Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Sunday, January 29, 2017 Twins
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Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Sunday, January 29, 2017 Twins, Trevor May both hope his relief days behind him. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 1 Sunday Q&A: Twins baseball chief Derek Falvey. Star Tribune. p. 2 New Twins hitting coach James Rowson is inclusive in his approach. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3 Minnesota Twins: Dominican traffic deaths register with Miguel Sano. Pioneer Press (Bernadino) p. 4 Brian Murphy: Will Minnesota Twins make a move? We’ll have to wait and see. Pioneer Press (Murphy) p. 5 Minnesota Twins still counting on Jorge Polanco at shortstop. Pioneer Press (Bernadino) p. 6 Gordon among Twins prospects in Top 100. MLB (Bollinger) p. 8 Buxton feeding off big September, fans. MLB (Bollinger) p. 8 Perkins close to throwing off mound. MLB (Bollinger) p. 9 Ballpark tours offer experiences of a lifetime. MLB (Newman) p. 10 Twins to honor former manager Tom Kelly with Target Field statue. ESPN (AP) p. 11 Twins Notes: Falvey, Dozier, Napoli. MLB Trade Rumors (Polishuk) p. 11 Latest On Craig Breslow’s Market. MLB Trade Rumors (Polishuk) p. 11 Minnesota’s Baseball Analytics Professionals Gather To Talk Numbers. WCCO (Max) p. 12 A Q&A with new Minnesota Twins General Manager Thad Levine. The Gazette (Johnson) p. 13 Twins, Trevor May both hope his relief days behind him Phil Miller | Star Tribune | January 29, 2017 In retrospect, Trevor May made a critical mistake a couple of years ago, one his career hasn’t recovered from yet: He pitched too well. “We were in a pennant race, and I was excited to do whatever we needed to try to win it,” May said of his midseason switch to the Twins bullpen in 2015. “I still feel that way. But it might not have been the best thing for me in the big picture.” That’s because, as brilliant as the righthander pitched in relief that year — a 3.15 ERA in 34 mostly high-pressure innings, plus 39 strikeouts and only eight walks — May now suspects that changing roles might have been detrimental to his health. Not to mention his career. May approaches spring training, his fifth big-league camp, with roughly the same uncertainty as a year ago. Healthy again after an injury-filled 2016, the 27-year-old has been promised a shot at a starting role, just as he was last year. This time, though, he believes the opportunity is legitimate. “Last year, the [pitching] schedule was set early in the spring, and there were four guys who were [scheduled] all through the spring, and then guys like me who were more start-to-start. So it was pretty clear,” May said, that manager Paul Molitor and General Manager Terry Ryan preferred to keep him in a setup role. “I’m not stupid. I knew there were eight starters [in competition for five jobs] and I had bullpen experience. I knew that the easiest decision would be to put me in the bullpen.” May pitched three times in Fort Myers, including one start, before being informed with three weeks left in camp that he would indeed remain a relief pitcher. “Tempting — that’s the word,” pitching coach Neil Allen said. “He pitched so well in a setup role, it was tempting to just keep him out there and see what he could make of it.” May accepted the news and was determined to repeat his success, he said. But his body wouldn’t cooperate. A month into the 2016 season, May’s lower back began to ache. He went on the disabled list because of a back strain, returned briefly, then suffered back spasms that kept him out for much of May. By August, the pain was worse; May pitched only once after Aug. 6, and was eventually diagnosed with a fractured vertebrae, ending his season with a 5.27 ERA over 42⅔ innings. Four months of rehabilitation have paid off, however, and May says he is pain-free and throwing almost daily. “I feel normal again, to where I can stand up straight, where I don’t cock my back to one side when I sit in a chair, those kind of weird things I didn’t even realize I was doing,” May said. “It’s exciting to not feel stiff and sore all the time.” May is excited about trying to use his four-pitch repertoire, including a mid-90s fastball, as a starter again, too. “Pitching with a set routine, with four days off between starts, that’s going to make it easier to stay healthy,” he said. “When you don’t know when you’ll pitch, it’s a lot harder to get into a routine that will protect your back.” He is running regularly and throwing longer bullpens, mostly because of a conversation he had with new Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey, who assured May the team pictures him as an every-fifth-day pitcher. “[Falvey] seems really sincere about it. He said they want to get the best out of players, and I believe I can help us immensely by throwing 200 innings,” May said. “I’m not saying I have to have an amazing spring, by any means, but I have to show I’m ready to go. I have a starter’s mind- set that I can throw all my pitches right away. … If the health is there, I feel like I can slide in there.” Actually, May might never have slid out of there, except for circumstances out of his control. May was enjoying a promising second season in 2015, and delivered a stretch of five quality starts in a seven-start stretch from mid-May to late June, striking out 41 hitters with only seven walks. He seemed to be establishing himself as a fixture in the rotation. “People forget, the only reason he got bumped out of the rotation two years ago was that Ervin [Santana] came back from [an 80-game steroids] suspension,” assistant GM Rob Antony said. “We looked at it and said, ‘Which guy is best able to adjust to the bullpen?’ And it worked out exactly like we hoped — he thrived in that role, and we were in the race. “If not for that, he probably finishes the season in the rotation, stays in it last year, and we never have this decision.” Sunday Q&A: Twins baseball chief Derek Falvey | Star Tribune | January 28, 2017 Derek Falvey was hired as the Twins’ chief baseball officer four months ago, and the ensuing time has been a whirlwind of getting up to speed and implementing new plans. He chatted Friday with the Star Tribune’s Michael Rand. Q In your interactions with fans recently on the Twins Caravan, did you sense they were antsy wanting more free-agency moves? A I think the reality is that every free-agency period has ebbs and flows to it. Early on, we identified a position we felt was very important to hit — the catching position. So getting Jason Castro was meaningful. … Our next step was to see how things shook out going into January. That was part of our plan. I think you’re seeing there are a number of free agents still available that I think can impact us this year and beyond, so we’re staying in touch with those guys right up until we get to spring training and maybe beyond to figure out ways we can add a number of those guys potentially as we go forward. Q Is that a way to get a better value instead of diving in right away? A There’s a supply-and-demand component to any offseason. I think we’re seeing right now there might be opportunities in the pitching market to have conversations. We have had a lot of those conversations over the last month or so, and I would expect those to start coming to a head really in the next week to 10 days. 2 Q How has it been knowing you are the person people will inevitably blame if moves don’t work out? A It comes with the job, and I’ve been fortunate to have guys like Mark Shapiro, Chris Antonetti and Terry Francona, who have had their fair share of criticism and fair share of praise, to teach me how to deal with that. You need to stick to your vision and your plan. But you need to be thoughtful when you adjust and not be too rigid. Q You and General Manager Thad Levine arrived as a package deal of sorts. Do you think Thadrek Falvine is the appropriate combined name for the two of you? A [laughs] I’m really not good at nicknames, so ask [Levine]. He’s the funny guy out of the two of us. Q No kidding. It’s like he’s auditioning for open mic night every time he talks. A He’s great at it. He brings a lot of levity to each day in the office. … We complement each other in so many ways. I can’t be happier with the choice and opportunity to work with him. Q Spring training is only a few weeks away. As you keep evaluating this organization and roster, what do you want to see? A I want to see things that are admittedly a little behind-the-scenes. There are cultural elements to a successful team that I’ve been able to observe: a team pulling together, a team operating in a way in which guys play for each other and not themselves.