Twins Designate Ryne Harper

The Twins have designated right-hander Ryne Harper for assignment, the club informed reporters including Dan Hayes of The Athletic (Twitter link). His roster spot was needed for the addition of Josh Donaldson.

It’s a tough result for the 30-year-old Harper, who had a solid showing in his long-awaited MLB debut campaign. He worked to a 3.81 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 over 54 1/3 innings.

Teams interested in cheap and steady innings will surely take a hard look at Harper. He doesn’t throw hard and generates bottom-of-the-barrel fastball spin. But his command-driven, slider-heavy approach still permitted an 11.6% swinging-strike rate and a palatable 1.16 HR/9.