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Twins Sign Dillon Gee

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10:55pm: In a change of course, the Twins are actually set to select the contract of Gee prior to tomorrow’s game, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (via Twitter). Minnesota was pummeled in a 9-0 loss to the White Sox today, as starter Nik Turley didn’t escape the first inning. Given the excess work required of the ’pen, Gee will be immediately summoned to the Majors.

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN also tweets that the Twins will select the contract of Trevor Hildenberger, who ranked among the team’s top 20 or so prospects entering the season and has turned in a 2.05 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 with a 54.4 percent ground-ball rate through 30 2/3 innings in Triple-A.

JUNE 22, 5:29pm: The Twins have announced the signing, noting that Gee will pitch for Rochester tomorrow. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter) that Gee has a July 15 opt-out date in his contract and will earn a pro-rated $1MM salary if he’s called up to the Majors.

JUNE 20: The Twins have agreed to a minor league pact with free-agent right-hander Dillon Gee, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN was the first to report that the two sides were in talks, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweeted soon after that the two sides were “very close” to an agreement. Gee is a client of SSG Baseball.

Gee, 31, elected free agency after being outrighted by the Rangers over the weekend. The longtime Mets righty had pitched to a 4.15 ERA through 13 big league innings as well as a 3.88 ERA in 51 Triple-A innings with the Rangers this season. That follows up the 4.68 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and 41 percent ground-ball rate that Gee logged in 125 innings as a member of the Royals in 2016.

Gee underwent thoracic outlet surgery back in October but hasn’t shown any lasting effects from that operation thus far in 2017. Gee will head to Triple-A as a starter, though it would seem likely that he’d emerge as a viable option for the big league rotation before long. Outside of Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios, Minnesota starters have struggled through a disastrous 2017 season. Despite the strong work of the team’s top two starters, the Twins’ rotation currently owns a 4.79 ERA that is the eighth-highest of any team in the Majors.

[Related: Minnesota Twins depth chart]

Phil Hughes, Hector Santiago and Trevor May are all on the disabled list, while longtime rotation member Kyle Gibson had to be optioned to Triple-A earlier this season as a result of his early struggles. (Gibson has shown some improvement since returning from Rochester, though he’s yet to rediscover his 2015 form.) Promising young lefty Adalberto Mejia has made a handful of starts thus far, but he hasn’t yet replicated his solid minor league numbers as a big leaguer.

All of that has contributed to a revolving door in the back of the Minnesota rotation, which has led to starts from journeymen Adam Wilk and Nik Turley — both of whom took the hill in a critical weekend series that resulted in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Indians. With that sweep, Cleveland leapfrogged Minnesota and took hold of the division lead.

Jorge Polanco Changes Agents

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  • Meanwhile, Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco will take his business to Octagon and agent Ulises Cabrera, according to 1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson (via Twitter). The 23-year-old switch-hitter entered the current season with 105 days of MLB service, meaning he won’t be able to qualify for arbitration until at least 2020 and can’t qualify for free agency until 2023. Polanco was a highly regarded prospect who raised expectations with a solid performance in his first extended MLB stint last year. He has struggled thus far in 2017, though, with a .242/.294/.338 batting line through 219 plate appearances.

Twins In Talks With Dillon Gee

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  • The Twins are in talks with right-hander Dillon Gee, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). Gee elected free agency over the weekend after he cleared waivers following his DFA by the Rangers. The 31-year-old veteran posted a 4.15 ERA and a 10-to-6 K/BB ratio in 13 innings with the Rangers this season and turned in a 3.88 earned run average with 7.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 over the life of 51 innings with Triple-A Round Rock this season. Gee had thoracic outlet surgery back in October but has been healthy throughout the 2017 season thus far. He pitched to a 4.68 ERA in 125 innings for Kansas City last season and has a 4.13 ERA in 817 1/3 innings as a Major Leaguer, working mostly out of the rotation. Minnesota is in dire need of rotation help as it fights to maintain a surprising early run as the AL Central leader.
  • Right-hander Kevin Jepsen had a workout for teams today, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). Jepsen was cut loose by the D-backs at the end of Spring Training and has since been rehabbing a quadriceps injury before looking for another club. Jepsen, 32, had a terrible season in 2016, pitching to a 5.98 ERA in 49 2/3 innings between the Twins and the Rays. However, Jepsen was terrific as recently as the 2015 season, when he posted a 2.33 ERA through 69 2/3 innings between those same two clubs and even served as Minnesota’s closer following an injury to Glen Perkins.

Phil Hughes, Hector Santiago Set For Rehab Outings

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  • In other forthcoming rehab stints, Twins righty Phil Hughes is scheduled for a start at Triple-A on Wednesday, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. It seems that he has avoided the worst-case scenario after experiencing some symptoms akin to those that led to thoracic outlet surgery. Minnesota is also giving a rehab start to lefty Hector Santiago, who seems likely to avoid a lengthy DL stint for his shoulder issue.

Twins Sign Royce Lewis

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5:50pm: The Twins have announced the signing. Lewis’ deal is worth $6.725MM, per Heyman, who notes that it’s a record for a high school player in the new system (Twitter links).

4:34pm: The Twins have agreed to a deal with first overall draft pick Royce Lewis, Fan Rag’s Jon Heyman tweets. Lewis will receive a bonus of a bit over $6.7MM. Lewis, a high school shortstop from California, will forgo his commitment to UC-Irvine, as expected.

It was reported late last week that Lewis would soon take a physical with the Twins and that he was expected to receive a bonus slightly higher than the $6.5MM 2015 first overall pick Dansby Swanson got from the Diamondbacks, so today’s news does not come as a major surprise. It appears Lewis’ bonus will not be the biggest overall in this year’s draft, however — that honor could go to Braves No. 5 overall pick Kyle Wright, who received $7MM, or Rays No. 4 overall selection Brendan McKay, who could receive slightly more.

The first overall pick had a pool value of $7,770,700 this year, so it appears that when Lewis’ signing is complete, the Twins will save around $1M against their total draft pool of $14,156,800. Notably, they’ve already struck a deal with third-rounder Blayne Enlow for $2MM, a little over $1.2MM more than the value of the No. 76 pick. The Lewis and Enlow deals, then, will essentially balance one another out.

The Twins were reportedly interested in both Lewis and McKay with the first overall pick, and Lewis’ willingness to accept the Twins’ bonus offer was reportedly a key factor in their decision to select him. Lewis, though, did rate as one of the premium talents in this year’s draft. MLB.com rated him the No. 5 prospect available, noting that he has excellent athleticism and good range either in the infield or center field. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen rated Lewis similarly, noting his feel for hitting, projectable body and the likelihood he could become a plus center field if he’s eventually moved off shortstop. Baseball America (subscription required) noted Lewis’ plus makeup, speed and raw power.

Lewis will join a collection of young Twins talent that includes big-leaguers Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios, along with prospects Nick Gordon, Stephen Gonsalves and Enlow. Lewis only turned 18 the week before the draft and could require ample time to develop, but he’ll immediately become one of the crown jewels of the Twins’ system.

Twins Designate Adam Wilk For Assignment

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The Twins have designated lefty Adam Wilk for assignment and selected the contract of righty Alan Busenitz from Triple-A Rochester, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune tweets.

Wilk joined the Twins last month as a waiver claim from the Mets and has since made three big league appearances, including a start against the Indians on Saturday. That didn’t go well for Wilk, who lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed six earned runs on eight hits and three walks, with two strikeouts, in a 9-3 loss. The 29-year-old has struggled in general in the majors this season, having pitched to a 9.00 ERA, with 5.14 K/9 against 5.79 BB/9, across 14 combined innings with the Mets and Twins. He has been better, albeit not great, with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, logging a 4.38 ERA, 4.38 K/9 and 2.19 BB/9 in 12 1/3 frames.

The 26-year-old Busenitz, a 25th-round pick of the Angels in 2013, is now in position to make his major league debut. He’s in his first full season with the Minnesota organization, which acquired him last August in a deal involving Hector Santiago, Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer. Busenitz has impressed in relief in Triple-A this season, recording a 2.15 ERA, 9.82 K/9 and 2.76 BB/9 in 19 appearances and 29 1/3 innings.

Twins Select Adam Wilk's Contract

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  • The Twins have announced that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Adam Wilk to start the first game of today’s doubleheader against Cleveland. They’ve also announced that they’ve optioned righty Ryan Pressly to Triple-A Rochester and recalled righty Alex Wimmers to serve as today’s 26th man. The 29-year-old Wilk began the 2017 with Triple-A Las Vegas in the Mets organization, briefly pitching for the Mets before being claimed and then outrighted by the Twins. In 44 1/3 innings so far this year at the Triple-A level, he’s posted a 5.48 ERA, albeit with a fine 7.1 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.

Twins Sign Compensation Pick Brent Rooker

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  • The Twins have agreed to terms with compensation pick and outfielder Brent Rooker, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Rooker will receive the slot value of the No. 35 pick, which is $1,935,300. The Twins selected Rooker in the 38th round last year, and he gave them permission to draft him again, Berardino writes. Rooker batted a ridiculous .387/.495/.810 this season for Mississippi State. MLB.com rated him the No. 50 prospect in the draft, noting his track record of performing well with wood bats in summer leagues.

Twins Outright Chris Heston

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The Twins have outrighted right-hander Chris Heston, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets. His roster spot will go to southpaw Adam Wilk, who is scheduled to take the hill tomorrow.

Heston, 29, only ended up making one appearance for Minnesota after being claimed off waivers from the Dodgers and opening the year with the Mariners. He has thrown just 11 total MLB frames since the start of 2016.

Before that, though, Heston turned in an interesting 2015 campaign with the Giants. Over 31 starts and 177 2/3 innings, he carried a 3.95 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. (You may also recall that he recorded one of baseball’s more surprising no-hitters that year.)

Pitching Health Notes: Gray, ERod, Urias, MadBum, Chargois

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Rockies righty Jon Gray made his first rehab start, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. He may need only one or two more minor league outings before rejoining the Colorado rotation, but holds out the promise of providing a significant boost upon his return. Likewise, southpaw Tyler Anderson is making his way back toward the big leagues, meaning the Rox will face some rotation questions in short order.

Here’s more on a few other pitching health matters from around the league:

  • It’s possible that the Red Sox may soon welcome back lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. per an update from manager John Farrell (h/t Peter Abraham of the Boston Glove; links to Twitter). Rodriguez was “ecstatic” after a 33-pitch pen session today, says Farrell, who indicated that the southpaw may be only one rehab start away from returning to the majors. That would surely be excellent news for Boston; Rodriguez’s knee issue seemed rather frightening when it arose, since he has dealt with significant problems in the joint in the past.
  • Likewise, the Dodgers got good news on young southpaw Julio Urias, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter links). While he’ll still be shut down until the soreness in his shoulder subsides, Urias did not exhibit any structural issues in an MRI.
  • With the Giants back in Colorado, the team is seeing continued progress from ace Madison Bumgarner, who is still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in an off-day dirtbiking accident during the team’s prior trip out to Denver. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, Bumgarner is set to face live hitting on Sunday and report to the organization’s spring facility. After that, he’d only be a rehab assignment away from a return, though the club will undoubtedly exercise ample caution given the club’s unenviable position in the standings.
  • As the Twins continue to hold onto a surprising AL Central lead, despite one of the league’s worst bullpens, the front office is surely at least thinking of ways to bolster the MLB roster while also remaining mindful of the broader organizational mission. Unfortunately, the club seemingly won’t be able to call upon relief prospect J.T. Chargois, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who tweets that a “stress reaction on the outside of his elbow” will keep the young righty out for some time. The fireballer already missed significant time earlier in his career with elbow problems. Minnesota already lost out on another possible mid-season boost to the bullpen when Nick Burdi required Tommy John surgery earlier this year.
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