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Twins Acquire Brayan Medina To Complete Taylor Rogers Trade

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The Twins have acquired right-handed pitching prospect Brayan Medina from the Padres, per Minnesota’s director of communications and player relations Dustin Morse. Earlier this month, the Twins traded Taylor Rogers and Brent Rooker to the Padres for Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagan and a player to be named later, which has now been revealed as Medina.

Born in Venezuela, Medina is just 19 years old. He made 12 starts and 2 relief appearances last year between the Arizona Complex League and the Dominican Summer League. In 33 2/3 innings pitched, he had a 5.88 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate and 14.9% walk rate. Last year, Baseball America ranked him the #26 prospect in the Padres’ system.

After going over the first luxury tax line last year, the Padres have seemed reluctant to do so again this year, as paying the tax in consecutive years comes with escalating penalties. Their current CBT number is just under $229MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That gives them only about $1MM of wiggle room before they are over the first CBT line, which is $230MM under the new CBA. As part of the trade with Minnesota, the Twins agreed to pay almost all of Rogers’ salary, helping the Padres limbo under that line. Medina seems to be their reward for doing so, adding an intriguing young arm to their system.

Twins Outright Jharel Cotton

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Apr. 20: Cotton has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Apr. 13: The Twins have selected the contract of right-hander Dereck Rodriguez and designated righty Jharel Cotton for assignment in a corresponding move, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Rodriguez, 29, will be making his debut for the team that originally selected him in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, though he took a rather roundabout way to getting there. The son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Dereck never got a big league look in seven years with Minnesota before becoming a minor league free agent and signing on with the Giants. He made his MLB debut with San Francisco in 2018 and enjoyed a brilliant rookie season before struggling immensely in 2019-20.

With the 2018 Giants, Rodriguez posted an out-of-the-blue 2.81 ERA in 118 1/3 innings. His 18.3% strikeout rate and 39.5% grounder rate were both well below the league average, but his 7.4% walk rate was strong. Fielding-independent marks weren’t as bullish on Rodriguez as his bottom-line ERA but generally felt he looked the part of at least a fourth/fifth starter.

Rodriguez unraveled in 2019, however, when opponents belted 21 home runs against him in just 99 innings, en route to a 5.64 ERA. His strikeout and walk rates trended in the wrong direction, and by 2020, Rodriguez received just four big league innings (allowing six runs on 10 hits, including two more homers) before being designated for assignment. The Tigers claimed him off waivers but didn’t put him on the mound in a big league game, and Rodriguez elected free agency after clearing waivers that November. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies last year but pitched to a 6.72 ERA in 22 Triple-A games.

Rodriguez returned to his original organization on a minor league contract this winter. He tossed a scoreless inning for the Twins during Spring Training and has gotten out to a nice start with the Saints, tossing four more shutout frames with a 5-to-2 K/BB ratio and 50% grounder rate in his lone start thus far. Rough showing from 2019-21 notwithstanding, Rodriguez has a career 4.27 ERA, a 17.1% strikeout rate and a 7.9% walk rate in 221 1/3 big league innings. He’ll be able to give the Twins some length in the bullpen and perhaps make a spot start if necessary.

As for the 30-year-old Cotton, he was an offseason waiver claim out of the Rangers organization who stuck on the 40-man roster through the winter and through Spring Training. Cotton held opponents to a pair of runs in seven Grapefruit League innings, but he walked five batters during that time and has seen his command woes continue. While Cotton has pitched a pair of scoreless frames for the Twins so far, he’s walked four of the 10 opponents he’s faced and also thrown a wild pitch.

A former top-100 prospect with the A’s, Cotton has tallied 191 innings over 54 big league games dating back to his 2016 debut, but he has a tepid 4.66 ERA to show for his efforts. His 19.4% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 35.5% ground-ball rate are all worse than the Major League average, and the 91.7 mph he’s averaged on his fastball in his two innings so far is down considerably from last year’s 93.6 mph average. The Twins will have a week to trade Cotton, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Injury Notes: Buxton, Walker, Tatis

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Twins center fielder Byron Buxton exited Friday’s game with what initially looked like it could be a notable knee injury, but an MRI over the weekend ruled out any structural damage. Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters Monday morning that Buxton is feeling optimistic and that within the next day or two, the Twins would be “talking about a specific plan for getting him back out there” (Twitter link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). President of baseball operations Derek Falvey joined the booth as a guest during the broadcast of today’s game and added that the hope is for Buxton, who has not been placed on the injured list, to rejoin the lineup at some point during the Twins’ upcoming series against the Royals. The Twins will travel to Kansas City for a three-game set running from Tuesday through Thursday.

The latest on some more health situations around the game:

  • Righty Taijuan Walker is headed out on a minor league rehab assignment this week and is expected to start for the Mets’ Class-A Advanced affiliate on Wednesday, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Walker, who landed on the injured list last week due to a case of bursitis in his pitching shoulder, may only need the one rehab appearance before being cleared to return. DiComo suggests the 29-year-old right-hander will likely line up to start one of next week’s games against the Cardinals. Walker’s first outing of the season lasted just two innings, but it seems he’ll be able to make a swift return to the rotation, barring any setbacks of note during his rehab outing. Walker posted a 4.47 ERA in 30 appearances for the Mets in 2021.
  • Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. has progressed to participating in light on-field baseball activities, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The two-time Silver Slugger award winner simulated taking ground-balls during infield practice before tonight’s game against the Reds, throwing the ball across the diamond to first base. Tatís is still wearing a brace and has yet to progress to fielding or swinging a bat as he rehabs from the mid-March surgery he underwent to repair a fractured scaphoid bone in his left wrist. The Padres initially placed a three-month timetable on his return to the field, though Cassavell writes Tatís recently opined he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery. The organization won’t make any firmer timetable until he begins to swing a bat, which manager Bob Melvin says will be the final baseball activity the team allows him to take. Tatís is on the 60-day injured list and ineligible to return until the first week of June. In all likelihood, he’ll be out for a bit beyond when he’s first eligible to return, but it’s welcome news that he’s progressed to getting some pre-game work in on the field.

Twins To Place Sonny Gray On 10-Day IL, Activate Cody Stashak

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Twins starter Sonny Gray left yesterday’s start with right hamstring tightness and will be placed on the IL, per Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Cody Stashak, who began the season on the IL with right biceps tendinitis, will swap places with Gray and join the active roster.

Gray threw 31 pitches yesterday before the hamstring issue ended his start prematurely. In the immediate aftermath of the game, he was considered to be day-to-day and perhaps not in need of a trip to the IL. Now it seems the team has decided to play it cautious and give him a chance to recuperate. As stated by Miller, the club anticipates he will only miss one start. Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com relays that the Twins will condense their six-man rotation down to five in Gray’s absence, with Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober as the remaining members. Josh Winder pitched well in long relief after Gray’s departure yesterday (2 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings) but will stay in a long relief role.

Stashak had a nice showing over 2019 and 2020, throwing 40 MLB innings with a 3.15 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and excellent 2.5% walk rate. In 2021, he threw 15 2/3 innings with a 6.89 ERA, with his strikeout rate jumping up to 34.7% but his walk rate hitting 13.3%. He was placed on the 60-day IL in June with a left back disk injury and didn’t pitch again. The 27-year-old will now look to get back on track after a lengthy absence.

Several Teams Interested In Justin Upton

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Now that Justin Upton has been released by the Angels, they are on the hook for Upton’s $28MM salary for this year. Any other team that signs Upton would only have to pay him a prorated portion of the new $700K league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what the Angels are paying.

Although the 34-year-old hasn’t produced above the league average rate since 2018, that no-risk situation has led to interest from several teams, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. However, all of the interested teams are non-contenders, whose interest in Upton is merely in hoping for a quick bounceback and then flipping him to a contending team at the trade deadline.

Upton’s preference is reportedly to play for a contender, which is why he hasn’t accepted any of the overtures from other teams just yet. Although these suitors intend to trade Upton to a contender later, there’s always the chance that a trade doesn’t come together, either due to injury or poor performance, leaving him stranded. It seems he doesn’t want to take the risk of that happening, at least for now. As Nightengale notes, Upton hasn’t played in the postseason in almost a decade, with his last appearance coming in 2013.

It was recently reported that the Diamondbacks were considering a reunion with Upton, which would make for a nice story since that’s where Upton started his career and blossomed into a star. Although Nightengale doesn’t mention any teams by name, it’s possible that the D-Backs fit the mold of a non-contending team that Upton is hesitant to join. They’re coming off a miserable 52-110 season where the top two teams in the division, the Giants and Dodgers, won 107 and 106 games.

It had also been reported that the Twins had checked in on Upton last week. Like the Diamondbacks, they’re also coming off a down year, but were aggressive in reloading for 2022, perhaps making Minnesota a more likely contender than Arizona. Since their reported interest in Upton last week, their outfield need has grown, with Alex Kirilloff landing on the IL and Byron Buxton leaving Friday’s game with a knee injury, although it’s possible Buxton will avoid a trip to the IL himself.

Twins Notes: Gray, Rodriguez, Buxton

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Sonny Gray left today’s start because of right hamstring tightness after facing just seven batters, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne (via Twitter). Gray is day-to-day, and they won’t move him to the injured list as of right now, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter). They should have a better idea tomorrow if they’re going to need to skip him in the rotation. Josh Winder pitched well in relief, and he could be an option for a spot start or two if Gray can’t go. With a six-man rotation, however, the Twins could also make do simply by skipping Gray’s spot. He’s not scheduled for another start until next Friday against the White Sox. In other Twins news…

  • Right-hander Dereck Rodriguez has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter). Rodriguez made one appearance, giving up three earned runs over four innings before being designated for assignment. He spent last season in Triple-A with the Rockies, but did not make it to the Show. He posted a 6.72 ERA over 85 2/3 innings for Albuquerque.
  • Byron Buxton’s MRI came back clean, and like Gray, the Twins are leaning towards leaving him on the active roster as he heals, per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. Buxton had his knee drained of fluid from inflammation, but with no structural damage, the hope is that Buxton can be back on the diamond in a couple of days. Buxton’s health is obviously a significant variable for the Twins this season, and they’ll want to be prudent before sending him back onto the grass.

“No Structural Damage” To Byron Buxton’s Injured Right Knee

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11:59AM: Buxton may not even require an IL stint, as Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Twins aren’t planning another roster move.

11:10AM: Twins outfielder Byron Buxton left yesterday’s game in the first inning due to what the club termed as right knee soreness, and Buxton was set to undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.  According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), there wasn’t any structural damage revealed, though Buxton might need around a week to recover.

This counts as good news, as given Buxton’s lengthy injury history, there was plenty of immediate concern when Buxton immediately left the field yesterday after sliding into second base on a leadoff double.  Even if a trip to the 10-day injured list seems probable, Rosenthal’s timeline would indicate that Buxton might only miss the minimum 10 days, though it’s possible the Twins might hold him out an extra day or two as a precaution.

Of course, missing Buxton for even 10 days is a big blow to Minnesota’s lineup, especially since the outfield was already thinned out when Alex Kirilloff was placed on the 10-day IL yesterday due to wrist inflammation.  Max Kepler is suddenly the last starting outfielder left standing, and Trevor Larnach and Kyle Garlick have already been called up from Triple-A.  That trio projects as the starting outfield for now, with Alex Gordon and Gilberto Celestino also on the active roster.  Jake Cave and Derek Fisher are among the more experienced outfielders still at Triple-A, though the Twins would need to add either player to the 40-man roster.

Buxton has played an even 500 games during parts of eight MLB seasons, as multiple injuries have hampered one of the sport’s most exciting all-around players.  When he has been able to play, Buxton has shown glimpses of his five-tool potential, such as the 4.2 fWAR and .306/.358/.647 slash line he posted over 254 PA (61 games) in 2021.  The seven-year, $100MM extension Buxton signed with the Twins in November reflected both his injury history and this high ceiling of potential, as millions more in incentive bonuses are available to Buxton if he can hit plate-appearance thresholds and secure at least a top-10 finish in MVP voting.

Twins Place Alex Kirilloff On Injured List

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April 15: An MRI did not reveal any new damage for Kirilloff, Baldelli tells reporters (Twitter link via Helfand). Kirilloff received a cortisone injection to help with the inflammation and discomfort. Baldelli expressed some optimism that eventually, Kirilloff should be able to “manage and do some maintenance” on the wrist while continuing to play through the issue.

That’s not a terribly encouraging update, though it’s at least good news that there’s no new injury at play for the promising young outfielder. Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com adds that it does not appear Kirilloff will be shut down for too long.

April 13: The Twins have placed outfielder Alex Kirilloff on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his surgically repaired right wrist. Fellow outfielder Trevor Larnach is up from Triple-A St. Paul in his place.

It’s a concerning development for the Twins and Kirilloff, whose 2021 season ended after he underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in that same wrist. Manager Rocco Baldelli told Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and other reporters that the discomfort in Kirilloff’s wrist didn’t pop up after one particular swing but just slowly crept back up (Twitter link).

Kirilloff, 24, was the No. 15 overall draft pick back in 2016 and ranked among the game’s 100 best prospects from 2019-21 as he climbed the minor league ranks. MLB.com rated him as the sport’s ninth-best prospect heading into the 2019 season. Kirilloff made his Major League debut for the Twins in the 2020 postseason and made his regular-season debut in 2021.

After a brutal first eight games in terms of results, the hard contact Kirilloff had been making began translating into production. From April 30 through the time of his season-ending IL placement last year, he slashed .270/.322/.460 with eight homers, ten doubles and a triple in 205 plate appearances. Kirilloff actually sustained the wrist injury in early May, which resulted in a nearly three-week stay on the injured list. He returned and remained generally productive, but his power began to dip, and the pain in his wrist eventually became too much to play through. Minnesota announced on July 21 that Kirilloff would undergo surgery.

The obvious hope for the Twins is that the injury this time around will prove to be nothing more than inflammation, though Kirilloff will undergo further evaluation before determining the full extent of the injury. The short-term impact of the injury is notable, but the most important issue for the Twins and for Kirilloff will be to put the injury behind him once and for all — to whatever extent that’s possible. Kirilloff has the makings of a potential building block for the Twins, evidenced by his lofty draft status, prospect rankings and his career .318/.366/.503 slash in the minors.

In place of Kirilloff, the Twins will turn to the 25-year-old Larnach. Like Kirilloff, he’s a former first-round pick (20th overall in 2018) and top-100 prospect who has the potential to serve as a key lineup piece for years to come. Larnach is a career .292/.375/.451 hitter in the minors and got out to a strong start in his big league career in 2021, with his initial call-up also coming as the result of a Kirilloff injury. Larnach hit .262/.361/.445 with seven homers and nine doubles through his first 191 plate appearances, but he fell into a catastrophic late slump and batted just .156/.255/.188 over his final 110 trips to the plate.

Larnach had a big Spring Training, hitting .294/.400/.706 with a pair of homers and a double in 20 plate appearances. He’s out to a poor start in St. Paul so far (2-for-19), but he’ll now be thrust back into the big league spotlight and hope to recapture that early-2021 form. He’ll share time in the outfield with fellow prospect Gilberto Celestino and former first-rounder Nick Gordon, who got the nod in left field today with Kirilloff heading to the injured list.

Twins Select Kyle Garlick, Designate Dereck Rodriguez For Assignment

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The Twins announced Friday morning that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Kyle Garlick from Triple-A St. Paul and designated right-hander Dereck Rodriguez for assignment in a corresponding move.

Garlick, 30, opened the 2021 season as a fourth outfielder with the Twins and posted a .232/.280/.466 batting line in 107 trips to the plate. Primarily deployed against southpaws, he turned in a much more robust .271/.302/.576 batting line in 59 trips to the plate in such situations. Garlick landed on the 10-day injured list a couple of times — the first for a positive Covid test and the second for a sports hernia that eventually required surgery and ended his season. Minnesota passed him through waivers after the season, but Garlick will now return and presumably occupy a similar part-time role, perhaps splitting time with Trevor Larnach in left field while Alex Kirilloff is on the shelf with continued wrist troubles.

It proved to be a short stay with the big league club for Rodriguez, the son of Hall of Fame catcher and a former Twins prospect who made his way back to the organization by way of a minor league deal this offseason. Rodriguez tossed four innings of long relief against the Dodgers earlier this week, tossing three scoreless frames before being tagged for back-to-back-to-back home runs off the bats of Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux and Austin Barnes. He finished that lone appearance as a Twin with three runs through four innings pitched.

Now 29 years old, Rodriguez was a sixth-round pick by Minnesota back in 2011 but didn’t make his MLB debut until 2018, after he’d signed with the Giants as a minor league free agent. He turned in a stellar rookie campaign, logging 118 1/3 innings of 2.81 ERA ball, but Rodriguez has just a 5.97 ERA in 107 big league innings since that time.

Rodriguez averaged 92 mph on his heater in that one-off appearance this year. He’s generally posted below-average strikeout and ground-ball rates but been better than average when it comes to limiting free passes. He’s also optionable for the remainder of the 2022 season, which could enhance his appeal to another club in need of some upper-level pitching depth. The Twins will have a week to trade Rodriguez, pass him through outright waivers or release him.

Injury Notes: Walker, Fletcher, Alcala

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The Mets have placed right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker on the 10-day injured list with shoulder bursitis per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Walker started yesterday’s game against the Phillies, pitching two scoreless innings with four strikeouts before leaving the game with shoulder irritation. Though the right-hander himself indicated he’d be alright following an MRI earlier today, it appears the team will be taking a more cautious approach. DiComo adds that Walker will miss at least a couple turns through the rotation as he will stretch out on a rehab assignment when he’s cleared to pitch again.

Electric closer Edwin Diaz will return from the bereavement list and take the roster spot vacated by Walker, sparing the Mets from any further roster shuffling for the time being. With New York’s rotation already thinned following Jacob deGrom’s untimely IL stint, the team will presumably have to rely on internal options— perhaps long reliever and last-year starter David Peterson— to patch over some rotation gaps early in the season.

Some other injury developments from the young season…

  • The Angels announced that they have moved infielder David Fletcher to the 10-day IL with a left hip strain. Infielder Andrew Velazquez, acquired in an offseason waiver claim from the Yankees, has been recalled to man the shortstop position in tonight’s game against the Marlins. It’s an inauspicious start to the 2022 season for Fletcher, who struggled offensively (.622 OPS) across 157 games in the first year of his five-year extension.
  • Twins right-hander Jorge Alcala is also headed to the 10-day IL with right elbow inflammation, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park. Elbow discomfort has followed Alcala around since this spring, so down time may do some good for one of the more quietly effective members of the Twins’ pitching staff the past few seasons. Right-hander Griffin Jax, who saw a plenty of action out of the team’s rotation last year, has been called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
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