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Outrighted: Centeno, Ngoepe, Enns

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Let’s run through a few recently-designated players who have cleared waivers and been outrighted:

  • Rangers backstop Juan Centeno could have elected free agency but chose instead to take an assignment to Triple-A Round Rock, the club announced. The 28-year-old, a relatively rare left-handed-hitting catcher, has seen action in each of the past six MLB campaigns. He also has not shown much at the plate, with a cumulative .227/.278/.331 batting line.
  • Also clearing waivers was Blue Jays infielder Gift Ngoepe. This is the first time he has been outrighted; without significant MLB service time on his record, he had no choice but to head to Buffalo. Not unlike Centeno, Ngoepe is a useful fielder who perhaps will never fully come around with the bat. He had a particularly rough run in limited action this year in Toronto, striking out a dozen times in just 19 plate appearances.
  • Finally, the Twins will hang onto reliever Dietrich Enns after he, too, cleared waivers under the same essential circumstances as Ngoepe. Soon to turn 27, Enns is off to a poor start this year at Triple-A, where he has given out 11 free passes to go with 11 strikeouts in twenty innings. If he can get back on track, though, perhaps he’ll eventually present a depth option for the Minnesota organization. In his six prior professional seasons, Enns has never finished with an earned run average of over 2.94. In 136 Triple-A innings, he carries a sparkling 2.25 ERA with a more pedestrian combination of 7.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

Twins Trade Max Cordy To Angels

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  • The Angels acquired minor league right-hander Max Cordy from the Twins in exchange for cash, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports. Minnesota selected the now-24-year-old Cordy in the final round of the 2015 draft. He’s yet to advance beyond A-ball, though he does come with a track record of missing bats and inducing huge ground-ball rates (north of 60 percent) in the low minors. Cordy has averaged 5.5 walks per nine innings pitched since being drafted and is off to a rough start in Class-A Advanced this season, owning a 7.15 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.

Details On Bobby Wilson's Twins Contract

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  • Bobby Wilson’s minor league deal with the Twins will pay him $950K now that the veteran catcher has reached the 25-man roster, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes.  Wilson’s past relationships with GM Thad Levine and farm director Jeremy Zoll (when Wilson played for the Rangers and Dodgers, respectively) helped him pick Minnesota ahead of other teams that approached Wilson about a minors deal last winter.  Wilson was in the starting lineup for the Twins’ 5-3 win over the White Sox today, which marked his first MLB game since 2016.  With regular starter Jason Castro on the disabled list, Wilson is in line to get a fair amount of playing time backing up Mitch Garver behind the plate.

Twins Place Jason Castro On DL, Select Bobby Wilson

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The Twins have placed catcher Jason Castro on the 10-day disabled list with a right knee meniscus tear and selected the contract of fellow backstop Bobby Wilson from Triple-A, per a team announcement. To make room for Wilson on its 40-man roster, Minnesota moved right-hander Ervin Santana to the 60-day DL.

Castro’s injury could perhaps keep him on the shelf for several weeks. For now, though, the plan is for him to avoid surgery in favor of a cortisone shot, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. Regardless, Castro’s DL placement continues what has been a disappointing second season in Minnesota for the lefty-hitter, who has slashed a meager .143/.257/.238 (39 wRC+) in 74 plate appearances. However, as has often been the case during his career, the 30-year-old has stood out behind the plate as a pitch framer.

With Castro, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano on the DL and Jorge Polanco amid an 80-game suspension, the Twins will have to go without three regulars as they continue trying to dig out of an early season hole. Further, the 11-17 club is down to the uninspiring duo of Wilson and Mitch Garver as its 25-man catcher options. Wilson, 35, inked a minors deal with the Twins last offseason after spending the 2017 season at the Triple-A level with the Dodgers. He previously appeared in the majors with five teams (the Angels, D-backs, Rangers, Rays and Tigers), combining to bat .214/.268/.319 (60 wRC+) in 849 PAs.

The absence of Santana this season has been one obvious reason for the Twins’ struggles. The longtime quality starter turned in 211 1/3 innings of 3.28 ERA pitching for the playoff-bound Twins last year, but he underwent a procedure on his right middle finger Feb. 6 and hasn’t recovered as quickly as expected. Santana, 35, was originally supposed to come back within 10 to 12 weeks, which would’ve put him on track for a mid-April to early May debut. Instead, the earliest Santana will be able to take the hill for the Twins is May 28, Berardino notes.

AL Central Notes: Farquhar, Romero, Goody, Soler

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Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports shares details of the long road ahead for White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar after the right-hander suffered a recent brain aneurysm. The incident occurred in the Sox dugout just under two weeks ago following an outing against Houston, and caused Farquhar to be hospitalized in what was a scary few hours. As Passan notes, 40% of people who suffer a brain aneurysm don’t survive them, while half of those who survive end up with resulting disabilities. He adds that success in the early stages afterwards is measured in small improvements. Farquhar’s agent says he’s been progressing and has a positive outlook. It’s fair to think it’ll be a significant amount of time before Farquhar is able to pick up a baseball again, but the early signs are encouraging for the right-hander’s health. Passan’s lengthy piece also details some historical precedents for aneurysms in baseball players, as well as the adversity Farquhar has already overcome in his seven-year MLB career. We at MLBTR are relieved to hear that Farquhar is stable, and wish him the best of fortunes in the road to recovery.

Other items from around the AL Central…

  • Speaking of close calls, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press has a story from Twins rookie Fernando Romero’s past, when the right-hander almost drowned in a hotel pool. It took a while for Romero to gradually overcome his fear of swimming, but he now uses it as a conditioning method to strengthen his shoulder for pitching purposes. Berardino also tells the tale of how Romero nearly went unsigned for an entire international period, failing to receive an offer from any of the 50 scouts in attendance at a showcase. The main knock on him was lack of a “major league body”, and a perceived likelihood that he’d get hurt. Ultimately Romero found his way to the Perfect Game Tournament, where several more scouts were in attendance, and while the Astros made a strong run at him, he ultimately went to the Twins for a signing bonus of $260K.
  • According to Terry Francona (via a tweet from Jordan Bastian of MLB.com), it’s best-case scenario outcome for Indians reliever Nick Goody, who left the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader with an elbow injury. Tests have revealed no structural damage; it’s thought that Goody’s pain was the result of hyperextending his elbow. He’ll reportedly be shut down for a week and then re-evaluated. It’s a sigh of relief when considering the worst-case scenarios in an elbow-fearing pitching climate; it’s well-known that ligament injuries can result in 12-18 month absences. Goody’s a vital part of a Tribe bullpen that’s recently shuffled through a few low-upside relievers; they’ve designated both Matt Belisle and Jeff Beliveau for assignment in the past week and before that lost Andrew Miller to the DL with a hamstring injury.
  • Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tells readers about the plate discipline improvements made by Royals outfielder Jorge Soler. In stark contrast to last season, he’s already drawn 18 walks and has seen 4.46 pitches per plate appearance. His .309/.429/.526 slash line on the season is exactly what Kansas City envisioned when they acquired him from the Cubs prior to last season in exchange for closer Wade Davis. Manager Ned Yost credits the improvements to the fact that Soler is “not chasing much of anything”, though it’s certainly worth noting that his chase rate this year is in line with his typically low figures the past few seasons and therefore not indicative of any major changes. I’d add, though, that Soler is certainly seeing more pitches per plate appearance than he did during his injury-riddled 2017 campaign; he’s seen 4.26 PPPA so far, up from 3.99 last season.

Latest On Byron Buxton, Trevor May

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The Blue Jays announced tonight that third baseman Josh Donaldson will rejoin the club Thursday and is likely to be activated from the disabled list. A shoulder issue has kept the former AL MVP out of action since April 10, though he’s played in multiple minor league rehab games and appears to be back on track after experiencing some troubles throwing across the diamond earlier this season. The Jays have stayed afloat just fine in the absence of their best player, as they’re currently sporting a 17-13 record and right in the middle of the AL Wild Card mix a month into the season. Donaldson will have plenty riding on a healthy and productive return, as he’s set to hit free agency for the first time following the 2018 campaign.

Some other health-related notes from around the league…

  • Already being hit hard by the injury bug, the Angels took another punch on Wednesday, announcing that righty Nick Tropeano is headed to the 10-day DL with a shoulder issue. The good news for the Halos is that the injury appears minor, as Tropeano told reporters he’ll “100 percent” be ready to return after the 10-day minimum (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). As Tropeano explains, he’s not even planning to stop throwing and already played catch earlier today. The Angels, it seems, are merely acting with precaution after the righty felt some something slightly off in his shoulder.
  • Pirates righty Joe Musgrove threw 36 pitches in a rehab outing, writes Oliver Macklin of MLB.com, 29 of which went for strikes. Manager Clint Hurdle added that Musgrove threw his cutter, slider and changeup in the outing and demonstrated “firm” velocity on his fastball. Perhaps more notable is the fact that Hurdle confirmed that Musgrove will indeed be rejoining the Pirates’ rotation when he returns from the disabled list. That could be bad news for rookie Nick Kingham, who turned in one of the best debuts in recent MLB history when he flirted with a perfect game through more than six innings this past Sunday. Kingham is slated to start Friday for the Buccos, though Hurdle said in announcing that earlier this week that there was nothing guaranteed beyond that point. Speculatively speaking, right-hander Chad Kuhl has also struggled in 2018 (5.01 ERA, seven homers in 32 1/3 innings), so perhaps he could be bumped if Kingham impresses in his second big league start.
  • Byron Buxton has yet to progress to running since being diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his toe, writes MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. Buxton sustained the injury when he fouled a ball into his foot during a rehab game in Fort Myers as he was working his way back from a bout with ongoing migraine headaches. He’ll rejoin the club on Friday but won’t necessarily be activated from the DL, Bollinger notes, as the team is debating whether he needs another rehab stint now that he’s been off for several weeks due to the foot injury. Bollinger adds that righty Trevor May, recovering from 2017 Tommy John surgery, tossed three innings and 46 pitches in an extended Spring Training game as he pushes his way toward readiness for a rehab assignment with the team’s Triple-A club.

Twins Reportedly Agree To Minor League Deal With Paco Rodriguez

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The Twins have agreed to a minor league contract with left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez, reports Robert Murray of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). Rodriguez is represented by MVP Sports.

Now 27 years of age, Rodriguez was a second-round pick by the Dodgers back in 2012 and made his MLB debut just three months after being drafted out of Florida. Rodriguez played a pivotal role in the Dodgers’ bullpen over the next couple of seasons but spent most of the 2014-15 seasons in the minor leagues and ultimately underwent Tommy John late in the year in 2015. In all, he has a career 2.53 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9 with a 47.2 percent ground-ball rate in 85 1/3 innings at the Major League level.

Rodriguez struggled with the Orioles’ rookie-level affiliate in nine appearances in 2017 as he worked his way back from that injury, and he opened the 2018 season with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League. Rodriguez made just one appearance before convincing Twins scouts that he was worth scooping up, however. It’s not clear what level he’ll report to, though if he can prove his health after a few injury-ruined seasons, he could provide the Minnesota organization with an intriguing left-handed bullpen option later in the season.

Twins Place Miguel Sano On DL, Designate Dietrich Enns

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The Twins have announced a series of roster moves today. Star third baseman Miguel Sano is heading to the 10-day DL with a hamstring strain, with infielder Gregorio Petit replacing him on the active roster after his contract was selected.

To create a 40-man opening, the Minnesota organization has designated southpaw Dietrich Enns for assignment. The club also announced that previously DFA’ed righty Tyler Kinley, a Rule 5 pick, has been returned to the Marlins.

The Twins had hoped to avoid a DL stint for Sano. After all, the last thing the team needs is another key player out of action. But his injury evidently did not improve enough to forestall the placement.

Petit, 33, is obviously not going to make up for the loss of Sano’s power bat in the lineup. The veteran utilityman has compiled only a .249/.291/.353 lifetime slash in 426 MLB plate appearances. But he’ll help round out the roster for at least a few days’ time.

As for Enns, who is nearing his 27th birthday with just four MLB frames under his belt, it seems the Twins were not optimistic that he’d be a notable contributor in the near term. Acquired from the Yankees in last summer’s Jaime Garcia deal, Enns had worked to a 4.50 ERA with as many strikeouts as walks (11 each) in his twenty Triple-A frames this year. He has previously produced outstanding results in the minors, though evidently teams do not quite anticipate him carrying that effectiveness into the majors.

Twins To Promote Fernando Romero

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Twins skipper Paul Molitor announced today that the club would promote top pitching prospect Fernando Romero to join the rotation, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN was among those to tweet. He’ll take the ball on Wednesday night.

Romero, 23, has steadily moved up the ladder since entering the Twins’ system in 2012. He cracked the top-100 prospect lists of MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus entering the current season, following a year in which he threw 125 innings of 3.53 ERA ball, with 8.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 along with a 52.0% groundball rate, at the Double-A level.

The results have continued into the 2018 season, as Romero has now held opposing teams to a 2.57 earned run average through 21 frames in his first few outings at the Triple-A level. He’s continuing to get plenty of groundballs with his high-velocity sinker, though his 20:10 K/BB ratio isn’t exactly scintillating and may hint at the need for further refinement of his slider and change.

Some prospect hounds see some risk in Romero’s profile, particularly as to whether he’ll have long-term health issues and/or whether he’ll stick in the rotation. For now, though, they’ll bet on his talent with the organization badly in need of a shot in the arm after a 9-14 start to the season.

Fellow righty Phil Hughes will be bumped into a relief role to accommodate Romero’s move into the rotation, though a roster move has yet to be announced. Hughes was knocked around in two poor starts to open the year, and is coming off of two consecutive poor and injury-plagued seasons, so he’ll look to get back on track in the bullpen.

David Hale Elects Free Agency

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The Twins announced Monday that righty David Hale cleared outright waivers after last week’s DFA and rejected an assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency. He’ll hit the open market in search of a new club after extremely brief stints with the Yankees and Twins thus far in 2018.

Hale, 30, signed a minor league pact with the Yankees over the winter and headed to Triple-A to open the season. After 14 2/3 innings there with a 5.32 ERA but a much more encouraging 10-to-2 K/BB ratio and 50 percent grounder rate, New York selected his contract to add some length to a depleted bullpen. He tossed two shutout innings for the Yankees but was designated for assignment anyhow, only to be claimed by the Twins and subsequently tagged (by the Yankees) for four runs in three innings of relief.

In all, Hale has totaled 183 2/3 innings at the big league level, most of which came with the Braves and Rockies. In that time, he’s posted a 4.56 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent ground-ball rate. Though he doesn’t miss many bats, Hale has done a good job in terms of limiting hard contact (career 27.1 percent). He’s worked as both a starter and a reliever and has a minor league option remaining, so he could provide some depth for a club with more 40-man roster flexibility than either the Twins or Yankees has to offer at present.

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