Twins Call Up LaMonte Wade Jr.
10:00am: The Twins have called up Wade and placed utilityman Willians Astudillo on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain.
7:11am: The Twins are calling up outfield prospect LaMonte Wade Jr. from Triple-A Rochester, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News first suggested Wade would receive a promotion). Wade is already on the Twins’ 40-man roster, though they will need to make a corresponding 25-man move.
The 25-year-old Wade’s first major league call-up comes as first-place Minnesota is dealing with injuries in its outfield. Starting center fielder Byron Buxton and the outfield-capable duo of Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza have all landed on the injured list over the past two weeks. The club also saw No. 1 left fielder Eddie Rosario suffer an ankle sprain in Wednesday’s win over Tampa Bay, though manager Rocco Baldelli indicated afterward it’s not a serious injury, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Wade joined the Twins as a ninth-round pick in 2015. He debuted in Rochester last season and has since posted a .238/.366/.351 line with nine home runs and 11 stolen bases in 590 plate appearances. While that’s not stellar aggregate production, Wade’s plate discipline and on-base skills have opened eyes this year. The lefty swinger has collected more walks (50) than strikeouts (42), which has helped lead to a lofty .395 OBP. FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen credited Wade’s walk-drawing ability and “rangy, corner outfield defense” when they ranked him as the Twins’ 16th-best prospect back in April.
Twins Reportedly Interested In Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith
9:09am: The Twins and Giants haven’t held “high-level talks in recent weeks” regarding Bumgarner, Jeff Passan of ESPN hears. On the other hand, the Twins are interested in Giants closer Will Smith, per Passan. The 29-year-old Smith may be an even more enticing rental than Bumgarner. Not only is Smith on an appealing $4.23MM salary, but the southpaw has been one of the most dominant relievers in the game this season. Smith has registered a 1.95 ERA/2.01 FIP with 13.64 K/9 and 1.95 BB/9 across 32 1/3 innings, and has converted all 21 of his save opportunities.
8:15am: While Minnesota owns the American League’s best record at 51-27, it’s not resting on its laurels with the July 31 trade deadline approaching. The club has “strong interest” in Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports. The Twins are not on Bumgarner’s limited no-trade list, as Nightengale notes, so he wouldn’t be able to stand in the way of a deal.
The Twins’ starting staff has statistically been one of the most productive in the majors’ this year, having put together a 3.74 ERA/3.95 FIP with 8.27 K/9 against 2.36 BB/9. Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi have offered excellent production, while Kyle Gibson and Martin Perez have given the team a pair of fine complements. Perez has struggled of late, though, and while Michael Pineda hasn’t posted great aggregate production this year in his return from Tommy John surgery, he has picked it up since the start of May.
For the Twins, acquiring Bumgarner would likely mean sending one of Perez or Pineda into their bullpen. And landing Bumgarner would also keep him away from AL rivals, including the Yankees, who may pursue the three-time world champion in an effort to bolster their rotation. While the 29-year-old Bumgarner is no longer performing like the front-line starter he was during his halcyon days, he remains a quality option who will draw no shortage of interest over the next month-plus.
In his most recent start Tuesday, Bumgarner fired six innings of 11-strikeout ball in a win over the Rockies, who mustered three hits, three walks and two earned runs off him. Bumgarner has now pitched to a 4.21 ERA/4.16 FIP, which isn’t spectacular, though he has recorded 9.12 strikeouts per nine against 2.1 walks. He has also averaged six innings per start, having totaled 102 2/3 frames in 17 appearances, and maintained his normal velocity. It’s also worth noting Bumgarner has a reputation as one of the game’s elite playoff pitchers, though it’s unclear how much that will matter to modern front offices when it comes time to pony up for him via trade.
The Giants, for their part, don’t necessarily have to deal Bumgarner. While Bumgarner’s only under contract through this season, during which he’s earning $12MM, he’s a franchise icon they may try to extend. At the same time, though, the Giants aren’t contenders this year and seem unlikely to put together a playoff-caliber team by next season. Considering that and the Giants’ weak farm system, it’s likely they’ll cash Bumgarner in for prospects – perhaps at least one top 100 farmhand – in the coming weeks.
Alex Meyer Retires
Right-hander Alex Meyer has announced his retirement via Instagram, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.
“After multiple surgeries and countless hours of rehab, the end of the road for my baseball career has come,” said the 29-year-old.
As Meyer noted, injuries were a problem throughout his career, which began in 2011 when the Nationals chose the ex-Kentucky Wildcat 23rd overall. The 6-foot-9 Meyer’s union with the Nationals came together three years after he declined to sign with the Red Sox for $2.2MM as a 20th-rounder in 2008.
Meyer lasted with the Nationals through the 2012 season, after which they traded him to the Twins for outfielder Denard Span. While the hard-throwing Meyer eventually blossomed into one of baseball’s top 50 prospects with Minnesota, he dealt with shoulder issues as a member of the organization and made minimal impact in the majors. Meyer totaled 6 1/3 innings as a Twin from 2015-16, and the team traded him to the Angels in an August 2016 deal that delivered Hector Santiago to Minnesota.
Meyer ultimately garnered almost all of his major league experience as an Angel, with whom he pitched to a 3.94 ERA/4.09 FIP and posted 10.01 K/9 against 5.56 BB/9 across 89 innings and 18 starts from 2016-17. Meyer then underwent surgery on a torn shoulder labrum in September 2017 and never made it back to the majors, though the Angels did re-sign him to a minor league contract last December.
Although Meyer’s time in pro baseball didn’t go the way he wanted, he still ended on a high note. In the final appearance of his career July 19, 2017, Meyer tossed seven innings of shutout, one-hit ball with seven strikeouts against one walk in a 7-0 win over his first team, the Nationals.
Twins Sign Carlos Torres
The Twins have signed free-agent right-hander Carlos Torres to a minor league contract, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets.
Torres will now stay in the American League Central, where he spent the previous month before the Tigers designated him for assignment this past weekend. The 36-year-old could have stayed in the Detroit organization after clearing waivers, but he elected for free agency on Monday. It proved to be a good decision for Torres, who quickly found another opportunity.
Torres totaled six innings with the Tigers before they cut the cord on him, allowing five earned runs on nine hits (two home runs) with one walk against eight strikeouts. Also a former National, White Sox, Rockie, Met and Brewer, Torres has recorded a 4.09 ERA/4.23 FIP with 7.94 K/9, 3.41 BB/9 and a 44.3 percent groundball rate in 506 2/3 innings in the majors. Although he hasn’t logged much major league experience since 2017 in Milwaukee, he’ll try to catch on with a contending Twins team.
Twins Designate Gabriel Moya For Assignment
The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated infielder Ronald Torreyes from the restricted list and designated left-handed reliever Gabriel Moya for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Torreyes was placed on the restricted list earlier this month for undisclosed reasons after already having spent a stretch on the temporarily inactive list. He’s been assigned to Class-A Advanced Fort Myers, where he’ll build back up after last playing in a game on May 3.
Moya, 24, hasn’t pitched in the Majors in 2019 but appeared in the big leagues with the Twins in 2017 and 2018. In 42 2/3 innings at the MLB level, he’s posted a 4.64 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 1.69 HR/9 and a 38.3 percent ground-ball rate. Moya has dominated in the upper minors in the past despite a pedestrian fastball that averages under 90 mph, but he’s been clobbered for a 7.36 ERA with a 27-to-13 K/BB ratio and three hit batters in 22 innings with Triple-A Rochester this year.
Moya logged a 1.90 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball in 2018 and an eye-popping 0.77 ERA in 58 1/3 Double-A frames back in 2017. Although he’s anything but overpowering, he’s managed to consistently post gaudy strikeout totals in the minors, with a career minor league K/9 of 11.4. He has a minor league option remaining beyond the 2019 season, which, when paired with his prior success in the upper minors, could make him an appealing flier for another team (either via minor trade or a waiver claim).
Twins To Sign Cody Allen
The Twins are expected to sign free-agent reliever Cody Allen to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Allen became available when the Angels released him this past Tuesday.
Allen will now reunite with Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey, who was in the Indians’ front office for a large portion of Allen’s Tribe tenure. Now 30, Allen pitched to a sterling 2.98 ERA/3.17 FIP with 11.52 K/9 and 3.53 BB/9 in 440 2/3 innings as a member of the Indians from 2012-18. He also converted on 149 of 172 save opportunities in that span, though a down 2018 helped convince the Indians to move on from Allen last offseason.
Allen inked an $8.5MM guarantee with the Angels over the winter, but his decline continued with Anaheim. After Allen put up a disastrous 6.26 ERA/8.34 FIP with 11.35 K/9, 7.83 BB/9 and a 19.7 percent groundball rate in 23 innings with the Angels, they released him. There was great interest in Allen thereafter, but the Twins won the bidding for his services.
At 50-26, Minnesota boasts the American League’s leading record. However, there’s room for improvement in its bullpen. The Twins’ relief corps ranks 12th in the majors in FIP and K/BB ratio, and 16th in ERA. Perhaps Allen will be able to help the unit’s cause down the stretch.
Twins Sign Drew Hutchison
The Twins have signed right-hander Drew Hutchison to a minor league contract, according to Nate Rowan, director of communications for Triple-A Rochester. Hutchison will start for Rochester on Friday, per Rowan.
Hutchison opened 2019 as a member of the Yankees’ Triple-A club after signing a minors deal in the offseason. He struggled to a 5.14 ERA/4.86 FIP with 8.7 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a 42.8 percent groundball rate in that 63-inning span, though. Hutchison was far better as a member of the Dodgers’ top affiliate in 2018, however, and does own a solid 3.81 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 425 1/3 Triple-A frames.
Now 28, Hutchison is still best known for an occasionally effective run with the Blue Jays from 2012-16. Since then, though, the former Tommy John surgery patient hasn’t produced much in the majors with the Pirates, Phillies or Rangers. Despite useful strikeout and walk rates (8.11 K/9, 3.07 BB), Hutchison has managed an unappealing 5.10 ERA/4.45 FIP in 460 1/3 major league innings – mostly as a starter.
Twins Place Marwin Gonzalez On IL, Select Sean Poppen
The Twins have placed utilityman Marwin Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, the team announced. They also sent reliever Blake Parker to the family medical emergency list. To replace Gonzalez and Parker, the Twins recalled utility player Willians Astudillo and selected righty Sean Poppen‘s contract from Triple-A Rochester. The club also transferred lefty Adalberto Mejia to the 60-day IL.
Gonzalez was one of the Twins’ highest-profile acquisitions last winter, when they signed the ex-Astro to a two-year, $21MM guarantee. The 30-year-old didn’t make an ideal first impression with the Twins, as he owned a meager .579 OPS as recently as May 10. But the switch-hitting Gonzalez has come alive since then for the first-place club, evidenced by his .255/.323/.420 line (98 wRC+) with nine home runs across 254 plate appearances. Defensively, the versatile Gonzalez has primarily played third base this season, but he has also logged multiple appearances at first, second and in the corner outfield.
Poppen, 25, is in line to make his Twins debut three years after they chose him in the 19th round of the 2016 draft. Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs wrote back in May 2018 that Poppen possesses “three pitches that flash above average and good control.” Poppen has gotten off to an outstanding start this year in his first Triple-A action, having posted a 1.55 ERA/3.61 FIP with 10.55 K/9 and 3.72 BB/9 over 29 innings.
Twins Sign Ian Krol
The Twins have signed left-hander Ian Krol to a minor league contract, according to Nate Rowan, Triple-A Rochester’s director of communications. Krol has already joined Rochester’s roster.
The 28-year-old Krol was previously with the Reds, who inked him to a minors deal over the winter. He threw 25 1/3 innings with their Triple-A affiliate in Louisville this season and managed a subpar 5.33 ERA/4.08 FIP with 9.95 K/9, 4.26 BB/9 and a 41.4 percent groundball rate. Krol has typically prevented runs at a much better clip in Triple-A ball, having combined for a 3.35 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 across 137 innings.
Of course, the hope for the Twins is that Krol will thrive in the minors and work his way to their bullpen. Krol was a viable major leaguer as recently as 2016, when he pitched to a 3.18 ERA/2.91 FIP with 9.88 K/9, 2.29 BB/9 and a 56 percent grounder rate in 51 innings as part of the Braves’ relief corps. But Krol otherwise hasn’t experienced a ton of big league success. Also a former National, Tiger and Angel, Krol has registered a 4.50 ERA/4.43 FIP with 8.43 K/9, 3.46 BB/9 and a 45.2 percent GB mark in 190 innings at the sport’s top level.
Twins Place Byron Buxton On 10-Day IL
The Twins have placed outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. He is still recovering from a right wrist contusion that was suffered recently on a hit-by-pitch.
It had been hoped that the injury would not require a trip to the IL, but Buxton evidently needs a bit more time off. The placement is retroactive to June 15th, as he has not appeared since being struck. He’ll be eligible to return as soon as Tuesday the 25th.
While this seems unlikely to be more than a blip, it’s still unfortunate to see even a brief pause in the season for the 25-year-old Buxton. The long-hyped youngster has come into his own thus far in 2019, turning in a cumulative .266/.324/.527 slash with nine home runs and ten steals over 227 plate appearances.
Jake Cave will get another look at the majors in Buxton’s absence. He was demoted after a weak start to the season but has been on a tear at Triple-A (.321/.373/.552).