- Righty reliever Matt Belisle landed with the Twins after a bounceback 2016 campaign, due in some part to lobbying efforts from a few noted former teammates. As Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes, LaTroy Hawkins and Michael Cuddyer didn’t exactly press the veteran to join the Minnesota organization, but their involvement in the process seemingly helped Belisle gain comfort with the idea of heading to the rebuilding club. “If Cuddy and LaTroy believed in it, I know I would too,” he explains.
Twins Rumors
Twins Notes: Free Agents, Masterson, Perkins
- The Twins are still talking to free agents, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey told reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger), but if they make an addition, it’s likelier to be on the pitching side of the equation. Bollinger notes that it’d be “a surprise” to see the team add a bat at this juncture. In a similar vein, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that the Twins attended Justin Masterson’s workout earlier today. Masterson has an obvious tie to Minnesota, as he once starred in the Indians’ rotation while Falvey was working in the Cleveland front office. Injuries have derailed the past three seasons for Masterson, who spent the 2016 campaign with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate (4.97 ERA, 32 strikeouts, 26 walks in 54 1/3 innings).
- Bollinger also writes that longtime Twins closer Glen Perkins threw his first bullpen session since undergoing shoulder surgery last season. The left-hander hadn’t thrown off a mound since exiting his April 10 appearance in 2016, and he gave some Twins fans a bit of a scare when last Friday’s throwing session was pushed back. However, after working with the Twins’ training staff over the weekend, Perkins felt strong enough to throw a 15-pitch session earlier today and reported no issues after the fact. Perkins will be aiming to show display his health this spring in order to reclaim his spot in the ninth inning for Minnesota, though he’ll face some competition from righty Brandon Kintzler. The 32-year-old Kintzler filled in with aplomb following Perkins’ injury in 2016, logging a 3.15 ERA and picking up 19 saves in 54 1/3 innings.
Glen Perkins Feels Good In Bullpen Session
- Twins lefty Glen Perkins felt good after a short, 15-pitch bullpen session, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets. He’s on track to take the hill again late this week. If you like, you can take a look at the former closer’s progress for yourself, as Berardino has uploaded a video of him throwing to YouTube.
Twins To Sign Craig Breslow
FEBRUARY 14: Breslow will earn $1.25MM if he makes the MLB roster, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). The deal includes $1MM in available incentives, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (via Twitter). Breslow will have an opt-out opportunity, too, with Berardino tweeting that the clause can be exercised “around 10 days before Opening Day.”
FEBRUARY 8: The Twins have agreed to a minor-league deal with lefty Craig Breslow, the veteran hurler tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Terms are not known at this time, though Breslow suggests he turned down potentially more lucrative offers from other organizations.
Breslow, 36, may have preferred Minnesota for its open staff opportunities, though it probably doesn’t hurt that he first fully established himself in the majors there back in 2008. After stops with the Padres, Red Sox, and Indians, Breslow checked in with the Twins before moving on to the Athletics. He threw well for three years in Oakland before moving to the Diamondbacks and then back to Boston, where he stayed for four years.
Most recently, Breslow contributed 14 frames to the 2016 Marlins. He allowed seven earned runs on 21 hits, with seven strikeouts and four walks, before being designated for assignment. Though he did not end up signing on with another MLB organization in 2016, Breslow spent the offseason overhauling his delivery in an attempt to stage a late-career renaissance.
While it may be optimistic to expect those new mechanics to spur a full-blown revival, Breslow tells Rosenthal that he hopes to be able to function as a force against left-handed hitters. And it’s only fair to note that the southpaw has long defied expectations. Chosen in the 26th round out of Yale, Breslow has accumulated over 500 innings of 3.35 ERA pitching across 11 MLB seasons.
[RELATED: Updated Twins Depth Chart]
For Minnesota, Breslow represents both another depth piece and a respected voice in camp. The club surely is in need of southpaw relievers, and Breslow figures to battle for a roster spot this spring with pitchers such as Taylor Rogers, Buddy Boshers, Ryan O’Rourke, and Mason Melotakis.
Latest On Twins, Pedro Alvarez
- The Twins’ reported interest in Pedro Alvarez has been “overstated,” a team source tells 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link). FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported earlier this week that Minnesota at least held some internal discussion about signing the slugger, who would join Joe Mauer and Kennys Vargas in the first base/DH mix. Wolfson believes the Twins could sign Alvarez only if he could be had on an inexpensive one-year deal.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/10/17
Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:
- The Rangers have added backstop Brett Hayes on a minor-league deal, as Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News recently tweeted. Soon to turn 33, Hayes has appeared in seven MLB campaigns, though he has accumulated just 464 big league plate appearances in that span. He compiled a .205/.250/.359 lifetime batting line in the bigs. Last year, Hayes failed to crack the game’s highest level but spent time at Triple-A in the Diamondbacks and White Sox organizations.
- Also joining the Rangers on a non-roster arrangement is righty Anthony Bass, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Bass, 29, spent last year pitching in Japan, where he put up 3.65 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 103 2/3 innings split between the rotation and bullpen. He had appeared in each of the five prior MLB seasons — most recently with Texas — pitching to a 4.40 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 across 278 1/3 frames.
- Lefty Luis Perez is heading to the Indians on a minors pact, the club announced. Like Bass, the 32-year-old Perez will return from a NPB stint. He struggled with his control in a brief run with the Yakult Swallows and hasn’t seen the big leagues since 2013. In his three seasons with the Blue Jays, Perez compiled a 4.50 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over 112 frames.
- Outfielder Joey Butler is joining the Nationals on a minor-league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Butler, who’ll turn 31 in March, scuffled last year at the Triple-A level with the Indians organization and never earned a call-up. But he had provided the Rays with 276 plate appearances of .276/.326/.416 hitting in the season prior.
- The Twins inked a minors pact with outfielder Quintin Berry, Cotillo also tweets. The speedy Berry broke into the league in 2012 with the Tigers as a fourth outfielder, but hasn’t seen much big league time since. He appeared in every postseason round in both 2012 and 2013, receiving little in the way of playing time but nevertheless swiping five bases. Last year, the 32-year-old hit .261/.341/.313 and swiped 35 bags at the Triple-A level with the Angels and Blue Jays organizations.
Twins Notes: Napoli, Alvarez, Perkins
The Twins offered Mike Napoli more money than he ultimately accepted from the Rangers, reports FOX’s Ken Rosenthal, as new execs Derek Falvey and Thad Levine valued his on-field productivity and his clubhouse presence. Both Falvey and Levine know Napoli well from his time with the Indians and Rangers, and the new Twins duo is emphasizing not only on-field production but off-the-field value in all of their decisions. “Talent is an aspect of any decision we make,” Falvey told Rosenthal. “But there is an element of clubhouse chemistry that also plays a role in organization-building. We’re going to talk about leadership, makeup and how guys fit in our clubhouse along with how we feel they will perform.”
More from Minnesota:
- 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson noted in his most recent podcast (audio link, Twins talk around 10:10 mark) that the Twins got the sense they’d have had to blow the Rangers’ offer out of the water to convince Napoli to sign in Minnesota — perhaps a two-year offer worth nearly $10MM annually — as the veteran slugger was prioritizing contending clubs in free agency. It’s certainly understandable that the organization wasn’t willing to make quite so significant a commitment.
- Missing on Napoli has left the Twins looking for alternatives, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports on Twitter. Lefty slugger Pedro Alvarez is one player who has received at least internal considerations; as Heyman notes, there are a variety of other possibilities also still available via free agency. Most of the better remaining bats are left-handed hitters — including, most prominently, Alvarez, Adam Lind, Justin Morneau, and Ryan Howard — whereas Napoli hits from the right side, but it seems that the organization does not have a strong preference in that regard. Presumptive first baseman Joe Mauer is a lefty bat, but top DH option Kennys Vargas is a switch-hitter who has performed better in the majors when facing southpaws. (Byung Ho Park represents another righty option, if he can earn his way back into 40-man consideration.)
- Mound work will have to wait for lefty Glen Perkins, as LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. The former closer “felt a familiar catch behind his left shoulder,” per the report, which caused him to delay a planned throwing session today. Though Neal notes on Twitter that it wasn’t considered a setback, it seems that Perkins will need to continue building his arm strength before he’s ready to advance in his progression. The veteran reliever is attempting to make it back from labrum surgery, with hopes he’ll be capable of returning to major league action relatively early in the 2017 season.
Pirates Acquire Pat Light, Designate Lisalverto Bonilla For Assignment
The Pirates announced that they’ve acquired hard-throwing right-hander Pat Light from the Twins in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated fellow right-hander Lisalverto Bonilla for assignment. Minnesota had designated Light for assignment last weekend when they claimed infielder Ehire Adrianza off waivers. It seems as if the Twins will be receiving cash, as opposed to a player, as Minnesota’s announcement made no mention of a possible PTBNL.
Light, 26 next month, long rated as one of the more promising farmhands in the Red Sox organization, but Boston parted ways with him to acquire southpaw Fernando Abad prior to last year’s non-waiver trade deadline. Light made his big league debut last season but allowed 22 runs in 16 1/3 innings with 16 strikeouts against 16 walks.
Control has been an issue for Light in the past two minor league seasons, as he has walked 56 batters in 100 2/3 innings in that time. He did, however, average nearly 95 mph on his fastball during his brief 2016 call-ups, and he also logged a 54.4 percent ground-ball rate. Both factors likely piqued the interest of the Pirates, who place a heavy emphasis on ground-ball tendencies.
Bonilla, 26, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014. The former Phillies/Rangers prospect underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015 but worked his way back to health with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016. In 111 innings split between the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers, Bonilla logged a 3.97 earned run average with a 118-to-40 K/BB ratio. His short stint in the Majors back in 2014 resulted in a 3.05 ERA and a 17-to-12 K/BB ratio in 20 2/3 innings. The Bucs had signed Bonilla to a Major League deal earlier this offseason.
Byung Ho Park Clears Waivers, Outrighted To Triple-A
First baseman/designated hitter Byung Ho Park has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the Twins’ 40-man roster, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The team has since announced the move. Park will be in camp with the Twins as a non-roster invitee in Spring Training.
Park was somewhat surprisingly designated for assignment last week in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Matt Belisle, who signed as a free agent. However, the guaranteed $9.25MM remaining on Park’s contract allowed him to pass through waivers unclaimed, and he’ll now remain with the Twins and vie for a job in camp or early this season after getting in some work with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester.
The 30-year-old Park was a superstar in the Korea Baseball Organization prior to being posted by the Nexen Heroes, and the Twins secured exclusive negotiation rights with him in December 2015 by submitting a blind bid of $12.85MM. Minnesota and Park’s representatives at Octagon worked out a four-year, $12MM contract that came with a fifth-year club option, and Park was penciled in as Minnesota’s primary DH heading into the 2016 campaign.
Park rallied after a slow first week and was hitting .257/.339/.578 with nine homers through his first 124 plate appearances. Strikeouts were a problem for Park from the get-go, however, and his production fell off the table before a June demotion to Triple-A. With Rochester, Park was eventually sidelined by a wrist injury that ultimately required surgical repair. The slugger wouldn’t blame his struggles in the Majors on the injury, though it’s certainly possible that Park’s ailing wrist/hand contributed to his .191/.275/.409 slash in the Majors.
Twins Designate Byung Ho Park For Assignment
FEB. 8: Park has been placed on waivers, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter), so he won’t be traded.
FEB. 3, 1:17pm: La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the expectation is that Park will clear waivers due to the remaining salary on his contract and report to Spring Training as a non-roster invite. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that there’s no plan from Park’s camp to return to Korea.
11:11am: In a fairly surprising move, the Twins announced that they’ve designated first baseman Byung Ho Park for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Matt Belisle, whose one-year deal with the team is now official.
Park’s DFA comes just one year into a four-year, $12MM contract signed with Minnesota last winter (which came on top of a $12.85MM posting fee paid by the Twins to acquire negotiation rights with the former KBO slugger). He’s still guaranteed $9.25MM over the life of the next three seasons, so there’s a good chance that Park will clear waivers if the Twins go that route. At that point, he’s be able to work on his swing in Triple-A and potentially return at some point in 2017.
The 30-year-old Park arrived in Minnesota with lofty expectations after blasting a combined 105 home runs in his final two KBO seasons. While Park’s power was as advertised — he homered 12 times and posted a .219 ISO in 244 plate appearances — strikeouts also proved to be a problem, as he punched out in 32.8 percent of his plate appearances.
Overall, Park posted a disappointing .191/.275/.409 batting line with the Twins, although it’s certainly worth noting that he ultimately proved to have a wrist injury that required surgical repair. And, Park did bat .257/.339/.578 with nine homers through his first 124 plate appearances in Minnesota (albeit with 38 strikeouts) in addition to showing well in a number of Statcast categories, including exit velocity and barreled balls (as recently examined by Fangraphs’ Travis Sawchik).
The Twins could also explore trade scenarios involving Park. While he’s unlikely to carry significant value given his poor debut season, a team looking to acquire a right-handed bat at first base/DH could consider Park a reasonable roll of the dice. He’s controlled for three years at what figures to be a comparable price to the one Mike Napoli will command in free agency, so there’s certainly a degree of financial upside present, as one can only assume that the cost of acquisition would be low at this juncture.
Further expounding upon that point, the Twins themselves have been a rumored landing spot for Napoli in recent weeks, and jettisoning Park from the 40-man roster creates one potential avenue of adding a more veteran right-handed bat to the picture in Minnesota.
