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Twins Outright Five Players

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The Twins have outrighted right-handers Scott Blewett, Randy Dobnak, Josh Winder, and Daniel Duarte as well as first baseman Yunior Severino off their 40-man roster, as noted by Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune. While none of the quintet were previously announced as having been designated for assignment, all five has cleared waivers and been sent outright to the minors. The club also triggered a $1.5MM club option for right-hander Jorge Alcalá, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic on X.

Today is a big roster churn day, as the 60-day injured list goes away and doesn’t come back until spring training. Since players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a club’s 40-man roster count, this leads to roster crunches around the league. As such, the Twins have removed five players from the roster and passed them through waivers.

Dobnak has been passed through waivers a couple of times before, a reflection of his contract and service time status. Going into 2021, he and the Twins agreed to a five-year, $9.25MM extension but his results failed to live up to that deal. Players need to have at least five years of service to both reject an outright assignment and keep all the remaining money on their contracts. Dobnak was and is well shy of that, meaning he has continually turned down chances to elect free agency, allowing him to keep collecting his paychecks on the deal. That is likely how this will play out. He got back to the big leagues this year for the first time since 2021 but posted a 5.59 earned run average over his five outings, bringing his career ERA up to 4.99.

Blewett, 29 in April, signed a minor league deal with the Twins in the winter and ultimately tossed 20 1/3 innings for them with a 1.77 ERA. However, he wasn’t going to continue stranding 90.5% of baserunners, which is why his FIP was 4.00 and his SIERA was 4.05 for the year. He has been outrighted before in his career so he has the right to elect free agency.

Winder, 28, was drafted by the Twins and has been on the roster since November of 2021. Since then, he has tossed 110 2/3 innings with a 4.39 ERA, 18% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 37.2% ground ball rate.

Duarte, 28 next month, was claimed off waivers in the offseason and made two appearances for the Twins this season before requiring season-ending elbow surgery. His timeline for returning to play is not currently clear. He has a previous career outright and is therefore eligible to elect free agency.

Severino, 25, was added to the club’s 40-man roster a year ago to keep him out of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. He put up a solid line of .254/.342/.434 in Triple-A this year but the offensive environment was strong in the International League this year, leading that to translate to a roughly league average wRC+ of 101.

As for Alcalá, he and the Twins avoided arbitration last year by agreeing to a $790K salary with a $1.5MM club option for 2025 that came with a $55K buyout. He went on to toss 58 1/3 innings for the Twins this year with a 3.24 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. Based on that performance, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Alcalá to get a raise to $1.7MM through the abr process. The Twins have instead gone for the lower price of the club option to bring him back next year.

Twins Designate Gilberto Celestino For Assignment

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The Twins have designated center fielder Gilberto Celestino for assignment, per a club announcement. Celestino’s spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Jorge Alcala, who has been activated from the 60-day IL. Making room for Alcala on the active roster is Dallas Keuchel, who the club placed on the 15-day IL.

Celestino made his debut with the Twins back in 2021 before stepping into a regular role with the club last season, when he appeared in 122 games. Celestino slashed .222/.292/.300 across 409 trips to the plate for the Twins those two years, though he did not appear in the big leagues this season after undergoing th that cost him the first half of the 2023 campaign. Celestino struggled somewhat at the Triple-A level following his return from the injured list, slashing just .243/.392/.389, a noticeable departure from his .290/.384/.443 slash line at the level in 2021.

Going forward, the Twins will have seven days to waive Celestino, who can then be claimed by any interested club. The Twins can outright Celestino if he clears waivers, though it should be noted that he would be eligible to elect free agency following the conclusion of the 2023 campaign if not added back to the 40-man roster.

Celestino’s departure makes way for Alcala, 27, to return from the injured list. The right-hander made his big league debut with the Twins back in 2019 and has spent parts of five seasons with the big league club, posting a 3.84 ERA and 4.35 FIP in 103 innings of work. Alcala’s 2023 season has been a difficult one, as the righty struggled to a 6.46 ERA in 15 1/3 innings of work at the big league level with a 6.84 FIP. Alcala was placed on the 15-day IL in the middle of May due to a stress fracture in his right forearm and didn’t appear in the majors or minors again until he began a rehab assignment in September. Alcala has now returned in time for the final game of the regular season to help the Twins eat innings ahead of the club’s appearance in the AL Wild Card series, which starts Tuesday.

Keuchel has two All Star appearances, a Cy Young award, and five Gold Gloves throughout his career but struggled in recent seasons, with a 6.35 ERA in 222 2/3 innings of work across the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the White Sox, Diamondbacks, and Rangers. Keuchel returned to the big leagues with the Twins back in August and has provided the club with a solid depth option for the rotation, pitching to a 5.40 ERA with a 4.25 FIP in 35 innings of work across nine appearances (six starts).  Speaking with the Associated Press and other reporters, Keuchel said he would like to continue his career in 2024.

Twins Place Jorge Lopez On 15-Day Injured List

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2:02PM: In an updated announcement, the Twins moved Lopez to the 15-day IL due to mental health reasons.

1:17PM: The Twins announced that right-hander Jorge Lopez has been placed on the team’s restricted list.  Right-hander Jordan Balazovic has been called up from Triple-A to take Lopez’s spot on the active roster, as Balazovic will be looking to make his Major League debut.

As per league rules, Lopez won’t collect salary or Major League service time while he is on the restricted list.  The circumstances behind Lopez’s placement aren’t yet known, so it is impossible to gauge how long the righty might be absent.

After posting uninspiring numbers for much of his career, Lopez suddenly caught fire early in the 2022 season, posting a 1.68 ERA and 19 saves over 48 1/3 innings with the Orioles.  This performance earned Lopez his first All-Star selection, but even though the O’s were still in the playoff race at the deadline, they chose to sell high on Lopez by swapping him to Minnesota for a package of four pitching prospects.  That deal is already looking like a win for Baltimore since one of the four pitchers was Yennier Cano, who is looking like an All-Star this year after a superb first half.

The magic seemed to wear off for Lopez after the trade, as he posted only a 4.37 ERA in 22 2/3 innings for the Twins over the remainder of the 2022 season.  Those struggles have carried into this season, as Lopez has a 5.00 ERA over 27 innings.  Apart from an 8.1% walk rate that is slightly above the league average, there isn’t much to like about Lopez’s Statcast metrics, as he is allowing a ton of hard contact and his strikeout rate has dropped considerably from 2022.  The right-hander’s old problems with home runs have resurfaced, as he allowed six homers over his 27 frames.

Lopez has been a weak link in an otherwise pretty solid Twins bullpen, but Balazovic will now get an opportunity to show what he can do at the MLB level.  A fifth-round pick for the Twins in the 2016 draft, he emerged on the top-100 prospect radar prior to the 2020-22 seasons, but he battled some injuries last season and was struggled badly in his first stint at Triple-A.

After posting a 7.39 ERA over 70 2/3 innings with Triple-A St. Paul last year, Balazovic has performed better this year, though a 4.79 ERA isn’t exactly eye-popping.  His 35 2/3 innings have consisted of 11 relief appearances and three starts (after working mostly as a starter throughout his career), and Balazovic has a strong 31.1% strikeout rate but also a high 13% walk rate.  Just before Spring Training this year, Balazovic was also involved in an off-field incident that resulted in surgery for a broken jaw, as he claimed to have been sucker-punched by an unknown person.

It remains to be seen how long Balazovic might last in Minnesota’s bullpen, as regardless of performance, he might be sent back to Triple-A if Lopez is on the restricted list for only a brief period of time.  Still, Balazovic has potential as a multi-inning reliever for now, and possibly still as a starter down the road.

In other Twins transactions from earlier today, the club activated Gilberto Celestino from the 60-day injured list and optioned the outfielder to Triple-A.  Celestino has yet to play in the majors this season after undergoing thumb surgery in early March, as he had to first rehab his injury and then make up for his lost month of Spring Training.  Celestino has played nine minor league games to date, and he’ll now get a longer stint at Triple-A to ramp up and be ready if the Twins call him back to the Show.

To accommodate Celestino’s return to the 40-man roster, the Twins moved Jorge Alcala to the 60-day injured list.  Alcala went on the 15-day IL in mid-May due to a stress fracture to the radius bone in his right forearm, and since it isn’t known when he might return, the 60-day placement seemed inevitable.

AL Central Notes: Buxton, Alcala, Alberto, Gaddis

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Byron Buxton was removed from yesterday’s game due to right knee tightness, and he wasn’t in the Twins’ lineup today.  While Buxton’s health history makes any injury seem like a red flag, manager Rocco Baldelli didn’t think the issue was particularly serious, and thought Buxton’s knee might have just been sore from a number of recent plays on the basepaths.  “It’s just by chance that there’s been this many plays that he’s had to go hard on in a very short period of time.  It kind of popped up, I think, because of all the running,” Baldelli told MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park and other reporters.

Buxton underwent arthroscopic surgery on that same right knee back in September, and as part of the Twins’ desire to keep their star healthy, Buxton has played exclusively as a designated hitter this season.  While keeping a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder in a DH role may seem like a waste of resources, it’s hard to argue with results, as Buxton has been hitting well (.235/.344/.484 with nine home runs in 180 plate appearances) and has avoided the injured list to date.  Ironically, Buxton has been a source of stability on a Twins team that has been beset with several other injuries, and his bat has been a bright spot in an inconsistent lineup.

More from the AL Central…

  • Sticking with the Twins, Jorge Alcala was placed on the 15-day injured list earlier this week, and head trainer Nick Paparesta gave Park and company some more information on the right-hander’s status.  Alcala has a stress fracture to the radius bone in his right forearm, which Paparesta described as “more of a chronic, ongoing condition and again, nothing to do with his previous elbow surgery.”  Due to the rather unique nature of the injury, it isn’t known exactly how long Alcala might be out, and the Twins will re-evalate him after a shutdown of 10-14 days.  Elbow problems and an arthroscopic debridement surgery limited Alcala to just 2 1/3 innings in 2022, and he had posted only a 6.46 ERA over 15 1/3 innings out of Minnesota’s bullpen this season.
  • Hanser Alberto left today’s game with what the White Sox described as left shoulder soreness.  After dropping a sacrifice bunt, Alberto appeared to hurt his shoulder while making a “safe” sign after a very close play at first base.  Alberto is day to day with the injury, and manager Pedro Grifol told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters that the infielder could be able to avoid the 10-day injured list.  There isn’t much time for Alberto to rest or for the Sox to play with an undermanned roster, since the White Sox are six games into a stretch of 19 games in 19 days.
  • The Guardians will call up Hunter Gaddis for a start on Monday, according to The Athletic’s Zack Meisel (via Twitter).  A fresh starter was needed when Peyton Battenfield was placed on the 15-day IL on Friday, so the Guards will turn to Gaddis for at least one outing, though an off-day on Thursday could allow them to reset the rotation.  Gaddis made his MLB debut last season and made four starts this season while Triston McKenzie has been sidelined with injury, but the results haven’t yet been there at the big league level.  The 25-year-old righty has a 6.86 ERA over 19 2/3 innings this season, with a minuscule 14.6% strikeout rate.

Twins Select José De León

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The Twins are going to select right-hander José De León to their roster, reports Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. He will take the active roster spot of fellow righty Jorge Alcalá, who is going on the 15-day injured list. The club already had an opening on their 40-man roster after losing righty Dereck Rodríguez off waivers to the Braves yesterday. The club has subsequently announced the moves, listing Alcalá’s ailment as a right forearm extensor muscle strain. His IL placement is retroactive to May 15.

De León, 30, was once one of the top prospects in the league. Originally drafted by the Dodgers in 2013, he impressed prospect evaluators enough to land on Baseball America’s top 100 list in both 2016 and 2017, placing in the top 30 both of those years. Unfortunately, he’s battled significant injuries since then and still hasn’t been able to carve out a lengthy stay in the big leagues.

He was traded to the Rays prior to 2017 but then required Tommy John surgery going into 2018. He returned in 2019 and was traded to the Reds after that season. He struggled in his time with that club and was released after 2021. He was with the Blue Jays on a minor league deal last year but got hurt in Spring Training and didn’t debut until August.

Through all of that, he has an 8.44 ERA in the big leagues through 48 innings that have been scattered across five different seasons with three different clubs. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins this offseason and is off to a good start. He’s tossed 27 1/3 innings across nine Triple-A appearances, four of them starts. He has a 3.62 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 41.6% ground ball rate.

That showing has impressed the Minnesota brass enough that the righty will get back to the majors. He is out of options and can’t be easily sent back to the minors later in the year, but he does have just two years and 95 days of major league service time. That means that he could be cheaply retained for future seasons via arbitration if he manages to hang onto his roster spot all year long.

Twins Reinstate Jorge Polanco

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The Twins announced a series of roster moves today, with infielder Jorge Polanco reinstated from the injured list and right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson recalled from Triple-A. In corresponding moves, righty Jorge Alcalá and infielder Edouard Julien were optioned to Triple-A. The Polanco-Julien swap was reported by Twins Farm Report on Twitter prior to the official club announcement.

Polanco, 29, is in tonight’s lineup, batting fifth and playing second base. This will be his first major league game since August of last year. He was placed on the injured list in early September due to left knee inflammation and wasn’t able to return. As this year’s Spring Training ramped up, everything seemed aligned for him to make the Opening Day roster, but he was eventually slowed down in the middle of March with what chief baseball officer Derek Falvey called “normal soreness.” That ultimate led to an IL-placement on Opening Day, but he’ll now slot back into the Minnesota lineup for the first time in almost eight months.

He began his career as a shortstop and didn’t get especially strong marks for his glovework but showed encouraging offensive abilities. By the end of 2018, he had appeared in 288 games and struck out in just 16.2% of his plate appearances while demonstrating a bit of power with 23 home runs. His .272/.329/.420 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 100, indicating he was exactly league average in that time.

The Twins clearly believed that Polanco would grow into something more, as they then signed him to a five-year, $25.75MM extension with a couple of club options. Polanco has since proved them right, hitting 75 home runs over the past four seasons, one of which was the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. His .270/.337/.459 line in that time amounts to a wRC+ of 117. He’s since moved to second base in deference to stronger shortstop defenders like Andrelton Simmons and Carlos Correa.

Polanco is now in the final guaranteed season of that extension, though it seems likely that those options will be picked up. The 2024 option is valued at $10.5MM with a $1MM buyout, making it a net $9.5MM decision. The 2025 option is worth $12.5MM with a $750K buyout, making it a net $11.75MM decision. Those are reasonable salaries for a potent bat at an up-the-middle position.

While Polanco has been out of action this year, most of the playing time at second base has gone to Julien, Nick Gordon and Kyle Farmer. Julien will now go back to the minors to get regular work down there. Farmer went on the IL last week after getting hit in the face by a fastball from Lucas Giolito. Though the incident looked quite scary on the broadcast, Farmer managed to avoid any fractures and was mostly limited to dental injuries. He told Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press today that he still has to get four root canals next week but has started doing baseball activities like hitting off a tee and taking ground balls.

Jorge Alcala Undergoes Season-Ending Elbow Surgery

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Twins reliever Jorge Alcalá has undergone arthroscopic debridement surgery on his throwing elbow, the club announced (relayed by Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune). He’s done for the season, but the Twins anticipate he’ll be ready for Spring Training next year.

Aclalá made just two appearances in 2022, with elbow issues virtually wiping out the year. He first landed on the injured list five days into the season with elbow inflammation, then experienced a setback in June. The issues have deprived the Twins of one of their better relief arms, a pitcher who worked his way into higher-leverage work down the stretch last season. Alcalá tossed a career-high 59 2/3 innings in 2021, posting a 3.92 ERA with an above-average 26.6% strikeout rate and a tiny 5.7% walk percentage.

Had the 27-year-old been healthy and able to replicate that kind of production this season, perhaps the Twins would have a bit more than a one-game cushion over the Guardians in the AL Central. Minnesota’s bullpen has blown 19 leads, fourth-most in the majors. Aside from star rookie Jhoan Durán and converted starter Griffin Jax, the group has struggled. That led to a pair of deadline pickups to fortify the back end, with Minnesota landing All-Star closer Jorge López from the Orioles and veteran righty Michael Fulmer from the division-rival Tigers.

Alcalá entered the season with more than two years of major league service time. He’ll collect a full year for his time on the IL, meaning he’ll surpass the three-year threshold and be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter. Alcalá is controllable through the end of the 2025 campaign.

Cody Stashak To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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JUNE 10: Stashak told reporters that while he hopes to be ready for next Spring Training, he’s likelier to be out into May (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). HIs procedure is scheduled for next Thursday.

JUNE 8: Twins reliever Cody Stashak will undergo surgery to repair a labrum tear in his throwing shoulder, the club informed reporters (including Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune). He’ll miss the remainder of the season.

Stashak hasn’t pitched since May 21, when he landed on the 15-day injured list with what the team called a shoulder impingement. Unfortunately, further testing has revealed a more serious issue that’ll cost him the remainder of the 2022 campaign. Minnesota is sure to transfer him to the 60-day IL whenever they have a need for a spot on the 40-man roster.

The 28-year-old Stashak has emerged as a unheralded but productive member of the Minnesota relief corps in recent years. A former 13th-round draft choice, the St. John’s product didn’t draw much prospect attention. He’s nevertheless had a decent run at the big league level, pitching to a 4.13 ERA with excellent strikeout and walk rates (27.6% and 4.7%, respectively) through 72 innings since debuting in 2019.

That aggregate run prevention number is inflated by an outlier 2021 season in which Stashak was tagged for nearly seven earned runs per nine innings. He’s posted a sub-4.00 mark in each of his other three years, including a 3.86 across 16 1/3 frames this season. Stashak struck out 15 batters and didn’t issue a single free pass in that time.

The only silver lining is that he’ll collect MLB service time and pay for the rest of the season while rehabbing. Stashak will surpass the three-year service threshold and reach arbitration-eligibility for the first time next winter, and he’s controllable through the end of the 2025 campaign.

In other Twins’ bullpen news, the club announced that righty Jorge Alcalá has halted his rehab process after experiencing elbow stiffness (via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). The 26-year-old had made one rehab appearance with Low-A Fort Myers last Wednesday but hasn’t pitched in a game since that point. Alcalá went on the shelf after just two MLB outings, and Minnesota moved him to the 60-day IL in late April. He posted a 3.92 ERA across 59 2/3 innings last season, earning some higher-leverage opportunities late in the year.

Twins Select Jose Godoy, Place Jhon Romero On 10-Day Injured List

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The Twins have placed Jhon Romero on the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of catcher Jose Godoy, per Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Jorge Alcala, out with elbow inflammation, was moved to the 60-day injured list.

Godoy is back on the active roster in part to protect Gary Sanchez, who is day-to-day with abdominal tightness. The Twins will look to avoid an injured list stint for Sanchez. Godoy has been the third catcher for Minnesota thus far this season, backing up Sachez and Ryan Jeffers. If he appears in a game, however, it will be the first time this season. He had 40 plate appearances with the Mariners last season, slashing .162/.225/.189.

Romero’s IL placement is made retroactive to April 20th. He is suffering from right biceps tendinitis. He was claimed off waivers from the Nationals before the season started and appeared in four games before the injury.

Injury Notes: Walker, Fletcher, Alcala

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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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