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Griffin Jax

Falvey: Bullpen Upgrades “Not A Priority”

By Darragh McDonald | February 1, 2023 at 11:39pm CDT

The Twins have been active this offseason, re-signing Carlos Correa while bringing in new faces such as Pablo López, Joey Gallo, Christian Vázquez, Michael A. Taylor and Kyle Farmer. Things have been relatively quiet in terms of the bullpen, however, and it doesn’t seem as though that’s going to change in the near future. The club’s president of baseball operations Derek Falvey tells Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that a significant bullpen addition it isn’t a pressing concern right now. “If we were to do anything at this point, it would likely be to add depth in the middle [innings],” Falvey said. “We’ll keep an open mind, but [relief pitching is] not a priority.”

Last year, the club’s relief corps was firmly in the middle of the pack. Their collective 3.84 ERA was tied for 15th among the 30 teams in the league, while their 3.85 FIP was 14th, their 3.79 xFIP 10th and their 3.50 SIERA ninth. That group also took a hit when deadline acquisition Michael Fulmer reached free agency, though he remains unsigned.

It seems Falvey and the other decision makers in Minnesota have a lot of faith in their internal options. Jorge López was acquired from the Orioles at the deadline last year but still has two remaining years of club control. “We did our bullpen shopping at the [trade] deadline last year by adding some depth, adding Jorge [López],” Falvey said. After many years of mediocre performance as a starter, López converted to a bullpen role full-time in 2022 to great results. In 44 appearances for the O’s, he posted a 1.68 ERA while getting grounders at a 60% clip, striking out 27.6% of batters faced and walking 8.7%. Unfortunately, he didn’t maintain that pace after the trade, with a 4.37 ERA, 53.7% grounder rate, 17.6% strikeout rate and 13.7% walk rate as a Twin.

López will be looking for a bounceback after that frustrating finish to his 2022 campaign, though the club also has other intriguing names in the mix that could step up. Jhoan Durán was primarily a starter in the minors but cracked the majors last year in a relief role and utterly dominated. He tossed 67 2/3 innings over 57 appearances with a 1.86 ERA, getting grounders at a 61% clip while striking out 33.5% of opponents and walking just 6% of them. “He adapted to a new role, at the highest level, faster than we could have hoped,” Falvey said.

As for others in the mix that they’re encouraged by, Falvey had this to say: “We watched Griffin Jax develop into someone we can rely on. What Jovani Moran did the last month of the season, it’s something he can really build upon.” Jax also moved from a starter to a reliever in 2022, and while he didn’t match Durán’s results, he still did well. With 65 appearances last year, he finished the year with a 3.36 ERA, 47.3% ground ball rate, 26.9% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. Moran, meanwhile, put up a 2.21 ERA in 40 2/3 innings, keeping the ball on the ground at a 48.9% pace, while striking out 32.9% of batters faced, though he did walk 11% of them.

Though Falvey admits they might still make a small addition, it seems they feel they already have the high-leverage arms they need. “We feel like we have the eighth and ninth innings covered,” he says. Other relievers likely to be in the club’s bullpen include Caleb Thielbar, Emilio Pagán, Jorge Alcalá and Trevor Megill.

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Minnesota Twins Griffin Jax Jhoan Duran Jorge Lopez Jovani Moran

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Injury Notes: Walker, Fletcher, Alcala

By Sean Bavazzano | April 12, 2022 at 7:55pm CDT

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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Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins New York Mets Andrew Velazquez David Fletcher Edwin Diaz Griffin Jax jorge alcala Taijuan Walker

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Twins Reinstate Michael Pineda From Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | July 7, 2021 at 10:42am CDT

The Twins have reinstated Michael Pineda from the 10-day injured list, and the right-hander is scheduled to start this afternoon’s game with the White Sox.  Righty Griffin Jax was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Right elbow inflammation sidelined Pineda back on June 14, though fortunately his elbow issue ended up being relatively minor enough for him to get back to action prior to the All-Star break.  (Pineda also had a minimal IL stint in May after a minor procedure to remove an abscess from his thigh.)  It also provides time for Pineda to essentially audition for other teams, since the Twins are going to be selling at the trade deadline and Pineda is a free agent after the season.

In terms of bottom-line numbers, Pineda has a solid 3.70 ERA/4.23 SIERA over 56 innings for Minnesota.  Pineda has always been good at limiting walks through his career, and his 6.5% walk rate in 2021 is comfortably above the league average.  Beyond that, however, there isn’t much to like about Pineda’s Statcast metrics, and his .343 xwOBA is much higher than his .299 xOBA.  There are enough teams looking for starting pitchers, however, that Pineda will surely draw interest, and likely some teams will suspect that his overall performance might turn around with a change of scenery.

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Minnesota Twins Transactions Griffin Jax Michael Pineda

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Twins Designate Juan Minaya, Select Griffin Jax

By Mark Polishuk | June 5, 2021 at 12:28pm CDT

The Twins have designated right-hander Juan Minaya for assignment, as per a team press release.  Right-handed pitching prospect Griffin Jax’s contract has been selected from Triple-A (as reported earlier today by Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press), and Jax will take Minaya’s spot on the active roster.

Minaya inked a minor league deal with the Twins in the offseason and had his contract selected just last week, so he could potentially be moving on after appearing in only four games for Minnesota.  The veteran righty posted a 4.26 ERA over 6 1/3 innings, getting his first bit of Major League action since 2019 when he was a member of the White Sox.  The Twins also signed Minaya to a minor league contract prior to the 2020 season but designated him for assignment before he could make any appearances last year.

With Michael Pineda battling a sore forearm, his scheduled start for Sunday has been pushed back, so it’s possible Jax could be in line to take that start for his MLB debut.  A third-round pick out of Air Force in 2016, Jax isn’t one of MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Twins prospects, but he has posted a 3.33 ERA and 25.9% strikeout rate over 27 innings for Triple-A St. Paul this season.

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Minnesota Twins Transactions Griffin Jax Juan Minaya

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