Twins Pursued Offseason Extensions With Multiple Young Players
1:37pm: Rosario is one of the players who turned down an offer, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
9:30am: The Twins were long rumored to be chatting with center fielder Byron Buxton about a new contract this spring. But it seems he was not the only target for an organization that was evidently hoping to enhance the value of some existing player control rights.
Per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, via Twitter, the club pursued long-term arrangements with four other young players as well. Two of those targets are identified in the report: righty Jose Berrios and outfielder Max Kepler.
The remaining pair is not known, though perhaps it’s not unreasonable to surmise that one of them was shortstop Jorge Polanco, who had a solid 2017 campaign but ended up being suspended for half of the 2018 season. Outfielder Eddie Rosario seems to be another likely candidate, as the front office has made clear they see him “as part of the core.” Star third bagger Miguel Sano would also be a hypothetical target, no doubt, though perhaps he was not likely to be approached during an offseason in which he was under league investigation for an alleged assault.
Obviously, none of those discussions led to agreements. Perhaps, though, they could still set the stage for eventual deals.
Buxton, who is entering his final season before beginning the arbitration process, was the most obvious target from the get-go. He turned in a breakout second half at the plate and was an outstanding defender and baserunner all season long. But those previously reported talks seemingly fizzled, leaving the team to renew the 24-year-old’s contract late this spring.
It’s hardly surprising to hear of interest in Berrios, either, as he also overcame some initial MLB struggles to turn in an impressive 2017 effort. He’s a year further from the arb process (and free agency) than Buxton, but that also surely left the team intrigued at the potential value it might achieve. Berrios said a month ago that he had not been approached, so it appears that the chatter took place in the interim.
Then, there’s Kepler, who’s in an in-between position from the other two players in terms of service time. He’s on track to reach Super Two status next winter but, like Berrios, can’t accrue more than six years of MLB time until the end of the 2022 season. The 25-year-old has, to date, been a solid performer, turning in two seasons as a roughly average hitter, solid defender, and good baserunner at a corner outfield spot. Kepler’s profile is not quite as exciting as those of his aforementioned teammates, but at the right price he could also certainly make sense for a long-term deal, particularly if the club believes there’s still some developmental upside remaining to be tapped into.
In any event, none of those players have inked contracts prior to the start of the current campaign. While something could, in theory, come together at any time, Passan does say that all of the players in question turned down the offers they were presented at the time.
Twins’ Jorge Polanco Gets 80-Game Suspension
Major League Baseball has handed Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco an 80-game suspension without pay for testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com tweets. Polanco issued a statement in response to the ban (all of which is available here via Bollinger), saying that he “regretfully accepted” the suspension, but he “did not intentionally consume this steroid.”
“The substance that I requested from my athletic trainer in the Dominican Republic and consented to take was a combination of vitamin B12 and an iron supplement, something that is not unusual or illegal for professional athletes to take. Unfortunately, what I was given was not that supplement and I take full responsibility for what is in my body,” said Polanco, who added that he’d like to fight the punishment, but he’ll avoid doing it in the best interest of the Twins organization.
The Twins issued their own response, stating: “We were disappointed to learn of the suspension of Jorge Polanco for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. We fully support Major League Baseball’s policy and its efforts to eliminate performance enhancing substances from our game. Per the protocol outlined in the Joint Drug Program, the Minnesota Twins will not comment further on this matter.”
This is a tough late-spring development for Minnesota, a playoff hopeful that had the 24-year-old Polanco penciled in as its starting shortstop. Polanco filled that role in 2017 for the playoff-bound Twins and accounted for 1.6 fWAR across 544 plate appearances during his first full season in the majors. The switch-hitter batted .256/.313/.410 with 13 home runs and 13 stolen bases on the offensive side, and he posted minus-1 DRS and minus-4.3 UZR as a defender.
With Polanco set to miss half the season, the Twins are likely to give short to Eduardo Escobar, while Ehire Adrianza will act as his main backup and minor league signing/experienced veteran Erick Aybar could also make the team, per Bollinger. Additionally, the Twins have 22-year-old middle infielder Nick Gordon, who ranks as MLB.com’s 80th-best prospect, but it doesn’t seem they’ll turn to him yet.
Agency Changes: Delgado, Ramirez, Robles, Polanco
Here at MLBTR we do our best to cover notable agency changes while keeping tabs on player representation through our Agency Database. Here are a few recent moves:
- D-backs right-hander has hired Dan Lozano of MVP Sports as his new representative, writes FanRag’s Jon Heyman as part of his weekly NL Notes column. Once one of baseball’s top prospects, Delgado didn’t pan out as a starter but has become a solid piece in the Arizona bullpen in recent years. He’s made four starts this year and fared nicely, but he’s back in the ‘pen and is on his way to perhaps his best season. Through 51 2/3 innings, Delgado has a 3.48 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 46.3 percent ground-ball rate. Delgado, 27, is controllable for one more year before hitting the open market after the 2018 campaign.
Earlier Notes
- Indians utilityman extraordinaire Jose Ramirez will move his representation to the Wasserman Media Group, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. It seems that Ramirez is sticking with agent Rafa Nieves, who just joined Wasserman. Ramirez has only just embarked upon a new, four-year deal with Cleveland that was inked late in Spring Training. With two options included, the contract covers all of Ramirez’s potential arbitration eligibility and allows the organization to control the switch-hitting 24-year-old through his age-31 season. He had earned the deal after a strong 2016 season, but his stock has risen yet further after opening the 2017 campaign with a .322/.376/.557 slash through 290 plate appearances. Notably, Ramirez has already swatted 11 long balls, matching last year’s tally in less than half the trips to the plate.
- Also moving to Wasserman is top Nationals prospect Victor Robles. Though he only just reached his twentieth birthday and hasn’t yet reached the upper minors, Robles received consensus top-ten leaguewide prospect billing entering the current season. He hasn’t disappointed, slashing .296/.393/.505 with six home runs and 13 steals through 233 plate appearances at the High-A level. While it seems unlikely that Robles will make it to D.C. before the 2018 season, he could be a foundational piece for the organization.
- Meanwhile, Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco will take his business to Octagon and agent Ulises Cabrera, according to 1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson (via Twitter). The 23-year-old switch-hitter entered the current season with 105 days of MLB service, meaning he won’t be able to qualify for arbitration until at least 2020 and can’t qualify for free agency until 2023. Polanco was a highly regarded prospect who raised expectations with a solid performance in his first extended MLB stint last year. He has struggled thus far in 2017, though, with a .242/.294/.338 batting line through 219 plate appearances.
Minnesota Twins: Top 5 Bright Spots of 2016
Rebuilding season or not, falling short of the playoffs and finishing with a losing record probably means that more things went wrong than went right for a team. This series, however, will focus on those silver linings that each team can take away from an otherwise disappointing season. Here are the biggest bright spots for each non-playoff team, starting with the Minnesota Twins (worst record in baseball) and working our way up the ladder over the next couple of weeks.
1. Brian Dozier, 2B
Even if the Twins had decided to tear down the big league roster and go through a complete rebuilding phase in recent years, they lacked the trade chip(s) to do it most effectively. The best thing about Dozier’s jump from very good player to superstar in 2016 is that whoever becomes the team’s next general manager will finally have that trade chip that he can flip for a strong package of young players, including an elite prospect or two.
The 29-year-old Dozier is only due $15MM over the next two seasons and is coming off a career season (.937 OPS, 41 HR). While there is hope that Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and a few others can take a step forward in 2017, there probably isn’t enough pitching help on the way for the Twins to turn things around before Dozier becomes a free agent. Therefore, you can expect Dozier to be a popular name around these parts during the upcoming offseason.
2. Max Kepler, RF
Much was expected from this season’s projected outfield of Buxton, Sano and Eddie Rosario. All three, especially Buxton despite his late-season surge, have fallen short of expectations in 2016. In fairness to Rosario and Sano, they haven’t been bad. Just not nearly as good as they were as rookies in 2015. The 23-year-old Kepler, who would’ve spent most of the season in Triple-A had that aforementioned trio played better, has taken full advantage.
In between a slow start and late-season slump, Kepler was one of the Twins’ best players with an .826 OPS, 16 homers and 15 doubles in 321 plate appearances from June 10th through September 3rd while hitting primarily in the No. 3 spot of the order. He’ll enter the 2017 season as the starting right fielder.
3. Jorge Polanco, SS
When it comes to offensive potential, Polanco has more than enough for a shortstop. The question was whether he was good enough defensively to stick there.
When he was called up to the majors in late July following the trade of Eduardo Nuñez, the 23-year-old hadn’t played a single game at shortstop in Triple-A, instead spending most of his time at second base with a handful of games at third. That would suggest that Polanco as the team’s shortstop of the future was no longer an option. But with Dozier entrenched at second base and Sano and Trevor Plouffe drawing most of the starts at the hot corner, the best way to give Polanco regular playing time was to make him the everyday shortstop.
Not surprisingly, the switch-hitting Polanco has held his own at the plate—he has a .289/.338/.426 slash line with 18 extra-base hits in 209 plate appearances. The surprise has been his defense at shortstop, which has been adequate, at the very least. If they trade Dozier this offseason, Polanco could slide over to second base. At this point, though, the Twins likely feel comfortable penciling him as the starting shortstop in 2017.
4. Eduardo Nuñez, INF/OF
Nuñez was in the midst of the best 91-game stint of his career (.764 OPS, 12 HR, 15 2B) when the Twins decided to sell high, trading him to the San Francisco Giants for Adalberto Mejia, a very good, close-to-MLB-ready pitching prospect.
Not only did Nunez’s departure open up the necessary playing time for Polanco, the acquisition of Mejia gives the Twins a strong candidate for the 2017 rotation. Between Double-A and Triple-A, the 23-year-old lefty posted a 3.14 ERA. 2.0 BB/9 and 8.6 K/9 in 22 starts.
5. Stephen Gonsalves, SP (MiLB)
A 4th Round draft pick back in 2013, Gonsalves has now made stops at five different Minor League levels without much of a struggle and without much fanfare. That includes a dominant 13-start stint with Double-A Chattanooga (1.82 ERA, 5.2 H/9, 0.1 HR/9, 4.5 BB/9, 10.8 K/9) to close out the 2016 season.
The attention should increase this offseason as the 22-year-old lefty will likely make a huge leap in the prospect rankings. It’s safe to say that his stock has risen a great deal — so much so that it’s reasonable to expect to see Gonsalves in Minnesota at some point during the 2017 season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/23/16
Here are the latest minor transactions from around baseball:
- The Twins have called up right-hander Tyler Duffey from Triple-A and optioned infielder Jorge Polanco, the team announced. Duffey will start the Twins’ game Sunday against the Nationals in place of Ervin Santana, who has back tightness. Duffey, 25, broke into the majors last season and was excellent for the Twins, throwing 58 innings of 3.10 ERA ball with an 8.22 K/9 and 3.10 BB/9. Duffey’s standout performance has continued this year in Triple-A Rochester, where he has pitched to a 1.72 ERA and 2.98 FIP in three starts. Polanco, who’s regarded as a top-100 prospect, got the call to Minnesota last week but didn’t last long. The 22-year-old logged only eight plate appearances, giving him 28 in the big leagues since 2014.
- The Rays wasted no time sending top pitching prospect Blake Snell back to Triple-A after his stellar debut at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune tweets. With Snell returning to Durham, the Rays have selected the contract of right-hander Jhan Marinez. Snell threw five innings of one-run ball in his first major league start, holding the Yankees to two hits and a walk while striking out six. Snell got a no-decision in the Rays’ 3-2 loss. Marinez, 27, could now make his first trip to a major league mound since he picked up 2 2/3 frames for the White Sox in 2012.
- The Blue Jays have optioned southpaw Chad Girodo to Triple-A to make room for right-hander Drew Hutchison, who will start their game Sunday against the A’s, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Girodo has tossed two scoreless innings for the Jays this year. Hutchison racked up 62 appearances (60 starts) and 335 innings with the Jays from 2014-15, but he struggled to prevent runs (4.97 ERA) despite a quality K/9 (8.41) and decent BB/9 (2.79).
- The Marlins have placed third baseman Martin Prado on the paternity list and selected the contract of left-hander Cody Ege, per a club announcement. Ege, 24, will make his major league debut after recording stellar numbers in 161 2/3 minor league innings. Ege owns a 2.23 minors ERA to go with an 11.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.
- The Diamondbacks have recalled right-hander Enrique Burgos from Triple-A and optioned righty Silvino Bracho, the team announced. Burgos accrued 27 innings out of the D-backs’ bullpen last season and put up a lofty ERA (4.67) that belied an impressive strikeout rate (13.0 per nine). Bracho threw just 1 2/3 innings for Arizona prior to the demotion, surrendering five hits and three earned runs.
- The Padres have placed utilityman Alexi Amarista on the 15-day DL (retroactive to April 20) with a right hamstring strain and recalled Cesar Vargas from Double-A, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Amarista owns a career .229/.277/.325 batting line in 1,601 major league plate appearances, but he was off to a solid start this year (.333/.440/.333 in 26 PAs). Vargas will start the Padres’ game against the Cardinals tonight. The Mexico native could be a diamond in the rough, as Chris Mitchell of Fangraphs details.
Earlier Moves
- The Nationals signed righty Jaron Long to a minor league deal, the team announced. Jaron Long, the son of Mets hitting coach Kevin Long, spent 2013-15 working through the Yankees’ minor league system. Long, 24, has put up some solid totals in the minors (3.26 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 1.6 BB/9), but he hasn’t yet earned a call-up to the majors.
- The Tigers have claimed catcher John Hicks off waivers from the Twins, Anthony Fenecki of the Detroit Free Press was among those to report (on Twitter). Hicks owns a .279/.325/.408 line in 1,690 minor league PAs and has thrown out a whopping 48 percent of base stealers at various levels. The 26-year-old debuted in the majors last season with the Mariners, collecting only two hits and a walk in 34 trips to the plate.
- The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Arnold Leon cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link via Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com). Leon gave up two runs in 2 1/3 innings with the Jays before they designated him for assignment April 13. He made his major league debut last year with Oakland and posted a 4.39 ERA in 26 1/3 innings. Leon induced an average amount of ground balls (45.9 percent) and averaged 6.4 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 during that time.
- The Royals have released minor league left-hander Brandon Zajac, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. Zajac was a 23rd-round pick of the Giants in 2013.
- The Braves have recalled lefty reliever Matt Marksberry from Double-A and optioned right-hander Casey Kelly to Triple-A, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The Braves needed a fresh arm in place of Kelly, who threw three innings of one-run ball for them on Friday. Marksberry, who has put up a 3.63 ERA over 203 1/3 career minor league innings, tossed 23 1/3 frames for the Braves last season. He compiled a 5.01 ERA to accompany an 8.1 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9.
- The Mets sent right-hander Rafael Montero to Triple-A to make room for the return of starter Jacob deGrom, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN. New York called up Montero on April 12 and he went on to surrender three earned runs on five hits, one walk and three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. DeGrom hasn’t pitched since April 8 because of right lat tightness and medical complications with his recently born son, Jaxon, who was released from the hospital Monday.
- The Red Sox recalled left-handler Roenis Elias on Friday and sent righty William Cuevas to Triple-A, per the Boston Herald. Elias, whom Boston acquired from Seattle during the offseason in the Wade Miley/Carson Smith trade, will work out of the Red Sox’s bullpen. Elias has made a pair of starts for Pawtucket this year after totaling 49 as a Mariner the previous two seasons. During that time frame, Elias combined for 277 2/3 innings of 3.99 ERA ball to go with a 7.75 K/9 and 3.47 BB/9. Cuevas, who has been in the Boston organization since 2008, made his major league debut this season to poor results before the demotion. The 25-year-old allowed five base runners (three hits and two walks) and two earned runs in 2 1/3 frames.
Twins Notes: Polanco, Perkins, Murphy
The Twins are set to promote top infield prospect Jorge Polanco to the Majors, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). It appears that third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who left yesterday’s game with an intercostal strain, is likely heading to the disabled list, thus necessitating the move. Polanco is one of the more highly regarded infield prospects in baseball, ranking 66th on Keith Law’s preseason Top 100 list at ESPN, 95th on MLB.com’s Top 100 and 99th on Baseball America’s Top 100. Polanco has played shortstop in the minors but is said to be best suited for second or third base. The switch-hitting Polanco draws praise for above-average speed, very good contact skills and modest pop, with Law writing that he could hit 12-15 homers and be a defensive asset at second or third. The promotion is likely to be temporary, as Plouffe, Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier line up at third base, shortstop and second base respectively. The Twins have Eduardo Nunez and Danny Santana (who is currently on the DL himself and, notably, is out of minor league options) as utility options.
A few more notes on the Twins…
- Injured closer Glen Perkins tells 1500 ESPN’s Phil Mackey that a second opinion confirmed that he won’t require surgery to repair his ailing shoulder, but he’s still “at least” a few weeks away from pitching (Twitter link). Considering the fact that Perkins would need a rehab assignment after a lengthy layoff, that would seem to suggest that he could be out until early May at the earliest, and a lengthier absence sounds possible based on that timeline as well. Right-hander Kevin Jepsen is filling in for Perkins in the ninth inning, as I mentioned earlier today when looking at some bullpen shakeups that could have an impact on some players’ salaries in arbitration and free agency.
- Outfielder David Murphy can opt out of his contract with the Twins on May 1st, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports on Twitter. The veteran came to the organization on a minor league deal with hopes of a quick call-up, and it seems that the contract’s out clause was designed to give him some leverage in that regard. Murphy has said he has little interest in a lengthy minor league stint, and he could seek another opportunity elsewhere if he’s not on the MLB roster in two weeks’ time.