Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Friday, July 29, 2016 Twins
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Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Friday, July 29, 2016 Twins trade All-Star Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 1 Max Kepler continues his sizzling July as Twins stop Orioles. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 2 Reusse: Twins employees learned loyalty, baseball decorum from ex-GM Ryan. Star Tribune (Reusse) p. 3 Brian Murphy: Trade Joe Mauer? No move in sight amid decline. Pioneer Press (Murphy) p. 4 Twins trade all-star Eduardo Nunez to Giants for minor league pitcher. Pioneer Press (Frederick) p. 6 Twins beat Baltimore as Eddie Rosario continues to roll. Pioneer Press (Frederick) p. 7 Byung Ho Park has three-homer game, but no call-up to Twins imminent. Pioneer Press (Frederick) p. 8 Twins get Minors lefty Mejia from Giants for Nunez. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 8 Kepler, Grossman rally Twins past O's in 7th. MLB.com (Bollinger and Park) p. 9 Berrios, 3 other Twins prospects make Top 100. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 11 Murphy, Rutherford among top prospect performers Thursday. MLB.com (Boor) p. 11 5 thoughts: Twins trade Eduardo Nunez to Giants for good pitching prospect. 1500 ESPN (Wetmore) p. 12 Twins trade Eduardo Nunez to Giants for pitching prospect. Fox Sports North p.14 Giants trade for All-Star SS Eduardo Nunez. Associated Press p. 15 Four-run seventh inning propels Twins to win over Orioles. Associated Press p. 15 Twins-Giants make win-win deal as Eduardo Nunez heads west. ESPN (Schoenfield) p. 17 BASEBALL AMERICA PROSPECT REPORT (JULY 29). Baseball America (Cooper) p. 17 Trade Central: Giants Add Infield Depth With Twins’ Nunez. Baseball America (Lara-Cinisomo) p. 18 Twins trade All-Star Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco Phil Miller | Star Tribune | July 29, 2016 The Twins’ expected midseason roster makeover started at the top Thursday: They traded their All-Star. Eduardo Nunez, the Twins’ lone representative in San Diego earlier this month, was dealt to the San Francisco Giants immediately after Minnesota’s 6-2 victory over Baltimore. In return, the Twins received Adalberto Mejia, a 23-year-old lefthanded starting pitcher who was recently rated among baseball’s top 100 prospects by Baseball America. “We think he’s fairly close to the big leagues,” interim General Manager Rob Antony said after consummating his first transaction since replacing Terry Ryan last week. “I don’t know if he’ll pitch up here this year, but we believe he’s definitely a candidate to be in our rotation next season.” Jorge Polanco, one of the Twins’ top infield prospects who has already spent three separate stints on the big-league roster this season, has been recalled from Class AAA Rochester to replace Nunez. It’s a bittersweet departure for Nunez, whose career blossomed in Minnesota from a utility player begging for at-bats to an everyday shortstop ranked among the AL’s best. “The Twins are a great organization to play [for]. Great people,” said Nunez, who was informed of the deal after going 0-for-4 in his Twins farewell. “It made me feel like home. It made me feel like I was here for [longer] than I was. It’s tough.” Nunez barely played during the season’s first two weeks, and was ticketed for another season playing part-time at three infield positions. But after collecting nine hits in his first three starts of the season, Nunez suddenly found himself in the lineup every day for the first time in his seven-year career. He batted .296 with 12 home runs and a league-leading 27 stolen bases, and was selected to the All-Star team. “He’s certainly capitalized” on his opportunity to play, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “I’m happy for him. It’s an opportunity to go out there and contribute to a team that’s trying to set its sights fairly high.” The Twins set their asking price high, too, and “some people might have been scared off by that,” Antony said. But six different clubs contacted him about acquiring Nunez, and the Giants’ offer of Mejia was the most intriguing. “He’s got a three-pitch mix. He’s got a big, durable body, so we just think he profiles well,” Antony said. “He’s pretty much what we were looking for.” Mejia, ranked fifth among Giants prospects by Baseball America, began the season at Class AA Richmond. When he posted a 1.94 ERA in his first 11 starts, the 6-3 lefthander was promoted to Class AAA Sacramento, where he is 4-1 with a 4.20 ERA. Mejia features a 93-mph fastball, along with a changeup and slider. Mejia, who served a 50-game suspension in 2015 after testing positive for a banned stimulant, will be assigned to Rochester. Antony said he is continuing to negotiate with other teams ahead of Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, mostly with the same goal as the Nunez trade. “We need to increase our pitching depth,” said Antony, who acquired Nunez from the Yankees, in exchange for lefthander Miguel Sulbaran, early in the 2014 season while filling in during Ryan’s cancer treatments. “I’d like to get some guys who are at the higher levels, but if we have a chance to get somebody with a high ceiling in [Class] A or lower in the minor leagues, we’re not afraid to do that as well.” Moving Nunez likely opens the shortstop position for Eduardo Escobar again, though Polanco and Danny Santana could earn playing time there as well. “It still might be a challenge [for Polanco] to get at-bats, but he’s the right guy to bring up. When we need somebody, he can come off the bench,” Antony said of the 23-year-old Dominican, who is a career .262 hitter in 22 big-league games. Polanco was batting .271 with six triples and nine homers at Rochester this season. “He has the ability to play short,” Antony said, “though we believe his best positions might be second and third.” Max Kepler continues his sizzling July as Twins stop Orioles Phil Miller | Star Tribune | July 29, 2016 Max Kepler, it appears, will have plenty of Julys in his major league career. It just might be difficult for him to top his first one. Kepler stroked his eighth home run of the month, and 11th of the season, to tie the score in the sixth inning Thursday, then put himself in the middle of the game-winning, four-run rally an inning later, helping the Twins finally beat the Baltimore Orioles with a 6-2 victory at Target Field. The victory, in a makeup of a May 9 rainout, completes the season series with a 1-5 record for the Twins against the AL East leaders, but that record might have looked different if the rookie right fielder had been around for all of it. Kepler has made a habit of big hits, and the one he greeted Baltimore reliever Odrisamer Despaigne with in the sixth inning was particularly memorable. With the Twins trailing 2-1, having stranded three runners on third base in the first five innings, Kepler lifted a 2-2 changeup into the seats in right field. In the Target Field era, only Josh Willingham, with 11 in 2012, has had more home runs in July than Kepler. “I like how he’s making adjustments to how he’s being pitched. People try to tie him up inside,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “He got a cutter in there pretty good, but he pulled his hands through and was able to hit the ball out of the park.” The Twins broke the tie an inning later, and Kepler was in the middle of it. Robbie Grossman lined a one-out double, and Orioles manager Buck Showalter ordered Despaigne to walk Joe Mauer intentionally. Brian Dozier followed with an RBI single to left field and Grossman slid home just ahead of catcher Caleb Joseph’s tag, his left arm sweeping the plate as Joseph lunged at him. Kepler then grounded a pitch from Chaz Roe into right field, and this time it was Mauer sliding home just ahead of the tag, making it 4-2. Then Eddie Rosario crushed a pitch over center fielder Adam Jones’ head, a triple that scored two more runs and helped the Twins improve to 7-4 against first-place teams this month. 2 Kyle Gibson pitched six strong innings for the Twins, even after allowing a home run to Jones with the first pitch of the game. Gibson didn’t walk a batter and struck out six, allowing two runs, and three Twins relievers pitched a scoreless inning apiece to snap the Twins’ three-game losing streak. Push, but not rush Trevor Plouffe took batting practice before Thursday’s game, moving up an already accelerated rehab plan by another couple of days. Molitor said he’s happy Plouffe is feeling better — but he’s wary of rushing the veteran third baseman back. “He’s pushing to try to get out [on a rehab assignment] a little sooner,” Molitor said. “We’ll see how he responds [Thursday] to moving around.” Plouffe has been out since July 2 because of a fractured left rib, but has been adding more and more baseball activities every day. Molitor, however, recalled that when Plouffe returned from an intercostal strain in early May, he batted only .215 with one homer in the entire month. “There have been times where he’s given us a green light to go, and we found out when he returned he wasn’t as good as we had thought it was,” Molitor said.