrible EVs).

Five Big Hype Prospects

Jordan Westburg, 24, 2B/3B/SS, BAL (AAA)
301 PA, 18 HR, 6 SB, .295/.372/.567

There’s a disconnect between public perceptions of Westburg and scouting reports. The bat will play, though Westburg’s penchant to swing-and-miss could result in long slumps as reports identify exploitable weaknesses. His minor league exit velocities would rate as above average in the Majors. Additionally, Westburg seemingly mixes discipline and targeted aggression in a way that could help keep his strikeouts under control – it has thus far in the minors.

The trouble is his defense. He’s trained all over the infield. Some think he’ll eventually land in left field. We see these sorts of bat-first players all over the league. His flexibility enables the club to view him as a tenth man akin to Chris Taylor (to be clear, Taylor is a far superior fielder). When approaching roster construction, Westburg can be slotted into whatever spot needs filling or else rotate with the regulars to keep everyone fresh.

Luis Matos, 21, OF, SFG (MLB)
45 PA, 1 HR, 2 SB, .282/.378/.385

On the back of a mediocre AFL performance, it wasn’t guaranteed the Giants were going to roster Matos this year. He would have likely gone early in the Rule 5 draft if they hadn’t. Matos immediately rewarded San Francisco’s decision to protect him. Though discipline has long been a weakness, he has more walks than strikeouts through 45 plate appearances after hitting .398/.435/.685 in 116 Triple-A plate appearances. The 21-year-old has looked like a new hitter this year.

There are still worrying details under the surface. His 89.5-mph average and 107.5-mph max exit velocities suggest middling power. Given his age, he could easily grow into more power – several evaluators believe this will happen. It’s my expectation Matos will soon enter a slump due to poor quality of contact. However, I’m optimistic about the long-range picture. In addition to burgeoning hitting skills, Matos is a plus defensive center fielder.

Justin Crawford, 19, OF, PHI (A)
202 PA, 0 HR, 32 SB, .346/.395/.456

I was surprised to recently discover Crawford had crept onto Baseball America’s Top 100 list. That’s not meant as a knock against Crawford. There happens to be a large number of high-quality prospects around the league. Crawford is more projection than actuality at this stage of his development.

The 17th pick of the 2022 draft, Crawford was seen as the sort of toolsy, incomplete prospect the Phillies have historically loved – and struggled to develop. He’s performing decently in Low-A where his first-rate speed is on display. A .423 BABIP has allowed him to get away with too many swinging strikes for his current low-power profile. He’s expected to age into roughly average pop, so this problem could go away in a couple ways. Comparisons to his father, Carl Crawford, come naturally as they share quite a few traits. He’s reportedly comfortable making adjustments to his hitting mechanics which further increases the volatility of his prospectdom.

Carson Whisenhunt, 22, SP, SFG (AA)
(A/A+/AA) 49.2 IP, 12.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 2.90 ERA

Whisenhunt would rank higher among evaluators if not for off-field issues. As it is, he’s still in consideration for the back-end of Top 100 lists. The simplest issue to comment on publicly is his failed PED test in college. You’ll notice, it’s rare for college players to be caught for PEDs, and it’s not because they’re squeaky clean. For his part, Whisenhunt blames a tainted supplement. The skinny southpaw leads with a double-plus changeup and is only just reaching a level where hitters will have some capacity to cope with the pitch. His changeup is such that he won’t truly be tested until he reaches the Majors. The profile and build are reminiscent of Cole Hamels.

Roman Anthony, 19, OF, BOS (A+)
(A/A+) 251 PA, 5 HR, 12 SB, .236/.379/.382

Anyone statistically minded is going to like Anthony. A 19-year-old performing well in High-A is exciting stuff, particularly when said 19-year-old has a 171 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances. He was considerably more ordinary in Low-A, posting a 110 wRC+ in 202 plate appearances. A sweet-swinging lefty slugger, Anthony has considerable development ahead of him if he’s to continue this speedy race toward the Majors. The P-word gets thrown around. Against better competition, Anthony will find himself behind in the count all too often. Passivity isn’t a death knell. We saw Gunnar Henderson defeat it entering last season and again about a month ago. It’s a trait which has a way of echoing. But for the passivity, Anthony has all the traits of a starting corner outfielder.

FanGraphs gives Anthony a four-paragraph writeup that says more than I can in this space.

Three More

Edouard Julien, MIN (24): The star of the 2022 AFL, Julien is on the verge of losing his prospect “eligibility.” He’s batting .252/.336/.439 through 123 plate appearances. A 34.1 percent strikeout rate has held him back. He also has a 12.5 percent swinging strike rate – nearly double that of his Triple-A performance. Defensively limited, Julien appears in need of an adjustment or two. He has the tools to pull it off.

Jacob Misiorowski, MIL (21): It’s good to be unique as a pitcher. Misiorowski certainly checks the “unique” box. The 6’7’’ right-hander has the sort of funky arm action that makes it hard to identify balls and strikes. Misiorowski lacks a changeup, but we’ve seen plenty of starters succeed without one in recent years, especially those who can live up in the zone with hard heat. He currently has poor command.

Quinn Priester, PIT (22): Priester has been on the radar for a while, bouncing in and out of the Top 100 prospects. He’s a ground ball pitcher who manages around a strikeout per inning while limiting walks and piling up ground balls. Since his fastball isn’t particularly effective, he should be viewed as a potential back-of-the-rotation guy – the type who keeps his team in the game.

Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.

José De León To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | June 26, 2023 at 3:25pm CDT

Twins right-hander José De León has a torn ligament in his elbow and will require Tommy John surgery, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune. As Nightengale points out, this will be the second Tommy John for De León, who also underwent the procedure in 2018.

It’s a very unfortunate blow for De León, 30, who has been repeatedly beset by injuries throughout his career. He was once considered one of the top prospects in the league, with Baseball America putting him in the top 30 of their top 100 list in 2016 and 2017. His first TJS wiped out his 2018 and part of his 2019, then he struggled to get on track in 2020 and 2021. He signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays last year but was injured in the spring and didn’t pitch in an official game until August.

This year, De León seemed to be on a good track. He joined Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings, racking up 10 strikeouts in that time. He then joined Triple-A St. Paul and posted a 3.62 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. That got him back to the big leagues and he had a 4.67 ERA through 17 1/3 innings for the Twins before landing on the injured list yesterday with a strain in his right flexor muscle.

Sadly, his most encouraging performance in years will now be ended prematurely. He will miss the remainder of the 2023 campaign and likely much of the 2024 season as well, given then 14 to 18 months of recovery that are generally needed after TJS.

He will surely be transferred to the 60-day injured list as soon as the Twins require his roster spot and will stay there for the rest of the season, collecting major league pay for the next few months. He will cross three years of service time in the process and be eligible for arbitration this winter, though the club will likely opt for a non-tender with his upcoming absence and uncertain health status.

AL Central Notes: Anderson, Buxton, E-Rod, Manning

By Mark Polishuk | June 25, 2023 at 10:39am CDT

Over the first 824 games of his Major League career, Tim Anderson had almost exclusively as a shortstop, with a couple of DH days thrown into the mix. However, Anderson has now made two consecutive starts at second base, as a way of getting the veteran into the White Sox lineup despite some lingering soreness in his right throwing shoulder. Sox manager Pedro Grifol told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and other reporters that “all intentions are for [Anderson] to go back to shortstop” eventually, and that the club was monitoring Anderson’s shoulder on a day-to-day basis.

Considering Chicago’s 33-45 record, it can’t be ignored that Anderson’s temporary move to the keystone could also serve as a showcase for any interested trade partners. As per most public defensive metrics, Anderson has had subpar glovework as a shortstop over the last two seasons, and a move to second base might eventually be required as Anderson (who turned 30 years old two days ago) gets deeper into his career. A team doubtful of Anderson’s shortstop defense could be more keen on using him as a second baseman, or an ability to shuttle between both positions might also boost the former All-Star’ trade value given how clubs prize versatile players. That said, offense is a bigger concern than defense for Anderson at this point, since he has struggled to a .241/.279/.282 slash line over 229 plate appearances while missing about three weeks on the injured list with a left knee sprain. 2023 is the final guaranteed year of Anderson’s contract, as the White Sox hold a $14MM club option on his services for 2024.

Twins Place Jose De Leon On 15-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | June 25, 2023 at 8:59am CDT

The Twins placed right-hander Jose De Leon on the 15-day injured list due to a strain in his right flexor muscle. Righty Josh Winder was called up from Triple-A to take De Leon’s spot on the active roster.

De Leon suffered the injury as he was preparing to enter yesterday’s game, a 3-2 Twins loss to the Tigers. The righty was on the mound and throwing warmup pitches when he suddenly grabbed his arm in obvious pain after tossing his final pitch. Speaking with MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park and other reporters afterwards, De Leon said his elbow had swollen and the sharp pain in his right arm felt like an “electric shock.”

There wasn’t any doubt that De Leon would be headed to the 15-day IL, though the full extent of the injury won’t be known until he undergoes an MRI. Flexor strains can vary greatly based on the severity — some pitchers are able to return to action within a few weeks’ time, while others face the worst-case scenario of a Tommy John surgery. De Leon is unfortunately no stranger to such a procedure, as a TJ surgery cost him the entire 2018 season.

That 2018 surgery and some other injuries quite possibly changed the course of De Leon’s entire career, as he had been a top-100 prospect over the previous two seasons while pitching in the Dodgers and Rays farm systems. De Leon has since become a journeyman, pitching for six different organizations over the course of his career. He has tossed 65 1/3 innings over parts of six MLB seasons, and his 17 1/3 frames for the Twins in 2023 marks the second-highest inning total of his big league career.

Minnesota signed De Leon to a minor league deal over the offseason and selected his contract to the active roster in May. He has a 4.67 ERA with respectable strikeout (24.3%) and walk (7.1%) rates, and his 3.67 SIERA is a full run lower than his ERA, indicating that De Leon has been a bit unlucky with his bottom-line results. For now, however, the hope is that De Leon can get some good fortune and avoid another long-term injury setback.

Twins Outright Kyle Garlick To Triple-A

By Mark Polishuk | June 25, 2023 at 7:36am CDT

Kyle Garlick has accepted an outright assignment to the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced. Minnesota designated Garlick for assignment earlier this week and he cleared waivers, but Garlick had the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, since he has previously been outrighted in his career.

Instead, the 31-year-old outfielder has chosen to remain in the Twins organization. Finances certainly played some role in Garlick’s decision, as he would’ve forfeited the remainder of his guaranteed salary for the season (roughly $375K) by becoming a free agent. But, it could be that Garlick is also comfortable with the Twins, and is confident that he’ll get another look at the big league team.

Garlick initially came to the Twins on a waiver claim from the Braves in February 2021, and the outfielder has hit .227/.278/.444 over 299 plate appearances and 116 MLB games since the start of the 2021 season. His production in 2023 has dropped off in both the majors (.662 OPS in 30 PA) and minors (.735 OPS in 143 PA), largely due to a big decline against left-handed pitching. The right-handed hitting Garlick has traditionally posted very solid numbers against southpaws, which has helped him carve out a niche over his five Major League seasons with the Dodgers, Phillies, and Twins.

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