- The Twins selected the contract of outfielder Logan Schafer. He’ll take the place of outfielder Danny Santana, who was placed on the 15-day DL with a shoulder sprain suffered in a collision with teammate Robbie Grossman during today’s game. After being released by the Nationals at the end of Spring Training and then spending some time in the independent Atlantic League, Schafer signed a minor league deal with Minnesota in June. Schafer has a .212/.286/.319 slash line over 646 career MLB plate appearances, all with the Brewers from 2011-15.
Twins Rumors
Twins Select Alex Wimmers' Contract
- The Twins have selected the contract of righty Alex Wimmers, as Ted Schwerzler of Off The Baggy was first to tweet. Wimmers made his big-league debut with a scoreless inning yesterday. The 27-year-old was the 21st overall pick in the 2010 draft, but his path to the big leagues was slowed by injury. He’s had a solid season in the bullpen at Triple-A Rochester, with a 3.62 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings.
Ervin Santana Clears Trade Waivers
Twins righty Ervin Santana recently cleared trade waivers and can be dealt to any team in the coming days, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports. Teams have until Wednesday to deal for players they wish to include on their postseason rosters.
Acquiring the 33-year-old Santana would be a considerable investment for any team — he’s making $13.5MM this season and will make the same amounts in both 2017 and 2018 as well. (He also has a club/vesting option for 2019.) Santana has pitched quite well this season, however, posting a 3.33 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 140 2/3 innings. That includes a 1.89 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and a miserly 1.5 BB/9 in what has so far been a terrific second half. After an 80-game PED suspension last year in the first season of his four-year deal with Minnesota, Santana has reestablished himself as a reliable rotation option. As Berardino points out, the fact that Santana cleared waivers might indicate that the Twins might have to take on some salary to deal him. If they are willing to do so, however, they should be able to get legitimate talent in return.
The Twins are 49-79, miles out of the playoff race, and it stands to reason they would consider trading productive veterans. Last month, though, interim GM Rob Antony told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that the Twins were in no rush to trade Santana, pointing out that Santana’s remaining contract (basically, a two-year deal with an option) would make him a very attractive trade candidate amidst a weak free agent market next offseason and declaring that the Twins have no need to move Santana’s salary.
Still, expect to hear Santana’s name bandied about in the coming days. The ability to acquire a solid starting pitcher on a seemingly reasonable contract on the August trade market isn’t particularly common, and Santana’s talent and controllability would make him an attractive asset for any number of contenders.
Twins Looking For President Of Baseball Operations
The Twins have been in the market to replace general manager Terry Ryan, who was relieved of his duties in mid-July. But it seems that the team will not just hire a direct replacement. Instead, Minnesota is looking for a president of baseball operations who will in turn hire a GM and other front office personnel, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter.
That’s not exactly a big surprise. Many teams around the league have moved toward such a two-tier approach to managing baseball operations, with variations on the general theme proliferating. And Twins owner Jim Pohlad has hinted that his club could follow suit, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reported in the wake of Ryan’s firing.
Still, it’s rather notable that the Minnesota organization is now apparently committed to that path. This is just my speculation, but the news could suggest that the club will look for a fairly seasoned executive to sit in the top spot, perhaps reserving the GM chair for a younger, more analytical type. Or, perhaps, the structure could help carve out a role for interim GM Rob Antony, who has been in the organization for the better part of three decades and remains under contract for next year. (For what it’s worth, after being hired as PBOp by the Red Sox, Dave Dombrowski decided to elevate Mike Hazen to serve as his GM.)
The precise nature of the arrangement obviously remains unknown — and may not even yet be decided. Rival organizations have utilized an array of different set-ups. Some presidents of baseball operation seem to hold onto many of the duties typically associated with a general manager, while others appear to be largely removed from day-to-day decisionmaking. Assessing the best arrangement for the Twins organization may well be part of the process of deciding upon a new operations chief.
Byung Ho Park To Undergo Wrist Surgery
Twins designated hitter Byung Ho Park will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist, the team announced to reporters, including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link). The operation will repair a subluxation of the tendon on the back of Park’s right hand, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Park, 30, signed a four-year, $12MM contract with the Twins this offseason after Minnesota secured the rights to negotiate with him by submitting a blind bid of $12.85MM. The former KBO superstar looked to be a shrewd pickup through the first six weeks of the season, but his production quickly went into the tank. Park would ultimately be demoted to Triple-A, where it was revealed that he’d been playing through a wrist ailment. While he didn’t want to cite the injury as the source of his big league struggles, it does seem as though the balky wrist may have impacted his performance; Park batted a very strong .257/.342/.581 with nine homers through his first 120 plate appearances with the Twins but followed that up with a dismal .127/.210/.245 over his next 124 PAs. Most telling of all, perhaps, is the fact that Park punched out in 47 percent of his plate appearances over his final dozen games before being sent down. Park fared better with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate but still struggled, hitting .224/.297/.526 with 10 homers in 31 games with Rochester.
While Park’s first season didn’t go as the team had hoped, the fact that he was able to slug 22 homers in a combined 93 games between Minnesota and Rochester suggests that the power that made him such a desirable free agent could eventually play at the Major League level. He’ll take the offseason to rehab the wrist and look to work his way back onto the big league roster next season, though the Twins have a glut of corner options that muddies the exact alignment for the 2017 campaign.
Joe Mauer is entrenched at first base/designated hitter and won’t be going anywhere thanks to a $23MM annual salary and a full no-trade clause. And while there’s a common refrain suggesting that Mauer get back behind the plate, the personal dangers of him doing so in the wake of concussion issues that lingered for years beyond his move to first base make that an unrealistic and decidedly unsafe course of action that won’t be considered. Miguel Sano’s brief trial in right field yielded poor results, so he’ll be in the picture back over at third base and designated hitter. The Twins also still have Trevor Plouffe as an alternative at third base, with Jorge Polanco and Eduardo Escobar both serving as options to see time at shortstop and also at the hot corner. Max Kepler’s emergence and a resurgent Eddie Rosario make it unlikely that any of Plouffe, Polanco or Escobar would move to a corner outfield spot. Switch-hitting slugger Kennys Vargas, too, adds to the Twins’ options as a potential DH.
The Twins were faced with a similar crunch last winter and elected to hang onto all of their corner options, prompting the ill-fated Sano-to-right-field attempt. Some form of offseason move to create roster flexibility seems possible, if not likely, especially considering the fact that the Twins are widely expected to hire a new general manager from outside the organization following Terry Ryan’s dismissal.
Twins Promote Adalberto Mejia, Sign Edward Mujica
The Twins have promoted left-handed pitching prospect Adalberto Mejia from Triple-A Rochester, optioned first baseman Kennys Vargas and signed right-handed reliever Edward Mujica to a minor league deal, per a team announcement.
[RELATED: Updated Twins Depth Chart]
The 23-year-old Mejia joined the Twins organization last month in a trade for infielder Eduardo Nunez, whom it dealt to the Giants. Currently Baseball America’s 91st-ranked prospect, Mejia doesn’t have lights-out stuff, but the pundits credit him as a sturdy southpaw who limits home runs and walks and should be able to post strong results with a quality three-pitch mix. It’s unclear when he’ll get a chance to slot into the Twins’ rotation, which has been woeful this year. Entering play Saturday, Twins starters had the third-worst ERA and seventh-worst fWAR in the majors. Aside from steady veteran Ervin Santana, Minnesota’s rotation has been downright disastrous as the last-place team has stumbled to a 49-73 record.
Mejia, whom MLBPipeline.com ranks as the Twins’ 10th-best prospect, threw 19 1/3 innings with Rochester prior to his promotion and logged a 4.66 ERA that belied his excellent strikeout and walk rates of 9.31 and 1.4 per nine. In 65 Triple-A frames since last season, Mejia has posted a 4.29 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. If he sticks with the Twins through year’s end, he’ll become eligible for arbitration after the 2019 season and will be on track to reach free agency at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.
The well-traveled Mujica became a free agent when the Royals released him Aug. 10. The 32-year-old lasted less than a month with the Kansas City organization and threw 12 innings for its Triple-A affiliate in Omaha. While Mujica struck out an impressive 14 batters during those frames, he offset that by yielding 11 earned runs on 17 hits. Mujica was previously far stingier as a member of the Phillies’ Triple-A club earlier this season, logging a 3.04 ERA and .92 BB/9 during a 39-inning stint with Lehigh Valley.
Mujica has pitched in each of the prior 10 major league campaigns and has compiled a 3.85 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 over 546 2/3 innings. Last season, he scuffled to a combined 4.75 ERA with the Red Sox and Athletics in 47 1/3 frames.
Nationals Acquire Sean Burnett From Twins
12:15pm: The Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate announced the acquisition of Burnett from Minnesota in exchange for cash considerations.
11:51am: The Nationals have agreed to a deal to acquire left-hander Sean Burnett from the Twins, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). The veteran southpaw had been pitching for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate prior to the trade. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets that it’s not clear what the return will be, but it doesn’t sound like the Nats gave up a player, which would indicate that some presumably nominal cash considerations are going back to the Twins.
Burnett, 34 next month, has split the season between the Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers, Braves and Twins, working to a 1.91 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings. Left-handers, in particular, have mustered a pitiful .164/.203/.236 batting line against Burnett in Triple-A this season.
Cotillo adds that Burnett is bound for Triple-A with the Nats as well, so he won’t have his contract selected to the big league roster right away. However, the Nationals currently have Oliver Perez as the lone southpaw in their bullpen, and he hasn’t been pitching well as of late, so it’s certainly quite plausible that Burnett could return to the Nationals’ big league roster, where he spent parts of four seasons from 2009-12. During that stretch, Burnett logged an outstanding 2.81 ERA in 201 2/3 innings of relief.
Assessing The Indians’ Options At Catcher
The Indians are in first place in the American League Central, yet they possess one of the most glaring weaknesses of any contender in the game. Cleveland catchers this season — Yan Gomes (currently injured), Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez — have combined to bat a staggering .172/.225/.296 in 457 plate appearances. The company line has been that they’re high on the defensive capabilities of each backstop, but no club in all of Major League Baseball has received worse production out of its catchers. How best to remedy that situation — or whether they even need to — is up for debate.
Obvious Trade Candidates
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes today that Cleveland has had some discussions with the division-rival Twins about Kurt Suzuki in the past, but “there’s nothing happening at the moment.” Suzuki cleared trade waivers yesterday, making him a logical candidate for any club in need of catching help. The main sticking point for Cleveland, it seems, is that Suzuki isn’t regarded as a strong defender, and he would obviously be tasked with learning an entirely new pitching staff in a short amount of time in the event that the Indians made a move. That’s a tall order for any catcher, and it could conceivably lead to further difficulty in framing/blocking pitches if he’s not fully familiar with the full arsenal of each pitcher he’s catching. Then again, Suzuki is affordable (owed $1.5MM through season’s end) and hitting .281/.321/.435 — an enormous upgrade over the offensive deficiencies that have plagued Cleveland catchers in 2016.Read more
Kurt Suzuki Clears Revocable Trade Waivers
Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki cleared revocable trade waivers and is free to be traded to any team, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter).
Suzuki is earning $6MM in 2016 and has a vesting option for the same amount in 2017 — though that is highly unlikely to be triggered since Suzuki is not on pace to reach 485 plate appearances. Teams weighing an addition, then, will be looking at a tab of about $1.54MM through the end of the season.
Even with that fairly modest payroll obligation, no contender placed a claim on the 32-year-old Suzuki. That would suggest that Minnesota will need to keep some of the cash on its books in order to strike a deal.
It is somewhat surprising that Suzuki wasn’t snagged on the wire. Though he never seemed to draw significant interest before the trade deadline, Suzuki has been quite productive for a backstop this year. He’s running out a .283/.323/.435 batting line with six long balls over 289 plate appearances.
Of course, Suzuki has never been very highly regarded with the glove, and Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that defensive limitations played a role in the lack of market development. Still, contenders in need of an upgrade or even just additional depth behind the plate will surely need to consider a move on Suzuki.
All told, then, there’s still time for interest to grow. With rosters expanding in two weeks’ time, it would be easy to carry three catchers. Suzuki’s remaining salary will continue to dwindle. Other market factors — such as the still-unknown fate of Derek Norris on the waiver wire — may intervene. And an injury or two could change the calculus quite a bit.
Twins Notes: Miguel Sano, Jose Berrios
Twins third baseman Miguel Sano’s MRI on his right elbow came back clean today, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The 23-year-old slugger has been playing through some soreness in his elbow that has impacted his throwing in recent weeks, he revealed over the weekend, but the issue appears to be minor in nature. Sano told reporters that the elbow is feeling better today, and he’ll have the opportunity to rest it with an off-day in the schedule. Sano has struggled tremendously at third base since opening the year in right field and then being shifted back to the hot corner, but his bat has come to life lately. Over his past 18 games, Sano is hitting .297/.368/.622 with six home runs.
- Fellow top young Twins talent Jose Berrios is receiving plenty of organizational attention as he struggles to complete his transition to the game’s highest level, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Even Hall-of-Famer and current TV analyst Bert Blyleven has chipped in as the team looks to get Berrios on track. Though he has long shown ample polish in the minors, the 22-year-old has uncharacteristically permitted 14 walks in his 28 big league frames, coughing up 29 earned runs on 39 hits — including seven long balls. On the positive side, he is still getting plenty of swings and misses with thirty punch-outs. Among the issues being explored are fastball command and tipping of offspeed pitches, per the report. Minnesota is relying heavily upon the development of players like Berrios, Sano, and Byron Buxton, and their current record reflects the uneven recent path of those hyped youngsters (among other players).
