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Twins Alter Coaching Staff Due To COVID-19 Concerns

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Twins bullpen coach Bob McClure and Major League coach Bill Evers will be sidelined for the 2020 season due to health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. It’s the team’s decision and came after physical exams that factored both age and preexisting conditions into consideration, per Neal. Both the 68-year-old McClure and the 66-year-old Evers will still be paid. The Twins have since confirmed the pair’s omission from the coaching staff. McClure and Evers could contribute in other ways, taking on advisory roles in the front office, according to Neal.

This would’ve been the first season for McClure with the Twins. Minnesota lost bullpen coach Jeremy Hefner to the Mets over the winter and named McClure, a former pitching coach with the Phillies, Red Sox, Royals and Marlins, as his successor. McClure had previously worked as a senior advisor with the Twins, focusing on pitching development, so it sounds as though he may instead handle a role more similar to the one he filled over the past two years.

Neal wrote this morning that minor league pitching coordinator Pete Maki was “in line” to replace McClure as the bullpen coach for the 2020 season, and he has now indeed been announced in that role. Minnesota hired Maki prior to the 2018 season after he’d spent a decade in the college coaching ranks — including stops as pitching coach at Columbia and Duke.

Evers was returning to the Twins’ staff for a second season. It’s no surprise that he joined the ranks alongside manager Rocco Baldelli, as the pair has a long history together in the Rays organization. Evers was Baldelli’s bench coach back in 2006-07, and he spent nine years as the Rays’ minor league field coordinator while Baldelli was rising through the coaching ranks in Tampa Bay. There’s no direct replacement for Evers listed, although the Twins’ coaching staff does now list 21-year MLB veteran LaTroy Hawkins as a special instructor. He’d previously been working as an advisor to the front office under president of baseball ops Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine.

Twins Announce Initial Player Pool

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The Twins on Monday announced their initial player pool for the 2020 season. Player pools can contain up to 60 players, and only players in a team’s pool will be eligible to participate in summer training camp or regular/postseason games. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit, but once a team’s pool reaches 60 players, a player must be removed (released, traded, waived, etc.) in order to make a new addition. That player becomes ineligible to return to that same team in 2020.

Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.

Here are the 59 players in the Twins’ initial pool (* indicates player not on 40-man roster; ^ indicates restricted list)…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Designated Hitter

Note: Pineda has 39 games remaining on a reduced 60-game PED suspension. That penalty must be served in full and is not prorated. Romero, meanwhile, is on the restricted list due to ongoing visa issues that make it unclear when he’ll be able to report. So while the team listed 59 players, the Twins technically have three open spots in their 60-man pool.

MLB Suspends Four Minor League Players

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MLB announced today that it has suspended four minor league players in violation of the league’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

  • Reds right-handed pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The 24-year-old Gutierrez played all of the 2019 season at Triple-A, starting 27 games and notching a 6.04 ERA while striking out 117 batters in 137 innings. Gutierrez received a $4.75MM signing bonus from Cincinnati after defecting from Cuba during the 2016-2017 offseason.
  • Two Dodgers pitchers have also been suspended: Juan Idrogo and Reza Aleaziz have received suspensions of 72 games and 50 games, respectively. Idrogo signed with the Dodgers during last summer’s international signing period, spending the summer in the Dominican Summer League. Aleaziz, 24, reached High-A ball last year after the Dodgers made him a 28th-round selection in 2018.
  • Twins infielder Jose Rosario will also receive a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse. Rosario, 18, played last year, his pro debut, with the Twins affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. He posted a stellar .422 OBP in his first foray in affiliated ball.

Quick Hits: Schedule, Twins, A’s, Minor League Pay

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The Nationals and Yankees are tentatively scheduled to play on July 23, according to Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, which would make for a big Max Scherzer vs. Gerrit Cole pitching matchup to highlight Opening Day.  It might still be at least a week or two before the 2020 schedule is officially finalized, however, as the league is still considering a number of factors, chief among them coronavirus outbreaks around the United States.  “Better, the league believes, to take its time, see how the [COVID-19] testing of personnel goes this week and the preferences expressed in feedback from clubs,” Sherman and Marchand write.  “So the current schedule can change drastically and, if it does, the union will have to provide its blessing again.”

More from around baseball…

  • Tomorrow is the deadline for teams to submit their initial 60-man player pool, and details are already beginning to emerge about which players may or may not be included.  The Twins’ taxi squad will include top prospects Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Brent Rooker,  SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson tweets.  Caleb Thielbar, who rejoined Minnesota on a minors contract last winter, is also expected to be on taxi squad duty.
  • The Athletics will initially split their player pool into two groups, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, with much of the big league roster training in Oakland and the taxi squad potentially training in nearby Stockton — the home of the Athletics’ Class-A affiliate — if a deal can be finalized with Stockton city officials.  Offseason minor league signings Ryan Goins, Carlos Perez, Jordan Weems, and Lucas Luetge will all be in Oakland, while taxi squad players include such notable prospects as Tyler Soderstrom, Daulton Jefferies, Nick Allen, Dustin Fowler and (as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez) Robert Puason.
  • Slusser also provides updates on some Athletics players who were battling injuries during the spring but are now on track to be ready for Opening Day.  A.J. Puk “has been throwing bullpen sessions for months” following a shoulder strain in the spring, and looks to be ready to begin the season in Oakland’s rotation.  Right-hander Daniel Mengden is also ready to be part of the pitching mix after recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery in February.  After being sidelined with an intercostal strain during Spring Training, Stephen Piscotty said he is now “100 percent with no limitations.”
  • The Rays and Rangers are the latest teams to commit to paying their minor leaguers through the end of July, as respectively reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Minor leaguers in each organization will continue to receive their $400 weekly stipends for at least another month.

Quick Hits: Exhibition Games, 60-Man, Scouting, D-backs, Dodgers, Twins

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There has been some question as to whether the second version of spring training will include any games, but that’s no longer the case. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Major League Baseball has told teams they’ll allow them to schedule up to three exhibition contests apiece before the regular season starts July 23-24. The best case is to have exhibition opponents located in close proximity to one another. However, if a team isn’t near any potential opponents, it can schedule a game(s) versus the first club it will play in the regular season in the days leading up to their opener, according to Rosenthal.

  • Jayson Stark of The Athletic passes along some more information on the 2020 campaign (Twitter links: 1, 2). For one, once a team removes a player from its 60-man player pool, the club won’t be able to bring him back. However, a player will still be able to go back and forth between the major league roster and the taxi squad if a team keeps him in its 60-man group. Also, opposing scouts will not be allowed to attend taxi squad workouts or intrasquad games, relays Stark, who adds that it’s up in the air whether MLB will permit in-person scouting at all this year – including during the playoffs.
  • It’s already known that one Diamondbacks player has recently tested positive for the coronavirus. He’s not the only member of the organization to do so, though, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes that “several” of the organization’s minor leaguers and one minor league coach have tested positive over the past week. All of the positives came out of the club’s spring training facility in Salt River, Ariz., but each of those individuals were and are asymptomatic.
  • The coronavirus has also affected the Dodgers and Twins of late. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters Thursday that members of the Dodgers organization have tested positive, but nobody had “symptoms that were problematic.” Meanwhile, Twins president of baseball ops said (via Phil Miller of the Star Tribune) that “a few” of their players and minor leaguers have tested positive in recent days, though none of those individuals were in Minneapolis or the team’s spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla., at the time.

Twins Sign First-Rounder Aaron Sabato

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5:20pm: Minnesota has announced the signing.

3:50pm: The Twins will sign their first-round pick, first baseman Aaron Sabato, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He’ll make $2.75MM, which is a bit more than the $2.57MM slot value of the 27th choice.

Sabato’s coming off a two-year run at North Carolina, where he batted .332/.459/.698 with 25 home runs in 368 plate appearances over parts of two seasons. The 21-year-old has earned some comparisons to Mets 2019 NL Rookie of the Year winner Pete Alonso, Mayo notes.

High-profile prospect outlets such as MLB.com, Baseball America, ESPN, The Athletic and FanGraphs ranked Sabato in the high 30s or low 40s in this year’s class. FanGraphs called Sabato a “bat-only prospect,” though BA wrote that he has the raw power to rival Spencer Torkelson, whom the Tigers drafted first overall.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/20/20

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Let’s catch up on the latest draft signings …

  • The Astros were able to wrap up all of their draft business, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. In addition to picking up some undrafted free agents, the Houston organization inked its four draftees. The key signing was Alex Santos, a high school hurler who’ll turn pro after being offered $1.25MM — a fair bit over the $870,700 slot he was chosen at. Zach Daniels and Tyler Brown each signed for near their slot amounts, while fifth-rounder Shay Witcomb took just $56K and left the team with room to ink Santos.
  • Also inking for $1.2MM was Rangers’ choice Dylan MacLean. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported the news on Twitter. MacLean was a fourth-round pick in the draft, signing for more than double his slot amount. MacLean is a southpaw hurler out of Central Catholic High School in Oregon.
  • The Braves went well over slot to sign fifth-rounder Bryce Elder, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). Elder will receive $850K, far north of the $336,600 allocation for the 156th overall pick.
  • As he said he would, Tigers fourth-rounder Gage Workman has reached agreement on a deal with his new team. The Detroit organization announced the signing, though it isn’t yet known what the Arizona State infielder will receive to forego a return for another run with the Sun Devils. Still just twenty years of age, Workman posted a lifetime .298/.372/.496 mark at ASU. He’s likely to begin his pro career as a shortstop.
  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve signed third-rounder Levi Prater. He’ll earn $575K ($627,900 slot value), Callis tweets. Callils notes that Prater is a right-handed hurler with a 90-93 mph fastball.
  • The Phillies added fourth-rounder Carson Ragsdale and fifth-rounder Baron Radcliff, per Callis (Twitter links). Ragsdale will earn $225K, well under the $497,500 slot value. Radcliff, a Georgia Tech outfielder, is slated to take home $100K, which will also leave some savings since his draft slot came with a $371,600 pool allocation.
  • The White Sox chased some serious mid-round savings. Third-round choice Adisyn Coffee has inked for $50K and fourth-rounder Kade Mechals went for $10K, Callis reports (Twitter links). Both are right-handed hurlers, Coffee from Wabash Valley College and Mechals out of Grand Canyon. It’s not hard to interpret these signings: the White Sox wish to reallocate the rest of the slot money ($733,100 and $517,400, respectively). The club is believed to be lining up a big bonus with second-rounder Jarred Kelley, though he hasn’t yet signed.
  • Rays third-rounder Hunter Barnhart is heading to Tampa Bay on a $585K bonus, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The Rays saved some cash in inning Barnhart, whose third-round slot carried a value of $604,800.
  • High school righty Marco Raya has agreed to terms with the Twins. Callis tweets that he’ll receive a $410K bonus, which isn’t far shy of the $442,900 slot value. Raya is foregoing a commitment to Texas Tech. Though he’s hardly a power hurler, he’s said to have an “interesting four-pitch mix.”

Twins Agree To Terms With Sign Second- And Fourth-Round Picks

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The Twins have agreed to terms with second-round pick Alerick Soularie and fourth-round pick Marco Raya, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR North and 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). They’re also expected to finish up a deal with first-rounder Aaron Sabato before long. He’ll be in town for a physical next week, per Wolfson.

Soularie, 20, had a huge freshman season with San Jacinto College in Texas before transferring to the University of Tennessee and posting similarly impressive sophomore numbers. In his two seasons with the Tennessee program (2019 and this year’s shortened 2020 campaign), the outfielder batted a combined .336/.448/.586 with 16 homers, 14 doubles, a triple and 10 steals in 311 plate appearances. The Cards initially drafted Soularie after his 2018 showing with San Jacinto, but not until the 29th round, so his decision not to sign at that point will pay substantial dividends. Soularie’s No. 59 slot comes with a $1.19MM slot value.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Soularie’s bonus will check in at $900K, which falls a bit shy of his No. 59 overall slot’s $1.185MM value. Pre-draft rankings on Soularie ranged from 105th overall at MLB.com to 175th at Baseball America and 193rd at FanGraphs. He’s touted for his hit tool and what is currently an all-fields, line-drive approach. MLB.com’s report on him suggests that he could eventually tap into 20-homer power, though, and Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs noted that Soularie has “some similarities to Khris Davis.”

Raya, meanwhile, was a Texas Tech commit who ranked 238th on Longenhagen’s list and 291st at BA. Both reports on him note that he has an above-average slider and a heater that reaches the mid-90s, with praising his ability to spin not only a slider but also a potentially above-average curveball. Raya is just 6’0″ and 160 pounds, so some scouts surely questioned his size.

Undrafted Free Agent Signings: 6/17/20

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Here are the latest undrafted free agent signings from around the majors. Reminder: $20K is the maximum an unpicked player can receive this year…

  • Lamar infielder J.C. Correa will sign with the Astros, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. He’ll join his brother, star shortstop Carlos Correa, in the Houston organization. The Astros drafted J.C. Correa in 2018 (33rd round) and ’19 (38th), but he decided not to sign on those occasions because he wanted to earn his degree first. He slashed .315/.368/.469 and swatted 10 home runs over 304 plate appearances at Lamar.
  • Indiana University outfielder Elijah Dunham announced Wednesday that he has signed with the Yankees. Dunham, who didn’t sign after the Pirates selected him in the 40th round in 2019, cracked the top 250 pre-draft rankings of ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel this year and checked in at No. 186 on Baseball America’s list. BA writes that Dunham carries a “balanced offensive profile in a corner outfield spot.”
  • The Braves have added a local product in University of Georgia shortstop Cam Shepherd, Baseball America tweets. He was BA’s top available undrafted senior, and the outlet ranked him as the 298th-best prospect entering the draft. His stock has fallen in BA’s eyes from a year ago, though, as it had Shepherd as the 97th-rated pre-draft prospect then. The Rays took Shepherd in the 20th round in 2019, but he opted against signing.
  • The Indians have signed Fresno State left-hander Jaime Arias for $20K, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com tweets. Primarily a reliever in college, Arias pitched to a 3.56 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 139 innings.
  • The Red Sox have added Grand Canyon University first baseman Cuba Bess, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. Bess slashed .313/.425/.517 with 12 home runs in 348 PA as a collegian.
  • The Marlins have picked up Air Force outfielder Ashton Easley, per Craig Mish of Sports Grid. Easley was a .301/.364/.512 hitter with 17 homers across 619 PA in school. The club has also signed VCU infielder Brett Norwood, who batted .303/.425/.440 with seven HRs in 299 college PA.
  • The Twins have inked UNC-Wilmington southpaw Zarion Sharpe, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune writes. Sharpe stayed in school despite going to the Cardinals in the 19th round a year ago, and he tossed 20 2/3 frames of 2.18 ERA ball with 8.7 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 this season.

Undrafted Free Agent Signings: 6/16/20

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This year’s five-round draft left a lot of deserving players looking for deals on the open market. Here’s a roundup of some of the many recent undrafted players who have reached agreements with MLB organizations:

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