Minnesota Twins MLB News - Twins Baseball Blog

The Minnesota Twins hope to get better play out of their catchers in 2013

chinmusic — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:51:39 +0000

29-year old lefty swinging Joe Mauer is still a great hitter, but he’s turning into a big time liability behind the plate, when his knee is healthy enough for him to play catcher. He played in 147 games for the Twins last year and he was 174 of 545 (.319 avg, .861 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 10 homers, 85 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,065 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,270 of 3,933 (.323 avg, .873 OPS) with 626 runs scored, 94 homers, 587 RBIs and 43 stolen bases. Mauer played in 74 games (72 starts) behind the plate last year for the Twins and he had 3 errors and 1 passed ball. He only threw out a pathetic 5 of 61 (8.2%) runners trying to steal against him last year and Twins’ pitchers had a 4.90 ERA with him behind the dish. 29-year old righty swinging Drew Butera, 25-year old lefty swinging Chris Herrmann, 27-year old righty swinging Eric Fryer and 31-year old switch-hitting Ryan Doumit will compete for the right to back up Joe Mauer in 2013. Butera played in 42 games for the Twins last year and he was 22 of 111 (.198 avg, .550 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. He has now played in 184 games for the Twins in his first three years with the team and he is 89 of 487 (.183 avg, .497 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 5 homers and 41 RBIs. Butera played in 41 games (32 starts) behind the plate for the Twins last year and he had 1 error and 4 passed balls. Butera threw out only 4 of 27 (14.8%) base stealers and Twins’ pitchers had a 4.04 with him behind the dish. Herrmann came into 2012 as the Twins’ #14 prospect according to Baseball America. Herrmann played in 7 games for the Twins last year and he was 1 for 18 (.056 avg, .161 OPS) with 1 RBI. He also played in 127 games in AA-ball last year and he was 135 of 490 (.276 avg, .741 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 10 homers, 61 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Herrmann played in 3 games (2 starts) for the Twins behind the plate last year and he had 1 passed ball. The only runner that stole on him last year and Twins’ pitchers had a 3.79 ERA with him behind the dish. Fryer played in 6 games for the Pirates last year and he was 1 for 4 (.250 avg, .650 OPS) without any runs scored or RBIs. He also played in 65 games in AAA-ball for the Pirates last year and he was 33 for 162 (.204 avg, .504 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 0 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Fryer has now played in 16 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 8 for 30 (.267 avg, .620 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 1 stolen base. Ryan Doumit can play C, 1B, OF and he is the guy who DHs the most for the Twins. He played in 59 games (56 starts) behind the plate for the Twins last year and he had 2 errors and 2 passed balls. Doumit threw out 6 of 37 base stealers (16.2%) and Twins’ pitchers had a 5.08 ERA with him behind the plate. The Twins would rather have someone else handle the backup catching other than Doumit because of his defensive limitations.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2013: B

The Minnesota Twins have signed Rich Harden

chinmusic — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:32:34 +0000

The Twins have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Rich Harden to a minor league deal. Harden missed all of last season due to shoulder surgery. He last pitched in the majors in 2011 for the Oakland A’s. Harden pitched in 15 games (all starts) for the A’s in 2011 and he was 4-4 with a 5.12 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Harden has now pitched in 170 games (160 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 59-38 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Harden has now given up 781 hits and 422 walks in his first 928 1/3 innings so far this year while whiffing 949 batters, which is impressive. Harden is a good pitcher when healthy, so the Twins are rolling the dice and they are giving him a chance to revive his major league career.

The Minnesota Twins sign Mike Pelfrey

chinmusic — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:09:09 +0000

The Twins have signed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey to a 1-year, $4 million dolllar deal. Pelfrey had Tommy John Surgery last May, but he’s expected to be ready by 2013’s Opening Day. Pelfrey pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Mets last year and he was 0-0 with a 2.29 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Pelfrey has now pitched in 153 games (149 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 50-54 with 1 save, a 4.36 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Pelfrey will likely slot into the #3 or #4 slot in the Twins’ rotation if he’s healthy.

The Minnesota Twins re-sign Clete Thomas

chinmusic — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:06:10 +0000

The Twins have re-signed 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Clete Thomas to a minor league deal. Thomas played in 12 games for the Twins last year and he was 4 for 28 (.143 avg, .458 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He also played in 109 games in AAA-ball last year in which he was 91 of 393 (.232 avg, .686 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 12 homers, 47 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Thomas has now played in 157 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 103 of 419 (.246 avg, .710 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 9 homers, 52 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Thomas will get a shot to win a backup job for the Twins next spring.

The Minnesota Twins sign 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez

chinmusic — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:39:19 +0000

The Minnesota Twins have signed 26-year old righty swinging 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez to a minor league deal. Rodriguez played in 102 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Red Sox and he was 92 of 370 (.249 avg, .802 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 16 homers, 53 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 406 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 427 of 1,471 (.290 avg, .871 OPS) with 239 runs scored, 57 homers, 263 RBIs and 60 stolen bases. Rodriguez will likely start the 2013 season in AAA-ball for the Twins.

The Minnesota Twins sign Virgil Vasquez

chinmusic — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:40:04 +0000

The Twins have signed 30-year old righty starter/reliever Virgil Vasquez to a minor league deal. He pitched in 30 games (29 starts) in Independent ball last year and he was 10-9 with a 4.44 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2009 with the Pirates. He has pitched in 19 games (10 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 2-6 with a 6.60 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. He will likely start the 2013 season in AAA-ball for the Twins.

The Minnesota Twins sign Mike O’Connor

chinmusic — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:37:57 +0000

The Twins have signed 32-year old lefty reliever/starter Mike O’Connor to a minor league deal. He pitched in 31 games (15 starts) in AAA-ball for the Yankees last year and he was 3-6 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2011 for the Mets. He has now pitched in 35 games (21 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 4-10 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. O’Connor will get a shot to win a bullpen job next spring.

The Minnesota Twins sign infielder Ray Olmedo

chinmusic — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:35:12 +0000

The Twins have signed 31-year old switch-hitting infielder Ray Olmedo to a minor league deal. He played in 20 games for the White Sox last year and he was 10 for 41 (.244 avg, .537 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 0 homers and 1 RBI. He has now played in 218 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 102 of 444 (.230 avg, .566 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 2 homers, 27 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Olmedo will get a shot to make the Twins as a bench player next spring.

The Minnesota Twins sign Bryan Augenstein

chinmusic — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:32:50 +0000

The Twins have signed 26-year old righty reliever Bryan Augenstein to a minor league deal. He pitched in 23 games (1 start) in AAA-ball for the Rays last year and he was 2-1 with 3 saves, a 3.59 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2011 for the Cardinals. He has pitched in 12 games (2 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-2 with a 8.34 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. He will likely start the 2013 season in AAA-ball for the Twins.

The Minnesota Twins sign outfielder Brandon Boggs

chinmusic — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:30:17 +0000

The Twins have signed 29-year old switch-hitting outfielder Brandon Boggs to a minor league deal. Boggs played in 127 games in AAA-ball for the Pirates and he was 106 of 409 (.259 avg, .767 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 9 homers, 57 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Boggs last played in the majors in 2011 for the Brewers. Boggs has now played in 130 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 68 for 326 (.209 avg, .695 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 10 homers, 43 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Boggs will get a shot to win a job on the Twins’ bench next spring.