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Outrighted: Herget, Neuse, Sanchez

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A few updates on some recently DFA’ed players who passed through waivers, per the league’s transactions log at MLB.com…

  • Righty Kevin Herget, designated for for assignment Friday by the Rays, went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Durham. Herget made his big league debut as a 31-year-old rookie this season after grinding through the minor leagues and independent baseball for more than nine years. He tossed just 2 2/3 frames and yielded a pair of runs in that time but also recorded his first big league strikeout. Even if Herget doesn’t get another look with the Rays in 2022, his excellent work in Triple-A this year should generate interest in minor  league free agency this winter. In 93 2/3 frames, he’s pitched to a 2.98 ERA with a strong 24.9% strikeout rate and an outstanding 3.9% walk rate.
  • Athletics infielder Sheldon Neuse cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The 27-year-old logged a career-high 293 plate appearances in 2022 but recorded just a .214/.273/.288 slash with four homers, four doubles and a pair of triples in that time. Neuse has consistently produced at the Triple-A level, where he’s slashed .299/.353/.471 in 1559 plate appearances, but he’s only managed a .212/.262/.296 slash in 420 Major League trips to the plate. Neuse has spent the bulk of his pro career playing third base, but he does have just over 750 innings of experience at second base and at shortstop — in addition to brief cameos at first base and in the outfield corners.
  • Veteran right-hander Aaron Sanchez, whom the Twins designated for assignment Friday, remains in the organization after clearing waivers and being assigned outright to Triple-A St. Paul. Injuries, most notably shoulder surgery, have blown up the once-promising career of Sanchez, formerly the No. 34 overall draft pick by the Blue Jays and the 2016 American League ERA leader. Since tossing 192 innings with a flat 3.00 ERA in ’16, Sanchez has thrown just 524 1/3 Major League innings (plus another 103 minor league innings) in a span of six seasons. Still just 30, Sanchez has pitched decently in Minnesota this season, tossing 27 innings with a 4.00 ERA, 25-to-7 K/BB ratio and 53.8% ground-ball rate.

Falvey: Twins To Retain Manager Rocco Baldelli

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The Twins have floundered down the stretch, losing 15 of 21 games this month to fall to 73-77 entering play Friday. They’ll need a strong finish to avoid a second straight losing season, which is certainly a disappointing outcome for a team that was 11 games over .500 in May and sat at the top of the AL Central as recently as three weeks ago.

Despite the team’s abysmal final month, Minnesota chief baseball officer Derek Falvey made clear the club had no plans to make a change atop the dugout. Speaking with reporters this afternoon, Falvey stated that the possibility of replacing skipper Rocco Baldelli “never even crossed my mind” (relayed by Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com and Aaron Gleeman of the Athletic). “Rocco’s our manager. He’s my partner in this all the way through,” the Twins baseball operations leader said. “Rocco’s a big part of our future. Not just next year, but beyond.”

Baldelli has occupied the manager’s office at Target Field for four seasons. First hired over the 2018-19 offseason, the former MLB outfielder reportedly received a four-year guarantee that came with multiple options. It isn’t clear whether the club plans to simply exercise a 2023 option in his existing deal or renegotiate a new contract, but Baldelli’s in position to lead the charge for a fifth season either way.

While the past two seasons have been underwhelming, Baldelli led the team to AL Central titles in each of his first two years at the helm. Minnesota’s 2019 team set the all-time record for home runs in a season en route to 101 wins, although they were promptly swept by the Yankees in an AL Division Series. The Twins went 36-24 during the abbreviated 2020 schedule but again were swept in the first playoff round — this time at the hands of the Astros. Minnesota entered 2021 as at least co-favorites with the White Sox to take the division again, but they posted a 73-89 season that dropped them into last place.

On the heels of that awful 2021 campaign, the Twins reloaded with an aggressive offseason. Minnesota stunningly signed Carlos Correa to an opt-out laden three-year deal in Spring Training that featured the highest average annual value ($35.1MM) for any free agent position player in history. The Twins also acquired Sonny Gray and Chris Paddack in March trades while adding Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy to the back of the rotation via free agency. The aggressiveness looked as if it’d paid off early on, with Minnesota seizing an early division lead. They doubled down at this summer’s trade deadline, bringing in Jorge López and Tyler Mahle.

Unfortunately for the organization, the roster overhaul wasn’t enough to overcome a brutal stretch of late-season injuries. Minnesota has been without Byron Buxton for a month (and announced this evening he’d undergo season-ending knee surgery). Jorge Polanco has missed nearly as much time, as has Mahle. Left fielder Trevor Larnach and catcher Ryan Jeffers have been out for multiple months. Gray has been on and off the injured list twice this year, while Minnesota lost Paddack to Tommy John surgery and was without mid-rotation starter Bailey Ober between May and mid-September. Former top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff again lost much of their seasons to injury.

That’s certainly not to say all the Twins’ struggles are attributable to poor health luck. Minnesota entered the season with a rotation reliant on Paddack, Bundy and Archer — all of whom had serious injury and/or performance concerns in the recent past. The bullpen has blown 26 leads, tied for sixth-most in the majors. While the club has hit well overall, they’ve underperformed with runners in scoring position. That’s presumably not a trend they anticipate continuing over multiple seasons, but it has contributed to the team ranking 17th in runs scored despite being 12th in on-base percentage and 11th in slugging.

Minnesota figures to be in for another active offseason as they look to get back on track. Correa is likely to opt out of his contract in search of a longer-term deal. If he departs, as many anticipate he will, the Twins would have to decide how to proceed at shortstop. They’ll also need to overhaul the bullpen and could look into upgrades in the corner outfield and at the back of the rotation. Besides Correa, the club will see Gary Sánchez, Michael Fulmer and Archer hit free agency and is likely to buy out options on Bundy and Miguel Sanó.

Twins Designate Aaron Sanchez For Assignment

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The Twins announced Friday that they’ve recalled right-hander Louie Varland from Triple-A St. Paul and designated fellow righty Aaron Sanchez for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

Sanchez, 30, has appeared in seven games with the Twins this season and pitched to a 4.00 ERA with a 21.6% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate in 27 innings. The right-hander was an All-Star in 2016 and led the American League with a 3.00 ERA that season but has seen that promising career derailed by a series of injuries, most notably including 2019 shoulder surgery.

Sanchez logged a career-high 192 innings back in that 2016 season, but he’s only managed 366 big league innings since that time, pitching to a 5.24 ERA along the way. The Twins will place him on outright waivers or release waivers in the next few days.

Varland, 24, will get the start for the Twins in tonight’s game. It’ll be the third of his career, as he made a pair of appearances earlier this month, pitching well through 5 1/3 innings at Yankee Stadium in his MLB debut before struggling in a five-inning outing in Cleveland.

A Minnesota native whom the Twins selected in the 15th round  of the 2019 draft out of Division-II Concordia University in St. Paul, Varland skyrocketed through the system in 2021. He’s had a strong followup showing between Double-A and Triple-A this year, logging a combined 3.06 ERA in 126 1/3 frames. He’ll be in the mix for a rotation spot for a pitching-needy Twins club next year, making his late-season audition well worth monitoring for Twins fans.

Kurt Suzuki To Retire After 2022 Season

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Longtime big league catcher Kurt Suzuki will retire once the 2022 season concludes, he tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. That comes the day after the Hawaii native’s 39th birthday.

“I feel like it’s time,” Suzuki told Fletcher. “I’ve had a great run, won a World Series, All-Star Game. Played 16 seasons. I’ve accomplished a lot of things I never would have dreamed of. I felt like it’s time for the next chapter. My three kids, all they’ve known is baseball.”

Suzuki began his professional career in 2004. A second-round pick of the A’s out of Cal State Fullerton, he made it to Oakland three years later. Suzuki debuted in June 2007 and cemented himself as the A’s primary catcher from essentially that point forward. The right-handed hitter topped 130 games every year between 2008-11, generally hitting at a slightly below-average level overall but better than average for a catcher. Suzuki’s high-contact approach made him a solid offensive backstop for much of his time in Oakland, and the A’s dealt him to the Nationals in the summer of 2012.

After finishing out that season in Washington, Suzuki wound up back in Oakland via trade in August ’13. He qualified for free agency for the first time after that year, signing with the Twins. Suzuki bounced back from a couple down offensive years to hit .288/.345/.383 and earn an All-Star nod that year, and Minnesota signed him to a two-year extension that summer. His production dipped during his final two seasons in Minnesota, but he rebounded with one of the best years of his career after signing with Atlanta going into 2017. He popped a career-best 19 home runs and hit .283/.351/.536 through 81 games, earning a midseason extension for a second season with the Braves.

Suzuki didn’t quite replicate his 2017 production, but he posted another above-average offensive season to wrap up his time in Atlanta. After hitting .271/.322/.444 with 12 longballs, he landed another multiyear deal in free agency. Heading into the 2019 campaign, the Nationals inked Suzuki to a two-year, $10MM deal to pair with Yan Gomes behind the dish. That contract paid off in year one, as the veteran hit another 17 homers with a .264/.324/.486 line in 85 regular season games. Suzuki saw his most extensive playoff action during the Nats run a World Series title that year. That included a go-ahead homer off Justin Verlander in the seventh inning in Game 2 of the World Series, the biggest play in a win that gave Washington a 2-0 series lead.

After another solid showing with Washington during the shortened 2020 campaign, Suzuki has played the last two seasons on successive one-year pacts with the Angels. He’s had a couple down years to wrap up his career, working primarily as a backup in Orange County.

Suzuki’s career totals won’t be finalized until the season concludes, but he’s not likely to change his ledger all that much over the final two weeks. As he noted, Suzuki has played in 16 consecutive big league seasons and surpassed 1600 games. He owns a .255/.314/.388 line with 143 home runs, 729 runs batted in and 594 runs scored. Suzuki made an All-Star game and played a key role on a World Series team. Baseball Reference values his career around 20 wins above replacement. FanGraphs, which factors in Suzuki’s below-average pitch framing metrics, pegs him around nine wins.

Independent of that discrepancy in value, there’s little doubt about the impressiveness of a major league career that lasted more than a decade and a half. It’s possible he’ll continue his baseball career in some capacity, as Suzuki indicated he’d be happy to discuss the possibility of assuming a non-playing role with Halos general manager Perry Minasian (with whom he’s also familiar from their overlapping stints in Atlanta). MLBTR congratulates Suzuki on his lengthy career and wishes him all the best in his post-2022 endeavors.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Twins Place Sonny Gray On IL With Hamstring Strain

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The Twins announced that they have placed right-hander Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. His roster spot will go to fellow righty Trevor Megill, who has been reinstated from the COVID IL. Additionally, righty Dereck Rodriguez, who was designated for assignment on the weekend, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.

Gray, 32, started yesterday’s game against the Guardians but was pulled after throwing just 44 pitches in two innings. Though Gray could technically return on the last day of the season, October 5, it’s quite likely that this will conclude his 2022 campaign.

Acquired from the Reds in a March trade, Gray was very good when healthy enough to take the mound. He made two other trips to the IL, one for a hamstring strain in April and another for a pectoral strain in June. Around those injuries, he made 24 starts and threw 119 2/3 innings with a 3.08 ERA, 24% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate.

That has sort of been the story for the Twins as a whole as well, as they seemed to be the best team in the AL Central for much of the year until mounting injuries dragged them down. They had a lead as big as 5.5 games in late May, but have since slid down to third place, seven games back of the Guardians and three behind the White Sox. Given that their postseason chances are effectively gone at this point, it makes logical sense to let Gray put his feet up for the next little bit as opposed to taking a chance on making his injury worse. Gray joins 17 of his teammates on the IL, bringing the club’s total to 18.

Minnesota’s rotation is now left with Joe Ryan, Dylan Bundy, Bailey Ober and Josh Winder, leaving one spot to be filled. It’s possible that rookie Ronny Henriquez, who threw 73 pitches after Gray’s departure yesterday, could just step in, though that remains to be seen.

Gray is in the final guaranteed season of the extension he signed with the Reds back in 2019, though there’s a $13.1MM club option for 2023. That’s a bargain price for a pitcher of Gray’s caliber, making it a fairly easy decision for the Twins to exercise it and bring him back for 2023.

Rangers Claim Drew Strotman

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The Rangers announced Monday that they’ve claimed right-hander Drew Strotman off waivers from the Twins, who’d designated him for assignment over the weekend. Texas opened a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring veteran utilityman Brad Miller from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.

Strotman, 26, came to the Twins in July 2021 alongside right-hander Joe Ryan in the trade that sent Nelson Cruz to Tampa Bay. At the time of the swap, Strotman had been in the midst of a solid season — albeit with some worrying command issues — at the Triple-A level and looked like he could potentially join Ryan as a fast-tracked arm to the big leagues. His walk rate, however, failed to improve in his new environs, and Strotman became increasingly homer-prone following the swap.

Strotman had Tommy John surgery in 2018, and while his velocity has generally recovered, that surgery and the ongoing command issues created some some concerns that he may have to move from a starting role to the bullpen. The Twins tried that approach in 2022, surely hoping that Strotman’s fastball and cutter would play up in shorter stints. It hasn’t worked out, however, as the 2017 fourth-rounder has pitched to a grisly 6.44 ERA with a career-worst 13.8% walk rate in 50 1/3 innings of bullpen work with Triple-A St. Paul this season. Strotman’s 24.2% strikeout rate and 51.1% grounder rate are both solid but aren’t strong enough to offset the persistent location issues.

This is Strotman’s second season on a 40-man roster, meaning he’s already been optioned to the minors twice (at the end of Spring Training ’21 and at the end of this past Spring Training). That burns through two of his minor league option years, leaving him with just one more season of options (2023) — assuming he even sticks on the Rangers’ 40-man roster that long.

As for Miller, the move to the 60-day injured list formally ends his season. He was originally placed on the 10-day IL with a right hip strain back on Sept. 9. After hitting .236/.331/.480 with 40 home runs in 718 plate appearances from 2019-21, Miller’s first season with Texas has to be considered a disappointment. He signed a two-year, $10MM deal over the winter but turned in an ugly .212/.270/.320 output in 241 plate appearances while thrice hitting the injured list due to neck and hip injuries. He’s set to earn $4MM next season on the back half of a slightly front-loaded two-year deal, so Texas will hope that better health brings about something closer to that 2019-21 form.

Twins Promote Ronny Henriquez, Designate Dereck Rodriguez

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The Twins announced they have recalled right-handed pitcher Ronny Henriquez, with fellow righty Dereck Rodriguez designated for assignment in a corresponding move. This drops the club’s 40-man roster to 39.

Henriquez, 22, began his career with the Rangers and pitched in rookie ball in 2018 and then A-ball in 2019. He pitched well enough down there that he first cracked Baseball America’s list of top Texas farmhands in 2020. After the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic that year, Henriquez split his 2021 between High-A and Double-A. He appeared in 21 games, 16 starts, throwing 93 2/3 innings with a 4.71 ERA, 27.1% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. Those are strong rate stats, but 17 home runs helped inflate the ERA.

He was added to the Rangers’ 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, which ended up getting canceled by the lockout. Once the lockout was over, the Rangers flipped him to the Twins as part of the Mitch Garver and Isiah Kiner-Falefa deal. The Twins have kept Henriquez in Triple-A all year to this point, giving him 14 starts and 10 further bulk appearances. Through 95 1/3 innings, he’s again posted strong rate stats but has seen the long ball contribute to poor results overall. He has a 5.66 ERA on the season with 19 homers, despite striking out 25.7% of batters faced and walking just 8% of them.

The Twins led the AL Central for much of the season but have slipped recently, thanks in part due to mounting injuries. They are now seven games behind the Guardians with the White Sox in between them and even further back in the Wild Card race. With their playoff hopes fading and their roster decimated by injuries, they’ll turn to Henriquez and see how he fares against MLB hitters down the stretch.

As for Rodriguez, this goes down as an exceptionally short stay on the roster as his contract was selected just yesterday. He pitched 3 2/3 innings in the 15-inning nightcap of yesterday’s marathon doubleheader. He didn’t allowed any earned runs but did take the loss thanks to the Manfred man scoring in the bottom of the 15th. As a thank you for that yeoman’s work, he’ll be sent out to the waiver wire. He’s logged 89 2/3 innings in Triple-A this year with a 5.02 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 30.1% ground ball rate. If he clears waivers, he will be eligible to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency since he has been previously outrighted in his career.

Twins Place Trevor Megill On COVID-IL, Select Dereck Rodriguez

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The Twins placed right-hander Trevor Megill on the COVID-related injury list today, and selected the contract of righty Dereck Rodriguez from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

It isn’t known whether Megill tested positive for the coronavirus or was sidelined for a related reason (i.e. symptoms, or being a close contact to a COVID-positive case).  If the latter, Megill can return as early as tomorrow, if he tests negative or his symptoms abate.  If he has tested positive, he’ll need to miss a minimum of 10 days, unless he passes three criteria for early return — two negative tests, no fever or visible symptoms, and clearance from three medical professionals, including the team doctors and physicians appointed by both the league and the players’ union.

Minnesota claimed Megill off waivers from the Cubs in late November, then quickly non-tendered the righty and re-signed him to a minor league contract.  Selected to the big league roster in May, the hard-throwing Megill has been a solid member of the Twins bullpen, posting a 3.89 ERA and 25.4% strikeout rate over 41 2/3 innings.

Rodriguez has appeared in one MLB game this season, tossing four innings for the Twins on April 13 before being designated for assignment and then outrighted to Triple-A.  The righty has decent (22.9% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate) secondary numbers with Triple-A St. Paul this season, but also has a 5.02 ERA over 89 2/3 innings.  Much of that damage has occurred recently, as Rodriguez has a 10.67 ERA over his last 14 1/3 innings and four outings — prior to these struggles, Rodriguez had a much more respectable 4.16 ERA in 71 1/3 prior Triple-A frames.

His lone appearance on April 13 officially made 2022 Rodriguez’s fourth MLB season, after he pitched with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021 but never saw any action in the bigs.  Best known for his impressive 2018 rookie season with the Giants, Rodriguez has struggled just to stay in the majors ever since, with a 5.97 ERA over 107 MLB innings since that seeming breakout year.

Twins Make Several Roster Moves

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The Twins have announced a series of roster moves, with outfielder Max Kepler going on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 14, with a right wrist sprain. Fellow outfielder Matt Wallner has been selected to the club’s roster. To create space on the 40-man, right-hander Drew Strotman has been designated for assignment. Additionally, Louie Varland has been recalled to serve as the “29th man” for today’s doubleheader.

Kepler’s trip to the IL, his second of the year, will add to a very frustrating pile of injuries for the Twins this year. Kepler joins eight other position players who are currently on the shelf, in addition to eight pitchers, giving them a total of 17 players currently on the IL. The Twins spent months atop the AL Central division standings but have seen these mounting injuries drag them down to five games back of the Guardians, with the White Sox in between.

Kepler’s had a bit of a down year but will surely still be missed by the club. His batting line of .227/.318/.348 amounts to a 95 wRC+, or 5% below league average, but he’s still produced 2.0 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs due to his strong work in right field. Since the move is retroactive, Kepler can return in a week. However, with just over two weeks left on the schedule, there will be a narrow window for Kepler to work with.

Wallner, 24, was selected 39th overall by the Twins in the 2019 draft, climbing his way up the minor league ladder since then. This year, he’s split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, getting into 128 games between the two. In that time, he’s hit 27 home runs and has slashed .277/.412/.541, 144 wRC+. He’s walked in an impressive 17% of his plate appearances but also struck out in 29.8% of them. He’s been in the back half of Baseball America’s top 30 Minnesota prospects for the past few years but jumped up to #8 on their most recent iteration, thanks to his strong season here in 2022. FanGraphs views him similarly, putting him in the #10 slot. Both reports compliment his tremendous power but raise concerns about the whiffs. He’ll try his hand at major league pitching, beginning by starting in today’s game.

Strotman, 26, was drafted by the Rays but came over to the Twins in the Nelson Cruz deal last year. Though he was largely a starting pitcher in his first few professional seasons, he struggled enough after the trade that Minnesota tried moving him to the bullpen this year. Unfortunately, Strotman hasn’t taken to the switch so far, as he’s produced a 6.44 ERA in 50 1/3 Triple-A innings this season. That’s come with a strong 51.1% ground ball rate and 24.2% strikeout rate, but a dismal 13.8% walk rate. The control has been a nagging issue for Strotman, who’s posted double-digit walk rates in all of his recent stops.

Despite those command issues, Strotman has some promising traits and can still be optioned for the remainder of this year and one more season. Teams searching for pitching depth could take him on as a project and try to improve that control. With the trade deadline passed, the Twins will have to put Strotman on waivers in the coming days.

Twins Outright Randy Dobnak

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As expected, Minnesota Twins right-handed pitcher Randy Dobnak has passed through waivers unclaimed and has accepted his assignment to Triple-A. Dobnak was able to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency having accumulated over three years of MLB service time, but he lacks the five years of service time necessary to do so without forfeiting any salary — $800k for the 2022 season, increasing to $1.5MM next year, $2.25MM in 2024, and $3M in 2025, with team options and buyouts for the 2026-28 seasons.

Dobnak made his Major League debut in 2019, pitching 28 1/3 innings with a 1.59 ERA. He followed that up with a more modest 4.05 ERA in 46 2/3 innings in 2020 before signing a five-year, $9.25MM extension, which could increase to $29.75MM, with the Twins prior to the 2021 season.

Unfortunately, Dobnak then missed the majority of the 2021 season with injuries, pitching only 50 2/3 innings to a poor 7.82 ERA before being shut down with a right middle finger strain that lingered into Spring Training this year. Dobnak’s struggles continued into the 2022 season during his rehab process, giving up nine earned runs in 8 2/3 innings in Triple-A St. Paul, leading to his DFA.

With the Twins’ current core of Bailey Ober, Josh Winder, Joe Ryan, Sonny Gray, and Chris Archer (when healthy) there was no space for Dobnak. Even with a roughly average bullpen, 3.85 ERA and 24.7% strikeout rate, the front office decided that Dobnak would not be an addition to the team’s playoff push. Rather than reinstall him onto the 40-man roster after his time on the injured list was up, they moved to pass him through waivers. He’ll try to work his back onto the roster in Triple-A.

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