The Twins are baseball’s most disappointing team at 25-53, but owner Jim Pohlad voiced continued confidence in manager Paul Molitor when speaking to Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in a recent interview. “I would say ’no’ to that definitely,” said Pohlad when asked if Molitor’s job was in danger. Pohlad told Hartman that Molitor will return for the 2017 season, though Hartman notes that there slightly more open-ended answer when asked about GM Terry Ryan. “…I mean we have to figure out what we’re doing wrong, what we’re doing wrong in the system,” said Pohlad. “If that points to the need to change personnel, I guess I would have to say we’d look at everything. But there has been no identification of anything like that. We’re beginning to discuss the process of how we examine doing things throughout our system.” While those comments certainly don’t indicate that the GM is on the hot seat, they’re a bit less firm than recent reports indicating that the team is “100 percent committed” to Ryan. Pohlad went on to emphasize that money isn’t an issue for the Twins despite a number of underperforming veterans and expressed frustration and disappointment that top prospects Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios have struggled so greatly upon reaching the Majors after dominating Triple-A.
Twins Rumors
Jay Bruce Willing To Waive No-Trade Clause In Deal To Contender
Reds outfielder Jay Bruce has a limited no-trade clause, but doesn’t intend to use that to hold up a deal to a contending club this summer, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports. Bruce sits at the top overall spot on MLBTR’s most recent top trade candidates list.
The NTC would let Bruce reject deals to the Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics, Rays, Marlins, Twins, Indians and Diamondbacks. Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com repored earlier today that Bruce would quite likely be willing to go to Cleveland, and it appears that he’d also be amenable to other hypothetical landing spots. Rumblings have connected Bruce to a variety of clubs, including the Dodgers, Giants, White Sox, and Royals since the start of the season.
Bruce, 29, tells Sheldon that he’s willing to “consider waiving the no-trade clause for all types of reasons,” with “no blanket reason I wouldn’t.” The veteran said he’d need to take each situation as it comes, with agent Matt Sosnick saying that such a choice has yet to be brought to their attention.
Bruce continued on to emphasize that he’d be quite interested in an opportunity to join an organization that has designs on contending. “If I am moved, which has seemed likely for the last year and a half, I’d like to go where the team is mostly likely to win,” he said. “Teams that want me are likely seeking somebody to help them win.”
Notably, Sosnick suggested that Bruce won’t necessarily be looking to utilize the clause for leverage with regard to his contract. “We’re not setting in stone any financial qualifiers,” he said. “If the deal is good for Jay and good for the Reds, he would consider anything — including waiving the no-trade. … There is no team that he would unequivocally not go to.”
Bruce has increasingly cemented his status as a premium trade piece, as he is once again hitting like the All-Star-caliber player he was from 2011 through 2013. The two intervening seasons are easier and easier to forget, as he carries a .279/.325/.568 slash with 17 home runs and a league-leading six triples into July. Bruce’s early-career extension is another asset: he’s earning $12.5MM this year and can be controlled for $13MM in 2017, which is particularly appealing with a dearth of young sluggers on the upcoming free agent market.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/28/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, each coming courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…
- Right-hander Juan Gutierrez has been released from the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, per the International League transactions page. The 32-year-old last appeared in the Majors with the 2014 Giants when he posted a 3.96 ERA and averaged 6.2 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings of work. Gutierrez logged very similar numbers in 2015 between the Triple-A affiliates for the Giants, Phillies and Nationals, and he’s posted a 4.10 ERA with a 28-to-11 K/BB ratio through 26 1/3 minor league innings in the Nationals’ organization this season.
- The Angels released right-hander David Carpenter from a minor league contract. The 30-year-old (31 in July) was a big piece of the Braves’ bullpen from 2013-14, pitching to a 2.63 ERA in 126 2/3 innings with 10.0 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9, but he battled injuries for much of the 2015 season between the Yankees and Nationals, ultimately finishing the season on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. Carpenter posted a 4.01 ERA in 24 1/3 innings last season and has struggled more greatly in 2016, yielding 13 runs on 17 hits and nine walks in 15 innings with the Halos’ Triple-A affiliate.
- Left-hander Matt Tracy has agreed to a minor league deal with the Marlins. The 27-year-old Tracy made his MLB debut with the Yankees last season and pitched two innings. He has a lifetime 4.79 ERA in 107 innings at the Triple-A level but struggled to a 5.11 ERA in 24 2/3 frames with the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate in Trenton this season.
- Left-hander Mike Strong has been released from the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate. Minnesota claimed Strong off waivers from the Brewers organization this past offseason and outrighted him to Triple-A late in Spring Training. After a nice season with Milwaukee’s Double-A affiliate in 2015, however, Strong has surrendered 17 runs on 22 hits and 13 walks with 10 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings for Minnesota’s Double-A affiliate in Chattanooga.
Phil Hughes To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
Twins right-hander Phil Hughes will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The operation will alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, who adds that GM Terry Ryan says the club expects Hughes to be ready for Spring Training (links to Twitter).
Hughes was already on the disabled list for the foreseeable future due to a femoral fracture above his kneecap that he suffered upon being struck by a line drive, but he’ll now definitively be out for the remainder of the year. The injury puts an exclamation point on a second consecutive disappointing season for Hughes, who has seen his velocity dip since a breakout 2014 campaign in his first year with Minnesota. That season, Hughes pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 209 2/3 innings and set a Major League record with an 11.63 K/BB ratio in the first year of a three-year, $24MM contract he’d signed the previous December. Minnesota rewarded Hughes by locking him up on an even longer-term deal, tacking on three years and $42MM to his existing contract.
Suffice it to say, the Twins will hope for better results than Hughes has delivered the past two seasons. It’s not immediately clear how long this current injury, which will require a portion of Hughes’ rib to be removed, has been impacting his results on the mound, but after averaging better than 92 mph on his heater in the aforementioned 2014 campaign, he’s averaged just 90.6 mph on his fastball in the 2015-16 campaigns. That dip in velocity has likely contributed to Hughes’ diminished results in some capacity, as he’s logged a 4.83 ERA in 214 1/3 innings with just 5.4 strikeouts per nine innings across the past two seasons. Hughes has maintained his pinpoint command (1.2 BB/9 in that time), but his swinging-strike rate has plummeted along with his velocity.
Having just celebrated his 30th birthday four days ago, Hughes is certainly young enough to rebound and contribute to the Twins in the coming years if he can work his way back to health. He’s owed $13.2MM in each of the next three seasons.
Knocking Down The Door: Bell, Berrios, Hedges, Judge, Stewart
This week’s installment of “Knocking Down The Door” includes five homegrown players—two first-round picks, two second-round picks and one sixth-round pick—who are close to reaching the majors with the team that drafted and signed them to professional contracts.
Josh Bell, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): Chad Kuhl’s solid MLB debut on Sunday should ease the calls for top pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow (13 IP, 0 R, 0 H over last two starts) to join the big league rotation, at least for this week. I’m not sure John Jaso’s doing enough (.619 OPS since May 29th) to hold off Bell much longer, though.
The 23-year-old first baseman has been a hitting machine during his ascent through the minors, and 2016 has been no different. Well, there has been one difference. He’s finally starting to show off some in-game home run power (11 HR in 74 games in 2016; 30 HR in 373 games from 2012-15) to go along with the high average (.321) and on-base percentage (.405), which should get the attention of a Pirates front office that isn’t known for quickly moving prospects up the ladder.
With a .356/.422/.644 slash line in June, the switch-hitting Bell has done more than enough to earn a spot with the Pirates and push Jaso into a bench role.
Jose Berrios, SP, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): It wasn’t a big surprise that Berrios earned an early promotion to the Majors in 2016. He dominated in Triple-A last season (2.85 ERA, 1.7 BB/9, 9. K/9 in 12 starts) and is considered to be one of the best pitching prospects in the game. It also shouldn’t have been a surprise, however, that a 21-year-old struggled in the big leagues and was sent to Triple-A after four starts.
Now a 22-year-old with two more months of Triple-A experience under his belt, Berrios is making a strong case to rejoin the Twins’ rotation after tossing three-hit ball over eight shutout innings in his last start. It was the eighth time in 10 starts that he’s allowed two earned runs or less and seventh time he’s allowed three hits or less.
Left-hander Tommy Milone did not fare well in his return to the rotation last week, and Tyler Duffey was on the brink of a demotion before dominating the Yankees in his last start. I’m guessing we’ll see Berrios if either Milone or Duffey has a bad start this week.
Austin Hedges, C, San Diego Padres (Triple-A El Paso): It doesn’t matter if Hedges homers in 10 straight games — he’s actually halfway there right now — there isn’t a spot for him on the Major League roster until the Padres can trade Derek Norris, who has an .828 OPS in June and is under team control through 2018. Those numbers are attractive on the trade market.
Norris also has value to the Padres, but Hedges’ recent power surge (seven homers in nine games) is a reminder that they have a big league ready catcher down in Triple-A who many think can be an elite defender and is healthy after surgery in late April to repair a fractured hamate bone.
The Austin Hedges era should begin in San Diego very soon — no, last year’s big league stint when he sat on the bench and watched Norris play almost every day doesn’t count. It just won’t happen until the Derek Norris era ends.
Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees (Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre): If a hitter’s walk-to-strikeout ratio is an indicator of his readiness for the majors, then maybe Judge is getting very close.
After walking 16 times and striking out 56 times in April and May, the 24-year-old Judge must be unrecognizable at the plate with his June performance—he’s walked 17 times and struck out only 21 times. While some hitters sacrifice power with a more patient approach, Judge’s power has also increased (8 homers in June; 7 homers in April/May).
Right fielder Carlos Beltran has been the Yankees’ most productive hitter in June, but he’s also 39 years old and needs to start getting off his feet and into the designated hitter spot more often. That designated hitter spot is currently being occupied by 40-year-old Alex Rodriguez, who is not having a productive season. Add those two things up and Judge has a chance to be patrolling the Bronx outfield in the near future.
Brock Stewart, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): The Dodgers currently have an opening in their rotation and there is a chance that they go with a guy who started the season in High-A and hadn’t been considered much of a prospect.
Crazy, right? Not as crazy at how deserving the guy is. (Note: Apparently the Dodgers agree, as Stewart tweets that he has been called up.)
A 6th Round draft pick in 2014, Stewart had the misfortune of spending most of his first full pro season in the very hitter-friendly California League, where he posted a 5.43 ERA. He returned there to start 2016 and was rewarded/saved with a promotion after two good starts. The 24-year-old has not stopped dominating hitters since.
After cruising through Double-A with 1.12 ERA, 1.6 BB/9 and 9.9 K/9 in nine starts, the right-hander has been brilliant in three Triple-A starts (2.89 ERA, 18.2 IP, 2 BB 27 K), including back-to-back 10-strikeout games. His next start could come in the majors on Wednesday.
“Knocking Down the Door” is a weekly feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.
Trade Interest In Ervin Santana?
- Ervin Santana “is seen as perhaps the most viable trade deadline pickup on the market,” with one AL assistant GM describing the Twins veteran as “the one guy out there who could be a sure thing in the middle of the rotation.” Santana has a 4.64 ERA, 6.37 K/9 and 2.39 K/BB rate over 77 2/3 innings this season, with ERA indicators backing up his unimpressive ERA. I would guess Minnesota would have to eat a fair amount of money in a Santana trade, as the righty is owed roughly $33.8MM through the 2018 season (plus a $14MM club/vesting option for 2019).
[SOURCE LINK]
Rays Acquire Oswaldo Arcia, Designate Andrew Bellatti
The Twins announced that recently designated-for-assignment outfielder Oswaldo Arcia has been traded to the Rays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Tampa Bay has also announced the move, adding that right-hander Andrew Bellatti has been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
[Related: Updated Tampa Bay Rays Depth Chart]
The 25-year-old Arcia is a former Top 100 prospect that batted .231/.300/.452 with 20 homers as the Twins’ primary right fielder as recently as 2014 (his age-23 season) but has struggled tremendously in each of the past two seasons. Since the beginning of the 2015 campaign, Arcia is batting just .236/.307/.373, and he actually hit worse following a demotion to Triple-A in 2015, slashing .199/.257/.372 in 311 plate appearances with the Twins’ affiliate in Rochester. The Rays will hope that a change of scenery can help the powerful lefty regain some of the promise he showed in 2014 and throughout his career in the minors, where he’s slashed .297/.358/.517 in spite of his 2015 struggles.
Arcia is limited to the corner outfield and is a liability even there, but he does have experience in both left and right, and the Rays have seen a slew of injuries deplete their outfield depth. Presently, the team is without Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Guyer, Steven Souza and Mikie Mahtook, as each is on the disabled list. Arcia is out of options, so the Rays won’t be able to send him down without exposing him to waivers once some of their other outfield options are healthy.
Bellatti, 24, made his big league debut with the Rays last season and posted a 2.31 ERA with an 18-to-10 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings to open the season at Triple-A this season, however, and hasn’t pitched since.
AL Central Notes: Sale, Perkins, Park, Bauer, Almonte
Chris Sale’s name has long been one that the most optimistic of fans will bandy about in trade scenarios involving various combinations of top prospects, but if the left-hander had things his way, he’d never wear a uniform other than his current White Sox jersey, he tells Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moreover, Sale says he can’t envision the team’s front office dealing him. “I plan on being here forever,” said Sale of the ChiSox. “I don’t think they would trade me. … I mean, at the end of the day, it’s a business. I understand you got to do what you got to do, what’s best for the team and what not. I have a hard time believing that I would be traded and I really don’t want to (be).” Sale is earning $9.15MM this season and is one on of the game’s more appealing contracts, as the Sox owe him a total of $38MM from 2017-19 (with the latter two seasons being club options).
More from the AL Central…
- Yesterday’s surgery to repair the torn labrum in Glen Perkins’ shoulder revealed that the left-hander’s labrum had completely separated from the bone and needed to be reattached, as La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Had there been no detachment, Perkins’ recovery could have been completed in a “few months,” but cases such as this one often require an eight-month timeline, per Neal. Perkins told Neal in a text message only that, “It’s going to be awhile.” Even an eight-month timeline could have the Twins’ closer healthy in time for the early portion of Spring Training next season.
- Also from Neal’s piece, the Twins could option struggling DH/first baseman Byung Ho Park to Triple-A Rochester when Miguel Sano is activated from the disabled list. While this is an arbitrary endpoint, Park was hitting a very strong .257/.339/.578 as recently as May 17, but over his past 27 games/109 plate appearances, he’s struggled to a .135/.220/.260 batting line with 35 strikeouts. “I think how he was able to start originally maybe raised a lot of people’s expectations on how fast his transition was going to be,” said manager Paul Molitor. “It’s just been more where we’re kind of back to how we thought it might be.” Molitor said he hasn’t changed his opinion on Park’s long-term value to the club whatsoever, firmly believing that the investment will prove to be a valid one in the end even with Park’s recent struggles.
- The Indians’ acquisition of Chris Gimenez was hardly a heralded move but had a significant impact on the club, writes Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal, as Gimenez has been extremely beneficial to surging right-hander Trevor Bauer. As Lewis writes, Bauer has a wide variety of pitches/grips which he employs (as many as seven), and Gimenez is familiar with expansive sets like that from his work with Yu Darvish in Texas. Gimenez explains to Lewis how he’s helped Bauer to tone down the number of offerings he utilizes, encouraging him to focus on the pitches that best complement each other. Manager Terry Francona says that Bauer is pitching in a more “conventional” manner of late and stresses that he means that as a compliment. Bauer’s results have been brilliant; over his past 10 starts (each caught by Gimenez), Bauer has posted a 2.74 ERA with a 61-to-20 K/BB ratio in 69 innings of work.
- Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte has begun a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level as he nears the July 3 date on which he can be reinstated from his 80-game suspension for a failed PED test, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland is woefully thin in terms of outfield depth right now thanks to suspensions for Almonte and Marlon Byrd as well as Michael Brantley’s questionable health status, and the return of Almonte could provide some needed depth.
Glen Perkins To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
JUNE 22: Perkins himself announced tonight (Twitter link) that he will indeed undergo season-ending surgery tomorrow afternoon. The surgery was a last resort after exhausting his other rehab options, per the left-hander’s message. Perkins’ hope, it seems, is that he can be ready to go for Spring Training next season.
JUNE 16: Twins closer Glen Perkins has been diagnosed with a torn labrum that will likely require season-ending surgery, reports La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Neal notes that the extent of the tear, at this point, is not yet clear, though he adds that Perkins also has some problems with his rotator cuff. Per Neal, Perkins could be ready for the beginning of the 2017 season, though it’s possible he’ll miss a bit of time at the beginning of the year.
Earlier this week, Perkins said that he was headed to see Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a third opinion on his ailing shoulder after suffering multiple setbacks in his attempts to get back on the mound. Perkins admitted to 1500 ESPN’s Phil Mackey at the time that he “[didn’t] have a good feeling” about the meeting but was hoping to be pleasantly surprised. That, unfortunately for both him and the team, was apparently not the outcome from his appointment.
Perkins’ season, it seems, will come to a close with just two uninspiring appearances under his belt. His absence and a significant decline in the performances of 2015 holdovers Kevin Jepsen and Trevor May has led to disastrous results from the Twins’ bullpen this season. Minnesota relievers rank 26th in the Majors with a collective 4.58 ERA. The team has recently demoted Jepsen, who had been closing in Perkins’ stead (a role he filled quite well in 2015), and installed a committee of Brandon Kintzler and trade candidate Fernando Abad as its primary ninth-inning options.
Prior to this season, the 33-year-old Perkins had made three consecutive All-Star teams and carried a 2.84 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 through 313 1/3 innings dating back to the 2012 season. He’s earning $6.3MM in 2016 and is owed $6.5MM for the 2017 season as well under his current contract. Minnesota also carries a $6.5MM club option on him for the 2018 season (his age-35 campaign), which comes with a $700K buyout.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/22/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Third baseman Casey McGehee has been optioned to Triple-A by the Tigers after clearing waivers, the club announced. He accepted the assignment after being designated recently, with the club electing not to remove him from the 40-man roster. After a single plate appearance during a brief pit stop in Detroit, the 33-year-old will remain available should another need arise at the major league level. McGehee is off to a strong start at Triple-A, with a .323/.370/.440 batting line through 270 plate appearances.
- The Twins have released lefty Dan Runzler, per an announcement from the club’s Triple-A affiliate. Now 31, Runzler showed promise early in his career with the Giants but could never sustain enough control to stick at the major league level. Between 2009 and 2012, he put up 72 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA pitching from the pen, with 9.7 K/9 against 5.5 BB/9. Runzler was carrying an 18:16 K/BB ratio in his 21 2/3 Triple-A frames at Rochester, with 14 earned runs charged to his ledger.
