Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Wednesday, July 27, 2016
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Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Wednesday, July 27, 2016 Complete game for Ervin Santana but Twins lose to Atlanta 2-0. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 1 Twins to cast wide net to find next GM. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 2 The 'Puckett homer' seat – the real one – unveiled at Target Field. Star Tribune (La Vaque) p. 3 Ervin Santana can’t keep listless Minnesota Twins from 2-0 loss. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 4 Minnesota Twins: Minority GM candidates ‘an important part’ of search. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 5 Memories, treasures remain from Twins’ 1991 World Series title. Pioneer Press (Murphy) p. 6 Twins have no plans to trade reliable Santana. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 7 Santana goes distance in tough-luck loss to Braves. MLB.com (Bollinger and Bowman) p. 8 Plouffe progressing, nearing rehab assignment. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 9 Hiring of advisory firm doesn't bother Antony. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 10 Twins GM Rob Antony should want to make the big trade. 1500 ESPN (Wetmore) p. 10 Twins GM says he’s not making calls shopping Ervin Santana. 1500 ESPN (Wetmore) p. 11 Wetmore’s 5 thoughts: Santana’s complete game, Korn Ferry, Twins seek pitching. 1500 ESPN (Wetmore) p. 12 StaTuesday: Joe Nathan's remarkable career as Twins closer. Fox Sports North (Lund) p. 14 Santana strong, but Twins shut out by Braves in series opener. Associated Press p. 15 Interim GM Rob Antony looks to position Twins for future seasons. Associated Press p. 16 MLB Rumor Central: Twins in no rush to deal Ervin Santana? ESPN (Mittler) p. 17 MLB Rumor Central: Indians looking at Twins' Eduardo Nunez? ESPN (Tekip) p. 18 Pitching Rumors: Chapman, Ervin, Hill, Hellickson, Ubaldo, Blue Jays. MLB Trade Rumors (Adams) p. 18 Complete game for Ervin Santana but Twins lose to Atlanta 2-0 Phil Miller | Star Tribune | July 27, 2016 Rob Antony insisted Tuesday that he rather would keep Ervin Santana than trade him, a position, the Twins interim general manager was told, that sounded like an attempt to raise his asking price ahead of next Monday’s trade deadline. “Did it work?” Antony joked. Maybe so. But the command Santana displayed a couple of hours later probably did far more to increase interest in the veteran righthander than any sales pitch. Santana needed only 97 pitches to retire the Braves, recording his second complete game of the month — and taking the loss anyway, 2-0 to Atlanta at Target Center in a matchup of the worst teams in each league. On a night when the Twins celebrated the 25th anniversary of their 1991 World Series championship over the Braves, Santana stirred echoes of Jack Morris’ Game 7 masterpiece. “I asked [manager Paul Molitor] if I could pitch the 10th if we tied it,” Santana said. “He said, ‘You got it.’ ” It remains to be seen if a contender will decide Santana should be pitching like that in a pennant race later this year. “He’s experienced, and he’s shown that he can go deep into a season,” Molitor said. “I’m sure that that would be an appealing starter to add to anyone’s rotation.” Santana will turn 34 in December, and in mid-June, his record stood at 1-7 with a 5.10 ERA. Along with the $13.5 million salaries he is owed in 2017 and 2018, he is the sort of player a last-place team like the Twins might be expected to unload. But the Twins clearly don’t expect to be a last-place team next year, and Antony said Santana is better than any pitcher they could find at that price in the free-agent market. “I’m not sure we’re looking to trade a starting pitcher we believe can help us. That would be spinning our wheels,” Antony said. “If he’s going, it’s going to be in a good baseball trade where we believe we got fair return. But I’ll be honest, I’m not calling anybody trying to move him.” The Braves could offer a recommendation to anyone considering a deal. Adonis Garcia clobbered a second-inning slider that didn’t sink into the left-field stands, and A.J. Pierzynski threaded a line drive inches inside the foul line for a third-inning double, then scored on a double play. After that, however, Santana let only two Atlanta hitters reach second base, and he quickly quashed both “threats” with ground-ball outs. Santana did more than enough to earn his fourth win of the season, but the Twins couldn’t support him against Lucas Harrell, who pitched six scoreless innings for the first time since June 9, 2013. Eduardo Nunez reached third base twice in the first three innings, but both times he was stranded there. The Twins went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and were shut out for the fifth time this season. Working the phones Antony said he is having regular discussions with other teams about potential trades, and “I’m encouraged” by the response. “We’ve gotten deeper into discussion and talked about some names, how they would fit into what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. Those names figure to be minor league prospects, though. “In most conversations about our players, we’re talking about younger players coming back,” Antony said. “I think it’s fair to say we’d like to bolster our pitching depth, particularly our starting pitching. I don’t think we have a lot of guys that are right on the cusp, so if we’re able to acquire starting pitching, I would like to do that.” Etc. • Third baseman Trevor Plouffe could begin a rehab assignment as soon as next week, Molitor said, after making significant progress while the team was on the road last week. Plouffe, out since July 2 because of a fractured rib, hit 30-40 balls off a tee Monday and has been taking ground balls in the field. Molitor said Plouffe will take live batting practice Saturday, and if there are no setbacks, the team will establish a timeline for his return. • Kurt Suzuki was back in the lineup, three days after the catcher required seven stitches to close a gash in his chin caused by a foul ball in Boston. “Kurt has been proven to be a warrior, time and time again,” Molitor said. Twins to cast wide net to find next GM Phil Miller | Star Tribune | July 27, 2016 The Twins played their first game at Target Field without Terry Ryan in charge on Tuesday, and his absence was felt all over the ballpark. “Coming in today, it’s another level of having to absorb that change,” Paul Molitor said. “I’m accustomed to seeing him here every day. … It’s a little different today.” But like the team’s manager, the Twins have begun moving on without their longtime general manager, fired last week after 18 seasons of guiding the team. Interim GM Rob Antony described his efforts to alter the roster before next Monday’s nonwaiver trade deadline. And team President Dave St. Peter outlined the team’s initial steps toward replacing Antony — or not. The Twins have hired executive search firm Korn Ferry to assist St. Peter and Twins owner Jim Pohlad in identifying, evaluating and interviewing candidates for the job. While St. Peter reiterated his intention to consider internal candidates — Antony chief among them — the move is a concrete sign the Twins are interested in bringing in a new baseball boss. “We will be very open with Rob about where we are in the search,” St. Peter said. “It’s very likely at some point in the near future we’re going to sit down with Rob and talk about his interest.” St. Peter said he spoke last week with Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro, and Pohlad called Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, and both strongly recommended Korn Ferry to help with the hiring process. It’s the same firm Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor used earlier this year to land Tom Thibodeau as coach and president of basketball operations. With Korn Ferry’s assistance, the Brewers selected former Rangers assistant GM David Stearns and the Blue Jays chose Indians President of Player Personnel Ross Atkins last fall. In both cases, an internal candidate was a finalist, but the team chose an outside hire. “It became pretty evident [Korn Ferry was] the industry leader. We like the work that they’ve done,” St. Peter said. “They’ve done multiple searches inside the commissioner’s office, including for Commissioner [Rob] Manfred,” a search conducted by a committee that included Pohlad. 2 Pohlad and St. Peter already have spoken with Manfred and his staff about their vacancy; MLB frequently also offers the names of potential candidates from around the game. “They are a tremendous resource for outside perspective on our own people, as well as perspective on folks across the game,” St. Peter said. “By all means, we will continue to lean heavily on MLB throughout this search. Commissioner Manfred feels it’s important to assist teams in getting these hires right.” Korn Ferry will conduct background checks on potential candidates, and even could help with matters such as psychological tests, St. Peter said. He and Pohlad will conduct all interviews of finalists, but the search firm might help streamline the process. St. Peter said he’s still hopeful a permanent general manager will be in place by season’s end, but conceded that the hiring could be pushed back if an appealing candidate is unavailable until after his team is eliminated from the postseason.