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Daniel Coulombe

Danny Coulombe Outrighted By Twins, Elects Free Agency

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The Twins have outrighted left-hander Danny Coulombe, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Coulombe cleared waivers and elected free agency.

Coulombe, 33 next week, has been on and off the Twins’ roster over the past few years. He was signed to a minor league deal prior to the 2020 season, got his contract selected but was designated for assignment shortly thereafter. He signed another minors deal for 2021 and spent a few months with the team before losing his roster spot at year’s end again.

A third straight minor league deal followed prior to 2022, with Coulombe getting selected to the big league team once again. He tossed 12 1/3 innings with a 1.46 ERA despite a 17% walk rate but made two trips to the IL due to a hip impingement that eventually required surgery. For his career, he’s thrown 192 2/3 innings with a 3.92 ERA, 22.1% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate and 52.5% ground ball rate.

The Twins suffered a large number of injuries this season, leading to them placing many players on the 60-day injured list. However, since there’s no IL between the World Series and Spring Training, those players will soon have to take up roster spots once again. In anticipation of that, the club has been placing some players on waivers in recent weeks, having lost Caleb Hamilton to the Red Sox, Jake Cave to the Orioles and Jermaine Palacios to the Tigers, in addition to outrighting Jhon Romero, Devin Smeltzer and now Coulombe. Players who have more than three years of MLB service time or who have been previously outrighted in their career are eligible to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. Coulombe qualified on both counts.

Given that Coulombe and the Twins have continued to re-engage each other in recent years, it’s entirely possible that they do so again. However, Coulombe will be free to pursue other opportunities for the time being, while the club will likely wait and see how the lefty recovers from his surgery.

Twins Select Yennier Cano

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The Twins announced they’ve selected reliever Yennier Cano onto the big league roster. Southpaw Danny Coulombe was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hip impingement in a corresponding move. To open space on the 40-man roster, Minnesota transferred reliever Jhon Romero from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Minnesota signed Cano out of Cuba in June 2019, when the 6’4″ righty was already 25 years old. He’d had some professional experience in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, but he nevertheless began in the low minors during his time in the farm system. Cano didn’t reach Double-A until last season, but he earned a bump to Triple-A by mid-June. He finished the season with the Twins’ highest affiliate in St. Paul, pitching to a 3.86 ERA in 51 1/3 innings over 30 appearances. Cano showed the ability to work multiple innings and induced ground-balls at a hefty 60.9% clip, but he also walked an alarming 12.8% of opposing hitters.

Over the offseason, Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs slotted Cano the #38 prospect in the Minnesota organization, praising his surprising velocity (94-97 MPH) from a lower arm slot. Assigned back to St. Paul to open the 2022 season, he’s worked 12 innings of one-run ball. Cano has 14 strikeouts and a more manageable four free passes in that time, while he’s induced grounders on three-quarters of batted balls. That strong start earns Cano his first crack against big league hitters.

Minnesota grabbed Romero off waivers from the Nationals in Spring Training. He made four appearances during the season’s first couple weeks, allowing two runs in five frames. The right-hander landed on the injured list retroactive to April 20 due to biceps tendinitis. He’ll apparently require an extended recovery period and won’t be eligible to return until late June — 60 days from the time of his original IL placement.

Francys Romero first reported Cano’s forthcoming promotion last night.

Twins Select Danny Coulombe, Designate Jose Godoy For Assignment

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The Twins have informed left-hander Danny Coulombe that he’s made the team and formally selected his contract to the 40-man roster, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In a corresponding move, Minnesota has designated catcher Jose Godoy for assignment.

Coulombe, 32, is in his third season with the Twins organization but is cracking the Opening Day roster for the first time. The well-traveled southpaw has joined the Twins on minor league deals in each of the past three offseasons and has now pitched his way onto the roster for a third straight year. Coulombe tossed 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball this spring, punching out six hitters along the way while allowing just two hits and two walks.

The 2021 Twins used Coulombe quite a bit out of the bullpen (and once as an opener), as he logged 34 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with a solid 23% strikeout rate and an excellent 5% walk rate. He also tossed 2 2/3 scoreless frames with Minnesota in 2020 and worked to a 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 Triple-A innings last year, so it’s easy enough to see how he’s made a good impression on the organization.

This will be the eight season in which Coulombe has logged big league time, and if he can sustain his pace from the 2020-21 seasons, the Twins will have the ability to keep him around via arbitration this offseason. He currently has three years, eight days of Major League service time, meaning he can be controlled through 2024. All in all, Coulombe has a career 4.09 ERA with a 22.5% strikeout rate, a 9.4% walk rate and a 53.6% grounder rate in 180 1/3 innings between the A’s, Twins and Dodgers.

As for Godoy, this marks the third time he’s been bumped from a 40-man roster since the lockout lifted. The Mariners tried to pass him through outright waivers but lost him to the Giants, who immediately tried to slip him through waivers themselves. Godoy was with the Giants for just four days before being claimed by the Twins, and he may now find himself going through the process again, as the Twins have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Godoy, 26, made his big league debut with Seattle last year when he appeared in 16 games and batted .162/.225/.189 in a small sample of 40 plate appearances. That rough showing aside, Godoy is a .292/.338/.424 hitter in 412 career Triple-A plate appearances and is generally regarded as a strong defensive catcher. He boasts a career 40% caught-stealing rate and has posted very strong framing marks throughout his minor league career, per Baseball Prospectus.

Twins Sign Danny Coulombe, Jake Faria

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The Twins have signed a pair of pitchers to minor league contracts, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. Left-hander Danny Coulombe and right-hander Jake Faria will join the Twins organization with invitations to Spring Training.

Coulombe should be the more familiar name among Minnesota fans, as the 32-year-old pitched for the team in both 2020 and 2021. The reunion comes on the heels of the lefty being non-tendered yesterday, but serves as a reminder that a non-tender hardly spells the end of a player’s time with an organization. Across 34 innings last season the veteran pitched to a 3.67 ERA, with the strongest command of his career (5% walk rate) and a host of roughly league average peripherals.

The 28-year-old Faria, meanwhile, contributed to a rocky Diamondbacks bullpen last season before being cut loose in late September. Through 32 innings Faria pitched to a 5.51 ERA, with the chief endorsement of his season being that his walk rate dipped to a personal-best 8.4%. For the Twins, signing Faria serves as a no-risk gamble on a player who regularly served as a starter in the minors and has some track of record of success during his time with the Rays.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/30/21

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The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players has come and gone. The Tigers’ decision to non-tender Matthew Boyd — more on that here — represents the most prominent name cast into free agency tonight, but here’s a quick rundown of the rest of the non-tenders in the American League.

Note that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco also has a rundown of this year’s National League non-tenders, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz published his annual projected arbitration salaries earlier this offseason.

Onto the transactions…

  • Outfielder Tim Locastro was non-tendered by the Red Sox, the team announced. The speedy HBP-magnet was claimed off waivers from the Yankees earlier this month after an injury-marred season. He is likely to be an in-demand depth option for teams if his ACL tear recovery goes well.
  • The Rangers announced that outfielder Billy McKinney and catchers David Garcia and Yohel Pozo were non-tendered. Texas also assigned outfielder DJ Peters outright to Triple-A Salt Lake after he went unclaimed on waivers.
  • The Royals non-tendered lefty Richard Lovelady, per a club announcement. Lovelady underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2021 season and is expected to be sidelined for the entirety of the 2022 season.
  • The Twins non-tendered right-hander Juan Minaya, left-hander Danny Coulombe and right-hander Trevor Megill, per a team announcement. Megill’s non-tender is particularly curious, as he was only just claimed off waivers a few hours ago and was not arbitration-eligible. Presumably, the team will try to quickly re-sign him to a minor league pact and bring him to Spring Training as a depth piece.
  • Infielder Phil Gosselin has been non-tendered by the Angels, per an announcement from the team. The journeyman saw a career-high 373 plate appearances in 2021, but is unlikely to challenge that number next year owing to below average offensive and defensive metrics.

Twins Select Danny Coulombe

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The Twins have selected the contract of left-hander Danny Coulombe, according to a team announcement. In corresponding moves, Minnesota placed right-hander Luke Farrell on the 10-day injured with a right oblique strain, retroactive to June 23, and transferred righty Cody Stashak to the 60-day IL. Dan Hayes of the Athletic reported the series of transactions before the official announcement.

When he takes the mound, Coulombe will be appearing in his seventh different major league season. The 31-year-old made his debut with the 2014 Dodgers and spent much of 2015-18 as a frequently-utilized relief option for the Athletics. Coulombe’s time in Oakland was up-and-down, but at his best he flashed the ability to miss bats and work multiple innings out of the bullpen.

Coulombe played out the 2020 season with the Twins, appearing in a pair of big league games. He returned to the organization on a non-roster deal over the winter and has spent the 2021 season to date with St. Paul. He’s made fourteen relief appearances and tossed 20 1/3 innings with the Saints, working to a minuscule 1.77 ERA with elite strikeout and walk numbers (34.2% and 3.8%, respectively). That very strong work will earn him another look at the big league level.

Stashak is suffering from a left back disc injury. He was initially placed on the IL on June 8, meaning he won’t be eligible to return for at least 60 days from that date. The team didn’t provide any sort of timetable, but he’ll now be out of action until at least early August.

Twins Sign Eight Players To Minor League Deals

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The Twins have signed eight players to minor league pacts with invites to Major League Spring Training, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In addition to their previously reported deals with righty Derek Law and second baseman Tzu-Wei Lin, the Twins have re-signed left-hander Danny Coulombe, righty Juan Minaya and catcher Tomas Telis. They’ve also brought infielder/outfielder Rob Refsnyder and right-handers Glenn Sparkman and Luke Farrell into the fold.

Coulombe, 31, tossed 2 2/3 shutout innings with the Twins in 2020 but spent most of the year at their alternate training site in St. Paul. The former A’s and Dodgers lefty has a career 4.19 ERA and 4.10 FIP in 146 innings out of a big league bullpen. He’s averaged about 8.5 K/9 in that time, but Coulombe’s strikeout numbers exploded at the Triple-A level in 2019, when he punched out 61 hitters in just 36 1/3 innings while maintaining a ground-ball rate north of 50 percent. Suffice it to say, he’s an intriguing depth piece.

Minaya, 30, was selected to the Twins’ big league roster in 2020 but designated for assignment before getting into a game. Minnesota got a long look at him not only at their alternate site in St. Paul this past season but from parts of four seasons spent in the division-rival White Sox’ bullpen. Minaya has a 3.93 ERA, a 4.18 FIP and 10 strikeouts per nine innings in 128 1/3 frames at the MLB level, all coming with the South Siders.

The 29-year-old Telis hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2018 but spent the past two seasons in the Twins organization, including a terrific 2019 showing with their Triple-A club: .330/.364/.490 in 327 plate appearances. Telis, a career .230/.267/.298 hitter in 267 MLB plate appearances, will be behind both Mitch Garver and Ryan Jeffers on the Twins’ depth chart but gives them an experienced depth option.

New to the organization is the 29-year-old Refsnyder, who has seen big league time with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays and Rangers. In 457 trips to the dish, he’s a .217/.305/.297 hitter. While he was never regarded as a top prospect, Refsnyder excited Yankee fans with a promising debut effort back in 2015, but he’s never replicated that small-sample success. Refsnyder does carry a career .296 average and .372 OBP in parts of six Triple-A seasons, and he has experience at second base, both infield corners and both outfield corners.

Both Sparkman and Farrell have recent MLB experience — Sparkman in Kansas City and Farrell in Texas. Sparkman, 28, has a 5.99 ERA in 180 1/3 big league innings but a strong track record in both Double-A and Triple-A, giving the Twins some upper-level depth. Farrell, the son of former big league skipper John Farrell, has a 5.00 ERA in 63 MLB frames but, like Sparkman, has a stronger track record in the upper minors.

Twins Outright Danny Coulombe

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The Twins have assigned left-hander Danny Coulombe outright to their alternate training site after he cleared waivers, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets.

The 30-year-old Coulombe only pitched in two games with the Twins in the short time between the selection his contract and a subsequent late-August DFA. He pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings between those two contests, walking three hitters but also picking up three strikeouts.

Coulombe has appeared in parts of six Major League seasons, 2020 included, and notched a collective 4.19 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a 56 percent ground-ball rate. He’s found a new gear in terms of strikeouts over the past two seasons in Triple-A, punching out 61 hitters in just 36 1/3 innings. He’ll stick with the Twins in their 60-man player pool and is eligible to return to the club later this season should the need for some bullpen reinforcements arise.

Twins Designate Danny Coulombe, Select Juan Minaya

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The Twins announced that they’ve designated left-hander Danny Coulombe for assignment in order to open a roster spot for right-hander Juan Minaya, whose contract has been selected from the alternate training site in St. Paul. Minnesota will also add lefty Lewis Thorpe from St. Paul as the team’s 29th man for today’s doubleheader against the Tigers.

Coulombe, 30, appeared in a pair of games for Minnesota, tallying 2 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and three walks. He inked a minor league contract over the winter after posting excellent Triple-A strikeout numbers with the Yankees and Brewers over the past couple season: 61 in 36 1/3 frames. This year’s small sample of data shows him relying much more on his curveball than his slider — a departure from his past big league work which could help to explain his recent jump in punchouts.

Overall, Coulombe has pitched in parts of six MLB seasons, working to a combined 4.19 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 0.99 HR/9 and a 56.3 percent grounder rate. The Twins will have a week to run him through outright waivers or release him, and they can also trade him to another club before Monday afternoon’s deadline.

As for Minaya, he’s spent the past four seasons with the division-rival White Sox, where he’s pitched to a combined 3.93 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 54.6 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9 and a 36.8 percent grounder rate in 128 1/3 frames. Minaya’s control has caused him troubles in the past, but he’ll give the Twins a fresh bullpen arm with some swing-and-miss abilities prior to tonight’s doubleheader.

Twins, Danny Coulombe Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have agreed to a minor league contract with left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. He’ll likely head to big league camp this spring in search of a roster spot. Coulombe is represented by Elite Sports Group.

A veteran of five MLB seasons, the 30-year-old Coulombe spent the 2019 season with the Triple-A affiliates for the Yankees and Brewers, where he posted huge strikeout numbers but was among the countless Triple-A hurlers to struggle with the juiced ball. Coulombe yielded nine long balls in 36 1/3 innings (2.2 HR/9) but also punched out an eye-popping 61 hitters in that limited sample (15.1 K/9, 36.0 K%).

Coulombe has never had great control — although he’s improved in recent seasons — but has a long track record of missing bats in the minors. Last year’s heights were unprecedented, however, and the Twins will hope they can continue to work with him in that regard — ideally at the MLB level eventually. In 143 1/3 innings at the MLB level, Coulombe has a 4.27 ERA (4.09 FIP, 3,73 SIERA) with 8.4 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 1.00 HR/9 and a hefty 56.8 percent ground-ball rate.

Left-handed relief is a clear area of need for the Twins, who have little in that regard behind closer Taylor Rogers. They’ve recently added Blaine Hardy and Caleb Thielbar on minor league pacts, and Coulombe will become the latest (and arguably most interesting) entrant into the Twins’ list of non-roster invitees to Spring Training. He only has two full years of MLB service time, so if he can piece things together, he’s technically controllable through 2023.

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