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Devin Smeltzer

Marlins, Devin Smeltzer Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Marlins are in agreement with left-hander Devin Smeltzer on a minor league deal, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (Twitter link). The deal, which contains a non-roster invitation to Spring Training, would pay the ISE Baseball client at a $1MM rate for any time spent in the majors.

Smeltzer has pitched in the majors in each of the past four seasons with the Twins. He’s started 19 of 34 career outings, tallying 140 innings of 3.99 ERA ball at the highest level. Roughly half of that experience came last year, when he was tabbed for 12 starts and a trio of relief appearances that totaled 70 1/3 frames. Smeltzer pitched to a solid 3.71 ERA but without many whiffs or ground balls.

The 27-year-old struck out 13.9% of opponents on a modest 7.4% swinging strike rate. The lack of missed bats isn’t all that surprising for a pitcher who averaged 89.5 MPH on his fastball. Smeltzer compensates for his subpar velocity with strong control. He walked only 6.6% of opposing hitters last season and has doled out free passes at just a 6.4% clip for his MLB career. It was a similar story with Triple-A St. Paul, where he posted a 6.9% walk percentage against a better but hardly overwhelming 20.3% strikeout rate.

Smeltzer’s solid run prevention at the MLB level would’ve been hard to replicate. He benefited from a .252 batting average on balls in play while stranding nearly 83% of the baserunners he allowed. ERA estimators like FIP and SIERA both pegged his work more in the 5.00 range than the sub-4.00 territory he actually managed, and the Twins ran him through outright waivers at the end of the season. Upon clearing, he qualified for minor league free agency.

The former fifth-round pick adds an experienced control specialist to the upper levels of the Miami organization. He owns a 4.40 ERA through parts of five minor league campaigns, walking just 5.5% of opponents along the way. He has experience both starting and working multiple innings out of the bullpen and could factor into either role at some point in 2023. Miami has a deep rotation mix even after trading Pablo López last week, so it seems likely Smeltzer will open the season with Triple-A Jacksonville. He’s out of minor league option years, meaning the Marlins would have to keep him in the majors or offer him to other teams via trade or waivers if he earns an MLB call at any point.

Which Free Agents Remain For Teams Seeking Rotation Help?

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With the holiday slowing down what had become a very rapid offseason, it works as a natural point to take stock of what players clubs could target in the coming weeks. On Monday, MLBTR looked through the remaining free agent relievers coming off the best 2022 campaigns (one of whom has since signed a major league deal). Now we’ll take stock of the rotation options who are still out on the open market.

There aren’t as many starting pitchers for clubs to sort through as there were bullpen targets, with 19 remaining hurlers who tallied at least 20 rotation innings this past season. We’ll look at the top half of that group by various metrics to determine who teams figure to prioritize as they seek starting pitching depth.

Note: all figures cited, including league averages, are looking solely at pitchers’ outings as starters.

ERA (league average — 4.05)

  1. Johnny Cueto (RHP), 3.29
  2. Michael Wacha (RHP), 3.32
  3. Wade Miley (LHP), 3.34
  4. Bryan Garcia (RHP), 3.54
  5. Zack Greinke (RHP), 3.68
  6. Devin Smeltzer (LHP), 4.02
  7. Zach Davies (RHP), 4.06
  8. Aníbal Sánchez (RHP), 4.28
  9. Drew Hutchison (RHP), 4.52

Strikeout rate (league average — 21.6%)

  1. Chase Anderson (RHP), 24.6%
  2. Matt Swarmer (RHP), 22.4%
  3. Bryan Garcia, 20.2%
  4. Michael Wacha, 20.2%
  5. Chris Archer (RHP), 19.2%
  6. Wade Miley, 18.4%
  7. Zach Davies, 17.9%
  8. Chad Kuhl (RHP), 17.8%
  9. Mike Minor (LHP), 16.7%

Strikeout/walk rate differential (league average — 14.1 percentage points)

  1. Michael Wacha, 14.2 points
  2. Matt Swarmer, 13.1 points
  3. Dylan Bundy (RHP), 11.1 points
  4. Chase Anderson, 10.6 points
  5. Johnny Cueto, 10.5 points
  6. Wade Miley, 9.2 points
  7. Michael Pineda (RHP), 9 points
  8. Aaron Sanchez (RHP), 9 points
  9. Zach Davies, 8.8 points

Ground-ball rate (league average — 42.5%)

  1. Wade Miley, 54.2%
  2. Aaron Sanchez, 51.3%
  3. Chase Anderson, 50.9%
  4. Dallas Keuchel (LHP), 50.2%
  5. Jared Koenig (LHP), 47.2%
  6. Chris Archer, 43.7%
  7. Zach Davies, 42.9%
  8. Johnny Cueto, 42.5%
  9. Zack Greinke, 41.3%

FIP (league average — 4.04)

  1. Johnny Cueto, 3.76
  2. Wade Miley, 4.00
  3. Zack Greinke, 4.03
  4. Michael Wacha, 4.14
  5. Chase Anderson, 4.37
  6. Chris Archer, 4.49
  7. Aaron Sanchez, 4.61
  8. Dylan Bundy, 4.66
  9. Zach Davies, 4.83

Innings pitched

  1. Johnny Cueto, 153 1/3
  2. Dylan Bundy, 140
  3. Zack Greinke, 137
  4. Chad Kuhl, 137
  5. Zach Davies, 134 1/3
  6. Michael Wacha, 127 1/3
  7. Chris Archer, 102 2/3
  8. Mike Minor, 98
  9. Drew Hutchison, 89 2/3

Twins Outright Devin Smeltzer, Jhon Romero

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The Twins have continued a busy few days of 40-man roster management, outrighting pitchers Jhon Romero and Devin Smeltzer after the pair cleared waivers, the team announced. Romero was outrighted to the minors, while Smeltzer elected free agency, per his MLB.com transaction log. It comes after the team recently lost outfielder Jake Cave, catcher Caleb Hamilton and infielder Jermaine Palacios on waivers.

Smeltzer, 27, tossed 70 1/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball across 12 starts and three relief appearances for the Twins this season. Advanced metrics were less impressed with Smeltzer’s work, and his FIP sat at 5.23. The lefty struck out just 13.9% of batters this season while giving up walks 6.6% of the time.

The Twins acquired Smeltzer from the Dodgers in 2018 in the Brian Dozier deal, and he’s logged 140 innings of work through parts of four seasons as a swingman. Smeltzer’s out of minor league options and having already been outrighted previously in his career, he had the option to elect free agency after passing through waivers. It seems likely he’ll land somewhere on a minor league deal as pitching depth.

Romero, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Nationals during spring training and pitched out of the Twins bullpen to start the season, logging just five innings of 3.60 ERA relief before going down with what would wind up being season-ending biceps tendinitis on April 23. Romero was signed as an international free agent out of Colombia by the Cubs in 2015, and was traded to the Nationals in the Brandon Kintzler deadline deal in 2018.

He throws a fastball, slider, changeup mix and struck out roughly a third of the batters faced as he came up through the minors. Romero’s spent most of the season on the 60-day IL, meaning he wasn’t occupying a spot on the 40-man roster. There remains no clear timeline on his recovery, but regardless of his injury status the Twins would have needed to add him back to the 40 man before the start of the offseason.

Following their recent bevy of moves, the Twins’ 40-man roster now stands at 36 players.

Twins To Select Aaron Sanchez

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The Twins are planning to promote righty Aaron Sanchez to start tomorrow evening’s game against the Astros, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. Minnesota will need to formally select Sanchez’s contract tomorrow. The 40-man roster is currently full, although the Twins could easily create a vacancy by transferring Alex Kirilloff to the 60-day injured list after the revelation the outfielder will miss the remainder of the 2022 season. Park adds that left-hander Devin Smeltzer will be optioned to free an active roster spot.

Sanchez has bounced on and off teams’ rosters a few times this season. The sinkerballer signed a minor league deal with the Nationals and was added to the big league roster in mid-April. He was hit hard over seven starts, posting an 8.33 ERA across 31 1/3 innings. Sanchez was released and caught on with Minnesota on a minor league deal. He spent a couple months in Triple-A St. Paul, was brought to the big leagues for a one-off spot start, then again designated for assignment. Sanchez cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment back to St. Paul, and he’ll now return to the major league club a bit less than three weeks later.

Grisly as his numbers have been in the big leagues this season, the 2016 AL ERA leader has held his own in the upper minors. He allowed only six runs in 15 innings in the Washington system before being called up, and he owns a 3.80 ERA over ten starts with St. Paul. Sanchez has only struck out 16.3% of batters faced over that stretch, but he’s not issued many walks and has a capable 44.8% ground-ball rate.

It remains to be seen whether Sanchez’s second stay on the Twins roster proves more lasting than his initial stint. Minnesota placed deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle on the 15-day injured list over the weekend, leaving an opening in the rotation behind Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy. The club has Cole Sands as a potential depth option on the active roster, but he’s worked in shorter relief stints of late. Smeltzer has picked up 12 starts this year but not gotten out of the fourth inning in any of his last three outings, and he’ll now head back to Triple-A.

Twins Place Tyler Mahle On 15-Day Injured List

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The Twins have placed right-hander Tyler Mahle on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to August 18) due to right shoulder inflammation.  Southpaw Devin Smeltzer has been called up to take Mahle’s spot on the active roster.

The IL placement isn’t a big surprise, after Mahle left Wednesday’s game after only 2 1/3 innings, and the Twins already announced that Mahle’s next turn in the rotation would be skipped.  On the brighter side, an MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage, and Mahle also told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) yesterday that he was feeling better and was able to left weights two days removed from his early exit.

Ideally, Mahle will be able to return when first eligible to be activated off the 15-day IL.  Of course, losing the righty for any amount of time is a tough beat for a Minnesota club that is battling for both the AL Central lead or at least a wild card berth.  Mahle was supposed to be a big part of this postseason push, acquired from the Reds in a major deal at the trade deadline — thus far, Mahle has a strong 2.51 ERA over his first 14 1/3 innings in a Twins uniform.

Smeltzer could be the likeliest candidate to fill Mahle’s rotation spot, assuming that the Twins pick one single pitcher to cover those starts.  The advanced metrics aren’t fans of Smeltzer’s work this season, but the left-hander has managed to outperform those peripherals and post a 4.02 ERA over 12 starts and 62 2/3 frames.  If not Smeltzer, the Twins could also turn to Aaron Sanchez or Cole Sands, or possibly a combination of these pitchers in a piggyback situation.

Twins Place Joe Ryan On COVID Injury List

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The Twins have placed right-hander Joe Ryan on their COVID-related injury list.  Left-hander Devin Smeltzer was called up to take Ryan’s spot on the active roster, and Smeltzer will start for Minnesota against the Royals on Thursday (Ryan’s next scheduled outing).

Manager Rocco Baldelli told the Associated Press and other reporters that Ryan was “doing okay,” but didn’t provide any details about Ryan’s health.  If Ryan has only been sidelined due to symptoms or due to being a close contact, he could be activated from the COVID list as soon as tomorrow, though obviously that would be cutting it too close to make his scheduled start.  If Ryan has indeed tested positive, he’ll miss at least the next 10 days, unless he meets the three criteria for early activation — 24 hours without a fever, two negative tests, and clearance from a panel of the team doctor, a league-appointed physician, and a union-appointed physician.

Acquired from the Rays as part of the Nelson Cruz trade last July, Ryan has emerged as a force in his rookie season.  The righty has a 2.28 ERA and an above-average 24.3% strikeout rate, thanks in large part to a four-seam fastball that has been one of the most devastating pitches in baseball this season.  Some secondary metrics (4.30 xFIP, 3.93 SIERA, .234 BABIP, 83.7% strand rate) indicate some good fortune, but Ryan has also done well to limit damage by allowing very little hard contact.

Minnesota had plenty of questions about its rotation heading into the season, but the starters have generally performed quite well, despite some injuries.  Ryan and Josh Winder (shoulder impingement) are on the IL, while Chris Paddack has already been lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery.

Twins Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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The Twins announced a series of roster moves today, with reporters such as Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press passing them along. Righty Bailey Ober has been reinstated from the injured list while fellow righty Trevor Megill has had his contract selected. To make room on the active roster, lefty Devin Smeltzer was optioned while righty Josh Winder was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. To make room for Megill on the 40-man roster, righty Chris Vallimont has been designated for assignment. Winder’s placement is retroactive to May 18.

With the Ober and Winder moves, the rotation adds one arm and subtracts another. Ober went on the IL at the end of April with a groin strain. Prior to that, his season was off to a nice start, as he had thrown 19 2/3 innings with a 2.75 ERA, 19% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. Due to injuries to Ober and Dylan Bundy, Winder stepped up and threw 29 1/3 innings for the Twins. In that time, he put up an ERA of 3.68 with an 18.9% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate.

With Chris Paddack undergoing Tommy John surgery, the Minnesota rotation now consists of Ober, Bundy, Chris Archer, Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray. No timetable was provided for Winder’s absence, but a shoulder issue is always at least a bit concerning for a pitcher. As long as he’s out, the club will have to think about who the sixth starter will be the next time one is needed. Options on the 40-man roster include Smeltzer, Jordan Balazovic, Ronny Henriquez, Cole Sands and Drew Strotman.

Megill, 28, made his MLB debut with the Cubs last year, throwing 23 2/3 innings out of their bullpen with an 8.37 ERA. That’s an obvious indicator of poor results, but it wasn’t all bad. He struck out 26.1% of batters faced and walked just 7%, both of those numbers being better than league average. However, his 24.1% HR/FB rate was more than double last year’s 10% league average. He was non-tendered and then signed by the Twins on a minors deal. He’s carried that profile over into 2022 so far, though with much better results overall. Through 11 innings in Triple-A, he has a 3.27 ERA. His 34.1% strikeout rate is fantastic, though his HR/FB rate is 33.3%, but that represents just two dingers. He has a couple of option years remaining, meaning he could be shuttled between Triple-A and the majors as long as he can hang onto a spot on the 40-man.

Vallimont, 25, just earned his spot on the roster in November, ahead of the Rule 5 draft that ended up being canceled due to the lockout. However, through 19 innings so far in Double-A this year, he has a 9.95 ERA. His 31.1% strikeout rate at this level last year has dropped all the way down to 17.9%. His walk rate also jumped from 14.6% to 20.5%. Those results were evidently enough for the Twins to risk losing him. They will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. Given his youth and ability to be optioned, he could attract the interest of clubs that need pitching depth who are willing to dismiss this year’s struggles as a small sample blip.

Twins Select Devin Smeltzer, Option Alex Kirilloff To Triple-A

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3:31PM: Alex Kirilloff was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Smeltzer on the active roster. Kirilloff has hit only .172/.226/.172 over 32 plate appearances, and also spent close to three weeks the IL due to wrist inflammation. To open a 40-man spot for Smeltzer, Miguel Sano is being placed on the 60-day IL.  Sano underwent knee surgery on May 3, and the Twins’ expectation is that Sano will return at some point this season, though the 60-day placement sidelines him until July at the earliest.

2:36PM: The Twins are going to select the contract of Devin Smeltzer today, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com, with the lefty getting the start in tonight’s game against the Guardians. Smeltzer is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move will be required to open a spot for him.

Acquired from the Dodgers in the Brian Dozier trade, Smeltzer had a solid MLB debut with the Twins in 2019. In 49 innings over six starts and five relief appearances, he put up a 3.86 ERA. His 18.8% strikeout rate was below average, but he limited walks at a rate of 5.9%. In the shortened 2020 season, he took a step backward, logging a 6.75 ERA in 16 innings. Last year, elbow issues limited him to just 4 2/3 innings and led to his outright in November.

The 26-year-old seems to have gotten things back on track this year, as he’s been healthy and starting in Triple-A. Over five starts, he’s thrown 21 innings with a 3.86 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate.

For the Twins, as recently as a week ago, it seemed they were nearing a starting pitching surplus. Sonny Gray came off the injured list and joined Chris Archer, Chris Paddack, Josh Winder and Joe Ryan in the rotation. It seemed like the club would have to make a tough choice on how to assign the pitching duties once Dylan Bundy and Bailey Ober returned from the injured list. However, a few days later, Paddack left his start with elbow inflammation and is now on the 60-day IL, possibly heading towards Tommy John surgery.

While Paddack’s injury has created the need for Smeltzer to step in, it’s possible that it could just be a spot start. After today, the club plays four more before an off-day on May 19. However, after that, the club will play 18 games in 17 days, due to a doubleheader on May 31. Smeltzer is out of options, meaning the club will need to keep him on the roster if they hope to use him again during that stretch.

The recuperation of Bundy and Ober will likely play a role in determining Smeltzer’s status. Bundy is currently on the COVID IL and will need a spot on the 40-man roster when he returns. He has cleared COVID protocols but is still feeling some of the effects of the illness, per Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Ober went on the IL two weeks ago due to a groin strain but has been throwing bullpens recently, per Park.

Twins Designate Willians Astudillo, Charlie Barnes For Assignment

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The Twins are designating utilityman Willians Astudillo and left-hander Charlie Barnes for assignment, the club announced. Additionally, left-hander Devin Smeltzer and outfielder Kyle Garlick have cleared outright waivers. Minnesota added six prospects to the 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline for Rule 5 draft protection: Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Blayne Enlow, Cole Sands, Chris Vallimont and Josh Winder.

Minnesota also announced that they’ve agreed to terms on a deal with outfielder Jake Cave on a major league contract. He’ll make $800K, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (Twitter link). Cave had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.1MM salary via arbitration. It’s not uncommon to see players on the non-tender bubble (as Cave appeared to be) agree to salaries for a bit lower than projected in advance of the non-tender deadline, however.

Amidst this large flurry of Twins transactions it’s the one jettisoning Astudillo that may grab the most attention. While the 30-year old didn’t quite get it done at the plate this past season, producing a .236/.259/.375 slash, his Twins tenure has often left fans looking past his offensive contributions. Dating back to his 2018 debut with the Twins, Astudillo has lined up at every position except for shortstop, providing adequate defense and pitching as admirably as one can expect in mop-up duty (including a 2.25 ERA in four 2021 innings). The multi-talented Astudillo is now all but certainly headed for free agency, though a reunion with the Twins later in the offseason isn’t yet out of the question.

Barnes, 26, is a soft-tossing lefty and former fourth-rounder who made his big league debut out of necessity to help soak up some innings in an injury-ruined season for the Twins’ rotation. He was clobbered for a 5.92 ERA while striking out just 20 of the 175 batters he faced. The Twins now have a week to trade Barnes or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Also gone from the roster are Smeltzer, a former Dodger prospect who came to the Twins in the Brian Dozier trade, and Garlick, an offseason waiver claim last winter who played a platoon role in Minnesota early this season. Smeltzer logged a 3.86 ERA through 49 innings during the 2019 season, his debut campaign, but has battled injuries and seen his performance dip in the two years since. He missed nearly the entire 2021 season due to elbow troubles.

Garlick, meanwhile, hit .232/.280/.465 with five homers and eight doubles in just 107 plate appearances. He hit 10 extra-base hits (four homers, six doubles) in just 63 plate appearances against lefties but spent the majority of the season on the injured list himself.

Most of the Twins’ additions are wholly unsurprising. Lewis was the No. 1 overall pick in 2017 and, despite missing the season due to an ACL tear, was never going to be exposed to the Ryle 5 Draft. Miranda was the Twins’ minor league player of the year and posted video-game numbers in the minors, hitting his way into Top 100 consideration. Winder has battled injuries but might be Minnesota’s top pitching prospect based on stuff alone. Enlow was an overslot third-rounder who has had his own injury troubles but is still held in high regard. Sands and Vallimont both rank among the Twins’ more promising arms themselves, even though Vallimont had a down year in 2021. The former Marlins righty, acquired in the trade that brought Sergio Romo to Minnesota and sent first baseman Lewin Diaz to Miami, is a potential fourth/fifth starter who’s reasonably close to MLB readiness.

Twins Place Derek Law On 10-Day Injured List, Move Randy Dobnak To 60-Day Injured List

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The Twins announced a number of roster moves today, per Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press (Twitter links). First and foremost, Derek Law has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder impingement. Danny Coulombe also steps away from the team with a trip to the paternity list.

To take their roster spots, Beau Burrows was recalled from Triple-A and Juan Minaya had his contract selected. Charlie Barnes also joins the club to make his Major League debut as the 27th man to start game one of today’s doubleheader. The 25-year-old southpaw has a solid 3.88 ERA across 13 starts in Triple-A this season.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Twins moved Devin Smeltzer and Randy Dobnak to the 60-day injured list. Smeltzer has already been out for more than 60 days, so his movement was largely clerical.

Dobnak, however, has been out since just June 21st with a finger strain. He’s now likely to miss most of the rest of the season. He won’t be eligible to come off the injured list until late August. All in all, it’s been a disappointing season for Dobnak, whom the Twins signed to a five-year, $9.25MM extension back in March. It was a modest deal, but Minnesota still likely expected more from Dobnak than 43 2/3 innings with a 7.83 ERA/6.19 FIP.

Burrows, 24, was claimed off waivers earlier this year after making just one appearance for the Tigers. The right-hander made five appearances for Detroit last season, all out of the bullpen. He throws a fastball, slider, change-up mix, occasionally going to a sinker and curveball, too. Mostly a starter coming up, it will be worth watching to see if Burrows scales back his pitch mix while working regularly in relief.

Minaya, 30, has made four appearances for the Twins this season after getting relatively regular time out of the White Sox bullpen from 2016 to 2019. In that time, Minaya appeared in 125 games while pitching to a 3.93 ERA across 128 1/3 innings.

Law, 30, has nine appearances spanning 15 innings with a 4.20 ERA/4.64 ERA. His strikeout and walk rates aren’t knocking anyone’s socks off, but his ability to soak up multiple innings at a time has been an asset for a Twins team that has struggled at times to get length from their starters. He does not have any options remaining, though he could theoretically see time in the minors on a rehab stint before returning.

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