- Catcher Jason Castro’s pitch-framing prowess played a significant role in the Twins’ decision to sign the ex-Astro to a three-year, $24.5MM contract last month, writes Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Both StatCorner and Baseball Prospectus have ranked Castro among the game’s premier framers over the past three seasons. If that keeps up, it should help a pitching staff that previously worked with a subpar framer, Kurt Suzuki, and tied for the majors’ worst ERA last season (5.09). “The whole idea of signing Jason Castro, a lot of it was measured on the impact of catching on a staff,” manager Paul Molitor told Bollinger. “As we’ve learned more about how to quantify that, it’s probably been a little bit of an undervalued position for guys that handle some of those types of things better than others. We thought that was a big piece in trying to at least start off a way of trying to figure out a way to pitch better.” On the subject of framing, Castro commented, “It’s something over the last couple years I’ve tried to refine as much as possible. I don’t know if ’enlightenment’ is the right word, but there was a focus on this new topic of pitch framing. I tried to get a better understanding of what works, what doesn’t.”
Twins Rumors
Potential Brian Dozier Trade Not Imminent
- The Dodgers are reportedly willing to trade a Jose De Leon-led package for Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, but no deal is imminent, a Minnesota official told Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). While at least a few teams have checked in on Dozier this offseason in the wake of a 42-home run campaign, the Dodgers are seemingly the most interested. Any offer would have to be “very strong” for the Twins to move the 29-year-old, notes Wolfson. Given Dozier’s outstanding track record and appealing contract (two years, $15MM), that’s not exactly a surprise.
Twins Sign J.B. Shuck To Minor League Deal
The Twins have signed outfielder J.B. Shuck to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo first noted that the two sides were in talks.
The 29-year-old Shuck collected 241 plate appearances with the White Sox in 2016 but batted a mere .205/.248/.299. He also graded out poorly on defense and finished the season with -1.7 fWAR, finishing ahead of only three other position players throughout the big leagues.
Shuck does, however, carry a lifetime .300/.375/.386 line in parts of six seasons at Triple-A, and he has logged time at all three outfield positions. He could provide good depth for an organization that currently features a mix of young outfielders that includes Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, and Max Kepler along with Danny Santana and Robbie Grossman.
Twins Notes: Carew, Bullpen, Perkins, Hughes, Santana
Hall Of Famer Rod Carew recently had successful heart and kidney transplant surgery, the Twins have announced. Carew is expected to fully recover. “After a 13-hour procedure that started shortly after midnight Pacific time, Rod is resting in recovery,” the Twins wrote in a statement. “We ask that all of Twins Territory and the entire baseball community keep Rod, his wife Rhonda, and the entire Carew family in your thoughts and prayers as Rod recovers.” We at MLBTR wish Carew and his family the best. Here’s the latest from the Twins organization.
- The Twins are looking for experienced bullpen help, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune writes. The 2016 Twins didn’t have an especially young bullpen, but they did lean hard on less experienced players, including Taylor Rogers, J.T. Chargois, Michael Tonkin and Buddy Boshers. “It seemed as if the Twins had tremendous arms in the bullpen, but not a lot of experience. A lot of young guys coming out of the bullpen into extremely stressful situations,” said new GM Thad Levine at a fan event Wednesday. “We’ve got a lot of plus arms out there, but if you have veterans for the eighth inning, ninth inning, they can shoulder the load and take the stress off the kids.” The team hopes to improve its veteran leadership in the rotation as well, although they might get some veteran pitching help from players they already have — new chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said on Wednesday that the team was hoping for more help in 2017 from closer Glen Perkins and starter Phil Hughes, each of whom missed much of 2016 to injury. Perkins had surgery to repair a torn labrum in June, and Hughes had surgery in July for thoracic outlet syndrome; Miller says Hughes is the further along of the two.
- The Twins also have a good veteran starter in Ervin Santana, although if he winds up in the headlines this winter, it might be because he’s headed elsewhere. The Twins have received calls about Santana, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets, noting that the Twins (who won just 59 games last season) don’t deem anyone untouchable. That doesn’t mean Santana (who’s controllable at reasonable salaries through 2019, including a team option in the final year) is a great bet to be traded — just last month, the Twins’ new front office understandably characterized Santana as the sort of player they would like to add to, not to deal. Speculatively, though, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the Twins dealing Santana for younger talent and then adding one or two cheap veterans to replace him in the rotation. Santana would be a particularly attractive trade piece this winter due to the poor free agent market for starting pitching, and it would be easy to imagine a team like the Astros, who have lately been connected to various starting pitching trade candidates, having interest. Given Santana’s years of control remaining, though, keeping him would also be a reasonable route. Santana’s 2016 performance was one of the Twins’ best — he posted a 3.38 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 181 1/3 innings.
Dodgers Have “Shown Willingness” To Include Jose De Leon In Brian Dozier Trade
There have been plenty of rumors connecting the Dodgers to Twins second baseman Brian Dozier over the past several weeks, and Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports today that the Dodgers have now shown a willingness to include top pitching prospect Jose De Leon in a theoretical Dozier swap (Twitter links). Aaron Gleeman of Baseball Prospectus tweeted yesterday that discussions between the two sides are seemingly focused on what would come to Minnesota alongside De Leon. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweeted today that multiple teams are inquiring with the Twins on Dozier. Heyman further tweets that the Twins like first base/outfield prospect Cody Bellinger as well, though it’s tougher to see the Dodgers parting with him.
De Leon, 24, would make for a high-profile headliner in a Dozier trade. The right-hander currently ranks second among Dodgers farmhands and 33rd league-wide, per MLB.com’s rankings. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen rates him fourth in the Dodgers’ system, though that’s not so much a knock on De Leon as it is a vote of confidence in other L.A. prospects. De Leon entered the 2016 season ranked as a consensus top 30 prospect in the Majors and did little to dispel the notion that he merited such praise. An ankle injury and some shoulder inflammation limited De Leon’s time on the field, but when healthy he totaled 86 1/3 innings (16 starts) in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and registered a pristine 2.61 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. He made his big league debut with the Dodgers as well, albeit with considerably less success; De Leon’s first four MLB starts resulted in a 6.35 ERA and a 15-to-7 K/BB ratio in a total of 17 innings. MLB.com praises him as a potential No. 2 starter, while Longenhagen feels he’s more of a mid-rotation arm with the potential for plus fastball command and a plus changeup.
In Dozier, the Dodgers would be acquiring a much-needed right-handed bat that can feast on left-handed pitching. Los Angeles was baseball’s worst team against lefties in 2016, but Dozier mashed southpaws at a .282/.352/.613 clip. Dozier’s 42 home runs last year thrust him into the national spotlight, but he’s quietly been an excellent player for the Twins in each of the past four seasons. He doesn’t hit for a high average, but Dozier draws enough walks to post solid OBP marks and has batted a collective .248/.326/.456 since 2013. His power output has increased in each of his Major League seasons, and he rates as a solid defensive second baseman that also contributes value through baserunning. Dozier has averaged 28 homers and 16 steals per season over the past four years and is controlled through the 2018 campaign at an affordable total of $15MM, giving him plenty of value from a financial standpoint as well.
New Twins execs Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have seemingly been open to listening on virtually any player in trade talks, but they’ve also indicated that they’re in no rush to move Dozier and would feel plenty comfortable heading into the 2017 season with him entrenched at second base. Given Dozier’s contract status, Minnesota could certainly extract considerable value for his services this summer or even next winter as well.
Falvey, Levine Sit Discuss Twins' Front Office
- Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine sat down with Fangraphs’ David Laurila at last week’s Winter Meetings to discuss a number of topics, including player acquisition, building out the analytics/baseball operations staff, the coaching staff and lineup construction (though the latter of that group will firmly remain manager Paul Molitor’s duty, the two stressed). While the new duo will bring a more modern and statistical approach to the Minnesota front office, Levine emphasized to Laurila that roster decisions aren’t going to be purely “formulaic,” and both execs spoke about the importance of looking beyond statistical evidence when making decisions. Falvey and Levine also spoke highly of the work that Twins director of baseball research Jack Goin has done in the analytics department prior to their arrival and said they plan on adding to that impressive base. “When you work for another team, you really don’t know what’s under the hood of another team when it comes to systems,” said Falvey. “It felt like there’s a good framework in place, in a system where we could access information. … Right now it’s a good framework to build off of.”
Dodgers Haven't Ruled Out Brian Dozier Trade
The Dodgers wrapped up their five-year agreement with Kenley Jansen yesterday and are nearing the completion of a four-year deal with Justin Turner — both ESPN’s Jim Bowden and FanRag’s Jon Heyman have reported today that just small details remain to be worked out — but Doug Padilla of ESPN.com reports that the impending re-signing of Turner doesn’t close the door on a trade for Minnesota’s Brian Dozier. Per Padilla, a trade package for the Twins’ slugging second baseman might have to center around right-hander Jose De Leon or a similar asset, but the Dodgers are reluctant to part with De Leon. A reunion with 2016 second baseman Chase Utley hasn’t been entirely ruled out either, according to Padilla. Utley delivered a solid season on a one-year deal with the Dodgers last year, hitting .252/.319/.396 with 14 homers, but Utley logged a dismal .154/.206/.264 slash in 97 plate appearances against lefties. The Dodgers’ greatest weakness in 2016 may have been their struggles against southpaws — an area where Dozier could provide a significant boost (.282/.353/.613 in 2016, .270/.343/.512 in his career).
Twins Sign Minor League Catcher Dan Rohlfing
- The Twins have brought back minor league catcher Dan Rohlfing, as he announced and Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press confirmed (Twitter links). Rohlfing originally joined Minnesota in the 14th round of the 2007 draft and remained with the organization until it traded him to the Mets in April 2015. After a yearlong stint in the Mets’ system, he spent most of last season with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate and slashed .289/.331/.474 with five home runs in 149 plate appearances. In all, the 27-year-old has batted .244/.316/.338 across 10 minor league seasons and 2,189 PAs.
Yorman Landa Passes Away
Minor league pitcher Yorman Landa passed away last night, the Twins announced. The cause of death was a car crash in Landa’s native Venezuela, the Pioneer Press’ Mike Berardino writes. Landa’s father was driving and his car struck a fallen tree. Landa was 22.
“The Minnesota Twins are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Yorman Landa early this morning in Venezuela,” said Twins executive Derek Falvey in a statement. “On behalf of the entire baseball community, we send our sincerest condolences to the Landa family as well as Yorman’s many friends, coaches and teammates.”
The Twins originally signed Landa in 2010. They had recently non-tendered him, but they re-signed him to a minor league deal just this week.
Landa pitched in 2016 in the bullpen for Class A+ Fort Myers, demonstrating control problems but also strikeout ability. He ranked 20th in MLB.com’s list of the Twins’ top 30 prospects, with MLB.com noted his mid-90s fastball and potential to become a big-league setup man.
Padres To Acquire Rule 5 Picks Miguel Diaz, Luis Torrens
TODAY: Cincinnati will pick up infielder Josh VanMeter from the Padres in the trade for Torrens, per club announcements. The 21-year-old struggled after a promotion to Double-A last year, but earned that bump up with a strong .267/.355/.443 batting line over 401 High-A plate appearances. Notably, he ended up hitting 14 total home runs in 2016 — a rather significant tally for a player who had hit just three total long balls as a professional coming into the year.
YESTERDAY: The Padres will acquire the top two Rule 5 Draft picks, righty Miguel Diaz (in a trade with the Twins) and catcher Luis Torrens (in a trade with the Reds), MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo writes (Twitter links). (Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweeted that the Reds would trade Torrens to San Diego.) The Padres already had the third Rule 5 pick and used it to select infielder Allen Cordoba, so it appears they’ve ended up with the first three Rule 5 picks.
The Reds will receive a player to be named and cash from the Padres. The Twins will receive a player to be named or cash, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets, and they’ll also get Rule 5 pick Justin Haley, who the Padres had previously acquired from the Angels. Diaz and Torrens were previously with the Brewers and Yankees, respectively. Haley had been with the Red Sox.
That’s all incredibly confusing, so here’s a different way of representing where each player went this morning:
Diaz: Brewers –> Twins –> Padres
Torrens: Yankees –> Reds –> Padres
Haley: Red Sox –> Angels –> Padres –> Twins
The 22-year-old Diaz ranked 21st on MLB.com’s list of the Brewers’ top prospects. He throws in the mid-90s from a three-quarters arm slot, and he has the makings of a good slider, according to MLB.com. He’s a bit small, at 6’1″ and 175 pounds, and he’s had elbow trouble in the past. He fared well for Class A Wisconsin in 2016, however, with a 3.71 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings.
Torrens, 20, ranked as the Yankees’ 17th-best prospect. The Yankees signed him out of Venezuela for $1.3MM in 2012. He hasn’t hit much, batting .250/.350/.337 in the lower levels in 2016, and his experience is limited, due to shoulder troubles that cost him much of 2014 and all of 2015, but MLB.com praises his work behind the plate. He seems hard-pressed to stick in the Majors all season, but perhaps it’s not out of the question he could make the Padres out of Spring Training as Austin Hedges’ backup.
