Twins Sign Joe Harvey
The Twins have signed reliever Joe Harvey to a minor league contract, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul. The right-hander elected free agency last weekend after being designated for assignment by the Rockies.
Harvey began his career with the Yankees, making his major league debut with New York in April 2019. The Yankees sent him to the Rockies before that year’s trade deadline, and he appeared in the majors with Colorado between 2019-20. Altogether, Harvey’s tossed 21 1/3 innings at the big league level, pitching to a 4.22 ERA/5.25 SIERA with worse than average strikeout and walk percentages (19.4% and 13.3%, respectively).
The 29-year-old had spent most of this season with the Rockies Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque. He made 15 appearances, working to a 2.63 ERA with a stellar 34.5% strikeout rate but a very high 15.5% walk percentage. Colorado selected Harvey to the big league roster last month, but he was cut loose two days later without having appeared in a game.
Harvey becomes the third notable reliever the Twins have signed to a minor league deal in recent weeks. Minnesota has also added former big leaguers Kyle Barraclough and Nick Vincent in an effort to stockpile some experienced depth. The bullpen has been one of the bigger reasons for the Twins disastrous season, as the relief corps sits 26th in the league with a 4.88 ERA. (Their peripherals are a bit better but still below-average).
The 33-48 Twins are almost certain to sell off some players from the big league roster at this point. Relievers Alex Colomé, Hansel Robles, Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey and Caleb Thielbar are among the many players the Twins could make available in the next few weeks. Trading one or more of that group could open spots in the majors for some of their recent non-roster additions down the stretch.
Twins Designate Matt Shoemaker For Assignment
The Twins announced this morning that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Matt Shoemaker for assignment and selected the contract of righty Derek Law from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move.
Shoemaker, 34, tossed a quality start in his Twins debut earlier this year, but it’s been all downhill from there for the most part. The former Angels and Blue Jays righty has been shelled for 53 earned runs in his past 54 1/3 innings and is sitting on an overall 8.06 ERA and 5.38 SIERA with just a 14.1 percent strikeout rate against a 9.5 percent walk rate. The Twins may have had some hope after a move to the bullpen produced moderately better results, but Shoemaker served up eight runs in 2 2/3 frames of mop-up work in last night’s loss.
Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal late in the offseason, Shoemaker was viewed as the likely fifth starter to open the season and a necessary depth addition in a season where workloads were expected to be monitored leaguewide. But his struggles, paired with those of fellow veteran J.A. Happ and fellow back-of-the-rotation option Randy Dobnak, have helped to dig the Twins into a sizable hole. Many of the organization’s top pitching prospects have been hit by injuries in 2021 as well, which pushed the team to continue trying to coax something out of Shoemaker rather than make a move earlier in the year.
The Twins will have a week to trade Shoemaker, pass him through outright waivers or release him. Given his struggles, it’s not reasonable to expect another club having interest in a trade or waiver claim. In all likelihood, today’s DFA will lead to a release. However, given his track record prior to the 2020 season, it’s possible another organization will take a no-risk look at the veteran righty on a minor league deal in hopes that a change of scenery can right the ship. Shoemaker has had myriad injury issues in his career, but he had a nice run with the Halos earlier in his career and, prior to signing in Minnesota, had pitched to a 4.12 ERA in his most recent 166 MLB frames.
As for the 30-year-old Law, he’ll return for a second Twins stint in 2021 in hopes of better results than he produced in his first go-around. Law appeared in five games for the Twins already, yielding six runs on 11 hits and six walks with nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. He’s been a bit better in Triple-A, where he has a 4.61 ERA and 12-to-4 K/BB ratio in 13 2/3 innings. It could be another quick stint for Law, as the Twins called him up in part to get a fresh arm in the ‘pen, but he’ll at least have another opportunity to show he can stick on the roster.
Law posted a 2.55 ERA in 55 innings as a rookie with the Giants back in 2016 but has never replicated that success. In 117 2/3 frames since that time, he’s been tagged for a 5.43 ERA with a passable 22.2 percent strikeout rate but an untenable 12.3 percent walk rate.
The Twins Are One Of The Keys To The Trade Deadline
The Twins have looked like sellers for much of the season, but as we’ve seen in recent years, most clubs prefer to wait until closer to the deadline to chart a course. As noted here recently, Minnesota faces almost exclusively AL Central clubs leading up to the July 30 trade deadline. If there was a 2019 Nationals-esque surge in this group, now would be the time to set it in motion.
The Twins started off taking two of three against an Indians club whose rotation is in tatters, but they’ve dropped their first two against the White Sox to fall 13.5 games out of first place in the division. For a team that needs to be nearly flawless over this pivotal stretch of divisional opponents — particularly versus Cleveland and Chicago — dropping three of the first five games isn’t a great start.
Given that this was a team most expected to contend for the Central, at the very least, it’s not at all surprising that there are several players who’d interest contenders. In fact, ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote in yesterday’s 20 Questions column that the Twins are “the team almost every contender is waiting on.” Minnesota still plays the White Sox eight times, the Tigers a whopping 11 times and the Royals three times before the trade deadline, so maybe they can pull off the macro version of last night’s staggering Angels comeback, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that this goes the direction most onlookers have expected for awhile now.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the Twins could do as the deadline draws nearer…
The Rentals
Michael Pineda, RHP ($10MM salary): Pineda is currently on the shelf with inflammation in his right elbow. He’s been out since June 14, but he’s slated for a rehab start in Triple-A today. Assuming there are no setbacks, Pineda would be one of the most attractive options on the rental market. He’s an established mid-rotation arm who has performed well with the Twins when he’s been able to take the mound (3.86 ERA, 3.92 FIP in 228 2/3 innings over 42 starts). Pineda did get hit with a PED suspension in 2019, although it was one of the rare instances where the league seems to have believed some of his plea of innocence, as MLB reduced his ban from 80 to 60 games. Many undoubtedly recall Pineda’s pine tar-covered hat in his Yankees days and will wonder about him in connection to the current crackdown on foreign substances. On that note, it’s worth pointing out that his spin rates were below-average in the first place and had actually decreased since signing with the Twins. We can’t know anything for sure, of course, but on paper he doesn’t look like your typical “Spider Tack” case.
Nelson Cruz, DH ($13MM): Happy 41st birthday, Nelson! The Boomstick is still swinging it as well as ever, slashing .307/.378/.585 with 18 home runs, 11 doubles and his first triple since 2018. Cruz has been 57 percent better than a league-average hitter, per wRC+, and he’s cut his strikeout rate from 25.7 percent in his first two years with Minnesota down to 19.1 percent in 2021. His market will be limited to AL clubs unless some NL GM really, really wants an interleague/World Series DH and an occasional pinch-hitter. (We’ve all learned never to rule anything out with A.J. Preller by now.) AL contenders who could use an upgrade at DH include the A’s, Blue Jays, Rays and White Sox. Of course, Cruz’s salary may be steep for the A’s and Rays, and it’s hard to imagine the Twins shipping Cruz to their top division rival.
Andrelton Simmons, SS ($10MM): Simmons hasn’t been great with the bat in Minnesota — .245/.316/.328, 81 wRC+ — but the defense looks sharp. Simmons’ defensive metrics took a tumble in both 2019 and 2020 after he suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain and then re-sprained that ankle a second time. In 2021, he’s third among all players, regardless of position, with 12 Outs Above Average, per Statcast. He’s also notched a plus-2 mark in Defensive Runs Saved after registering minus-2 in that regard in just 265 innings last summer. The ankle appears healthy, and his range has seemingly improved as a result. If you want to upgrade your infield defense, they don’t come much better than this.
Alex Colome, RHP ($6.25MM): Colome was the Twins’ biggest offseason pickup in the bullpen, but the outstanding fortune he had on balls in play with the White Sox went up in smoke in 2021. Teams were surely wary of Colome’s .211 average on balls in play over the past two seasons with the ChiSox, which quite likely why the Twins were able to wait him out and get him for just a year and $6.25MM. Colome immediately stumbled out of the gates in Minnesota, blowing a game in his first appearance and floundering through a poor overall showing in April. He’s posted a respectable 3.60 ERA with a huge 58.1 percent grounder rate in 20 innings since, but he doesn’t look anywhere near as impressive as he did for the South Siders. Presumably, the asking price here wouldn’t be too high.
Hansel Robles, RHP ($2MM): Robles’ numbers would’ve looked better had this breakdown been written before his past two appearances, when he’s been tagged for four runs in two innings. But the right-hander is still sporting a 3.63 ERA and 48.3 percent ground-ball rate — albeit with a slightly below-average strikeout rate and a bloated 13.6 percent walk rate. He’s also experienced a rebound in fastball velocity after a dip in 2020, and he’s on a cheap enough contract that a contending club with luxury tax concerns might be particularly intrigued.
J.A. Happ, LHP ($8MM): Happ got out to a decent start in 2021, but he’s been shelled for most of his past nine appearances. His best performance in that stretch was his most recent, when he held Cleveland to a pair of runs on six hits and no walks with seven punchouts in six innings. If he can string together a few more nice outings like that, maybe some club would pick him up for a negligible return (i.e. partial salary relief) to try to stabilize the back of its rotation.
More Controllable Possibilities
Jose Berrios, RHP ($6.1MM, controllable through 2022): If the Twins were to make Berrios available, he might be the most coveted name on the market. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported recently that the Cardinals have inquired and, unsurprisingly, found the asking price to be quite high. Still, Passan writes that a growing number of executives around the game expect the Twins to be willing to seriously consider a trade. That’s likely indicative of the level of interest in Berrios, as the Twins don’t seem likely to embark on a total rebuild even if they do sell. They’d likely seek young controllable, big-league ready talent in a trade of Berrios, who boasts a 3.41 ERA and matching 3.40 FIP with a career-best 26.5 percent strikeout rate and a 6.4 percent walk rate (the second-lowest of his career). His current salary is eminently affordable, and even with an aggressive raise in arbitration, he’d still be a bargain next year. Any contending club would love to have Berrios — it’s just a matter of how strong the offers are and whether the Twins are willing to compromise their 2022 roster by trading the best pitcher they’ve developed in the past decade.
Taylor Rogers, LHP ($6MM, controllable through 2022): Rogers has put a shaky (by his standards) 2020 season behind him. Through his first 32 innings, he’s sitting on a 2.53 ERA that’s actually higher than his FIP, xFIP and SIERA. Rogers’ 32.6 percent strikeout rate is back in line with his 2019 level, and this year’s 3.9 percent walk rate is the best of his career. He has the fifth-best chase rate of any qualified reliever in MLB. As with Berrios, Rogers could play a key role for the 2022 Twins, so the offer would need to be strong. But relievers with this combination of swing-and-miss ability and command — particularly lefties — are tough to come by, so the demand will be sizable. This is also a Twins front office that generally hasn’t been keen on committing too much to any individual reliever, and Rogers’ final arbitration raise will push his salary into the $8-9MM range. A trade to a contender is very plausible. (As an aside, it’d be quite the fun story to see twin brothers co-closing games for a contending club. We’re all looking at you, Giants.)
Tyler Duffey, RHP ($2.2MM, controllable through 2022): Duffey hasn’t been the dominant setup man he was in 2019-20, but he’s controlled another season on a cheap salary and has still been effective in 2021. There’s no sugar-coating that his strikeout and walk rates from 2019-20 have dropped from 34.2 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively, to 22 percent and 12.6 percent in 2021. He’s improved both a bit over his past 15 outings, though, and only allowed two runs in that time. Overall, he has a 3.52 ERA and 3.84 FIP in 30 2/3 innings. As with Robles, if you’re a contending team with luxury tax concerns, taking a chance on a cheap reliever with a bigger track record probably has some appeal.
Caleb Thielbar, LHP ($700K, controllable through 2024): A Minnesota native and feel-good comeback story from 2020, Thielbar can be controlled another three years beyond the current campaign. That might make dealing him counterintuitive should the Twins be looking for a quick turnaround after a theoretical summer sale, but Thielbar will turn 35 this offseason and relievers are volatile in the first place. The Twins brought him back from indie ball last year, so there’s a “playing with house money” element to marketing him. He’s pitched 50 1/3 innings of 2.86 ERA ball with a 30.1 percent strikeout rate and an 8.1 percent walk rate since returning last summer. Fielding-independent metrics largely support the ERA. With multiple contenders sitting right on the luxury-tax precipice, Thielbar could be an under-the-radar but highly attractive chip for the Twins.
Longer Shots
Like Berrios, Rogers and Duffey, Byron Buxton is controlled only through the 2022 season. However, Buxton is on the injured list after an errant fastball fractured his left hand in a recent at-bat, and it’s nearly impossible to envision the Twins moving their most talented player at such a low point. The durability concerns with Buxton are understandable, and his repeated absences in 2021 have been a major factor in the Twins’ current predicament, but trading him doesn’t feel realistic.
It’s a similar story with righty Kenta Maeda, who has been hit hard this season and spent time on the injured list with an adductor strain. The Twins control him into 2023, and even if his struggles as a starter continue, his $3.25MM base salary is plenty reasonable if he’s in a bullpen or hybrid role. He doesn’t need to be the ace-caliber arm he was in 2020 to justify his contract, and the flexibility he provides the Twins moving forward carries more value than what they’d receive by selling low in a trade.
Right fielder Max Kepler and second baseman Jorge Polanco would no doubt attract interest thanks to their long-term deals, but Kepler is in the midst of his own down season and controlled affordably all the way through 2024. Polanco had a dismal three-week slump to open the year but has hit quite well (.275/.345/.483) since that time. He’s signed through 2025, so there’s little reason for the Twins to consider anything there.
Josh Donaldson is hitting .299/.382/.662 over the past month and has homered in three straight games, but he’s also 35 years old and only in the second season of a four-year, $92MM contract that affords him limited no-trade protection. It’s tough to see something coming together with all the money still owed to him.
The Twins might welcome a taker for strikeout-plagued slugger Miguel Sano, who is hitting .195/.280/.435 this season with a 37 percent punchout rate. But Sano is making $11MM this year, $9.25MM in 2022, and is also owed a $2.75MM buyout on a $14MM option for the 2023 season.
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With a deep reserve of enticing position prospects, headlined by current big leaguers Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach, plus several key pieces under long-term control and plenty of payroll space this winter, the Twins shouldn’t be expected to completely tear the roster down. It’d make sense to target some controllable arms, however, as they’ve dealt with injuries to several of their top pitching prospects in 2021 (Jhoan Duran, Jordan Balazovic and Matt Canterino among them).
At the end of the day, the Twins might prefer to hold out a bit longer before waving the proverbial white flag, but they’d need a historic rally to overcome a 13.5-game deficit in the division or a 12.5-game deficit in the Wild Card race at this point in the season. It increasingly feels like a matter of time before they start moving some short-term veterans, with the greater question being how aggressively they’ll sell rather than whether they’ll sell at all.
Quick Hits: Sticky Stuff Crackdown, Cardinals, Verlander
As we approach trade season, teams are burdened with the overwhelming task of re-evaluating the league in the wake of the crackdown on illegal substances. Broad strokes, evaluators will be more trusting of pitchers who rely on two-seamers and sinkers, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney. Unsurprisingly, those pitchers who have taken to the recent trend of high-velocity heaters up in the zone and wicked curveballs diving away will be watched more closely. The next month will obviously provide important data points for potential buyers, but looking at how players have struggled and/or succeeded in the first few months of the year will also be heavily scrutinized by teams looking to find players on the rebound. In other MLB news….
- The Cardinals are doing their best to patch together a rotation in the wake of Jack Flaherty‘s extended absence, but they’re also exploring their options outside the organization. They have reached out to the Twins about Jose Berrios and the Rangers for Kyle Gibson, but the price for Berrios was “high,” and presumably, the same will be true of Gibson, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. With very few difference-making arms likely to be available, Berrios and Gibson are sure to be in high demand. President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak spoke of the Cardinals’ desire to win, but “not at the cost of our future.” While that’s a reasonable mode of thinking, such a mind-set isn’t likely to procure an arm like Berrios or Gibson.
- Justin Verlander hasn’t rule out the possibility of returning to the Detroit Tigers before his career runs out, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Of course, Verlander needs to get healthy first. He will be a free agent at the end of the season, however, free to pursue a return to Detroit, should that be his desire. Verlander played in Detroit for 13 seasons. He ranks 2nd in Tigers’ history for rWAR among pitchers, 2.7 rWAR behind Hal Newhouser. He is fifth in Tigers’ history in games started with 380 and 2nd in total strikeouts with 2,373.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/29/21
Some minor moves from around the game…
- The Twins have signed lefty reliever Sean Gilmartin to a minor league contract, per his MLB.com transactions log. He had been pitching for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. Gilmartin has seen big league action in each of the past six seasons, although he’s only made three appearances over the past two years combined. Gilmartin had a strong rookie campaign with the Mets, pitching to a 2.67 ERA/3.44 SIERA over 57 1/3 innings in 2015. He’s never managed to follow up on that success, though. In 54 2/3 frames since the start of 2016, the 31-year-old has a 6.09 ERA/6.71 FIP.
- Catcher Ryan Lavarnway went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Columbus, per the Indians’ transactions log at MLB.com. Lavarnway has bounced all over the league for the past decade, logging big league time with eight different teams (primarily the Red Sox). He’s a career .216/.274/.344 hitter in 468 MLB plate appearances and a .271/.361/.432 hitter in parts of 10 different Triple-A seasons. Lavarnway has previously been outrighted (and also has the requisite three-plus years of service), so he can reject this assignment in favor of free agency if he chooses.
Twins Select Danny Coulombe
The Twins have selected the contract of left-hander Danny Coulombe, according to a team announcement. In corresponding moves, Minnesota placed right-hander Luke Farrell on the 10-day injured with a right oblique strain, retroactive to June 23, and transferred righty Cody Stashak to the 60-day IL. Dan Hayes of the Athletic reported the series of transactions before the official announcement.
When he takes the mound, Coulombe will be appearing in his seventh different major league season. The 31-year-old made his debut with the 2014 Dodgers and spent much of 2015-18 as a frequently-utilized relief option for the Athletics. Coulombe’s time in Oakland was up-and-down, but at his best he flashed the ability to miss bats and work multiple innings out of the bullpen.
Coulombe played out the 2020 season with the Twins, appearing in a pair of big league games. He returned to the organization on a non-roster deal over the winter and has spent the 2021 season to date with St. Paul. He’s made fourteen relief appearances and tossed 20 1/3 innings with the Saints, working to a minuscule 1.77 ERA with elite strikeout and walk numbers (34.2% and 3.8%, respectively). That very strong work will earn him another look at the big league level.
Stashak is suffering from a left back disc injury. He was initially placed on the IL on June 8, meaning he won’t be eligible to return for at least 60 days from that date. The team didn’t provide any sort of timetable, but he’ll now be out of action until at least early August.
Injury Updates: Gregorius, Plesac, Smith, Yajure, Duran
Didi Gregorius resumed his Triple-A rehab assignment tonight, after halting the assignment on June 10 after just two games. Gregorius hasn’t played a big league game since May 12 due to a right elbow impingement and a condition known as pseudogout, which might have led to the setback in his rehab. However, Gregorius now looks to be on track, and if all things go well, could be on pace to rejoin the Phillies before the end of June. Now in his second season in Philadelphia, Gregorius was off to a slow start with a .229/.266/.364 slash line in his first 128 plate appearances.
More on other sidelined players from around the majors…
- Indians right-hander Zach Plesac has been on the 10-day injured list for almost a month due to a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb, but he took another step forward in his recovery process today. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer was among those to report that Plesac was set to throw a 40-pitch bullpen session today, with 20 pitches each on flat ground and off a mound. This is Plesac’s second bullpen session in seven days’ time, so if he emerges in good condition, a rehab assignment might not be too far away.
- Veteran reliever Joe Smith is also on tap for a bullpen session, with Smith telling reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle) that he plans to run through his entire arsenal of pitches when throwing tomorrow. Elbow soreness sent the Astros righty to the IL on June 9, and he could just need the one bullpen before beginning a minor league rehab assignment.
- The Pirates shifted right-hander Miguel Yajure from the seven-day minor league IL to the 60-day IL. Yajure was first sidelined with right elbow/forearm soreness on June 1, and today’s transaction is “just more of a paper move” that “has nothing to do with how he’s progressing or what he’s doing,” manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Yajure only just began throwing, and it appears as though he wasn’t going to be back within 60 days from his initial IL placement anyway — as Mackey notes, the Bucs don’t gain a 40-man roster spot with the move, since Yajure was in the minor leagues when first placed on the injured list. One of the four players acquired from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon trade back in January, Yajure has a 2.76 ERA over 16 1/3 MLB innings over the last two seasons.
- Twins right-handed pitching prospect Jhoan Duran was shut down three days ago due to an elbow strain, though the team announced (hat tip to MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) that surgery wasn’t recommended. The shutdown will continue for the next 5-6 weeks as Duran’s elbow will continue to be monitored, and there is hope that he can then rehab in time to pitch again before the 2021 season is cover. Currently ranked as the 80th-best prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, Duran made his Triple-A debut this year but has struggled, posting a 5.06 ERA with 13 walks in 16 innings (though with a 29.33% strikeout rate).
Twins Sign Nick Vincent To Minor League Deal
The Twins have signed veteran right-hander Nick Vincent to a minor league contract, as first indicated on the transactions log at MLB.com. He’ll report to Triple-A St. Paul, MLBTR has confirmed.
Vincent, a client of PSI Sports Management, was released from a minor league deal with the Rangers just yesterday. The nine-year MLB veteran has long been a steady, late-inning presence but settled for a non-guaranteed pact this winter despite a mostly solid effort in 2020. The 34-year-old logged a 4.43 ERA out of the Marlins’ bullpen last year but saw his strikeout rate drop to a career-low 18.5 percent in the process. He’s opened the 2021 campaign with 15 1/3 innings of 4.11 ERA ball in Triple-A Round Rock, striking out 29.7 percent of opponents against a 9.5 percent walk rate.
It’s been a couple years since Vincent was at his absolute best. He logged identical 4.43 ERAs in 2019-20. However, in the seven seasons prior, he pitched to a combined 3.17 ERA and 3.27 SIERA with a 24.6 percent strikeout rate and a strong 6.1 percent walk rate. He’s never been an overpowering arm, living in the 89-91 mph range with his four-seamer, but he’s still managed about a strikeout per inning in his career to go along with plenty of weak pop-ups.
Minnesota is off today after a two-game set against the Reds that proved taxing on its bullpen despite its brevity. The Twins and Reds went 12 innings Monday night, and Minnesota used five relievers in a back-and-forth loss to Cincinnati yesterday. Vincent won’t be an immediate option barring a quick selection to the MLB roster, but he could get a look before long if he shows well with the Saints.
Relief pitching has been an issue for the Twins all season. Minnesota relievers rank 24th in the Majors with a 4.77 ERA and 25th with a 4.52 FIP. They’re 15th with a 24.4 percent strikeout rate and 12th with a 9.4 percent walk rate. It’s been a generally underwhelming unit, and the Twins have struggled to find reliable arms to round out the final few spots in the mix. Vincent joins fellow veteran Kyle Barraclough as a recent signee who’ll hope to get a look at Target Field before too long.
Twins Claim Beau Burrows From Tigers
The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed righty Beau Burrows off waivers from the Tigers, who’d previously designated the former first-rounder for assignment. He’ll report to Triple-A St. Paul.
Burrows, 24, was the No. 22 overall pick back in 2015 and long rated as one of the Tigers’ better prospects, but he’s struggled both in the upper minors and in his brief time with the MLB club. In 8 1/3 innings with the Tigers, he’s surrendered eight runs on 10 hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Burrows’ work in Triple-A hasn’t yielded better results, as he’s been tagged for a 5.66 ERA in 82 2/3 frames.
That said, Burrows isn’t terribly far removed from ranking as the game’s No. 77 prospect in the estimation of Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com back in 2018. He’s battled shoulder and biceps injuries over the years and was limited to just 74 innings during his last full season in 2019. But Burrows sat 94.5 mph with his fastball in his brief MLB time this year and was at 93.7 mph last year. His fastball draws average or better reviews in scouting reports, but Burrows has had trouble settling on and consistently executing his mix of secondary pitches. He’s at times used a changeup, curveball, slider and cutter, but none has settled in as a consistently above-average offering to this point.
The Twins have been hit hard by injuries so far in 2021 and had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so there’s little harm in taking what amounts to a free look at a once-promising prospect. Burrows can be optioned for the remainder of the 2021 season and also has one additional minor league option year remaining beyond the current campaign.
Injury Notes: Antone, Gray, Engel, Buxton
The Reds announced Tuesday morning that they’ve reinstated right-hander Tejay Antone from the injured list and optioned Scott Heineman to Triple-A Louisville to open a roster spot. Antone ultimately missed only 11 days due to a bout of forearm inflammation and will be returning at a perfect time; Cincinnati used every reliever on the roster during last night’s 12-inning marathon against after starter Tyler Mahle lasted just four innings. The 27-year-old Antone has been one of baseball’s best relievers in 2021, pitching to a minuscule 1.41 ERA with a lofty 34.5 percent strikeout percentage against a 9.5 percent walk rate. He’s worked multiple innings with regularity, though it remains to be seen whether the club will drop him right back into a multi-inning stint after an injury layoff — even in spite of the taxed bullpen.
Cincinnati right-hander Sonny Gray could also be closing in on a return, as C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports Gray will make a rehab start with the Reds’ top minor league affiliate Thursday. The 31-year-old hit the injured list a couple weeks ago due to a groin strain, and the team was hopeful at the time that he’d only need to miss a pair of starts. It may end up being a bit longer, but if all goes well with Gray’s rehab outing, he’d be looking at only about a three-week absence from the rotation. The veteran righty has a 3.42 ERA and a 30.1 percent strikeout rate in 50 innings for the Reds this season.
A couple more injury scenarios of note around the league…
- The White Sox announced Tuesday that outfielder Adam Engel is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a strain of his right hamstring. Outfielder Luis Gonzalez is up from Triple-A Charlotte in his place. It’s the second IL stint of the season for Engel, who opened the year on the shelf with this same injury and missed almost two months of action. Engel joins fellow outfielder Adam Eaton, who is also dealing with a right hamstring strain, on the injured list, further depleting a White Sox outfield that is also without stars Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. The 29-year-old Engel batted .241/.313/.552 in just 32 plate appearances between IL stints. The club didn’t place a timetable on his return, although this new IL stint was backdated to June 20.
- The Twins are still determining whether Byron Buxton‘s fractured left hand will require surgery, manager Rocco Baldelli said prior to today’s game (Twitter link via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Uncertainty as to whether the injury will require surgical repair likely contributes to the vague response Baldelli have when initially prompted for a timetable on the injury to Buxton, who was hit on the left hand by a Tyler Mahle heater last night and found to have a boxer’s fracture. For now, the team is still “looking into the best approaches for recovery,” per Baldelli. It’s common for players to get opinions from multiple doctors and/or specialists when a potential surgery of any kind is on the table.