Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

’ Hector Santiago projected to get 72% raise. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 1  Longtime Twin Trevor Plouffe faces uncertain future. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 2  Gonsalves, Palka named Twins' MLB Pipeline Prospects of Year. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 3  Twins airport eatery preparing for January takeoff at MSP. Sports Business Journal (Muret) p. 4

Minnesota Twins’ Hector Santiago projected to get 72% raise

Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | October 10, 2016

Left-hander Hector Santiago’s September turnaround could prove costly for the Twins at the arbitration table this offseason, according to the annual salary projections by MLBTradeRumors.com.

Acquired on Aug. 1 at a one-year salary of $5 million, Santiago could see that figure jump by 72 percent to $8.6 million in 2017, according to the web site’s projections, posted Monday. The Twins also pledged to pay $4 million toward Ricky Nolasco’s $12 million salary next season with the Angels while covering the pricier difference between the two ’ remaining salaries in 2016.

Newly hired chief officer Derek Falvey is scheduled to begin work with the Twins once his Cleveland Indians complete their playoff run.

Santiago, 28, finished a combined 13-10 with a 4.70 earned-run average in a career-high 33 starts and 182 innings. Through arbitration, he also gets credit for a 2015 season that saw him go 9-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 180 2/3 innings.

This season, Santiago also led the American League with 79 walks allowed and finished among the league leaders with 33 home runs allowed. After going 0-4 with a 10.89 ERA in his first four outings with the Twins, Santiago closed 3-2 with a 3.19 ERA over his final seven starts.

Santiago’s projection is the fifth-highest among starting pitchers eligible for arbitration. He trails only ($16.8 million), Chris Tillman ($10.6 million), Tyson Ross ($9.6 million) and 2015 Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel ($9.5 million).

Santiago, a prospective free agent after next season, can use recent free-agent classes in his agent’s salary comparisons, not just those who also have five-plus years of service time. That only makes him pricier for the Twins, who are projected to owe this year’s seven-man arbitration class a total of $31.4 million.

Third baseman Trevor Plouffe, another five-plus arbitration case, carries an $8.2 million projection for 2017, according to the web site. That represents nearly a $1 million increase over the $7.25 million Plouffe earned in an injury-marred 2016, which saw him hit .260 with 12 homers in 84 games.

Plouffe, who lost playing time to 23-year-old Miguel Sano during the season’s second half, endured three separate stints on the disabled list with issues in both of his sides.

While Plouffe admits his status for next season is uncertain, left-hander Tommy Milone ($4.9 million projection) figures to be traded or cut loose by the early December deadline for tendering contract offers. Demoted to Triple-A in early May, Milone returned to finish 3-5 with a 5.71 ERA in 19 outings (12 starts).

Right-hander Kyle Gibson and infielder Eduardo Escobar could represent tougher calls. While Gibson is due nearly a seven-fold raise to $3.5 million off a 25-start season that saw him go 6-11 with a 5.07 ERA, Escobar could see his salary climb to $2.9 million after hitting just .236 with a .280 on-base percentage in 377 plate appearances.

Escobar, 27, earned $2.15 million this season as the Twins’ Opening Day shortstop. Multiple DL stints and poor hitting caused him to lose ground to rookie prospect Jorge Polanco over the season’s final two months.

Gibson, who turns 29 on Oct. 23, posted a 3.84 ERA in 32 starts in 2015, when he worked a career-high 194 2/3 innings.

Right-handed relievers ($2.2 million projection) and Ryan Pressly ($1.1 million) round out the Twins’ prospective eight-man arbitration class.

Kintzler, a 32-year-old journeyman with five-plus years of service time, nailed down 17 of 20 chances after taking over the role for the struggling Kevin Jepsen in June. He was paid at a full-year rate of $1.125 million this season after being called up in early May.

Had Kintzler spent four more days in the minors, the Twins could have maintained club control over him for 2018, as well.

Pressly, 27, led Twins relievers with 72 appearances and 75 1/3 innings while posting a 3.70 ERA. Like Gibson, the former Rule 5 draft pick is eligible for arbitration for the first time.

Last offseason, the Twins retained their entire six-man arbitration class at a total cost of $22.96 million. That included relievers Casey Fien ($2.275 million) and Kevin Jepsen ($5.3125 million), who were lost on waivers and released in May and July, respectively, as well as infielder Eduardo Nunez ($1.475 million).

Nunez was traded to the San Francisco Giants in late July after making his first all-star team.

This year’s Twins arbitration class earned a combined $21.1 million in 2016, which puts them on track for a collective pay increase of 48.6 percent next season.

Longtime Twin Trevor Plouffe faces uncertain future

Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | October 7, 2016

His manager values him highly. His younger teammates look to him for guidance.

His anointed positional successor missed time late this season with another round of elbow problems, and in its seven-year history, no player has hit more home runs at Target Field.

Yet Trevor Plouffe enters this offseason with little clarity on where he’ll be playing in 2017.

“We’ll just see what happens here,” said Plouffe, the Twins’ primary third baseman the past five seasons. “A lot of uncertainties, for sure.”

Coming off a season that included three separate stints on the disabled list — and in line for one last salary bump via arbitration — Plouffe hit at a statistical rate that was pretty much in line with his career production.

His .260 batting average was 13 points above his career mark, his .303 on-base percentage was off by five points and he slugged right at his career .420 figure. Staying on the field, however, was a challenge in his age-30 season.

After pulling one side muscle in April and another in September, with a fractured rib in June sandwiched in between, Plouffe finished with essentially a half-season’s worth of playing time: 84 games, 344 plate appearances, 12 homers and 47 runs batted in.

“I rushed back this season, and it wasn’t great,” he said of a May stretch in which he hit .213 with one homer in 75 at-bats.

Amid that seasonal downturn, Miguel Sano was given a second-half chance to show off his defensive skills at the hot corner. There were 15 errors in just 42 games, but Sano also displayed the rifle arm (when healthy) and surprising agility for his size that has the Twins’ staff upbeat about the 23-year-old’s prospects.

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Into this puzzle steps new Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey, just three years older than Plouffe.

Options include: retaining Plouffe on a one-year deal after he made $7.25 million last season; dealing him with one year of club control left before free agency; cutting him loose entirely; or perhaps even hammering out a discounted two-year deal that would keep him around as an insurance policy against more elbow woes for Sano or hand/ problems for Korean slugger Byung Ho Park.

What does Plouffe’s gut tell him will happen this winter?

“I think you can look to last year,” he said. “I probably had around the same feeling last year, and here I am.”

Indeed, with Sano seemingly ready to take over, the Twins retained Plouffe, even as they signed Park to a four-year deal. That set off a domino effect that landed Sano in right field for two ill-fated months, an experiment that mercifully ended when the big man blew out his hamstring just after Memorial Day in Oakland.

“I guess you never really know,” Plouffe said. “If I had my choice, I’d be back here, but you know those things aren’t up to me.”

There’s also the matter of Kennys Vargas, who closed with a late surge to give the Twins 11 different hitters with at least 10 homers. Maybe the switch-hitting Vargas, still several years from his first crack at arbitration, is the low-cost insurance policy Park’s hand surgery demands.

With starting pitchers Hector Santiago and Kyle Gibson, and breakout reliever Ryan Pressly looking at sizable raises, keeping Plouffe around might only be possible with a multi-year deal that spreads out some of the financial burden.

“Could I see a scenario where that happens?” Plouffe said. “The No. 1 situation for me is to be back here. My family loves it here. I love it here. This really has turned into an extension of my family. My doors are all open, man. You know what I mean?”

After 13 years in the Twins organization, the only employer he has ever known, Plouffe realizes it could soon be time for wife Olivia and young son Teddy to move on down the line.

“That’s kind of how you have to be in the situation that I’m in,” he said. “I’m ready to take on whatever comes my way. I figure to be playing baseball somewhere next year, and that’s a blessing, man. That’s something that you can’t take for granted.”

He shook his head and smiled.

“I’m happy that I should have that opportunity,” he said. “I hope it’s here. If it’s not, then I just have to make the best of it, wherever it is.”

Being part of a 103-loss nightmare only figures to push Plouffe even harder this offseason. As the season wound down, he made it a point to pull some of his teammates aside to make sure the pain resonated in the proper manner.

“We talked about it in here, not just me personally, but everyone in here,” he said. “We said, ‘Remember how this feels. Remember how it tastes right now, because you don’t want this to happen again.’ I’m sure everyone here already works hard, but it motivates you a little bit more to get that little bit better.”

After breaking in as a bit player with the Twins’ last playoff team in 2010, Plouffe’s career has essentially coincided with this sustained downturn of just one winning season in the past six years. As you might expect, he has had his fill of losing.

“You’ve got to be able to take the silver lining away from a year like this,” he said. “You have to make a positive out of it somehow. I think that’s the way to do it — to remember how bad it was.”

Gonsalves, Palka named Twins' MLB Pipeline Prospects of Year

Rhett Bollinger | MLB.com | October 10, 2016

Left-hander Stephen Gonsalves and outfielder Daniel Palka didn't have as much hype as other Twins prospects heading into the season, but both had breakout years and were rewarded by being named MLBPipeline.com's Twins Prospects of the Year.

Gonsalves, ranked as Minnesota's No. 3 overall prospect by MLBPipeline.com, outshined other highly touted Twins Minor League pitchers such as Tyler Jay, Kohl Stewart and Fernando Romero. The lefty went 13-5 with a 2.06 ERA in 24 starts split between Class A Advanced Fort Myers 3 and Double-A Chattanooga. He struck out 155, walked 57 and allowed only three homers. He was named the left-handed on MLB Pipeline's Team of the Year.

"He had a nice year," Twins manager Paul Molitor said after the Minor League season ended in early September. "Good numbers. He's on track, he's making progress, he's getting promoted, and he's doing the things you want to see a young kid do."

Gonsalves, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2013 Draft out of San Diego's Cathedral High School, was even better at Double-A, going 8- 1 with a 1.82 ERA in 13 starts. With his success, he should pitch at Triple-A Rochester in 2017 and could even make his Major League debut. The 6-foot-5 lefty has a plus fastball and changeup, while he's improved his and has been working on a slider. He has a career 2.13 ERA in 368 1/3 innings in four seasons in the Minors.

Palka, ranked as Minnesota's No. 20 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, was acquired by the Twins in the trade that sent catcher Chris Herrmann to the D-backs last offseason. He made an immediate impact in his first season in Minnesota's organization, hitting .254/.327/.521 with 34 homers, 24 doubles and 90 RBIs in 133 games between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester.

Palka, who also has experience at first base, played mostly right field in 2016 and showed off his prodigious power at both levels, hitting 21 homers in 79 games at Double-A and 13 homers in 54 games at Triple-A. However, Palka needs to continue to improve his contact rate, as he struck out 186 times, including 86 times in 54 games at Triple-A.

Palka, 24, was considered a candidate to be a September callup but wasn't added to the 40-man roster. But he gives the Twins outfield depth heading into next year and should arrive in the big leagues at some point in '17.

Twins airport eatery preparing for January takeoff at MSP

Don Muret | Sports Business Journal | October 10, 2016

The Minnesota Twins and their food vendor are bringing a taste of Target Field to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Twins Grill, a 204-seat restaurant run by the airport division within Delaware North Cos.’ travel hospitality group, opens in mid-January next to a tram stop on Concourse C. The restaurant replaces a TGI Fridays.

Delaware North invested roughly $3 million to redevelop the 6,100-square-foot space, and will pay the Twins royalties tied to the restaurant’s business, said Terry Mahlum, Delaware North’s regional vice president of operations.

The project, designed by local architect Shea, allows the Twins to reach a broader audience at the airport, in addition to strengthening the relationship with their vendor, said Matt Hoy, the Twins’ senior vice president of operations. Sportservice, a division of Delaware North, has run the food and retail at Target Field since it opened in 2010.

The centerpiece of Twins Grill is a sign of the team’s iconic characters Minnie and Paul shaking hands, replicating the neon structure behind center field at Target Field. It’s designed as a prime photo opportunity for airport visitors, Mahlum said.

The decor extends to the Minnesota Town Ball wall, similar to the stadium’s Town Ball Tavern in the left field corner, which is themed after the amateur baseball teams that smaller communities in the region field. The Twins will provide memorabilia periodically for display at the grill, Hoy said.

Twins Grill features a full bar with 16 beer taps and a focus on local brews. The menu, prepared with assistance from Target Field executive chef Kurt Chenier, a Delaware North Sportservice employee, will include nachos, chicken quesadillas, onion rings and cheese curds, all ballpark staples.

A grab-and-go kiosk will have food items available for travelers on a tight schedule. For those with time to spare, multiple televisions will display sports events, including Twins games.

On the retail side, Twins Grill will have a small selection of merchandise, most of it hats, jerseys and T-shirts, Mahlum said.

Delaware North’s airport group also runs Earl Campbell’s Sports Bar at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas.

Elsewhere, Delaware North and TPA Hospitality Partners, a company in which Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has a 20 percent ownership 4 stake, are partners in eight food stands at Tampa International Airport. Their newest location, a Chick-fil-A restaurant, opens Oct. 17.

The deal adds to Delaware North’s relationship with the Lightning, which originated at Amalie Arena, where Sportservice runs the food operation.

> BACK IN THE FOLD: Carlos Bernal has been named president of Sportservice, in a move announced last week by Delaware North officials.

Bernal, who had been serving as Sportservice’s chief operating officer and interim president since November, first worked for the firm 30 years ago as the general manager at old Chicago Stadium, the former home of the Bulls and Blackhawks.

From 1989 to 1991, he held the same position at old Busch Stadium in St. Louis before leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. From 1991 to 1993, he was Host Marriott’s general manager at Dodger Stadium.

Most recently, he was CEO of Wagamama North America, a Japanese-themed restaurant chain.

Bernal replaces John Wentzell, who left Sportservice late last year.

Sportservice, founded by the Jacobs family in 1915, has deals with more than 50 stadiums and arenas.

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