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Quick Hits: Twins, Braves, Dodgers

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Josh Donaldson ran the bases well enough progress to the next portion of his rehab, suggesting a return to the Twins as early as Monday or Tuesday, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (via Twitter). When Donaldson does return, he’ll put his perfect season on the line. He doubled in his only plate appearance of the season before straining his hamstring. Luis Arraez, however, has maintained the potency of the hot corner while Donaldson’s been away. Arraez has slashed .381/.462/.571 while starting six of the seven games since the injury. Willians Astudillo started on Arraez’s day off, going 0-2 while driving in a run with a sac fly. Elsewhere…

  • Braves setup man Chris Martin will be eligible to come off the injured list on April 17th, but manager Brian Snitker doesn’t think it will be that simple, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com (via Twitter). Martin’s shoulder only recently became an area of concern. Still, Martin is looking at a longer-than-minimal stay on the injured list. In the meantime, Sean Newcomb and Jacob Webb will have the opportunity to raise their stock in the Atlanta pen, per the Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). Webb from the right side and Newcomb from the left will try to soak up some of Martin’s setup duties.
  • Brusdar Graterol is readying to make his season debut. Per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “Everything looked good, so we’re trying to figure out the next step. We’re hoping to get him back soon. Just hesitant to put a day on it.” Graterol got a late start in preparing for the season, leaving Blake Treinen, Corey Knebel, and Kenley Jansen as the late-game righties available to Roberts. The Dodgers have high hopes that the 22-year-old Graterol can be weaponized either as a traditional setup man or as a multi-inning option out of the pen.

Twins Select Brandon Waddell, Place Brent Rooker On Injured List

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The Twins will place outfielder/first baseman Brent Rooker on the 10-day injured list with a cervical strain in his neck and select the contract of left-hander Brandon Waddell from their alternate training site today, the club announced. Hard-throwing young righty Edwar Colina was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Waddell. Colina is dealing with inflammation in his right elbow.

Rooker, 26, was the No. 35 overall pick back in the 2017 draft and has had some rough luck early in his big league career. He burst onto the scene with a .316/.381/.579 slash through seven games last summer before sustaining a fractured forearm when he was hit by a pitch. That injury ended his season, and Rooker will now head back to the injured list after just appearing in just three games in 2021.

Rooker is a bat-first prospect who isn’t likely viewed as the team’s long-term answer in left field, but his power bat is still expected to get a legitimate audition when he’s healthy. He can shift between first, left field and DH, and given that his most recent minor league work in 2019 produced a .282/.399/.530 batting line in 67 games between Double-A and Triple-A, it’s not hard to see why the organization is bullish on him. The Twins did not give an immediate indication as to how long the new injury is expected to sideline Rooker.

As for the 26-year-old Waddell, an eventual big league audition with the Twins appeared likely after the former Pirates farmhand turned heads in Spring Training. Waddell yielded five runs in 9 1/3 innings, but he also struck out 15 of the 36 hitters he faced (41.7 percent) and showed what the Twins felt was a demonstrably improved arsenal. Minnesota claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh at the end of the 2020 season and managed to sneak Waddell through waivers in late February, but his absence from the 40-man roster proved brief.

Waddell has a pair of minor league options remaining, so the Twins will be able to send him down to their alternate site in St. Paul without exposing him to waivers for a second time. For now, he’ll join Taylor Rogers and Caleb Thielbar as a third lefty in manager Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen.

Twins Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day Injured List, Recall Brent Rooker

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The Twins have placed Josh Donaldson on the 10-day injured list because of a mild right hamstring strain, per the team. The move is retroactive to April 2nd. Outfielder Brent Rooker has been recalled to take his roster spot.

Donaldson left the Twins’ opener after doubling in his first at-bat of the year. Donaldson has, of course, dealt with myriad injuries since his heyday in Toronto. This looks to be another of the ticky-tack variety. That’s not to diminish the difficulty of dealing with this sort of injury, as hamstring injuries are notoriously fickle. Still, the assumption right now would be that Donaldson shouldn’t miss too much time. Luis Arraez is slated to play third base today, and he could be a frequent replacement while Donaldson is out.

Rooker debuted last season with 21 plate appearances. He notched seven hits, including two doubles and a homer. A first round pick by the Twins in 2017, Rooker is a power bat who could be especially helpful as a pinch-hitter for the rest of the current series while they don’t have a designated hitter at their disposal.  The Twins return to American League rules on Monday when they face the Tigers in Detroit.

Quick Hits: Donaldson, Red Sox, Peacock, Casali

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Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson doubled in his first at-bat of 2021 on Thursday, but the club then pulled him out of the game as a result of right hamstring tightness. The Twins will re-evaluate Donaldson on Friday, manager Rocco Baldelli told Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com and other reporters. While this fortunately doesn’t appear to be a calf problem for Donaldson, who has dealt with those in previous seasons, it’s nonetheless disheartening for Minnesota to see him deal with yet another health problem at the outset of the campaign. The former AL MVP only played in 165 regular-season games from 2017-18 as a Blue Jay and Indian, and after a healthy 2019 with the Braves, the Twins signed him to a four-year, $92MM contract. Donaldson appeared in just 28 of a possible 60 games in the first year of the deal, though.

  • The Red Sox and right-handed reliever Matt Barnes discussed a contract extension during the spring, but there’s little optimism about a deal coming together, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. That leaves the 30-year-old on track to reach free agency next winter, and in the meantime, he’ll earn $4.5MM this season. The hard-throwing Barnes, a career-long member of the Red Sox, has pitched to a 4.08 ERA with a 29.9 percent strikeout rate in 337 1/3 innings since debuting in 2014. He amassed 60-plus innings in each season from 2016-19.
  • Free-agent right-hander Brad Peacock is healthy after undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery last October and will hold a showcase for interested teams Friday in Florida, MLBTR has learned. The 33-year-old Peacock’s shoulder troubles limited him to a mere three appearances in 2020, his last season as an Astro, but he was an effective swingman for the club during the few preceding campaigns. Between 2016-19, Peacock recorded a 3.48 ERA and a 28.7 percent strikeout rate across 128 appearances (42 starts) and 320 1/3 innings.
  • Catcher Curt Casali earned a $500K bonus when he landed a spot on the Giants’ season-opening roster, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Casali, whom the Giants signed to a $1.5MM contract in free agency, will back up Buster Posey. He earned that deal after a three-year stretch with the Reds in which he hit a respectable .260/.345/.440 with 18 home runs in 485 plate appearances.

Twins To Sign Randy Dobnak To Five-Year Extension

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TODAY: Bob Nightengale of USA Today provides the details on Dobnak’s extension. He’ll make $700K this season, $800K in 2022, $1.5MM in 2023, $2.25MM in 2024, and $3MM in 2025, his final year of initial team control. The three team options will be worth $6MM in 2026, $7MM in 2027, and $8.5MM in 2028 with buyouts of $1MM for 2026 and just $100K for both 2027 and 2028.

MARCH 29: The Minnesota Twins are in agreement with right-hander Randy Dobnak on a five-year, $9.25MM extension, per Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). The deal includes three club option years with escalators that can bring the total amount up to $29.75MM. The first option year in 2026 will include a $1MM buyout, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter). That leaves $8.25MM to be spread out among the five seasons prior. For each of the three option years, escalators can add up to $1.8MM per season based on innings pitched thresholds.  Dobnak is a client of Gaeta Sports Management.

This definitely rates as somewhat of a surprise, given that Dobnak, 26, will begin the year in the bullpen after spending all of last season in the rotation. While starting the year in a piggyback role might seem like a demotion, the Twins clearly feel compelled enough by Dobnak’s performance to guarantee his role in the organization for years to come. Further, with just 1.047 days of service time, he wasn’t likely to become arbitration-eligible until 2023.

The Twins, meanwhile, get three additional seasons of optional team control at what are likely to be reasonable rates. Both sides benefit from the financial certainty, though the escalators still provide Dobnak with a path to increasing his future earnings. Importantly, this is likely to be Dobnak’s primary source of career earnings: If the Twins choose to buy out the option years, it’s not likely to lead to a higher salary elsewhere, and if the Twins don’t buyout any of the option years, Dobnak will reach free agency for the first time prior to his age-34 season. Still, given his non-traditional path to professional baseball, it’s certainly understandable why a deal like this would appeal to Dobnak.

His rise, after all, certainly qualifies as one of the less likely origin stories in recent season. The Twins signed Dobnak with a mere $500 signing bonus in July 2017 after scouting him exclusively over YouTube, writes the Athletic’s Dan Hayes. He supplemented his income by driving for Uber and excelled through the Twins’ system despite overwhelming velocity or a knock-out put-away pitch. For a 26-year-old who signed out of independent ball, this deal represents life-changing money.

On the hill, suffice it so say that Dobnak has repeatedly overcome his underdog status to provide valuable innings for Minnesota. He was a genuine revelation in making his debut during the 2019 season, posting a 1.59 ERA/3.92 SIERA in five starts and four relief appearances covering 28 1/3 innings. Dobnak’s sophomore season had more ups-and-downs, but he still managed a 4.05 ERA/4.56 SIERA in 10 starts covering 46 2/3 innings. In 75 total career innings, Dobnak has achieved an excellent 58.8 percent groundball rate with a similarly-encouraging 5.7 percent walk rate and less-than-thrilling 15.7 percent strikeout rate.

He certainly doesn’t fit the mold of today’s hurler. His fastball lands in the 31st percentile for velocity and 5th percentile for spin rate. He is in the 13th percentile for whiff rate and fourth percentile by strikeout rate. Nevertheless, he has been better than average at avoiding barrels and coaxing below-average exit velocity while burning worms and avoiding free passes.

The recipe has worked for Dobnak thus far and earned him a long-term home in Minnesota. His four-seam fastball/sinker averaged just 91.4 mph, but strong arm-side run has proved it particularly effective against righties. He re-worked his slider and increased its usage in 2020 to promising results. While he will begin the season in the bullpen, the Twins rotation features a number of veterans with a history of injuries. It’s highly unlikely that the Twins won’t need to access their depth behind Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda, J.A. Happ, and the oft-injured Matt Shoemaker. Chances are the Twins’ mustachioed, bespectacled, newly-wealthy right-hander will be called on for bulk innings in 2021 and beyond.

Twins Bench Coach Mike Bell Passes Away

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In shocking and sad news, the Twins announced that bench coach Mike Bell has passed away at the age of 46. He had been suffering from kidney cancer.

Bell was one of many members in his family who enjoyed a long career in baseball. The grandson of former major league outfielder Gus Bell, the son of ex-third baseman and manager Buddy Bell, and the brother of former infielder and current Reds skipper David Bell, Mike Bell was the 30th overall pick of the Rangers in 1993. The ex-third baseman appeared in the majors in one season – 2000 – as a member of the Reds, his hometown team and one near and dear to his family’s heart.

After wrapping up his run as a professional player in 2005, Bell moved on to the minor and major league coaching ranks in 2007. He was also the director of player development with the Diamondbacks before becoming a prominent part of Twins manager Rocco Baldelli’s staff prior to last season. He garnered interest as a managerial candidate from the likes of the Mets, Orioles, Red Sox and Pirates over the past couple offseasons.

MLBTR sends our condolences to Bell’s family, the Twins organization and everyone affected by this tragic and sudden loss.

Andrew Romine Opts Out Of Contract

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Utility player Andrew Romine has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Twins, per an announcement from team director of communications Dustin Morse. He is now a free agent.

Romine began with the Angels in 2010 and has also played with the Tigers, Mariners and Rangers in parts of 10 seasons since then. The 35-year-old has slashed .235/.291/.301 – good for an uninspiring wRC+ of 63 – with 10 home runs in 1,327 plate appearances. But Romine has shown off impressive defensive versatility, having appeared at every infield and outfield position during his career.

Romine’s ability to play all over the diamond could attract other teams now that he is back on the open market. However, the Twins haven’t ruled out bringing him back on a different contract, according to manager Rocco Baldelli (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com).

Twins Granted Fourth Option On Lewis Thorpe

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The Twins have been granted a fourth minor league option on southpaw Lewis Thorpe, tweets Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The 25-year-old was one of several players in limbo waiting for an arbiter to rule whether he could be optioned for a fourth year or had exhausted his minor league options. The Cubs were also granted a fourth option over righty Adbert Alzolay yesterday, while Nats righty Erick Fedde was determined to be out of minor league options.

The discrepancy stems from the rules surrounding eligibility for a fourth minor league option. Teams can be granted a fourth option over players who have fewer than five “full” seasons but have exhausted all three of their original minor league options. A “full” season, under the collective bargaining agreement, stipulates that a player spends 90 or more days on an active roster — be it at the big league or minor league level. Time on the injured list does not count. Given last year’s shortened, 67-day schedule and the lack of a conventional “active roster” at teams’ alternate training sites, there was an obvious lack of clarity regarding some players on the cusp of that fourth-option distinction.

The ruling on Thorpe benefits the Twins, as they can now shuttle Thorpe to and from their new Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul without needing to expose him to waivers. The Aussie lefty has pitched quite well this spring, holding opponents to a pair of runs on four hits and two walks with eight punchouts in 7 2/3 innings. However, the Twins have a full rotation at the moment, and Thorpe has some competition for the remaining bullpen spots. Had he been out of minor league options, he would’ve been all but assured a roster spot given that the Twins wouldn’t have risked losing him to waivers.

With a fourth option in place, Thorpe will likely split his time between Target Field in Minneapolis and CHS Field in St. Paul. He could be a depth option in the rotation behind Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda, J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker, joining righty Randy Dobnak and lefty Devin Smeltzer in that regard. Thorpe could also eventually be seen as a multi-inning bullpen piece or a more conventional one-inning lefty, depending on performances and health among the Twins’ more established relievers.

Twins Option Alex Kirilloff

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The Twins have optioned outfielder Alex Kirilloff to their alternate trainng site, per a team announcement. The move means Kirilloff will not make the Twins’ Opening Day roster.

The 23-year-old Kirilloff was a first-round pick in 2016 who has ranked as one of baseball’s best prospects over the past couple seasons. Kirilloff had a chance to claim a spot on the Twins’ roster this spring in the aftermath of Eddie Rosario’s departure, but the .129/.182/.258 line he posted in 31 exhibition at-bats didn’t suggest to the team that he was ready for a role in the majors. With Kirilloff on his way down, Brent Rooker, Kyle Garlick and Jake Cave are all candidates to join Byron Buxton and Max Kepler as the Twins’ outfielders when the season starts, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.

Kirilloff’s demotion could buy the Twins an extra year of control over him, though it’s unclear whether that motivated the team to send him down. After all, along with his struggles this spring, Kiriloff hasn’t played above the Double-A level yet. He hit .283/.343/.413 with nine home runs and seven stolen bases there across 411 plate appearances in 2019.

Twins Option Devin Smeltzer, Shaun Anderson

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  • The Twins optioned southpaw Devin Smeltzer and righty Shaun Anderson, ruling them out for the Opening Day roster, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune relays. Both pitchers had been competing to earn spots in Minnesota’s staff. Smeltzer made 18 appearances (seven starts) with the Twins from 2019-20 and registered a 4.57 ERA with a below-average strikeout rate (19.3 percent) and an above-average walk rate (6.2 percent) in 65 innings. Anderson, whom the Twins acquired in a trade with the Giants during the offseason, could only muster a 5.17 ERA/5.26 SIERA over 111 1/3 frames in the previous two years.
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