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Luis Arraez

Twins Notes: Middle Infield, Jeffers, Romero

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The Twins are receiving trade interest both in their upper-level middle infield prospects and in controllable players on their big league roster, writes Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. That’s not exactly earth-shattering news, given the manner in which teams covet affordable long-term pieces — particularly this offseason. Rosenthal still outlines a possibility of Minnesota moving someone like second baseman Luis Arraez in order to slide Jorge Polanco over to second base. Doing so could come as part of a trade package for a high-end shortstop (e.g. Trevor Story) or help in the rotation, with a free-agent shortstop then being brought in as a bridge to top prospect Royce Lewis.

We’ve written about the possibility of the Twins making middle-infield moves despite a clear hole here at MLBTR, and from my vantage point it doesn’t seem the Twins would even need to move Arraez to justify bringing in a shortstop upgrade if they wish. Polanco has never been a strong defensive shortstop, even prior to a pair of ankle surgeries, and would seem perfectly well suited to play the same super-utility role that was recently held by departing free agent Marwin Gonzalez. There are myriad avenues they could take, but a move at shortstop doesn’t seem outlandish for the Twins, even with Polanco in tow. He’s set to earn $4.33MM in 2021, $5MM in 2022 and $7.5MM in 2023 before the Twins have a pair of club options valued at $10.5MM and $12MM.

More out of Minneapolis/St. Paul…

  • The Twins announced earlier this week that catcher Ryan Jeffers underwent an offseason procedure to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that the operation isn’t expected to delay Jeffers’ availability for the 2021 season, though, with manager Rocco Baldelli telling Miller and others that Jeffers is already nearly back up to speed. Jeffers, 23, jumped to the Majors to fill in for an injured Mitch Garver in 2020 and not only held his own but may have even cemented his spot on the 2021 roster. In 26 games, the 2018 second-rounder took 62 plate appearances and posted a .273/.355/.436 slash with three homers. Jeffers did skip Triple-A entirely due to the lack of a minor league season, though, so the Twins could conceivably add a veteran backup if the hope is to get him a bit more seasoning. Doing so would also afford Jeffers everyday reps rather than have him serve in a more limited role behind Garver.
  • Minnesota’s decision to release Fernando Romero yesterday (and Romero quickly signing with the Yokohama BayStars) was examined by The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, who reports that Romero didn’t draw much trade attention from MLB teams.  The Twins simply weren’t certain whether Romero would be able to pitch in the United States after visa issues prevented him from entering the country in 2020, and as president of baseball ops Derek Falvey said, “it felt like given all the circumstances around this year and going forward, plus his desired pursuit of Japan, it kind of felt like the best combination.”

AL Notes: Cabrera, Choo, Twins

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Miguel Cabrera’s contract extension with the Tigers runs through 2023, and the legendary hitter made clear he’s hoping to play out the deal. “I’ve got three years on my contract,” the 37-year-old told reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive) when asked how much longer he planned to play. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after my contract’s over. I’m focused on my contract and three more years and we’ll see what happens.” That’s not too surprising, given that Cabrera’s still due another $102MM after this season (including an $8MM buyout of his 2024 vesting option). The future Hall of Famer discussed the injuries that have weighed him down in recent years, as well as his hope of returning to first base after serving exclusively as a designated hitter this season. His full interview is a worthwhile read for Detroit fans.

More out of the American League

  • Rangers designated hitter Shin-soo Choo is hoping to play in 2021, per MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). The 38-year-old is wrapping up a seven-year, $130MM deal with Texas. A longtime productive hitter, Choo has taken a big step back offensively this season as he nears free agency. He’s amassed just a .229/.317/.394 line. It’s the first year Choo has been below-average at the dish since he established himself as an everyday player back in 2008.
  • The Twins saw a pair of key players leave last night’s game with injuries. Third baseman Josh Donaldson departed with a right calf cramp, while center fielder Byron Buxton suffered a head contusion, per Dan Hayes of the Athletic. Neither player is in tonight’s starting lineup. Ehire Adrianza stepped in at the hot corner yesterday, while Jake Cave came in to man center. Donaldson’s situation is particularly notable; he’s got a lengthy history of calf troubles and only just returned from an IL stint due to a calf strain. Buxton, meanwhile, was hit in the head by a Lucas Sims pitch, prompting his early exit. Minnesota is a game up on both the Indians and White Sox in the AL Central. [UPDATE: Buxton is dealing with mild concussion symptoms, relays Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. Donaldson is feeling better today and being held out as a precautionary measure, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com].
  • In better injury news for Minnesota, second baseman Luis Arraez has been activated from the injured list in advance of this evening’s contest. Arraez garnered some Rookie of the Year support last year thanks to his precocious bat-to-ball skills, as he hit .334/.399/.439 over 366 plate appearances. The 23-year-old hasn’t been as productive in his sophomore effort, but he remains one of the league’s toughest players to strike out.

Twins Notes: Arraez, Wisler, Bailey

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The Twins will be without second baseman Luis Arraez a bit longer than hoped after he sprained his left ankle while playing in an intrasquad game at their alternate training site, writes La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Arraez, on the IL due to tendinitis in his left knee, was eligible to return this week but will now be “reassessed” in the coming days, per skipper Rocco Baldelli, who termed the sprain as “mild.” The 23-year-old Arraez hasn’t come close to last year’s quietly excellent .334/.399/.439 output at the plate, but his .288/.336/.337 slash through 113 plate appearances this year remains respectable. He’s also still one of the hardest people in MLB to strike out, having fanned in just 9.7 percent of his plate appearances. Overall, Arraez is a .323/.384/.414 hitter with more walks (44) than strikeouts (40) through his first 479 MLB plate appearances. Veteran utilityman Marwin Gonzalez will likely continue to man second base in Arraez’s absence.

More out of the Twin Cities…

  • The Athletic’s Dan Hayes profiles breakout Twins reliever Matt Wisler, whom the organization claimed off waivers from the Mariners early last offseason. Hayes notes that the Twins had Wisler atop their wishlist of potential minor league free agents but were happy to be able to claim him instead when he hit waivers. Pitching coach Wes Johnson tells Hayes he was “ecstatic” when the Twins, who were near the bottom of the waiver pecking order, were awarded the claim. Johnson attributed the Wisler interest to Minnesota’s “phenomenal” team of developers, who helped to identify him as a breakout candidate. “We get a lot of information,” said Johnson. “…What you see is you see Matt Wisler has tremendous vertical depth up and down and he has late movement on that.” Wisler has thrown his slider at an outrageous 86 percent clip en route to a 1.11 ERA and a 34-to-14 K/BB ratio through 24 1/3 frames with Minnesota. Hayes also chatted with Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and Wisler himself about the right-hander’s turnaround.
  • The Twins have yet to determine whether right-hander Homer Bailey will be on their postseason roster, but the veteran helped his case in last night’s return from the injured list. The 34-year-old, who’d made just one start in 2020 thanks to a lengthy bout of biceps tendinitis, returned with three innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits and a walk with a hit batter and three strikeouts. Via MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park, Baldelli offered praise for Bailey but wouldn’t commit to the composition of the team’s playoff roster just yet. “We’re going to need — especially in this year’s playoff situation — a number of guys, especially as we move forward in the playoffs and you have the possibility of playing in these five or seven-game series with no days off,” said Baldelli. Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda and Rich Hill seem likely to get starting nods as needed, but both Bailey and a hopefully healthy Jake Odorizzi will provide alternative options or at the very least some long relief potential.

Luis Arraez Suffers Sprained Right Ankle

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Twins super-utilityman Luis Arraez had to be carted off the field during the seventh inning of today’s 4-3 Minnesota win over Kansas City.  Arraez and teammate Willians Astudillo collided on the pitcher’s mound while chasing a pop-up off the bat of the Royals’ Hunter Dozier.

As ugly as the injury looked, x-rays were negative, and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters that Arraez suffered a sprained right ankle.  The severity of the sprain isn’t yet certain, and the team doesn’t yet know whether or not Arraez will be available for Game One of the ALDS against the Yankees on Friday.

Losing Arraez for the postseason would be a major blow for the Twins, which represents just how much of an impact the 22-year-old has made in his rookie season.  After making his MLB debut in mid-May, Arraez was recalled from Triple-A for good on June 18 and has been an everyday player for Minnesota, playing mostly at second base but also seeing significant time as a left fielder and third baseman (plus a handful of games at shortstop).

As a pure contact hitter in today’s power-heavy game, Arraez’s throwback approach has resulted in solidly above-average offensive production (125 wRC+) and a .334/.399/.439 slash line over 366 plate appearances.  Arraez’s 8.0% strikeout rate is the lowest of any player with at least 350 PA this season, and he is one of the very few regulars who racked up more walks (36) than strikeouts (29).

There was a bit of good fortune mixed into those results, as Arraez’s .334 xwOBA was below his .367 wOBA and he did enjoy a .355 BABIP.  But his performance wasn’t exactly a surprise, as Arraez consistently scored high BABIP totals while also posting high averages and on-base numbers during his six years in Minnesota’s farm system.  Arraez wasn’t considered to be a top-flight prospect, though he did hit .331/.385/.414 over 1585 PA as a Twins minor leaguer.

Even if Arraez is out for Game One, the Twins are expected to get some reinforcements back in the form of Max Kepler and Marwin Gonzalez.  Arraez essentially usurped the super-util role the Twins had in mind for Gonzalez when they signed him to a two-year, $21MM free agent deal last winter, though Gonzalez has battled some injuries and been inconsistent at the plate.

Details On The Twins’ Trade Deadline Talks

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Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo represented the sum total of the Twins’ midseason additions as the club tries to hold its lead atop the AL Central.  While Dyson and Romo address needs in the bullpen, Minnesota was also very aggressive in looking for starting pitching, though ultimately came up short in reinforcing the rotation.

Rival teams continually asked the Twins about top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff, with the Mets among the multiple clubs who asking for both youngsters.  New York wanted both Lewis and Kiriloff in discussions about Noah Syndergaard, and if premium minor league talent wasn’t available for the ace, the Mets were also focused on adding Major League players, to the point of asking Minnesota about Byron Buxton in a possible Syndergaard deal.

Lewis and Kirilloff were also on the mind of the Blue Jays’ front office, as Toronto was looking for either of the prospects in exchange for Marcus Stroman.  Minnesota turned down this initial request, and The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that the Jays never called back with any other offers before trading Stroman to the Mets.  This would seem to indicate that the Jays were only interested in Lewis and Kirilloff specifically, though Hayes writes that “the Twins were disappointed when Toronto didn’t give them a chance to match an offer they believed they could have outdone.”

Beyond the prospects, Hayes tweeted that Luis Arraez was “everyone’s favorite ask” amongst teams who were offering rental players to Minnesota.  Arraez has been a revelation for the Twins over his first 43 Major League games, as the rookie is hitting .349/.422/.445 over 166 plate appearances.  Arraez has long boasted strong averages and on-base numbers in the minors, and while regression is inevitable, his .361 xwOBA isn’t far off his .388 wOBA.  With this much potential, it isn’t hard to see why the Twins were reluctant to part with a 22-year-old, multi-positional talent for only a rental player (or potentially anyone).

Hayes reports that the Twins were considering both Robbie Ray and Mike Minor, though concerns about Ray’s durability and Minor’s July struggles diminished the interest.  On the relief front, the Twins also had interest in Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez.

“It was one of the most unique trade deadlines I’ve ever experienced,” Twins GM Thad Levine told Hayes and other reporters.  “One error I made was assuming that early in the trade cycle that the leverage was towards the seller.  I assumed that there was going to be a little bit of a shift of that see-saw back to the buyer as we got closer to the deadline. I’m not sure we ever saw the shift in the see-saw. The sellers felt pretty emboldened. They set the prices high, which is very normal in a trade deadline. But I’m not sure they moved off of those high asks at any point, and as a result, there were just a finite number of players that meaningfully changed the fortunes of playoff-contending teams.”

Early talks with the Giants involving multiple players (including Dyson, Madison Bumgarner, and Will Smith) did result in the late Dyson trade.  Minnesota and San Francisco re-engaged in talks just 45 minutes before the 3pm CT deadline, medicals on the four players in the deal were exchanged at 2:50pm, and the trade was finalized with just five minutes to spare.

Twins Activate Nelson Cruz From IL

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The Twins announced Monday that they’ve reinstated designated hitter Nelson Cruz from the injured list and optioned infielder Luis Arraez to Triple-A Rochester in order to create roster space.

Cruz, 38, missed nearly three weeks with a left wrist strain but will return to the lineup prior to the opening of a three-game series against the division-rival Indians in Cleveland. The slugger, signed in the offseason to a one-year deal worth $14.3MM (plus a 2020 team option), was off to a .270/.354/.508 start when he was placed on the IL. In 144 plate appearances, Cruz has connected on seven homers and nine doubles. With Cruz now healthy, the Twins will have their lineup at full strength for the first time in 2019; he and Miguel Sano have yet to have their time on the active roster overlap.

Arraez, 22, did nothing to sway the organization’s hope that he can be an important part of their infield mix for years to come. In 30 plate appearances, he hit .375/.467/.583 with five walks against just one strikeout while seeing action at second base, third base and shortstop. Arraez has still played only three games at the Triple-A level in his pro career, so he’ll return to that level to continue accruing everyday at-bats as he works toward a long-term spot on the Twins’ active roster.

Twins Place Nelson Cruz On IL, Promote Luis Arraez

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The Twins announced that they’ve placed designated hitter Nelson Cruz on the 10-day injured list due to a left wrist strain and promoted infield prospect Luis Arraez for his big league debut. Arraez’s promotion was initially reported by Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base (Twitter link).

Cruz, 38, was signed to a one-year deal worth $14.3MM this winter and has jumped out to a hot start, mashing at a .270/.354/.508 clip with seven home runs and nine doubles through his first 144 plate appearances as a Twin. He’s been out of the lineup for the past few days due to ongoing discomfort that he’s played through to this point, and Minnesota has now opted to give Cruz some additional time to let the wrist heal up. There’s no indication that his absence is expected to be particularly lengthy, and because the move is backdated to May 14, he can be activated in a week’s time if he’s ready.

Arraez, 22, is largely devoid of power but has been a hitting machine throughout his time in the minors. Signed as a teenager out of Venezuela back in 2013, he’s never batted below .309 in any season of affiliated ball and carries a lifetime .331/.385/.414 slash line with him to the Majors. His uncanny knack for making contact has led to a tiny 8.4 percent strikeout rate in the minors, which is scarcely higher than his 7.7 percent walk rate. Both Fangraphs (No. 12) and MLB.com (No. 17) rank Arraez in the middle of the pack in a solid Twins farm system, praising his plus hit tool and making note of his extreme opposite-field approach. Arraez was out to a strong start in 2019, hitting .344/.413/.394 through 179 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A.

Defensively, he’s logged the majority of his innings at second base, but Arraez has time at third base, shortstop and left field as well, which points to a possible utility role at the big league level moving forward. His ability to move around the diamond, paired with Marwin Gonzalez’s well-documented versatility, should give rookie skipper Rocco Baldelli plenty of in-game flexibility with regard to his lineup and defensive alignments while Cruz is on the shelf.

Down the line, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Arraez settle in as a versatile, bat-first utility option in Minneapolis, even if his initial promotion to the big leagues is brief. It’s possible, too, that Arraez impresses enough to stick on the roster; as noted here last week, out-of-options utility infielder Ehire Adrianza is struggling a great deal this season (.177/.297/.290).

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