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Cubs Acquire Bobby Wilson From Twins For Chris Gimenez

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The Cubs have acquired backstop Bobby Wilson from the Twins in a deal that will send fellow veteran receiver Chris Gimenez to Minnesota, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press was among those to report on Twitter. Cash or a player to be named later will also go to the Twins in the arrangement.

To create space on their 40-man roster, the Cubs announced, righty Cory Mazzoni was designated for assignment.

This deal involves a pair of catchers whose careers to date share quite a few similarities. Clearly, the Chicago organization preferred Wilson to Gimenez — at least, that is, at this point in the season.

Truthfully, there isn’t a ton that separates the two on the stat sheet. Both are 35 years of age and known for their positive clubhouse presence. Wilson and Gimenez have respectively, appeared in nine and ten MLB seasons while taking a grand total of 1,000 and 1,033 plate appearances. At the time of the trade, they had each spent time in the majors with six different clubs — several of them in common (Rangers, Rays, Twins, and now Cubs).

Though Gimenez has the advantage in the hitting department over the course of his career, he has endured a dreadful season at the plate. He didn’t produce at all in a dozen MLB games with the Cubs earlier in the year and is batting a meager .204/.282/.303 in 227 Triple-A plate appearances.

Wilson, certainly, hasn’t impressed the Chicago brass with his offensive output in 2018. In 151 plate appearances for the Twins, he’s slashing just .178/.242/.281 with a pair of home runs. Instead, it’s likely his sturdy defensive reputation — in particular, as a pitch receiver — that sparked today’s move.

Michael Pineda Has Torn Meniscus, Won’t Pitch In Majors This Season

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Right-hander Michael Pineda has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee and will not pitch in the Majors this season, Twins manager Paul Molitor revealed to reporters (Twitter links via Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Lefty Adalberto Mejia is also done for the season due a nerve issue in his left arm that’ll require more than the remaining five weeks to sufficiently heal.

The knee injury for Pineda is a discouraging one, as the right-hander had all but worked his way back to health following 2017 Tommy John surgery and had been expected to make a few starts for the Twins in September. The silver lining is that Pineda’s arm is seemingly fine, and he should be ready for Spring Training without any real health restrictions.

Minnesota’s signing of Pineda to a two-year, $10MM contract was never about the 2018 season anyhow. While the club would’ve considered it a bonus had the big right-hander been able to pitch out of the ’pen or make a few starts in September, the real goal of the signing was to acquire a talented arm to insert into the 2019 rotation.

Pineda has struggled to find consistency in the Majors, but he’s averaged 9.1 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 while racking up grounders at a roughly league-average clip. That’s a favorable combination of skills for any pitcher, and Pineda will be viewed as an important piece in what the Twins hope will be a considerably better 2019 season.

As for Mejia, he could also be a part of the rotation picture next season, though the lack of a September platform to make his case for that role is disheartening for him in its own right. Minnesota acquired the now-25-year-old lefty from the Giants in the July 2016 trade that sent Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco, and he went on to make 21 starts for the Twins in 2017, working to a 4.50 ERA through 98 innings. Mejia notched a 3.32 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 62 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2018, and he’s posted a 2.01 ERA in 24 1/3 innings in the Majors this year.

The Twins’ rotation in 2019 currently projects to feature Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi. Pineda should be favored to hold down one of the two vacancies, and there’ll be several candidates to take the fifth starter’s job, including Mejia, Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves, Kohl Stewart, Zack Littell and perhaps Trevor May. Minnesota could also look to either free-agent market or trade market this offseason for further rotation help, perhaps looking to condense some of those depth options into a more definitive upgrade to bolster the starting staff.

Injury Notes: Smith, Samardzija, Tulo, Pineda

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The Rays had a scare yesterday in regards to outfielder Mallex Smith, who was hospitalized due to a viral infection and has since been placed on the 10-day DL. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times has the full details here, noting that the infection doesn’t seem gravely serious and is a far cry from the severity of the bacterial infection that ended Indians outfielder Leonys Martin’s season. Smith was hitting .307 and functioning as the Rays’ leadoff hitter prior to being hospitalized, so the club will be keeping a close eye on his recovery. For the time being, right-hander Andrew Kittredge will take his spot on the active roster.

Other injury news and updates from around baseball…

  • Though recent trends would have led Giants fans to believe Jeff Samardzija would be making a return to the mound in 2018, a new development has made that significantly less likely. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that Samardzija has suffered a setback in his rehab from a shoulder injury. “There is a little concern there, to be honest,” manager Bruce Bochy said of the right-hander’s shoulder. “There’s some soreness. He’s not real close.” Samardzija has only taken the mound for ten starts so far this season, posting a nauseating 6.25 ERA.
  • The Blue Jays don’t expect Troy Tulowitzki to make a return to the field this season, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The message comes courtesy of manager John Gibbons. That means Tulo will have missed the entirety of the 2018 season after undergoing surgery on both of his heels at the outset of April. Even last season, Tulo played at replacement level by measure of Fangraphs’ WAR formula. With the shortstop’s lengthy injury history, it’s fair to wonder whether his playing career is in jeopardy.
  • Though Michael Pineda was set to make a rehab start on Monday for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reports that it’s been canceled in favor of a trip to the doctor. Pineda will undergo an MRI to get to the bottom of the irritation in his right knee. Pineda signed a two-year pact with Minnesota this offseason, even though it was well-known that he wouldn’t pitch for most of the season while recovering from a Tommy John surgery he underwent in 2017.

Injury Notes: Chapman, Judge, Sale, Santana, Goody, Iwakuma

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Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman went in for a platelet-rich plasma treatment on his ailing left knee, David Lennon of Newsday tweets. Skipper Aaron Boone indicated that the plan is to reevaluate the high-powered lefty in two weeks’ time. That’s a bit less promising than the initial suggestion that Chapman could be back after the minimum ten-day DL stint, though there’s no indication as of yet that there’s any real concern that the injury could carry over into the postseason. For a Yankees team that is all but locked into a Wild Card play-in game, getting Chapman up to full speed by the end of September is of much greater importance than having him available for the final month of the regular season.

  • Meanwhile, the Yankees are still waiting for a breakthrough from star outfielder Aaron Judge. As Boone stated, and MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweeted, the team has “stopped guessing” as to when Judge’s fractured wrist will be in good enough shape to allow him to resume swinging. In this case, perhaps, there’s a bit more reason to be anxious. It has been a long layoff for Judge, after all, and he’ll want to get as many plate appearances as possible before October arrives. Clearly, though, there’s not much the team can do but wait and hope the wrist improves.
  • The news is slightly more promising — though no less clear — on Red Sox southpaw Chris Sale. He’s “doing better” and “getting close,” per Boston manger Alex Cora, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports on Twitter. With a healthy division lead, the Boston organization is in no need of Sale’s services for the next five weeks. But he’s essential to the team’s World Series hopes, so getting his balky shoulder sorted out is a top priority.
  • The injured finger of Twins hurler Ervin Santana won’t require surgery, skipper Paul Molitor said and Phil Miller of the Star-Tribune tweeted. That said, the veteran is going to remain shut down until “doctors come up with a plan.” With the Twins’ season sunk and Santana not looking himself since making a brief return to the majors, the objective here is to set him up as well as possible for the future rather than rushing him back in 2018. While no decision has been made as to whether Santana will pitch again for the Twins this year, it could well be that he has already taken the mound for the club for the last time. Minnesota is unlikely to pick up its $14MM option over the right-hander, who will presumably be a popular bounceback target in the offseason to come.
  • Indians righty Nick Goody isn’t in need of a new ulnar collateral ligament, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets, but he is headed in for some kind of procedure. That’s rather promising news, given that the 27-year-old was making the rounds to several noted surgeons recently. Goody has missed much of the 2018 season with arm woes, making for a disappointing follow-up to his strong 2017 performance. Last year, Goody worked to a 2.80 ERA with 11.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 54 2/3 frames. He had been on track to reach arbitration via Super Two status this fall. While he’ll have enough MLB service time to reach it, he won’t be eligible since he has not spent 86 days on the active roster this season.
  • It seems the Mariners and Hisashi Iwakuma haven’t given up entirely on the veteran hurler this year. Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto said in a regular appearance on 710 ESPN (write-up via Brent Stecker) that the 37-year-old is nearing a rehab stint, in fact, though it doesn’t sound as if there’s particular cause for optimism that he’ll be a real factor this year. Iwakuma only made six starts in 2017 and hasn’t made it back to competitive action this season. Still, Dipoto suggested he’d do everything possible to get him up to the majors as a reliever down the stretch.

Michael Pineda Expected To Pitch For Twins In September

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  • Michael Pineda is slated to make two more starts for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate before joining the big league club in September, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Signed to a two-year, $10MM deal that pays him $8MM in 2019, Pineda is in the final stages of recovering from 2017 Tommy John surgery and is expected to be an important piece in Minnesota’s rotation next season. Manager Paul Molitor wouldn’t rule out giving Pineda a start or two in September but said he doesn’t plan to get him too stretched out. Berardino suggests that Pineda won’t top 75 pitches in any appearance this year.

Twins Release Taylor Motter

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The Twins organization announced today that it has released utilityman Taylor Motter. He had been playing at Triple-A Rochester.

Motter, 28, has only seen 16 games of major-league action this year but has taken 411 MLB plate appearances since the start of 2016. He’s capable of playing all over the field, but hasn’t distinguished himself at the plate. Motter is a .191/.263/.312 hitter in that span, with ten home runs and 13 steals.

Since he was claimed off waivers from the Mariners in late May, Motter has spent most of his time in the upper minors. On the year, he carries a meager .187/.277/.352 batting line in 364 plate appearances in the Seattle and Minnesota systems.

Growing Concern Regarding Ervin Santana's Finger

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  • There’s heightened “concern” regarding Ervin Santana following the right-hander’s visit with a hand specialist, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Twins skipper Paul Molitor told reporters that Santana is slated to undergo followup x-rays and an MRI to further determine the extent of the damage in his still-ailing right middle finger. The organization isn’t sure whether Santana will return in 2018, but Molitor said that it’s looking “less likely.” Santana has made just five starts in 2018 and struggled to an 8.03 ERA after undergoing surgery on that finger back in February. The Twins hold a $14MM club option on him, but given his injuries and poor performance, that seems unlikely to be exercised.

Twins Injury Notes: LoMo, Ervin

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  • While Logan Morrison was originally diagnosed with a hip impingement that necessitated season-ending surgery, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that the Twins first baseman/designated hitter actually had a torn labrum repaired and a bone spur removed from the ailing hip. Meanwhile, right-hander Ervin Santana is seeing a hand specialist to examine the surgically repaired middle finger on his right hand (also via Berardino, on Twitter). Initially projected to require a 12-month recovery that would’ve had Santana back in early May, the issue has proven to be considerably more problematic. Santana didn’t pitch until late July and has made just five starts with an 8.03 ERA in 2018.

Derek Falvey Discusses Trades Of Veteran Players

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Twins To Recall Stephen Gonsalves

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The Twins announced that left-hander Stephen Gonsalves will come up from Triple-A Rochester on Monday to make his major league debut with a start against the White Sox. To make room for Gonsalves, the Twins optioned right-hander Tyler Duffey to Rochester.

Gonsalves, whom the Twins chose in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, has been among the game’s 100 best prospects in the past, including cracking Baseball America’s list after 2016 (No. 99) and ’17 (No. 97). None of BA, MLB.com or FanGraphs currently regard Gonsalves as a top-100 farmhand, though each outlet does place him among the Twins’ 10 best prospects.

In MLB.com’s free scouting report, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo – who rank Gonsalves fifth – compliment the 6-foot-5 hurler’s “combination of pitchability and deception” and “solid-average stuff.” Gonsalves’ repertoire includes a low-90s fastball, a quality changeup and an “average” curveball, per Callis and Mayo, who could see him eventually emerging as a capable mid-rotation starter. BA’s J.J. Cooper (subscription required) is less bullish on the other hand, writing he’s “a back-of-the-rotation starter at best,” in part because of control problems. Indeed, Gonsalves has issued 4.93 walks per nine over 100 1/3 innings in his first extensive Triple-A action this season. At the same time, Gonsalves has given up a mere 65 hits and struck out 8.52 batters per nine en route to a 2.96 ERA.

With the out-of-contention Twins looking toward 2019, Gonsalves may be in position to make a case for a spot in their rotation next year. However, barring trades, the Twins already appear to have at least six serious contenders (or, in some cases, locks) for next season’s staff in Kyle Gibson, Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Fernando Romero, Adalberto Mejia and Michael Pineda. Ervin Santana could also return to the club in 2019, but it’s uncertain whether Minnesota will pick up the soon-to-be 36-year-old’s $14MM option in light of his injury and performance issues this season.

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