- Phil Hughes is being moved to the Twins bullpen, manager Paul Molitor told reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger). Kyle Gibson will replace Hughes in Minnesota’s rotation. Hughes allowed a league-high 29 homers in 2015 and has struggled to a 4.74 ERA over 208 2/3 innings since the start of last season. Unless he can regain his form while relieving and eventually get back to the rotation, the Twins will face further scrutiny over signing Hughes to an extension following his excellent 2014 season, the first year of a three-year/$24MM contract. The Twins overwrote the final two years of that deal for a new extension that guaranteed Hughes $58MM from 2015-19.
Twins Rumors
AL Notes: Profar, Young, Jays’ Farm, Twins, Ausmus
In theory, Jurickson Profar could stay up for the Rangers even after Rougned Odor returns from his suspension, functioning in some kind of utility capacity. But as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explains, the likelihood remains that he’ll head back to Triple-A: while Profar could well represent an upgrade over Hanser Alberto, it would be tough to find sufficient action for a player who still needs reps after a long layoff. It is worth noting that Texas slotted Profar right into the leadoff spot tonight, and he could conceivably play his way into a bigger role.
More from the American League:
- Righty Chris Young will join the bullpen upon his return to the Royals, manager Ned Yost told reporters including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Yost did add, though, that he foresees Young returning to the starting staff at some point this year.
- In addition to addressing other topics, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins raised some concerns with the state of talent in the team’s farm system, he tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. While he sees “some guys who could be everyday major league players,” Atkins says he’s concerned that the organization lacks “the depth of those guys that could turn into major league players, that larger number of what we call in the industry a Role 4 player, someone who is maybe not an everyday player but a solid contributing player, who could turn into a five.” That could tell when it comes to deadline additions, the new general manager suggests. “There’s no question that it impacts it,” he said. “We will have to keep our eyes on the future, but we recognize this window and opportunity. … I think fortunately we do have enough assets that if we wanted to make a move like that, we could. I think the question then becomes at what expense and at what level of sacrifice.”
- The Twins spoke with the reps for Yadiel Hernandez, but the team doesn’t seem inclined to pursue him, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter links). It’s unclear whether Minnesota has interest in fellow Cuban free agents Jose Miguel Fernandez and Lazaro Armenteros, but Wolfson adds that the club did have eyes on them in their recent showcase.
- Tigers GM Al Avila tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link) that he stands behind embattled skipper Brad Ausmus. After tonight’s win, Detroit is on a 9-and-2 run since dropping to a season-worst 15-21 record recently. That leaves the club well within striking distance in the AL Central, which still looks to be a four-team dogfight.
Twins Select Contract Of Buddy Boshers
- The Twins have placed outfielder Darin Mastroianni on the DL and filled his roster spot by selecting the contract of left-hander Buddy Boshers from Triple-A Rochester, per a club announcement. Minnesota transferred closer Glen Perkins to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Boshers, 28, spent the 2015 season on the independent circuit but has turned in a strong showing at the Triple-A level this year, working to a 1.42 ERA with a 21-to-5 K/BB ratio in 19 innings out of the Rochester bullpen. Perkins, meanwhile, has been out since early April due to a shoulder injury and recently suffered a setback in his rehab. The earliest he could be activated would be June 10, though that seems unlikely given recent updates on his status.
Twins, Sean Burnett Agree To Minor League Deal
The Twins and left-handed reliever Sean Burnett have agreed to a minor league pact, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). The Munsey Sports client opted out of a contract with the Braves last week. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Burnett has a June 15 opt-out date and would earn a pro-rated $1MM base salary upon making the Majors, with an opportunity to earn up to $1MM more via incentives.
The 33-year-old Burnett has already been with the Dodgers and Braves this season, working to a combined 1.38 ERA with 10 strikeouts against seven walks in 13 innings of work. He’ll hope to make a return to the Majors for the first time since 2014 under his new deal, as surgery to repair an elbow impingement in 2013 and Tommy John surgery in 2014 have slowed his career. Prior to those setbacks, Burnett was a solid reliever for the Pirates and Nationals, working to a 2.85 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 234 innings from 2009-12. Lefties have batted .228/.293/.336 against him to this point in his big league career.
The Twins’ bullpen has been an unmitigated disaster this season, with a 4.75 ERA that ranks 28th in Major League Baseball and beats out only the Rangers (5.43) and Reds (6.47). Closer Glen Perkins went down early with a shoulder injury and recently had a setback, and other left-handed options have struggled, with the exception of Fernando Abad, who has quietly been excellent since signing a minor league deal this winter. Rookie Taylor Rogers is the only other lefty in the Twins’ bullpen, though the converted starter has struggled out of the gates in his brief taste of the Majors. Burnett will join a large stable of lefty relievers at the Triple-A level that are not on the 40-man roster; the Twins currently have southpaws Ryan O’Rourke, Logan Darnell, Dan Runzler and Buddy Boshers in the Rochester ’pen.
Twins “100 Percent Committed” To Terry Ryan
A Twins official says the team is “100 percent committed” to GM Terry Ryan despite the team’s 11-31 start, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. Berardino notes that Ryan and Twins owner Jim Pohlad spoke on the field on Friday, and there did not appear to be strife between them.
“There are concerns in ownership as you would be expecting when you’re (11-31),” says Ryan. “[B]ut as far as the relationship and anything else that comes with our conversations, it’s mostly, ‘All right, how are we going to get this thing right?’ That’s where some of that creativity comes in as far as answers.”
Ryan, for his part, recently offered support for Twins manager Paul Molitor. It sounds, though, like he’s very open to other moves to address the team’s weaknesses.
“It just isn’t going well at all. So I have to be prepared to try to change it up and move some pieces,” he says. “We’re struggling to a point where we haven’t been able to right it. I’m going to have to do some things. We’re going to have to keep messing around with this roster.”
To that end, the Twins have made a variety of roster moves in the past two weeks, adding lefties Pat Dean and Taylor Rogers, righty Brandon Kintzler, and outfielders Robbie Grossman and Darin Mastroianni to the big club. Aside from a 5-3 win against the Blue Jays today, however, the losses continue to mount.
Offensively, the team’s winter signing of Byung Ho Park has been a success, and Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano have contributed. But a number of position players have struggled, including Oswaldo Arcia, Eduardo Escobar, Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario. (Escobar is currently on the disabled list; Rosario was recently sent to the minors.) The team has the second-worst OBP (.299) and worst slugging percentage (.376) in the AL. The team’s pitching staff, meanwhile, has accumulated a miserable 5.01 ERA, with the team suffering through down seasons so far from Phil Hughes and a number of relievers and back-of-the-rotation starters.
Ryan, of course, enjoyed success with the Twins in the early 2000s, as the team won four division titles from 2002 through 2006. He stepped down in 2007, remaining with the organization as an adviser, and returned to the GM job in 2011. The Twins had three straight seasons of 92 losses or more from 2012 through 2014 (although an incoming GM does not deserve full blame for the poor performance of a team built in part by his predecessor). The Twins finished 83-79 last season in their first winning campaign since 2010.
Terry Ryan Offers Support For Paul Molitor
- Twins GM Terry Ryan still supports manager Paul Molitor despite the team’s 10-31 start, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. “I’m in this with (Molitor); we’re joined at the hip,” says Ryan. “No one’s pointing fingers around here. I’ve got to do a better job. The club has to do a better job. It starts with my chair. I’m aware of that. I take that as serious as anything because I’m the one that makes the decisions.” Molitor, of course, took the Twins managerial job last year and led the club to its first winning season since 2010. But this season, in which he’s presided over a club that’s last in the AL in both runs scored and runs allowed, has been a trying one.
Paul Molitor Addresses Rough Start
- Twins skipper Paul Molitor chatted with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about his club’s struggles, saying that he’s still approaching the job with the same vigor. While he didn’t exactly suggest that there’s a significant hope of a full-blown turnaround this year, Molitor did stress that he’ll continue to “choose to see light still” even amidst the difficulties.
2017 Vesting Options Update
Each year, the free-agent class is impacted by the performance of players with vesting options (as is the financial future of players with said provisions in their contract). For those unfamiliar with the option, a vesting option is typically a club option that can automatically trigger based on the player’s health and/or performance. Meeting pre-determined criteria for games played, innings pitched, plate appearances, etc. are the most common means of triggering vesting options, though as you’ll see below, there have been some more creative approaches to vesting options in the past as well.
We’ll check in on these players periodically throughout the season, and here’s the first look…
- Chris Iannetta: The Mariners hold a $4.25MM club option over Iannetta for the 2017 season, but that option can also vest at $6MM if Iannetta starts 100 games in 2016 and does not finish the season on the disabled list due to an injured hip, back or right elbow. Having started 30 of the Mariners’ first 39 games, Iannetta is on pace to clear the 100 start threshold with ease, and if he can continue to post an OPS in the mid-.700s, the Mariners probably won’t mind having him back for another season at that price. One factor that could throw a wrench into his playing time: Mike Zunino is demolishing Triple-A pitching thus far, batting .305/.357/.580, though the former first-round pick has cooled off considerably in the past two weeks.
- Kurt Suzuki: Another backstop with a $6MM vesting option, Suzuki needs to reach 485 plate appearances in 2016 for that option to trigger. The big 2014 first-half that earned Suzuki that extension never seemed sustainable, and he has batted just .242/.294/.330 since signing the deal. The Twins probably don’t want to see this one vest, as evidenced by the fact that he’s on pace for 349 plate appearances, which would be his lowest total since signing in Minnesota.
- Matt Holliday: The 36-year-old Holliday has a $17MM club option for the 2017 season that automatically vests if he places within the Top 10 of this season’s NL MVP voting. Holliday isn’t the hitter he once was, and even in his best years with the Cardinals, he (somewhat surprisingly) never landed inside the Top 10 in NL MVP voting. At 36 years of age and off to a good but unspectacular .250/.325/.485 start to the season, it seems safe to assume that his option won’t vest. The club will have the choice of exercising the option or paying Holliday a buyout of $1MM.
- Coco Crisp: Crisp, also 36, has a more complicated vesting option tacked onto his two-year, $22MM deal. The option is valued at $13MM and will automatically kick in if Crisp receives 550 plate appearances or appears in 130 games this season. The option initially could also have vested based on combined playing time from 2015-16 (1100 PAs from 2015-16 or 260 games from 2015-16), but Crisp spent most of the 2015 campaign on the DL, so he’ll have to hope to trigger the option based solely on his 2016 health. He’s appeared in 31 of Oakland’s 41 games and picked up 126 plate appearances, so he’s a bit shy of the pace for either threshold. Clearly, though, there’s still plenty of time to make up ground. He’s batting .234/.304/.405.
- Yusmeiro Petit: The one-year, $3MM contract signed by Petit this winter came with a $3MM club option ($500K buyout) that vests if Petit reaches 80 innings pitched. Petit has occupied a role similar to the one in which he thrived for a few years as a member of the Giants’ bullpen, and he’s picked up 21 innings through the Nationals’ first 40 games. If that pace holds, he’ll indeed clear 80 innings and see that salary lock in. With a 1.71 ERA and 3.28 FIP through his first 21 frames, the Nats probably wouldn’t mind that at all.
- CC Sabathia: The 35-year-old Sabathia’s vesting option is tied to the health of his shoulder. He’ll lock in a $25MM salary for the 2017 campaign if he doesn’t end the 2016 season on the DL due to a shoulder injury or spend 45+ days on the DL this year due to a shoulder injury. Sabathia is currently on the disabled list, but it’s due to a groin injury, so it doesn’t impact the option’s status. While he’s certainly no longer an ace, Sabathia did have a 3.81 ERA through his first five starts of the season, though his strikeout and walk numbers weren’t particularly encouraging.
It’s perhaps worth noting, as well, that both Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher had vesting options for the 2017 season worked into the four-year deals they originally signed with the Indians. However, with each player having been released from that contract and signing new deals (with the D-backs and Yankees, respectively), those options are no longer in play. (The lack of playing time for each player this season would’ve made them a non-issue anyhow.)
Twins Sign Robbie Grossman, Option Eddie Rosario
MAY 18: The Twins demoted Rosario to Triple-A Rochester following today’s game, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Additionally, Neal reports that Grossman will be in uniform for the Twins tomorrow night, meaning his contract will be selected and added to the 40-man roster. Minnesota’s 40-man roster currently stands at 39, so a corresponding move to accommodate Grossman is not necessary.
MAY 17: The Twins and outfielder Robbie Grossman are in agreement on a minor league pact, per La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). Grossman, a Lagardere client, will be assigned to Triple-A Rochester. He had opted out of a minor league pact with Cleveland earlier this week and, per Neal (Twitter link), has a June 15 opt-out in his new deal with Minnesota.
The 26-year-old Grossman will add some outfield depth to a Twins organization that has seen its fair share of struggles across all three outfield positions. Opening Day center fielder Byron Buxton was optioned to Triple-A after again looking overmatched by big league pitching, and fellow top prospect Max Kepler struggled in limited Major League action as well. Eddie Rosario, the club’s sophomore left fielder, is batting a dismal .213/.232/.343 in 114 plate appearances. Even 2015 Rookie of the Year contender Miguel Sano is hitting a solid but unremarkable .235/.331/.412 with just six homers on the season.
The Twins made a somewhat similar depth pickup earlier this year when they signed veteran David Murphy and assigned him to Rochester, but Murphy ultimately requested his released and elected to retire. That’s highly unlikely to be the outcome with the much younger Grossman, though there is of course no guarantee that he’ll see the big league roster with Minnesota before his mid-June opt-out date.
Grossman was once looked at as a potential long-term piece for the Astros, who acquired him in the 2012 trade that sent left-hander Wandy Rodriguez to the Pirates. Baseball Prospectus once ranked Grossman as a Top 100 prospect, and he showed some promise as a 23-year-old rookie in 2013 when he batted .268/.332/.370 in 288 plate appearances. However, the switch hitter’s production slipped to .222/.323/.323 across the next two seasons, and the Astros ultimately released him this past winter.
From a defensive standpoint, Grossman has experience at all three outfield positions, though he received poor marks in both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved in a small sample of 250 center field innings between 2013-14. His corner work has generated much more positive reviews, with the majority of his big league experience having come in left field. And, it’s worth noting that Grossman has been quite productive at the Triple-A level this season, batting .256/.370/.453 with six homers and three steals in 134 plate appearances for Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate.
Byron Buxton Unlikely To Be Promoted Soon
- Byron Buxton is hitting well at Triple-A, though as La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes, the Twins aren’t likely to call Buxton back up to the Show until he shows consistent production and solid development as a hitter. The star prospect has just a .195/.239/.316 slash line over 187 PA in the bigs and often looked over-matched at the plate against Major League arms. Buxton only played 13 Triple-A games before his initial promotion in 2015, so he may simply need more seasoning (despite how much he’s crushing pitching at lower level) before he returns to the Twins.
