Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

 Twins claim infielder Ehire Adrianza off waivers. Star Tribune (Neal III) p. 1  Twins claim infielder Ehire Adrianza from Brewers. Pioneer Press (Staff) p. 1  Castro key to leading Twins' pitching turnaround. MLB (Bollinger) p. 1  Twins claim versatile Adrianza from Brewers. MLB (Trezza) p. 2  Latest Twins waiver claim appears to be glove-first guy who could challenge for bench role. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 2  : Top prospects report. ESPN (Law) p. 3  Who's your MVP for 2017? We've got one for every team. ESPN (Schoenfield) p. 5  Final offseason grades for all 30 teams. ESPN (Bowden) p. 5  Which players are primed for a decline in 2017? ESPN (Blengino) p. 5

Twins claim infielder Ehire Adrianza off waivers La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | February 7, 2017

The Twins claimed infielder Ehire Adrianza off waivers from Milwaukee and designated relief for assignment on Monday.

Adrianza, 27, played in 40 games for San Francisco last season, hitting .254 with two home runs and seven RBI. He has played in 154 major league games, all with the Giants, and has a .220 average with three home runs.

Adrianza, a native Venezuelan who plays second base and shortstop, was claimed by the Brewers off waivers from the Giants in January.

Light pitched in 15 games for the Twins last season, giving up 14 earned runs in 14 innings after coming over from the Red Sox in an Aug. 1 trade for reliever Fernando Abad. Light was designated for assignment to make room for Adrianza on the 40-man roster.

Twins claim infielder Ehire Adrianza from Brewers Staff | Pioneer Press | February 6, 2017

The Minnesota Twins announced Monday that they have claimed infielder Ehire Adrianza off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Before being claimed off waivers earlier this month by the Brewers, the 27-year-old appeared in 40 games for the last season, hitting .254 (16 for 63) with two doubles, two home runs and seven runs batted in.

The Venezuelan native has played 154 career major league games, all with San Francisco, hitting .220 (64 for 291) with 16 doubles, three home runs and 26 RBIs.

To make room for Adrianza on the 40-man roster, the Twins have designated right-handed pitcher Pat Light for release or assignment. Light appeared in 15 games for the Twins last season.

Castro key to leading Twins' pitching turnaround Rhett Bollinger | MLB | February 7, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS -- When Twins chief officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine were officially introduced in early October, they both spoke about exploring every avenue to improve the club's pitching staff.

Pitching has been a major issue for the Twins in recent years, especially last season when Minnesota combined to post the second- worst ERA in the Majors en route to a 103-loss season. But instead of signing a free-agent starter to bolster their staff this offseason, the Twins took a different route by inking defensively minded catcher Jason Castro to a three-year, $24.5 million deal.

Minnesota is hoping Castro can make a big difference managing the pitching staff with his game-planning and pitch-framing skills. The 29-year- old was part of a successful rebuilding effort in Houston, and the Twins believe he's suited to help develop and advance Minnesota's staff.

"The whole idea of signing Jason Castro, a lot of it was measured on the impact of catching on a staff," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "As we've learned more about how to quantify that, it's probably been a little bit of an undervalued position for guys that handle some of those types of things better than others. We thought that was a big piece in trying to at least start off a way of trying to figure out a way to pitch better."

One of Castro's greatest strengths is pitch framing, as he ranked as the fifth-best overall in baseball last year with 12.8 runs above average, according to statcorner.com. It's big upgrade from last year's starting catcher, Kurt Suzuki, who rated five runs below average.

"The goal at the end of the day is to try to help your pitcher keep as many strikes as possible," Castro said. "And to not do anything to take away from presenting pitches that are in the strike zone to the umpires that would lead them to believe that any given pitch is not a strike."

But there's more to helping the pitching staff than pitch framing, as Castro excels in getting his pitchers prepared and working with them throughout their start. He should also help the Twins improve at controlling the running game, as he threw out 24 percent of attempting basestealers last year, compared to Suzuki's 19 percent.

"Jason provides a lot more value than [pitch framing]," Falvey said. "There's the game planning and game calling. We thought Jason was one of the best at that. We're excited about seeing that play out and seeing Jason's role in helping develop our pitching."

And that's not to mention Castro's leadership skills, for which Falvey lauded him, as the Twins have been looking to improve their clubhouse chemistry this season as well. Castro developed into a leader during his six years in Houston and already bonded with several of his new teammates at TwinsFest.

"His impact on both sides of the game, his fit for our culture, made for a perfect marriage," Falvey said. "A lot has been made about his defense, but we really look into the background of these guys. It's important for the culture of our team. He checked every box and then some."

Twins claim versatile Adrianza from Brewers Joe Trezza | MLB | February 6, 2017

The Twins made strides toward improving their depth Monday, claiming versatile infielder Ehire Adrianza off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers. Right-handed pitcher Pat Light was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

The Twins are Adrianza's second team this offseason: the Brewers previously selected him off waivers from the Giants. Adrianza has appeared in 154 Major League games since 2013, all with the Giants.

Adrianza, 27, hit .254/.299/.381 with two home runs in 40 games for the Giants in 2016, appearing mostly as a pinch-hitter but also filling in at shortstop, second base and third. He's appeared mostly at second and short throughout his career, but he has the ability to play all four infield positions.

He'll likely battle Eduardo Escobar and Danny Santana in Spring Training for a bench role. Light, a first-round pick in 2012, posted a 9.00 ERA in 15 games as a rookie last season. He was traded by the Red Sox to the Twins on Aug.1 for Fernando Abad.

Latest Twins waiver claim appears to be glove-first guy who could challenge for bench role Derek Wetmore | ESPN 1500 | February 6, 2017

The Twins on Monday claimed infielder Ehire Adrianza off waivers from the Brewers, and found a 40-man roster spot for him by taking Pat Light off the roster.

Based on his stats page, he appears to be a glove-first infielder and based on the current Twins’ roster construction, he could push for a role on Minnesota’s bench. 2

Light, a right-handed reliever, is the second Twins player to be DFA’d in the past week. The Twins on Friday DFA’d Byung Ho Park in order to make room for reliever Matt Belisle.

Light only pitched in 15 games for the Twins last year — he’s the hard-throwing reliever that came from the Red Sox organization in the Fernando Abad trade.

Adrianza, 27, isn’t the type of player that will rile up a fan base. In parts of four seasons with the San Francisco Giants, he’s hit .220/.292/.313 in 331 plate appearances. That’s very bad. Last year he played shortstop, third base and second base for the Giants.

If you’re looking for encouraging signs on his stats page, you’ll have to go to 2015. In Triple-A that year, Adrianza batted .316/.384/.415. Don’t get too excited about that batting line, though. That year in the Majors he hit just .186/.303/.265 in 134 plate appearances.

Positional flexibility is valuable for bench players as modern bullpens command more and more roster spots. And Manager Paul Molitor seems to favor having bench players who can play multiple positions.

Let’s say the Twins will have four bench players to start the year. One will be a catcher, and the other three could go any number of ways, but a typical breakdown would have an outfielder, an infielder, and maybe a guy who can do a little bit of everything.

Eduardo Escobar currently looks like a good bet to be the infielder. Then Eddie Rosario or Robbie Grossman makes sense as a fourth outfielder, depending on which one earns a starting role. Then the catcher spot could go to , Chris Gimenez or John Ryan Murphy. If the Twins aren’t going to use a power bat (like Byung Ho Park) as their fourth and final bench spot, perhaps it will go to someone like Adrianza.

Worth noting: the Twins already have a guy on their roster who can’t hit much but he can play multiple positions. His name is Danny Santana. For his career he’s been a better hitter than Adrianza, but I don’t see him as ever being more than an extra player. He’s not great defensively, and so that could be an area in which Adrianza has an advantage. I haven’t seen him play so I’m speculating here.

Former FanGraphs prospect evaluator Kiley McDaniel wrote in 2015 that Adrianza is a “plus defender at shortstop with a plus arm.” So that would give him an edge over Santana in my book. Santana is a guy who can run fast and who has a strong arm, but he’s never put it together as an infielder.

When Ron Gardenhire moved Santana to center field, I was surprised by his ability to quickly adapt to the position and play it reasonably well. That was in 2014, and since then, he’s regressed in the field, in my opinion, and if he doesn’t offer offensive value and he’s not great defensively at any position, the only argument for keeping him on the roster is that he can play a few different positions in a pinch.

Escobar hasn’t exactly been a sure-handed option at shortstop. If Adrianza makes the Twins, it will definitely impact Santana, Escobar, and it could even inform us about what the Twins think of as an everyday shortstop.

For now, let’s just note that the Twins thought it a better use of a 40-man spot to have this infielder who doesn’t hit well (Adrianza) than another hard-throwing reliever (Light).

Minnesota Twins: Top prospects report Keith Law | ESPN | February 6, 2017

The Twins have restocked more gradually than other teams that are in rebuilding mode, with a huge stable of arms, but nobody who looks like he’ll pitch near the top of a rotation. They have as many near-in relief prospects as any team, and while they have the reputation for overdrafting raw athletes, their top seven position-player prospects are all polished, less toolsy, more complete hitters.

1. , SS (Ranked No. 53)

2. Fernando Romero, RHP (Ranked No. 65)

3. Kohl Stewart, RHP (Ranked No. 87)

4. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (Ranked No. 91)

5. , OF (Ranked No. 97) 3

6. Tyler Jay, LHP (Just Missed)

7. Adalberto Mejia, LHP

8. , LHP

9. Travis Blankenhorn, 3B

10. Felix Jorge, RHP

Non-top 100 guys

Adalberto Mejia came over in July’s Eduardo Nunez trade with the Giants and could end up in the Twins’ rotation this spring. He’s a four-pitch lefty with nothing plus, above-average control and enough of a to ensure he’s a starter, although it’s probably his third-best pitch at the moment. Lewis Thorpe missed 2015 after Tommy John surgery, then caught pneumonia last summer when he was just about to start pitching to live batters again, so it’ll be two full years off for him by the time he sees a mound again. Prior to the injury he showed three pitches that projected as plus and a delivery that should eventually allow for average command.

Travis Blankenhorn is a bat in search of a position, hitting nine homers in 34 games in short-season Elizabethtown at age 19; he’s big enough that he may just end up in an outfield corner, but given how quickly the raw power has developed, that might still work out for him. Felix Jorge is a sinkerballer who should miss more bats, like a poor man’s Kohl Stewart. He’s a three-pitch guy who might have some more velocity coming but for now seems to prefer early contact over .

First baseman Lewin Diaz (11) is a big kid and is going to have to rake to see the majors, but he has present power and -- despite a huge swing and exaggerated leg kick -- makes a lot of contact. Trevor Hildenberger (12), a 22nd-round pick in 2012, comes from a very low slot nearing sidearm with low 90s sink, and hitters just can’t elevate the ball -- he got a 63 percent ground ball rate last year. He throws a ton of strikes, and so far, left-handed hitters haven’t done anything against him.

J.T. Chargois (13) has hit 100 mph with his fastball, and if he can stay healthy he’ll pitch in the majors this year, as will fellow right-hander Jake Reed (14), who throws down around 92-94 mph but gets great two-seam life on it and generated a 50 percent ground ball rate last year.

Catcher Ben Rortvedt (15), their second-round pick in 2016, is a work in progress behind the plate but has a solid swing and could end up a 60 bat without much power; he might be a five-year project on defense, though, and that often slows catchers’ development as hitters too. The Twins took Juan Miranda (16) with one of their two extra picks after the second round in 2016, and they’re already moving the Puerto Rican shortstop to third base, his ideal position. He’s filling out well and could end up with a 50 bat and 60 power, but the body change ends any chance of him staying at short.

Nick Burdi (17) missed 2016 with a bruised elbow; he throws 100 mph when he’s on the mound, as well as an upper-80s slider, and should be good to go in March. Outfielder Lamonte Wade (18) was the Twins’ 2015 ninth-rounder and has already hit well up through high-A with a .409 OBP across all levels; his season ended early due to a bone bruise, and he was already old for his leagues at 22 last year. Lefty Mason Melotakis (19) returned from Tommy John surgery and was throwing 89-95 mph in the AFL with a hard mid-80s slider; he kills lefties and could be a specialist in the majors right away.

Outfielder Daniel Palka (20) has legit power and could end up a fringe regular despite low OBPs, but it’s far more likely he ends up a good bench bat because of his all-out approach and trouble making contact.

The Twins used their second extra pick after the second round on raw, young Georgia high school outfielder Akil Baddoo (21), a toolsy kid with plus speed and a short swing but a rough approach. He’s probably a long-term project who will start 2017 in extended spring. Right-hander Pat Light (22) was awful in a brief call-up for the Twins last year; it’s a big and very straight fastball, so he’ll have to use his splitter often to keep hitters from just squaring him up.

2017 impact: The Twins’ lineup is already young almost everywhere, so barring a Brian Dozier trade they probably won’t have any room anywhere on the field for a position player. Chargois, Melotakis, Reed and Light could all log innings in the bullpen, and Mejia should get to fight for a rotation spot this spring.

Sleeper: Aside from Lewis Thorpe, whom I’ve talked about more than he has actually pitched, watch out for Blankenhorn. If his short-season 4 burst means he has come into power two or three years early, it won’t matter where he plays.

The fallen: The Twins rolled the dice on San Diego State right-hander Michael Cederoth in the third round in 2014, because he had a golden arm, touching 100 mph as a starter despite a violent delivery that pointed to the bullpen, to wildness and to injury risk. He repeated low-A at 23 last year and walked 33 in 47 innings, facing hitters younger than he is.

Who's your MVP for 2017? We've got one for every team David Schoenfield| ESPN | February 7, 2017

The following is an excerpt from the full article:

Minnesota Twins:

Defense matters. And he finally started showing some of the potential with the bat down the stretch. He's not going to be the big star he was once projected to become -- too many strikeouts, not enough walks -- but he's going to be a nice player, a guy who is good enough to start on a playoff team.

Final offseason grades for all 30 teams Jim Bowden | ESPN | February 7, 2017

The following is an excerpt from the full article:

Minnesota Twins -- Grade: D

Offseason goals: Catcher, starting pitching and more starting pitching

Key acquisitions to date: Jason Castro, Matt Belisle

The Twins solved their catching problems when they inked free agent Castro, who calls a great game, does a solid job framing pitches, and should help the development of the Twins' young pitchers. The rest of the offseason was filled with crickets. They tried hard to land a strong prospect pitching package from the Dodgers with DeLeon as the headliner (in a potential trade for Brian Dozier), but when they couldn't agree on the secondary pieces, the Dodgers dealt DeLeon to the Rays for Forsythe.

The disappointing offseason for Minnesota's new front-office leaders, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine, should be given a pass since they haven't had a chance to put their own eyeballs on the team they inherited, which they'll get to do in spring training. However, the front office has a lot of work to do before the Twins can be contenders again, and has to be much more aggressive with in-season moves.

Which players are primed for a decline in 2017? Tony Blengino| ESPN | February 6, 2017

The following is an excerpt from the full article:

MINNESOTA TWINS: The Twins had an awful year in 2016 and have a significant number of candidates to regress, including outfielders Eddie Rosario and Robbie Grossman, and starting pitcher . Second baseman Brian Dozier is clearly the most high-profile name, however. Like Kinsler, he is utterly pull-power focused in the air, hitting plenty of "just enough" homers down the line. If pitchers successfully pound the outside corner, his homer total would be halved. His average should be under pressure as well. He hit .273 and slugged .345 (147 unadjusted contact score) despite poor grounder authority (69 adjusted contact score) and a steady diet of infield overshifts.

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