Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Friday, July 28, 2017

 Molitor wants to return to Twins; decision will be up to Falvey and Levine. Star Tribune (Miller/Neal) p. 1  Derek Falvey: Trade deadline a 'fluid situation' for Twins. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 2  Multiple reports suggest Twins could still trade Santana, other top players. Star Tribune (Rand) p. 3  Hartman: Ex-Twin Hawkins was all for taking Lewis on draft day. Star Tribune (Hartman) p. 3  Dropping down helped Twins’ Trevor Hildenberger reach the top. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 5  Twins trade to Arizona for lefty . Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 6  Twins’ double-switch drama Tuesday night remains mystifying. Pioneer Press (D’Hippoltio) p. 7  Inbox: Are Twins buyers or sellers at Deadline? MLB (Bollinger) p. 9  Garcia set for Twins debut in opener vs. A's. MLB (Bollinger & Matheson) p. 10  Thursday's best: McMahon stuffs box score for Albuquerque. MLB (Boor) p. 11  Reports: Days after buying, Twins ‘listening’ on players like Santana, Dozier, Kintzler and Garcia. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 11  Twins trade John Ryan Murphy for a minor league with great numbers. ESPN 1500 p. 12  Twins exchange C Murphy for minor-league LHP Moya. p. 13  TWINS SEND CATCHER MURPHY TO DIAMONDBACKS FOR LEFTHANDER MOYA. America (Glaser) p. 13  Latest On Brandon Kintzler, Ervin Santana. MLB Trade Rumors (Adams) p. 14  Twins Reportedly Listening To Offers On Short-Term Assets. MLB Trade Rumors (Adams) p. 14  Giving John Ryan Murphy Another Chance. Call to the Pen (Hill) p. 15

Molitor wants to return to Twins; decision will be up to Falvey and Levine Phil Miller and La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | July 28, 2017

LOS ANGELES – Jim Pohlad made retaining Paul Molitor as Twins’ manager in 2017 a condition of hiring Derek Falvey and Thad Levine to run the front office, and he’s glad he did. The team’s owner wants Molitor back in 2018, too — but this time, he’s not going to insist on it.

“I made the call last year, and that was in an unusual circumstance,” Pohlad said this week of the 60-year-old Molitor, now in his third season at the helm of the Twins. For next season, though, “it will be up to Derek and Thad. I know how much they value the relationship between them and the manager, and the engagement with the whole baseball staff. They are going to make the decision.”

They won’t make it until the end of the season, said Falvey, the Twins’ chief baseball officer, because he and Levine, the general manager, decided when they were hired last October to give virtually the entire baseball operation a year to prove itself to the new bosses.

“The Twins are a proud, historic franchise with a lot of people who are deeply connected to the organization,” Falvey said. “We didn’t want to make a lot of change at the outset and bring in a whole new staff. We set a new direction and vision, let people know what expectations were of them, and then let people do their jobs. And we’re learning a lot about people.”

That commitment, though, means Molitor will be a free agent at season’s end, just like Brandon Kintzler and Jaime Garcia. His three-year contract, signed five weeks after Ron Gardenhire was fired at the end of the 2014 season, runs out this fall, and there has been no discussion, from either side, about extending it.

Molitor is open about his desire to return for a fourth season; he believes the Twins are just at the beginning of a resurgence fueled by young players, “and my enjoyment of the job, some of it is based on the performance of the team, but it also goes beyond winning and losing,” a reference to the pleasure he takes in helping rookies develop into steady major leaguers. “I think we’re going in the right direction.”

So does Pohlad. “I really am happy with the overall product,” the owner said of a Twins season that has mostly been spent, before a downturn over the past week, in contention for an AL Central title. “That includes what Paul has done, and what most of the individual players have done. Paul is a huge part of it. … If [Falvey and Levine] ask me after the season is over, I’m not afraid to give my opinion.”

“But,” Pohlad added with a laugh, “I would caution them against taking it.”

He didn’t give them a choice last fall, “and I believe it was the right decision to make,” Pohlad said. “I heard all of that stuff about how nobody would want to come here with that commitment, but it didn’t seem to be an issue.”

Molitor and Falvey both said their relationship has become stronger as they’ve gotten to know each other and conferred on daily decisions about the team. “The conversations going back and forth. We’re partners in this dialogue, and in each situation, it’s our first time going through it,” Falvey said. “Paul has kept open lines of communication, and I’ve been very appreciative of that.”

But he’s not ready to conduct any evaluations for 2018.

“We’ve talked internally about how we don’t like talking about contracts with players during the season, and that extends to our staff, too,” Falvey said. “We want guys focused on the field, and out of respect to Paul and the players, we’ll discuss that at a later date.”

That’s OK with Molitor, too. He’s 191-233 as Minnesota’s manager, a record tainted by last year’s 59-103 wreckage, and while he would be pleased to sign a contract extension, “I wouldn’t say it’s a concern. I don’t have time to give it much thought, as to whether they’re even thinking about that now,” Molitor said. “They have their reasons for not putting it on the table, and that’s fine. We’re more concentrated on finishing the season the best we can.”

Only one person seems to be getting impatient about his contract. “The only times I’ve thought about it is when my son [10-year-old Ben Molitor] has asked me. Ben is an avid baseball guy, and he’s curious,” Molitor said. “So he’s the only person I can think of that I’ve had any discussions about my contract.”

Derek Falvey: Trade deadline a 'fluid situation' for Twins Phil Miller | Star Tribune | July 27, 2017

LOS ANGELES – The Twins will spend the weekend in Oakland, trying to put a halt to a slump they hope is mostly Dodger-induced. Their front- office executives will spend it in Minneapolis, debating whether that slump requires a change of strategy as Monday’s trade deadline nears.

“It’s such a fluid situation at the deadline — where you are in the standings, people’s natural tendency to label teams as buyers or sellers, and how they flip you from one category to another,” said Derek Falvey, the Twins’ chief baseball officer. “We’ve had a couple of tough days [in Dodger Stadium] while Cleveland and Kansas City haven’t, and that leads to speculation about our intentions. Our goal remains to keep evaluating the situation right up to the deadline and do whatever possible to improve the team.”

That isn’t as explicit a commitment to beef up the current roster as a week ago, when the Twins trailed Cleveland by just a half-game in the AL Central. Falvey said at the time that “we’re definitely looking at opportunities to add, no question.” On Thursday several national outlets suggested, now that the Twins have fallen 5½ games back after being swept in Los Angeles and four games out of the wild card, that Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine have begun listening to trade offers for Ervin Santana, Brandon Kintzler, Brian Dozier and even Jaime Garcia, who makes his Twins debut on Friday.

Falvey laughed at the suggestion — but said things can change quickly. “There are dominoes that fall that lead to other dominoes falling. You don’t necessarily pick up steam on the third or fourth domino until the first two have fallen,” he said of ongoing trade talks, which he described as “constant.” “Each day has been fluid. We continue to field calls and make calls, and make sure we’re aware of what’s happening to the landscape of the market.”

Etc.

• Falvey executed one trade on Thursday, moving catcher John Ryan Murphy to Arizona for Gabriel Moya, a lefthanded reliever who is 17-for- 17 in opportunities at Class AA Jackson this year.

“Our reports identified Moya as someone who has a chance to impact us in the bullpen in the major leagues over the next couple of years,” Falvey said of the 22-year-old Venezuelan. Moya has allowed only four runs in 43⅔ innings this season, an 0.82 ERA. Murphy was acquired before the 2016 season from the Yankees for former first-round pick . Projected to be the backup catcher, Murphy, 26, hit only .146 in 26 games before being sent to Class AAA Rochester, where he was batting .222. The Twins acquired his replacement, 34-year-old Anthony 2

Recker, in their trade with Atlanta on Monday.

• Garcia, who pitches in the Oakland Coliseum for the first time on Friday, “is a lefthanded version of Ervin [Santana] in a lot of ways,” Falvey said. “He knows how to use his mix of pitches, not just one way of attacking. He’s always had a very good . that’s always been a strength, and he can really use his fastball to get guys to swing and mix. Not unlike Ervin, he’s a mature pitcher. Nothing fazes him.”• Byron Buxton should return to the Twins in San Diego on Tuesday, Falvey said, after playing three games in Toledo with Rochester. His migraines have subsided, but Falvey and manager Paul Molitor felt that, since two weeks have passed since the outfielder has faced live pitching, that a rehab assignment would be necessary after all. “We also wanted to see an amount of time, maybe 24 hours, of him being fully cleared and go through a workout and not have anything come back on him,” Falvey said. “We didn’t want to use him and then have him feel like he’s not quite there yet.”

• Miguel Sano is expected to return to the Twins’ lineup Friday, after missing two games with a sore left wrist suffered when he was hit by a pitch on Monday.

• Bay Area native Trevor Hildenberger expects to have roughly three dozen friends and family members at the Oakland Coliseum this weekend for his first return as a major leaguer. “College teammates [from Cal-Berkeley], high school teammates, Little League teammates, a lot of my coaches, my girlfriend and her family, some kids I gave lessons to,” the sidearmer said. “I’ve thought about this weekend a lot. For years. It’s cool. I’ll be playing in front of guys who haven’t seen me play in 10 years.” The crowd will include Cal coach Mike Neu, who was the Golden Bears’ pitching coach who suggested he abandon his over-the-top pitching motion and become a sidearmer eight years ago.

Multiple reports suggest Twins could still trade Santana, other top players Michael Rand | Star Tribune | July 26, 2017

If you assumed the Twins were going to be buyers instead of sellers at the trade deadline because of their recent acquisition of left-handed pitcher Jaime Garcia, you might want to reset those expectations.

As it turns out, the Twins might still be sellers depending on how the next handful of games go.

Multiple national writers have reported as much, and interestingly Garcia’s name has come up as someone the Twins could send out just as quickly as they brought him in. Outside of Garcia, it’s the usual suspects, led by Ervin Santana.

Jon Morosi got things started Wednesday night, tweeting

Longtime baseball writer Jon Heyman added Thursday on Twitter

The non-waiver trade deadline is Monday, meaning the Twins might have to decide pretty quickly if they’re trying to make a playoff push or if they’re suddenly in sell mode. It’s possible one more more of those players could be moved in August, too, but they would first have to clear waivers.

Hartman: Ex-Twin Hawkins was all for taking Lewis on draft day Sid Hartman | Star Tribune | July 28, 2017

One of the great moves the Twins made in the offseason was when they hired former Twins pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, who has done a great job as an analyst on the FSN broadcasts and from a public relations standpoint, as a special assistant for the organization.

But maybe the biggest thing he has contributed has been advising Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey to make Royce Lewis the No. 1 overall pick. Lewis has dominated early and is hitting .308 and leads the Gulf Coast League in runs scored (28), is third in stolen bases (eight), and his OPS of .895 is sixth overall in the GCL.

And while Lewis has set the world on fire, Hunter Greene, who many believed the Twins should take, hasn’t played in a game yet. Hawkins said he made three trips to see Lewis play during his senior year of high school.

Hawkins described giving his opinion on the morning of the draft and why he thinks the Twins made the right call with Lewis.

“That morning I texted [General Manager] Thad [Levine] and Derek,” Hawkins said. “Derek had asked me who I thought we should take No. 1, not saying that he put a lot into my pick, but my choice was Royce Lewis.

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“I texted him that Monday morning, and that’s who we went with later that afternoon. I was just impressed with Royce and the way he played the game. I saw him three times. Like I said, I saw him get one hit but I saw him take very good, professional at-bats. His approach to the game wasn’t like a 17- or 18-year-old kid, he was already a professional. You don’t find that that often with guys that young.”

An interesting side note to Hawkins and Lewis was that Hawkins and Torii Hunter, who has also made tremendous contributions to the Twins this season in the same role as Hawkins, had gotten to know Lewis’ father, William, in 2012 while with the .

“I knew his dad from the Winery over in Irvine, California,” Hawkins said about the restaurant where William is a part-owner and sommelier. “I used to live over there, and Torii and I, when I played with the Angels, used to go into his restaurant and eat. He never told us his son was a baseball player. That’s how I got a chance to know his dad.

“I didn’t get a chance to meet Royce until that Friday when he was in Minneapolis. I was checking out of the hotel and he and his mom and dad were down in the lobby. I had a chance to check out and sit down and chat with the young man very briefly. I think we made the best decision. He was clearly the best guy at that spot for us, and what he can bring to the Twins organization is hopefully a perennial All-Star.”

Twins meet Fleck

Twins President and Chief Executive Officer Dave St. Peter recently brought Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck to meet with members of the Twins organization as a motivational speaker.

And St. Peter said it was a great experience and he was very impressed.

“The Twins for many years have had a program called T.C. University, assisting all employees with their consistent development and growth, and we invite speakers from outside of our organization,” St. Peter said. “In the past we have had Jerry Kill and Harvey Mackay and recently we had St. Thomas coach Glen Caruso, and we were honored to have P.J. Fleck.

“He came in and told his story and coached us up, so to speak, shared his vision for the University of Minnesota football program and what ‘Row The Boat’ means and all of those things. It was fun.”

St. Peter said something stood out about Fleck.

“He brings tremendous energy,” he said. “I think there is more buzz around University of Minnesota football than there has been for a long time. I think P.J. Fleck’s presence here is a big part of that. I think it will continue. He’s a salesman. He has a reality TV show coming out on ESPN. Again I think these are all things that are going to help them connect with a younger generation of fans and certainly future recruits.”

Was St. Peter impressed?

“I’ve met P.J. a couple of times, but seeing him present the way he did, it was impressive,” he said of the Gophers’ 36-year-old coach. “You can particularly see how it could be impactful with young men. He’s a leader. There’s no doubt in my mind that that younger generation is going to follow.”

Yes, Fleck has certainly put Minnesota football on the map.

Is Moreau done?

Justin Morneau reached four All-Star Games, won a batting title, an MVP and two Silver Slugger awards. Still after two injury-shortened, if successful, seasons in 2015 and 2016, he didn’t find a playing home in 2017. He was asked if he has reached the end of his career.

“I haven’t completely decided if it’s over or not; sometimes that gets decided for you,” Morneau said. “But the experience of being able to be on winning teams and be on playoff teams is the thing I’ll remember the most, I think.”

Morneau is three seasons removed from hitting .319, which led the NL, with 17 homers, 82 RBI and 62 runs scored for the Rockies.

Can he still play?

“I think if you asked me that question in 10 years I would think I could still play,” the first baseman said. “But it doesn’t matter if I think I can, it matters if teams think I can. We’ll see if anything comes my way this winter, but I don’t know. If it doesn’t it’s been a good run, for sure.” 4

When asked if it’s difficult to understand why a team wouldn’t take a chance on him, Morneau said he’s simply happy to have played.

“It has to end at some point,” he said. “We all can’t work until we’re 95 or 96, so we’re all not that lucky. But you know I was lucky enough to get even one day in the big leagues. It’s a blessing to get to go out there and do something you love for a long time.”

Yes, Morneau had an incredible career and is an all-time Twins player. But, like Joe Mauer, it’s hard not to wonder what-if when it comes to Morneau’s concussion injuries starting in 2010 when he slid into second base in Toronto and got kneed in the head.

Morneau was hitting .345 with 18 homers, 56 RBI, 53 runs scored and a career high 1.055 OPS through 81 games when that injury happened. He was one of the great young, durable first basemen in baseball.

He battled back to play some great baseball but was traded by the Twins in 2013. Still, he said Minnesota will always be home.

“My wife is from here, my kids were born here. It will always be home for us,” Morneau said. “I’ll always be a Twin. That’s one of those things that that’s my team, my kids’ team, it’ll always be a part of me.”

Dropping down helped Twins’ Trevor Hildenberger reach the top Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | July 27, 2017

It’s debatable which is the more impressive feat: That Twins reliever Trevor Hildenberger has allowed just six home runs in nearly 200 professional innings or the fact he can recall each of those instances in vivid detail.

“Let’s see,” the Cal-Berkeley product said before launching into the recitation.

Starting in 2014, shortly after the Twins took him in the 22nd round, he has been victimized by Ronald Soto, a Gulf Coast League catcher in the Baltimore Orioles system; Bubba Starling, a Kansas City Royals outfield prospect in the (2015); Ronnie Freeman, a Double-A catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks (2016); twice by Phillip Ervin, an outfielder in the Cincinnati Reds system who got him at the top two minor-league levels (2016-17); and finally, on Sunday, by Detroit Tigers’ shortstop and No. 9 hitter Jose Iglesias.

Iglesias has just two other homers this year and 13 total for his six big-league seasons. He jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Hildenberger at 87 mph, adding his name to an exclusive list and one the cerebral side-armer has every intention of keeping exclusive.

“I try to keep the ball down in the zone,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in keeping the ball in the ballpark, and also forcing contact — try to get groundballs as much as I can, let my defense work. That’s my track record,

Since making his big-league debut June 23 in Cleveland, Hildenberger has survived the revolving-door nature of the Twins’ bullpen and showed he may have more staying power than his modest draft status suggests.

As the Twins return to the Bay Area for a weekend series with the Oakland A’s, Hildenberger has a 3.52 earned-run average in 11 outings. In 15 1/3 innings, he has allowed 14 hits and three walks while striking out 14.

While most righty side-armers struggle against left-handed batters, Hildenberger actually has better numbers (.208 on-base percentage in 24 plate appearances) against opposite-handed hitters than he does against righties (.350 OBP in 40 trips).

It was the opposite this season at Triple-A Rochester, where lefties reached base at a .340 clip against him, compared to just .256 for righties. Armed with a changeup he can throw to both righties and lefties, Hildenberger also has the rare ability to change his arm angle when he wants a little more on his fastball, which can run in the low 90s from that higher slot.

He’ll also change his angle when he wants to work inside to lefties, who admittedly see him better from the lower release point.

“He’s pitched really well in every situation I’ve used him,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “I think his confidence is growing. Obviously ours is in him. He’s not vanilla.”

As he passes each test, Hildenberger seems to climb a little higher in the pecking order, earning Molitor’s trust in higher-leverage situations. While the Colorado Rockies just traded for ex-Twins submariner Pat Neshek and the Toronto Blue Jays are marketing veteran side-armer Joe Smith, the Twins may have found a minimum-salaried rookie to provide the same look. 5

At 26, Hildenberger is the lowest-round investment the Twins have drafted and developed to reach the majors since reliever A.J. Achter was taken out of Michigan State in the 46th round in 2010.

“The way our bullpen is right now, there aren’t a lot of specific roles,” Molitor said. “We’re looking to try to use what we have the best way we can. For (Hildenberger) to get higher-leverage situations is certainly not out of the question. He’s probably a candidate to do some of that if the day is right and he’s fresh and ready to go.”

After striking out Justin Upton and Miguel Cabrera in succession with a runner on base Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, Hildenberger sounded hungry for more such tests.

“Some of the situations I’m getting put in now, I feel like I’ve gained a little bit of trust,” he said. “Hopefully that continues. Hopefully I can string together a couple of good outings and a few more zeros and gain that trust back. I’m gaining confidence in myself every time I go out there.”

It was former Oakland A’s reliever Mike Neu who first suggested Hildenberger turn himself into a side-armer. It happened after Hildenberger got on the field for 12 total innings his first three years on campus. Then Cal’s pitching coach (and now the Bears’ head coach), Neu walked out to supervise a bullpen session in the early summer of 2012.

“A kid wore the wrong practice jersey out, and he was throwing a bullpen,” Hildenberger recalled. “I was waiting for a bullpen. Mike said, ‘Oh, I look at 37, I don’t see a pitcher, I see a corner outfielder.’ I was No. 26. I said, ‘What do you see when you see 26?’ ”

Neu noted Pac-12 rivals UCLA and Washington had side-armers who wore No. 26 and asked Hildenberger if he’d ever tried it.

“I’d messed around with it playing catch and, when I used to play infield, throwing across the diamond, but never off a mound,” Hildenberger recalled. “Mike was like, ‘All right. Let’s try it.’ I threw that way in the bullpen, and it felt good. I was able to throw strikes. He was like, ‘All right, that’s how you throw now.’ ”

Hildenberger, who graduated with a degree in film, went on to lead the Pac-12 in saves as a senior, prompting the Twins to take a late-round flier on him along with another multi-syllabic Bears pitcher. Lefty reliever Mike Theofanopoulos, a 30th-rounder in 2014, is at Fort Myers for the second straight year.

Hildenberger’s career /walk rate is better than 9/1 if you subtract the four intentional walks he’s issued out of 29 total. He remains eternally grateful to Neu.

“I take a lot of pride in pounding the zone and throwing strikes,” Hildenberger said. “Mike is the guy that taught me, even in a 3-2 count, you throw a fastball in the zone. Even the best hitters, even if they hit .600, you have a 40-percent chance of getting them out. If you throw a ball, zero. I’d rather take the chance of them putting it in play hard than walking anybody.”

Fearless and aggressive to a fault — that’s Hildenberger, who had to be shut down last August with tennis elbow but otherwise has proved durable.

“The ability to follow up a first-pitch strike with a second-pitch strike is something I value a lot,” he said. “I know I can compete with these guys as long as I execute my pitches. I know my stuff plays up here. I just need to go out and throw strikes.”

Twins trade John Ryan Murphy to Arizona for lefty Gabriel Moya Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | July 27, 2017

For the second straight year, John Ryan Murphy is leading all minor-league in pitch framing runs above average, according to Baseball Prospectus.

That didn’t keep the Twins from shipping Murphy, bypassed at Triple-A Rochester this season by Mitch Garver, to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday for Double-A left-hander Gabriel Moya.

Acquired in November 2015 from the for outfielder Aaron Hicks, a former first-round draft pick, Murphy was supposed to be a low-budget version of all-star catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

Instead, the 26-year-old Murphy hit just .146 in 90 plate appearances last season with the Twins, who opted to keep journeymen Juan Centeno 6

(2016) and (2017) as their primary big-league backups over Murphy the past two seasons.

With the Diamondbacks organization, Murphy joins another ex-Twins catcher in Chris Herrmann, traded in November 2015 as well for power- hitting outfield prospect Daniel Palka.

Moya, 22, is perfect in 17 save opportunities for Double-A Jackson this season. A native of Venezuela, the 6-footer with an average fastball, plus change-up and good deception was rated the No. 25 prospect in the Diamondbacks’ system by MLB.com.

Moya had a 0.82 earned-run average in 43 2/3 innings and led the Southern League with 14.02 per nine innings with a nine-inning walk rate of just 2.47.

Of 359 Double-A with at least 30 innings this season, Moya’s strikeout rate ranked first overall.

A converted starter, Moya projects as a big-league for a Twins organization that already has the likes of Randy Rosario, Mason Melotakis and injury-riddled Tyler Jay (taken sixth overall in 2015) at the top two levels of their system.

Asked recently about Murphy, hitting just .222 in 218 at-bats for the Red Wings this season, Twins manager Paul Molitor admitted the organization had some concern about the catcher’s attentiveness.

“The thing I hear more is about focus than actual performance,” Molitor said of conversations with Red Wings manager Mike Quade. “One thing we asked him to do was be a little more pitch-to-pitch minded on the defensive side. It seemed he would get lax at times.”

Garver’s progress along with this week’s acquisition of Triple-A catcher from the made Murphy expendable.

“Other players accelerate, and you can get bypassed,” Molitor said. “Garver has put himself in a good position.”

Twins’ double-switch drama Tuesday night remains mystifying Josheph D’Hippoltio | Pioneer Press | July 27, 2017

LOS ANGELES — Neither 20 major league seasons nor two World Series nor 3,319 hits could prepare the Twins’ Hall of Fame manager for his experience in his club’s second game against the .

Paul Molitor’s attempt to implement a double switch in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday night turned into 18 minutes of confusion involving the umpiring crew, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and four of the Twins’ players: Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco, Ryan Pressly and .

“I haven’t experienced a scenario where things were quite that askew,” Molitor said.

The drama began when Molitor approached plate umpire Lance Barrett to make a double switch. At the time, the Dodgers’ Joc Pederson was standing on second base and Yasiel Puig was at the plate with one out.

Molitor wanted to replace right-hander Trevor Hildenberger with Pressly, who would bat seventh, in Polanco’s spot. Adrianza would bat ninth and play shortstop for Polanco.

Barrett notified the Dodgers’ bench. But after Pressly threw his first pitch, Roberts wanted to challenge the double switch.

“After the first pitch was thrown, Dave came out and obviously was told something different than what we were doing,” Molitor said. “That’s when everything broke loose.”

After Molitor first visited Barrett, the umpire marked Matt Belisle’s name on his official lineup card in Rosario’s spot, fifth. Belisle warmed up in the Twins’ bullpen earlier in the game but never appeared.

“I don’t know if I said a wrong name,” Molitor said. “I can’t imagine I said Belisle for Rosario. But he heard what he heard.

“I probably should have watched to make sure he marked his card correctly. I marked mine correctly. Somehow, it wasn’t clear to him what I wanted to do.”

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Molitor and Barrett conferred for about four minutes. Two minutes later, a crescendo of boos emanated from the fans, who were placated with music.

Seven minutes into the miniature soap opera, Rosario trotted off the field and Adrianza replaced him — in left field. It would be just the third career appearance in the outfield for Adrianza.

But confusion remained. The umpires spent 10 minutes talking with headquarters in New York to get direction.

“I’m not sure what they were trying to learn from New York, unless they were doing some rules checking,” Molitor said. “I suggested to them that they add microphones to their replay system to hear the audio, instead of just watching something.”

Meanwhile, Pressly alternated between warming up and resting.

“I probably felt worse for Pressly than anybody else because he had to guesstimate when the action was going to resume, try to keep himself ready and not burn too many pitches,” Molitor said. “I would think that you could speculate that it had some effect on him from that point going forward.”

Once play resumed, the Dodgers scored two runs. Puig hit a single that sent Pederson to third base. Pinch-hitter Logan Forsythe hit another single that brought Pederson home. Chris Taylor then doubled over third baseman Eduardo Escobar’s glove for a double that scored Forsythe.

After the game, Molitor took a fatalistic approach.

“I probably should have watched to make sure he marked his card correctly,” the Twins manager said. “I marked mine correctly. Somehow, it wasn’t clear to him what I wanted to do. Either that or he misheard me, and that’s my bad.

“I’ve got to make sure that he’s clear. I thought we were clear when I walked away. It seemed like a pretty obvious double switch. But he had something marked down differently.”

“I think they looked at that as a correctable mistake. I was confused and I think everyone was a little bit perplexed on what transpired. But, again, if something was miscommunicated, that’s my issue. That’s what I told my team. I put them in a bad spot by not making it clear.”

BUXTON, SANO OUT

Neither Byron Buxton nor Miguel Sano made Wednesday night’s starting lineup. Buxton is recovering from a migraine he suffered before Monday night’s game, when Sano was hit by a pitch.

About 2 1/2 hours before Monday night’s game, Buxton found a dark space in his locker, behind his clothes, and sat quietly with his upper body behind his wardrobe.

“My vision gets foggy and smoky,” Buxton said. “When I see a baseball coming right at me, it splits.”

The outfielder also said he suffered a migraine a month ago but that this week’s was more severe.

“I was not familiar with his history,” Molitor said. “I had to do some digging.”

Buxton ran before the game but remains on the disabled list because of a strained left groin. He was scheduled to be activated Tuesday. So when does Buxton expect to play again?

“Given my history,” he said, “probably Friday.”

Molitor scratched Sano after the all-star third baseman took indoor batting practice Wednesday.

“I was in the cage when he stepped in there and took some swings,” the manager said. “You could tell it wasn’t comfortable for him yet.. We feel it’s probably some kind of bone bruise. The uncomfortability of swinging — the contact — the vibration is making it a little tough for him right now.”

Sano said he felt pain in the lower-right part of his left palm and in his left wrist. Though he appeared as a pinch hitter Tuesday night and struck 8 out, Sano said he felt pain while swinging.

The third baseman added that he had never experienced this kind of injury.

SANTIAGO STRUGGLES

Hector Santiago’s first rehabilitation start Tuesday night for Triple-A Rochester made no positive impression.

The left-hander allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks while collecting one strikeout in his only inning of work, and took the loss against Indianapolis.

“He got his pitches in,” Molitor said. “As far as his performance, it was a little spotty, in terms of lack of command. His change-up was his most effective pitch. He misfired quite a bit with his fastball and his breaking stuff. That’s not really surprising, given the fact that he hasn’t pitched a lot in the last month or so.”

Santiago pitched no more than 2 2/3 innings in any of his final three starts with the Twins before going on the 10-day disabled list July 5 with back pain.

The left-hander briefly rejoined the Twins in Los Angeles for a charity event he organized and will return to the Red Wings to pitch Saturday night against Toledo.

RED SOX LAND NUNEZ

Former Twins third baseman Eduardo Nunez became a member of the late Tuesday night. The traded Nunez for two minor league pitchers, right-handers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos.

Acquired from the New York Yankees in April 2014, Nunez spent nearly three seasons in the Twin Cities. Nunez was the Twins’ only representative in last year’s All-Star Hame but was traded 16 days later to the Giants for pitcher Adalberto Mejia. Nunez finished last season with a .288 average, 16 home runs, 67 runs batted in and 40 stolen bases.

The 30-year-old Dominican was batting .308 with 18 steals in San Francisco but became expendable when the Giants re-signed on Saturday. Sandoval helped the Giants win three World Series.

BRIEFLY

The Twins will have an off day Thursday before beginning a three-game series Friday night in Oakland against the Athletics.

Jaime Garcia will make his debut in the first game against Daniel Gossett. Mejia will pitch the second game against Chris Smith, then Bartolo Colon will conclude the series. Sonny Gray is the Athletics’ scheduled starter Sunday, but trade rumors have been surrounding Gray.

Inbox: Are Twins buyers or sellers at Deadline? Rhett Bollinger | MLB | July 27, 2017

With four days left until Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, the Twins find themselves in an interesting position, as they became buyers by acquiring lefty Jaime Garcia from the Braves on Monday, but they have started to field calls as sellers after being swept by the Dodgers.

When the Twins traded for Garcia, they were 2 1/2 games back of the Indians in the American League Central and one game behind the Royals for the second AL Wild Card spot. But after being swept, they're now 5 1/2 games behind Cleveland and four games back of Kansas City. The Twins aren't expected to be full-fledged sellers, but there is interest in Brandon Kintzler, second baseman Brian Dozier, right-hander Ervin Santana and even Garcia. A strong series against the A's could alter things, but as of now, the Twins are cautious sellers more than buyers, although improving the bullpen remains a priority and they did trade for relief prospect Gabriel Moya on Thursday for catcher John Ryan Murphy. It's sure to be an interesting leadup to the Trade Deadline. Here's this week's Inbox.

The Twins are in a tough spot, as the Indians and Royals are surging and Minnesota must decide if it can compete this season. The schedule eases up after a grueling second-half stretch against the Astros, Yankees and Dodgers, which could help the Twins stay in contention.

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The Twins were never likely to be big buyers at the Trade Deadline, but it now appears they're more primed to be sellers, as they're at least listening in on calls for Kintzler, Dozier, Santana and Garcia. Santana and Dozier remain under contract through next season, which gives them more trade value, but they're also key members of the team and a trade would be unpopular in the clubhouse. Kintzler and Garcia, both impending free agents, are more likely to be dealt.

If the Twins are to sell, Kintzler is the most plausible candidate given his contract situation. He was an All-Star this year and gets ground balls at an elite rate to make up for his lack of strikeouts. Grossman possesses strong on-base skills, and he is under team control through 2020, though his is not a name I've heard among trade candidates.

It was a bit surprising to see the Twins acquire a rental player in Garcia, but they didn't have to give up any of their elite prospects in the trade and remains a long way from the Majors.

At this point, acquiring a rental doesn't make as much sense after their slide in the standings this week. They're more interested in players under team control beyond this year.

Gordon, ranked as the No. 34 overall prospect by MLBPipeline.com, is perhaps Minnesota's top trade chip among their prospects, and he would likely be key to a deal for a controllable starter like A's right-hander Sonny Gray. But the Twins love Gordon's upside, and he could be the starter at shortstop by next season, so trading him is unlikely, especially given Minnesota's place in the standings.

Ynoa, 19, is so young and far away from the Majors, it's hard to predict how he'll turn out, as he's not likely to reach the big leagues until roughly 2022. Burdi is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but with his velocity he could be in Minnesota's bullpen by late next season. It's worth noting Burdi is ranked as the club's No. 28 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, while Ynoa didn't enter Minnesota's Top 30. In that sense, the Twins traded a lesser prospect, so I like this version better.

Garcia set for Twins debut in opener vs. A's Rhett Bollinger and Keegan Matheson | MLB | July 27, 2017

The Twins became buyers with their acquisition of left-hander Jaime Garcia, and he's set to make his Twins debut when they head to Oakland for a three-game series that begins Friday night. The A's will counter with right-hander Daniel Gossett.

Garcia, who was traded for prospect Huascar Ynoa on Monday, will have an extra two days of rest after an impressive showing in his last start, which came Friday against the Dodgers. He gave up three runs over seven innings, while also hitting a off All-Star Alex Wood.

"It means a lot that they believe in me," Garcia said. "It gets me fired up. Just the fact they traded one of their prospects to get me, it just motivates me even more."

Gossett, Oakland's second-round pick in the 2014 Draft, made his MLB debut in mid-June and has remained in the rotation since. Over his eight starts, the 24-year-old has posted an ERA of 5.40 and allowed 11 home runs in his 43 1/3 innings of work.

The right-hander typically works in the low-90s with his four-seam and two-seam fastballs, which he complements with a , curveball and changeup.

On the trade front, the Athletics are expected to draw heavy interest in starter Sonny Gray over the coming days as Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline approaches. The right-hander's rotation spot is scheduled to come back around on Sunday, which is the finale of this series against the Twins.

Three things to know about the game • Gossett will be making his ninth career start. He's been better his last two starts, allowing five runs over 13 innings against the Rays and Mets. He's never faced the Twins.

• A's reliever Ryan Dull will be active for the series after being out since May 20 with a strained right knee. The Twins are also expected to activate outfielder Byron Buxton from the disabled list on Friday after he missed time with a groin strain and migraine headaches. Minnesota third baseman Miguel Sano was also held out of the starting lineup on Tuesday and Wednesday with a sore left wrist after being hit by a pitch, but is expected to return on Friday.

• Heading into his Twins debut, Garcia has notched 74.1 percent of his strikeouts this season on pitches at the bottom edge of the strike zone or below it, according to Statcast's detailed zone. That's the third-highest rate among all pitchers with at least 75 strikeouts. 10

Thursday's best: McMahon stuffs box score for Albuquerque William Boor | MLB | July 27, 2017

The following is an excerpt from the article:

• No. 31 overall prospect Royce Lewis (Twins' No. 1) continues to impress in his professional debut. Lewis put up another multi-hit effort, his 11th through 24 games, as he went 2-for-4 with three runs scored for the GCL Twins. Lewis, who also stole his eighth base in the game, is slashing .308/.400/.495.

Pitcher to watch: Fernando Romero (Twins' No. 4), Chattanooga vs. Birmingham (7:15 p.m. ET) Romero, the No. 83 overall prospect, has been lights-out in the second half, going 3-1 with a 1.24 ERA through six starts. The 22-year-old has held his opponent scoreless in four of those outings, including his most recent turn in which he gave up just three hits over five innings. While Romero has been excellent recently, his first half wasn't bad either, and he enters Friday's start with a 2.68 ERA through 19 games (18 starts).

Reports: Days after buying, Twins ‘listening’ on players like Santana, Dozier, Kintzler and Garcia Derek Wetmore | ESPN 1500 | July 27, 2017

The Twins are in a tough spot in the standings. And it’s fair to wonder if the front office has been considering what it would take to make the team into contenders. If their extreme negative run differential makes you a little less confident that their .500 record would hold up, you might be tempted to play for the future.

And after losing 4 of 5, that’s exactly what national reports are saying right now.

According to multiple reports, the Twins are listening to offers on players. And it depends on the outlet and the reporter, but most of the notes linked to the Twins right now list guys like Ervin Santana, Brian Dozier, Brandon Kintzler and Jaime Garcia — yes, Garcia! — as players the Twins will field calls about.

I doubt that’s an exhaustive list. It’s just a collection of the known veterans on the team.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand says the Twins are taking calls on the starting pitchers, Santana and Garcia. While other teams may have some interest in Kintzler and Dozier.

Jon Heyman reports that the Twins are listening on some players. He lists that quartet of veterans as players who could draw interest.

Jon Morosi reported that the Twins would consider trading Santana and Garcia if the team’s “struggles continue.” That would seem to indicate a very short timeline in which to show competitiveness, with nothing but a 3-game series in Oakland standing between the Twins and the non- waiver trade deadline.

And Ken Rosenthal, as part of a long Twins post on his Facebook page, mentioned those four players as guys who could be moved. Rosenthal also noted that the Twins have prepared all along for two different paths — as buyers or as sellers. So they were prepared when the Garcia trade presented itself; and at the same time, I’d be very surprised if they weren’t prepared now, understanding the trade market for their own Major League players in the event they choose to sell.

Just a few days ago, I finished a column listing 5 rental pitchers that the Twins could consider, in the days after the Jaime Garcia trade (the first one) fell through. Before I could publish it, the Jaime Garcia trade (the second one) was completed, and I decided to delete the column because the Twins probably didn’t need another rental starter. Since early this week, the Twins have really fallen back in the race for the postseason. What’s amazing to me is that just a few days later, I can see the logic that says the Twins should be sellers. Give up on this season and play for next year.

In the coming days, I expect to have columns on the value players the Twins could consider dealine before the deadline hits Monday. For now, I’ll share a few quick thoughts based on these national reports.

Santana: I asked Ervin last week if he’s thinking about the deadline at all this year. At this time last year, his name was very much a part of the rumor mill. Typical Ervin, he played it cool and said that he’s not thinking about it, in part, he suggested, because the Twins have played their way into Buyer status as opposed to the clear Sellers they were last year.

Santana’s numbers are not as dazzling as they were in the early goings this season. He’s turned in some bad starts when he doesn’t have his 11 best arsenal of pitches. He’s not an ace in a good rotation. Still, I believed all along that the league values him as a durable mid-rotation starter, and I think he’d be the No. 3 guy for a handful of World Series hopefuls. He’s an interesting trade chip, becaue he’s got another year and $13.5 million left on his deal, plus an option year in 2019 that automatically vests if he hits his innings mark. The Twins could use a guy like Santana in the rotation next year, and that has to be part of their math. But they also have some younger arms that might be ready to fill out the staff: J.O. Berrios, Adalberto Mejia, Trevor May, Fernando Romero and Stephen Gonsalves. They’ll need more depth that that, obviously. They also have guys like Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes, who are a bit hard to peg down at present.

Anyway, I don’t think the Twins would be off their rocker to try to trade Santana in a market that’s notably thin on high-end pitchers for sale.

Kintzler: Good guy, great story. He’ll be a free agent this winter and I personally think he’s a good late-inning option. He’s got legitimately good stuff, and even if he doesn’t miss a lot of bats like the prototypical closer, he’ll get a ground ball when needed, and he’s been solid for the Twins for more than a year now. He’s probably not the closer on a team vying for the World Series, but he’s a valuable arm. We’ve seen plenty of trades for non-closers, so the Twins ought to know the market price for those kind of arms. And there are still a few contenders who haven’t made the big bullpen move. What could you get form one of them for two months of Kintzler’s services?

Dozier: The second baseman has one year and $9 million left on his contract. I’d wondered this winter if the Twins were considering an extension for Dozier and I was told that they were not. That was then. I do know, however, that they were listening to trade calls on Dozier, and the new leaders of the front office seemed to be fairly transparent all the way through those talks. Utlimately, what seemed like the most natural fit, the Dodgers, traded pitching prospect Jose De Leon to the Rays for a guy who’s kinf of like Dozier, Logan Forsythe.

If you deem that you’re out of it, I can see the logic of trading Dozier. Jorge Polanco has had a disappointing year offensively and defensively, and if he’s a big leaguer — which I still think he is — it’s a lot more likely as a second baseman than as a shortstop, in my opinion. What I don’t see, however, is a market for Dozier right now. He’s hitting a solid but unspectacular .249/.334/.441, and a year after smacking 42 home runs, he’s got 16 in his first 4 months this year. The problem with trading Dozier is not because of Dozier, though. The problem is that I don’t see many contenders lining up for a second baseman right now — even one with above-average hitting and defense. The Red Sox have Dustin Pedroia at second base and just called up their top third base prospect and traded for former Twin Eduardo Nunez; the Indians are set; the Astros have a guy play second base that might be the best player in baseball; the Yankees have Starlin Castro and just traded for third baseman Todd Frazier; the Rays have moved Tim Beckham to second base; the Mariners employ a future Hall of Famer at second; the Royals should be good, and that takes care of the American League. In the National League, I don’t see a team that’s in such desperate need of a second baseman that they’d give up some real quality future value for 1+ year of Dozier. I believe he could handle third base, but I don’t know if a contender would want to risk that change to a new position in-season, and I don’t know if there’s even a glaring need anywhere at third base anymore.

Maybe the Twins revisit a Dozier trade conversation this winter. Or maybe they keep him through his whole team-friendly contract. I personally just don’t see a natural fit that benefits the Twins right now.

Garcia: Man, that’d be interesting wouldn’t it? Trade for Garcia, let him make one start, then flip him around in a trade going the other way. In theory, the Twins could upgrade the caliber of prospect. They gave up Huascar Ynoa, and in return they got Garcia, paid the balance of his salary, and added a minor league catcher, per reports. (That allowed them to trade John Ryan Murphy to the D’backs for a minor league pitcher with great numbers.) If the Twins agreed to take on the rest of the salary, and then traded Garcia this weekend before the deadline, they should in theory be able to get something higher value than Ynoa in return. But theory and the actual market are often two different things, and it’s not clear how much the market viewed the catcher the Twins got back, so it’s hard to know how much that added value to the Garcia trade package in the first place.

I know for a fact that these aren’t the only four players that would have value on the trade market, but they’re the 4 players mentioned in national reports today. I’ll have more on the theory of the trade deadline and the Twins’ involvement throughout the weekend. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or sign up for my e-newsletter.

Twins trade catcher John Ryan Murphy for a minor league pitcher with great numbers Derek Wetmore | ESPN 1500 | July 27, 2017

John Ryan Murphy has been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league pitcher Gabriel Moya, the Twins announced Thursday.

Murphy’s brief career with the Twins was disappointing. He was the return from the Yankees in the Aaron Hicks trade, and was expected to eventually take over for former Twins catcher . That really never happend.

Murphy only got 90 plate appearances with the Twins, in which he batted just .146/.193/.220, but he spent most of his time in the organization at Triple-A Rochester. With the Red Wings, the backup catcher hit just .222/.298/.330 before the trade. 12

That closes this part of the Hicks-for-Murphy swap, with the Yankees as clear winners.

Moya, the guy the Twins got back from Arizona, is a 22-year-old lefty. He’s pitched in Double-A this season, with an impressive 0.82 ERA in 43 2/3 innings. He’s also got 68 strikeouts and 12 walks in that period, exclusively spent as a reliever. He’s converted all 17 of his save chances for the Jackson Generals.

This is Moya’s first year above A-ball. For his career, he’s got a 2.68 ERA in 248 1/3 innings, and a 317:71 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Venezuela- native has made just 12 starts in his career.

The Twins got another minor league catcher, Anthony Recker, from the Braves in the Jaime Garcia trade. GM Thad Levine said Recker would go to Double-A, but mentioned that have 5 catchers on the 40-man roster was a short-term thing, and could free up the Twins to make more trades.

Twins exchange C Murphy for minor-league LHP Moya Associated Press | July 27, 2017

PHOENIX — The traded Triple-A catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday for Double-A left- hander Gabriel Moya.

The 26-year-old Murphy, a second-round pick by the Yankees in the 2009 draft, has played parts of four seasons in the majors. He was with New York from 2013-15 before the Twins acquired him for outfielder Aaron Hicks. In 26 games for Minnesota last year, Murphy hit just .146 in 82 at- bats. In 59 games this season for the , he’s batting .222 with four homers and 27 RBIs in 194 at-bats.

Hicks, meanwhile, broke out this year for the Yankees, batting .290 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs in 200 at-bats over 60 games before hurting an oblique muscle. He’s still on the disabled list.

Moya, 22, was 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA, 68 strikeouts and 17 saves in 43 2/3 innings over 34 appearances for the Jackson Generals. The native of Venezuela has 317 strikeouts in 248 1/3 minor league innings in the Diamondbacks system with a 2.68 ERA.

TWINS SEND CATCHER MURPHY TO DIAMONDBACKS FOR LEFTHANDER MOYA Kyle Glaser | | July 27, 2017

The Diamondbacks are in position to be buyers at the deadline for the first time in years, and are making the most of it.

The D’backs acquired veteran catcher John Ryan Murphy from the Twins for lefthander Gabriel Moya on Thursday.

Murphy provides catching depth for the Diamondbacks, where , Chris Iannetta and Chris Herrmann have manned the position at the big league level.

Moya gives the Twins another young relief arm in their system in exchange for an extra player who did not appear in the majors this season and was not in their plans going forward.

The Diamondbacks signed Moya out of Venezuela in 2012. Five years later, he’s evolved into arguably the most dominant relief prospect in the minors. Moya is on an historic run, having not allowed an earned run since May 2 as Double-A Jackson’s closer. That’s a stretch of 24 appearances and 30.2 innings. The 6-foot, 175-pound lefthander does it with a deceptive low 90s fastball that looks like it pops out of his ear in his delivery and a plus-plus changeup regarded by many as the best in the Southern League this year. He also has a slider and curveball he can mix in to provide a different look, throws strikes and earns raves for his competitiveness. With deception, an out pitch, and a closer mentality, Moya is a perfect 17-for-17 in saves this year and has a chance to be in a big league bullpen shortly.

Murphy was supposed to become the Twins’ backup catcher when Minnesota acquired him for Aaron Hicks after the 2015 season. That trade turned into a disaster for the Twins as Murphy’s bat cratered while Hicks has turned into an extremely valuable and versatile member of the Yankees’ outfield. With the development of Mitch Garver and the recent acquisition of Anthony Recker this year, Murphy is currently positioned more as a fill-in emergency backup at Triple-A more than a potential big league backup, especially as teams usually look for more power from their backup catcher than Murphy can provide.

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Latest On Brandon Kintzler, Ervin Santana Steve Adams | MLB Trade Rumors | July 27, 2017

The Red Sox and Diamondbacks are among the teams with interest in Twins righty Brandon Kintzler, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). Kintzler, 32, represents an interesting potential addition to the trade market as Minnesota ponders a change in plans. The sinkerballer owns a 2.84 ERA with 27 saves on the year. As regards the interest from Boston, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Red Sox had looked into Pat Neshek before he was dealt to the Rockies, due in part to their desire to add a “different look” to their setup mix. With the side-armer now off the market, Boston isn’t a lock to move onto other targets such as the Mets’ Addison Reed or the Marlins’ AJ Ramos, Crasnick notes.

While the Astros continue their search for arms, the club has done some “background work” on Twins righty Ervin Santana, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter links). Santana’s velocity has wavered a bit, though perhaps that’s not the real issue in assessing his value. The veteran righty has produced a strong 3.37 ERA over 136 1/3 innings, following up on last year’s near-identical 3.38 mark, but he’s managing just 6.9 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 and has benefited from a .227 BABIP and 82.9% strand rate.

Twins Reportedly Listening To Offers On Short-Term Assets Steve Adams | MLB Trade Rumors | July 27, 2017

After dropping three straight games to the Dodgers and falling below .500 for the first time since April, the Twins are now fielding offers on their shorter-term assets, reports MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (on Twitter). That includes right-hander Ervin Santana and newly acquired lefty Jaime Garcia. They’re also getting hits on closer Brandon Kintzler and second baseman Brian Dozier, Feinsand adds. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi suggested yesterday that the Twins would be open to such moves if their struggles continued.

The 34-year-old Santana paced the Majors in ERA for a full calendar year, working to a 1.75 ERA from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017. However, Santana’s peripheral numbers never came close to supporting that aesthetically pleasing figure, and he’s regressed substantially over the past couple of months. That said, he’s still as durable veteran with quality results that has averaged nearly 6 2/3 innings per start this year. He’s also averaged 6.9 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 with a 42.8 percent ground-ball rate and is still averaging a respectable 92.7 mph on his heater.

Santana is earning $13.5MM in 2017 and is controlled through 2018 at the same rate. His contract also includes a $14MM club/vesting option for the 2019 season ($1MM buyout) that’ll automatically kick in if he throws 400 innings between now and the completion of the 2018 campaign (with at least 200 frames next year).

Dozier was the focus of rumors all offseason, primarily drawing connections to the Dodgers, but he ultimately remained in Minnesota. He’s predictably seen his power regress after last year’s 42-homer campaign, but he’s still on pace to approach 30 homers and is hitting a solid .249/.334/.441 with 16 homers, 21 doubles and two triples on the year. He’s earning a highly affordable $6MM in 2017 (with about $2.1MM of that sum remaining) and will make $9MM in 2018 before hitting free agency upon completion of his age-31 season.

Kintzler has gone from minor league signee to closer in short order since joining the Twins, and while he doesn’t miss many bats, he’s a ground- ball machine with strong control. Set to turn 33 years old the day after the non-waiver deadline, Kintzler is earning $2.9MM this season and has averaged 5.6 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 with a 58.7 percent ground-ball rate since joining the Twins in 2016. That’s led to a 3.01 ERA in 98 2/3 innings. Most clubs probably view the impending free agent as more of a setup option, but his strong results against lefties and hard would fit well on a number of teams looking for short-term ’pen help.

The inclusion of Garcia likely causes some to raise an eyebrow, as the Twins gave up a prospect to acquire him just three days ago. Minnesota, though, also took on the entirety of Garcia’s contract as well as $200K of what the Braves still owed catcher Anthony Recker. In doing so, the Twins minimized their own cost of acquiring him and also created the possibility of flipping him for a greater return. Garcia reportedly drew interest from roughly a half-dozen teams before he went to the Twins, and if Minnesota is willing to pay the remaining ~$4.5MM on Garcia’s deal, he could conceivably be flipped for a superior prospect to the one the Twins surrendered (Huascar Ynoa). In essence, that would be akin to buying a better prospect. Garcia, a free agent at season’s end, is set to make his first start for the Twins tomorrow in Oakland.

Of course, the mention of Oakland makes it worth reminding that the situation is likely fluid. The Twins drew a tough schedule coming out of the break and have already faced baseball’s two best teams, the Astros and Dodgers. Their next six games are against the rebuilding Athletics and Padres, so a quick rebound in Oakland could cause new chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine to pump the brakes a bit. The Twins’ presence near the top of the AL Central was a surprising development for most, and comments from Levine and Falvey all summer have suggested that the team wouldn’t deviate from its long-term focus by mortgaging significant pieces of its future. Seeing what offers materialize for veteran players likely wasn’t the route the club hoped to take this summer after a hot start, but the Twins also never separated themselves from in the division by a wide enough margin to fully rule out the possibility. 14

Arizona Diamondbacks Giving John Ryan Murphy Another Chance David Hill | Call to the Pen | July 28, 2017

John Ryan Murphy was expected to be the future at catcher for the Minnesota Twins. He is getting another chance with the Arizona Diamondbacks following his trade today.

Sometimes, a player just needs a change of scenery in order to blossom. Previously well regarded prospects can flame out for any number of reasons, but can turn their careers around in the different setting. That is what the Arizona Diamondbacks are hoping for with John Ryan Murphy, whom they acquired from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor league pitcher Gabriel Moya.

When he was originally acquired by the Twins, the hope was that Murphy would be their catcher of the present and future. As he acquitted himself well in his extended trial with the Yankees in 2015, producing a .277/.327/.406 batting line with nine doubles and three homers in 172 plate appearances, this hope was certainly warranted.

Instead, Murphy struggled in his time in Minnesota. In his 90 plate appearances in 2016, Murphy had a .146/.193/.220 batting line with only four extra base hits. He was banished to AAA, and continued his woeful production in the minors. With the Twins own acquisitions of Jason Castro, Chris Jimenez (when he is not on the mound), and new backup Anthony Recker, Murphy was expendable.

For the Diamondbacks, the interest in Murphy is understandable. Their current catchers, a hodgepodge of Chris Iannetta, Jeff Mathis, and Chris Herrmann, have produced a combined .216/.289/.438 batting line. While they have 16 homers, tied for ninth in baseball, they are not exactly providing much else on offense.

While Murphy may not have the best track record in the majors, he is still only 26 years old. He also have the defensive profile that the Diamondbacks are focusing on. He has caught 30% of would be basestealers overall in his major league career, and nabbed 39% in AAA this season. Murphy has also improved his pitch framing skills over the years, and have become a viable defensive weapon.

Although he may not get his chance this season, Murphy could be a key part of the Diamondbacks future. Iannetta is a free agent after the season, and neither Mathis or Herrmann would seemingly inspire confidence behind the dish. If he can start to produce at AAA, Murphy could stake a claim to the starting catcher job.

John Ryan Murphy was unable to become the player the Minnesota Twins thought they were getting. This trade to the Arizona Diamondbacks may be his chance to prove that he is, indeed, a viable major league player.

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