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Twins Place Max Kepler On Injured List, Promote Brent Rooker

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11:32am: Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli tells reporters that Kepler is only expected to be sidelined for the minimum 10 days (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park). Kepler might’ve avoided an IL stint entirely had the team been at full strength, but with several players also banged up, they needed to get a fresh body onto the roster.

11:15am: The Twins have placed right fielder Max Kepler on the 10-day injured list due to a left adductor strain and selected the contract of outfielder Brent Rooker from their alternate training site in St. Paul, per a team announcement. The club also added Willians Astudillo as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader and announced that righty Juan Minaya cleared waivers and has been outrighted back to St. Paul.

Minnesota only just got Josh Donaldson and Byron Buxton back from the injured list, but they’ll now see a third key piece of their lineup sidelined for the foreseeable future. An expected timeline for Kepler’s return has not been provided.

Kepler, 27, has slashed .220/.322/.431 with seven homers, five doubles and three steals through 143 plate appearances to begin the 2020 season. He’s played strong defense along the way, checking with a +2.5 Ultimate Zone Rating and +1 Defensive Runs Saved in 259 innings in right. It’s a notable loss for the Twins, as Kepler is batting .246/.333/.502 dating back to Opening Day 2019 and is tied for fifth among all MLB right fielders with 15 Defensive Runs Saved over the past three seasons.

Rooker, 25, will get his first call to the Major League level. The No. 35 overall pick in the 2017 draft has been a steady source of power in the minors, slashing a combined .267/.357/.505 in 1110 professional plate appearances, including a .281/.398/.535 line in 274 Triple-A plate appearances a year ago.

There are questions about Rooker’s defense, as some feel he’s best suited in a first base/designated hitter role. The Twins, though, have played him in left field for much of his minor league career and seemingly hope that he can at least play passable defense there at the game’s top level. Defensive concerns notwithstanding, Rooker is considered one of the Twins’ better prospects, ranking 12th at MLB.com, 14th at Baseball America and 17th at FanGraphs due to his largely to his plus raw power and his consistently strong performances at each minor league stop.

With Kepler sidelined, the Twins can rotate Rooker, Eddie Rosario and Jake Cave through the corners. On the surface, adding Rooker’s right-handed bat would seemingly be a plus for a Twins club that has unexpectedly floundered against left-handed pitching in 2020, but Rooker has actually handled righties better than lefties over the past couple of minor league seasons.

Turning to Minaya, he had his contract selected last week but didn’t make it into a game before being designated for assignment. The 29-year-old  has spent the past four seasons with the division-rival White Sox, where he’s pitched to a combined 3.93 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9 and a 36.8 percent grounder rate in 128 1/3 frames.

Twins Outright Danny Coulombe

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The Twins have assigned left-hander Danny Coulombe outright to their alternate training site after he cleared waivers, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets.

The 30-year-old Coulombe only pitched in two games with the Twins in the short time between the selection his contract and a subsequent late-August DFA. He pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings between those two contests, walking three hitters but also picking up three strikeouts.

Coulombe has appeared in parts of six Major League seasons, 2020 included, and notched a collective 4.19 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a 56 percent ground-ball rate. He’s found a new gear in terms of strikeouts over the past two seasons in Triple-A, punching out 61 hitters in just 36 1/3 innings. He’ll stick with the Twins in their 60-man player pool and is eligible to return to the club later this season should the need for some bullpen reinforcements arise.

Twins Designate Ildemaro Vargas For Assignment

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The Twins have designated infielder Ildemaro Vargas for assignment, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets. That will make room for third baseman Josh Donaldson’s activation from the injured list.

Vargas is just a few weeks into his tenure with the Twins, who acquired him from the Diamondbacks for cash considerations on Aug. 11. While the 29-year-old Vargas brings a great deal of defensive versatility to the table, having played all over the diamond since he debuted in 2017, his bat his held him back.

The switch-hitting Vargas has only mustered a .255/.284/.385 line with seven home runs in 289 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, including 24 PA as a member of the Twins. He has, however, recorded a much more encouraging .326/.371/.464 line with 126 extra-base hits (88 doubles, 21 homers, 17 triples) over 1,468 plate appearances in Triple-A ball.

Twins Activate Buxton, Pineda; Donaldson To Be Activated On Wednesday

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3:37PM: The Twins officially announced that Buxton and Pineda have been reinstated.  LaMonte Wade Jr. was optioned to the alternate training site in a corresponding move, and righty Juan Minaya has been designated for assignment.

9:07AM: The Twins didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline but will still receive some key additions this week. Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets that center fielder Byron Buxton will be activated from the injured list today, while right-hander Michael Pineda will return from his reduced 60-game PED suspension tonight as well. Third baseman Josh Donaldson will be reinstated from the IL tomorrow, Hayes adds.

The Twins have faceplanted over the past week, dropping six straight games to fall to third place in the American League Central. They’re still in playoff position but are now slotted in as a No. 7 seed under the expanded format, whereas they’d previously been in the mix for the top overall seed in the American League. There’s still time to right the ship, of course, particularly with six more games against the first-place White Sox and three more against the second-place Indians still on the schedule.

Buxton began the season in a 1-for-15 slump but has hit .264 with five homers and a .566 slugging percentage in 15 games since. Unfortunately, he’s only drawn one walk on the year, leaving him with an ugly slash line of .221/.225/.456. He’s been out since Aug. 20 due to shoulder inflammation, but the hope will be that he can continue his power output while showing a bit more discipline to boost that OBP in a meaningful way. Buxton’s glovework remains sound as ever; he’s checked in at +5 Defensive Runs Saved and a +3.0 Ultimate Zone Rating in just 170 innings.

Pineda, meanwhile, will make his season debut when he’s reinstated from the restricted list. The Twins re-signed the big righty to a two-year, $20MM contract over the winter, knowing full well he’d need to miss 39 games under the 60-game PED ban he received late last year. Of course, at the time, the expectation was that those 39 games would represent just 24 percent of the 162-game schedule — not 65 percent of a 60-game schedule.

The 31-year-old Pineda was a key member of the Twins’ staff prior to last year’s suspension, logging 146 innings with a 4.01 ERA and 4.02 FIP. He’ll join a rotation mix that also includes Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Rich Hill and Randy Dobnak.

As for Donaldson, he’s played just seven games this year due to a calf strain — an injury that president of baseball operations Derek Falvey recently said the team approached in a deliberately conservative manner given the slugger’s history with calf issues. Donaldson, who inked a four-year, $92MM deal with the Twins in the offseason, opened the season in a 4-for-22 skid, though he belted 37 homers with an even .900 OPS for the Braves a season ago. Marwin Gonzalez has received the bulk of playing time at third base in Donaldson’s absence and struggled at the plate (.225/.299/.324). He’ll likely return to a super-utility role when Donaldson is activated.

AL Central Trade Deadline Recap

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With the deadline in the rearview mirror, we’ll look back at each AL Central team’s trade activity over the past month.

Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

Minnesota Twins

AL Injury Notes: Twins, Jays, Kennedy, Hernandez, Odor

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Some notes on prominent injury situations around the American League:

  • Twins’ manager Rocco Baldelli provided encouraging updates on a trio of injured players, via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter links). Star third baseman Josh Donaldson and center fielder Byron Buxton are seemingly nearing their returns, with each scheduled to play in an intrasquad game at the team’s alternate training site this afternoon. Right-hander Cody Stashak is evidently a bit further behind, but he’s lining up for a bullpen session soon, Park reports. If all goes well, he could be back on the active roster shortly thereafter.
  • Blue Jays’ closer Ken Giles will throw a live batting practice session tomorrow, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). An impending free agent, Giles has been limited to two appearances this season by a forearm strain. Fellow right-handed reliever Jordan Romano, who looked on his way to breaking through as one of the game’s top strikeout artists before going down with a strained finger, has not yet progressed to throwing, Nicholson-Smith adds. The Toronto organization hopes he’ll be able to return this year, though.
  • Royals’ reliever Ian Kennedy is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain, the club announced. He’ll have an MRI tomorrow, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (Twitter link). So continues a nightmarish season for the 35-year-old, who has allowed 17 runs (14 earned) in 14 innings. 2020 is the final year of Kennedy’s five-year, $70MM contract.
  • The Red Sox are sending reliever Darwinzon Hernández to the 10-day injured list with a sprained AC joint, via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The hard-throwing southpaw missed the first three weeks of the season after testing positive for COVID-19, limiting him to three appearances. They’ve been more of the same for Hernández, who continues to rack up otherworldly strikeout totals while issuing an alarming number of walks.
  • Rougned Odor is headed to the Rangers’ 10-day injured list with an eye infection, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). In his stead, shortstop Elvis Andrus is returning from an IL stint of his own. The Rangers discussed an Odor deal with the Red Sox earlier today, but the underperforming second baseman will instead remain in Arlington.

Latest On Twins’ Interest In Starting Pitching Market

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The Twins are “working aggressively to trade for a starter today,” tweets Jon Morosi of MLB Network.  Morosi reiterates their interest in the Angels’ Dylan Bundy and the Rangers’ Lance Lynn, which he has previously reported.  Darren Wolfson of KSTP has a different take, noting the Twins’ existing rotation depth and tendency to “call every team to get a gauge on price points.”

The Twins have been working with Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Rich Hill, and Randy Dobnak in the rotation, and they’ll add Michael Pineda tomorrow as his suspension concludes.  Jake Odorizzi is working his way back from an abdominal bruise, while Homer Bailey’s biceps tendinitis makes him more of a question mark.  Wolfson’s point: this is not a team in desperate need of starting pitching.

Lynn, 33, figures to be one of the day’s hottest commodities.  The 12-21 Rangers are one of perhaps seven obvious sellers, and Lynn has been excellent since signing a three-year deal with Texas in December 2018.  He’s owed about $1.5MM for the remainder of the season, plus an affordable $8MM salary for 2021.  The Angels are in a similar spot with Bundy, a 27-year-old for whom things seem to be clicking after seven starts.

It’s worth noting that Lynn made 20 starts for the Twins in 2018 before being traded to the Yankees, at which point his resurgence began.  After that season, the Twins hired Wes Johnson as their pitching coach.  It’s not clear how the organization’s familiarity with Lynn affects their interest.  If the Twins do push for a starter today, their efforts will likely be muddied by the division-rival White Sox, who have also been connected to both Lynn and Bundy.

Central News & Rumors: Hader, Burnes, Twins, Norris, Romine, Tigers, Chatwood, Gio

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The Brewers are receiving a lot of interest on Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (all links to Twitter), though there isn’t any sign that Milwaukee would consider moving either reliever for anything less than a major offer, particularly for Hader.  Brett Anderson or David Phelps are perhaps more realistic options to be dealt if the Brewers opt to move an arm.  The Yankees and Twins are two of the clubs who have been in touch with the Brew Crew about Hader, but there hasn’t been much indication that talks led anywhere.

Let’s dive into some news and trade buzz from around both the NL and AL Central divisions…

  • The Tigers are drawing interest in catcher Austin Romine and left-hander Daniel Norris, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports in both a tweet and a longer notes column.  The Rays are one team linked to Norris, who has impressed by posting a 2.40 ERA, 7.2 K/9, and 4.00 K/BB rate over 15 innings.  The former second-round draft pick has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and missed part of Summer Camp recovering from a positive COVID-19 test, though he has performed well as a multi-inning reliever for the Tigers this year.  Romine has also enjoyed a strong season with a .291/.309/.418 slash line over 81 PA, though his trade chip status could have a late wrinkle — the Tigers scratched him from today’s lineup due to right knee soreness.
  • Tyler Chatwood left today’s outing due to right elbow discomfort, according to the Cubs.  The righty bounced a pitch to the plate in the third inning, with manager David Ross telling ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers and other reporters that Chatwood initially felt a problem while throwing a breaking ball on the previous pitch.  Chatwood was making his second start back from the injured list after missing much of August with a back strain.  Elbow problems aren’t good news for any pitcher, though it is particularly concerning in Chatwood’s case since he already has a Tommy John surgery on his record.
  • The injury bug also struck on the south side of Chicago, as the White Sox placed left-hander Gio Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 27) with a right groin strain.  Gonzalez’s first year with the Sox hasn’t been a smooth one, as he has a 5.11 ERA over 24 2/3 innings and a 1.5 HR/9 that is almost twice his 0.8 career average.  His most recent outing was, intriguingly, 3 2/3 inning of shutout relief against the Cubs, which could hint at Gonzalez’s role for the White Sox when he returns from the IL.

A’s, Twins, Padres, Blue Jays Interested In Lance Lynn

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4:55PM: The Athletics are “potentially” also interested in Lynn, Morosi notes in an on-air report (Twitter link).

TODAY, 11:30AM: The Twins are also in on Lynn, hears Jon Morosi of MLB Network (via Twitter). Morosi adds that Lynn is “increasingly likely” to be moved before tomorrow’s deadline.

AUGUST 29: Count the Padres and Blue Jays among the teams to have expressed interest in Rangers starter Lance Lynn, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. With the White Sox also cited as a suitor for Lynn earlier today, the Rangers appear to have a robust market forming for their top starter, for whom they’re said to be “entertaining offers,” though that’s no guarantee that they’re determined to deal Lynn prior to Monday’s trading deadline.

Beyond the three teams named above, it seems likely that almost every pitching-needy team will inquire about Lynn, who is coveted not only because of his elite production, but because he’s not just a rental: the 33-year-old will remain under contract through next season, when he’ll be paid $8MM—by no means a steep cost for a pitcher of his caliber. Those factors could make Lynn a hotly contested name during what might otherwise be a quiet trade season.

We’ll have to see just how much the Rangers are willing to part with Lynn, but there’s no doubt they’ll command a pretty high asking price for their top arm. Still, if there are teams who can meet such an asking price, San Diego, Chicago, and Toronto are among them. All three of those teams have substantial prospect capital to pry Lynn from Texas, assuming they’re .

And one might think of that trio in similar terms: all three teams are finally seeing on-field results following years of speculative “potential.” They rely on a core of young, blossoming position players but largely lack veteran pitchers to match. As those clubs look to enter win-now mode (perhaps the Blue Jays to a lesser degree than the White Sox or Padres), Lynn would be a sensible addition to any pitching staff.

Dylan Bundy Drawing Interest From Twins, White Sox, Braves

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Los Angeles Angels right-hander Dylan Bundy has drawn trade interest from the Twins, White Sox, and Braves, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter).

After an up-and-down career in Baltimore, Bundy has put together a solid stretch for the Angels here in 2020 to make himself an intriguing trade target. Through six starts in Los Angeles, Bundy is 3-2 with a 2.58 ERA/3.08 FIP and gaudy 5.50 K/BB ratio. Bundy takes the hill tonight for the seventh time this season in what could be his final start in Los Angeles.

If the Angels are believers in Bundy’s progress this year, their chances of contending in 2021 would take a hit by sending him out of town. As much as the Angels have struggled to sign and develop pitching, however, Bundy has just one more season of control remaining. GM Billy Eppler may see an opportunity here to fleece a market shy on sellers and to re-stock their development pool. The Angels gave up four minor-league arms to acquire Bundy, so the price figures to be high. Still, with as much promise as Bundy showed as a prospect, he owned just a 4.67 ERA/4.75 FIP coming into this season, and the Angels could look to sell high on the 27-year-old.

In terms of their suitors, the Twins, White Sox, and Braves are all jockeying for playoff position and could use an additional rotation arm. The Braves have seen their once-strong depth depleted this season and suddenly find themselves lacking certainty in the rotation after Max Fried. Ian Anderson had a strong debut, but he’s just one start into his big-league career. They’d probably prefer to move Josh Tomlin back into a swing role, and Robbie Erlin’s overall numbers aren’t all that encouraging (6.14 ERA in three starts with the Braves).

The White Sox are known to be scouring the league for an additional rotation contributor. Lance Lynn and Robbie Ray are said to be on their list of potential targets. Chicago has a whole host of options for the back end of their rotation, but none of Reynaldo Lopez, Carlos Rodon, or Gio Gonzalez have been able to muster the health and consistency that the Pale Hose seek. Dane Dunning has looked good thus far, but the White Sox remain likely to land a starter sometime before the deadline.

The Twins reportedly reached out to the Reds about Trevor Bauer but were rebuffed. The Twinkies have stumbled of late, falling behind the upstart White Sox in the AL Central standings. Kenta Maeda and Randy Dobnak have been solid at the front of the rotation, though there’s at least a bit of smoke-and-mirrors behind Dobnak’s sterling 1.78 ERA. Rich Hill and José Berríos occupy two other rotation spots, but the fifth spot is currently up-for-grabs now that Homer Bailey and Jake Odorizzi have both landed on the injured list. In terms of targets, the Angels might be interested in prospects Jordan Balazovic and Jhoan Duran, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. More than likely the Angels would be targeting pitching in any potential return for Bundy.

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