Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Monday, February 8, 2016

Home , Herb Carneal, Jake Mauer, Jim Rantz, Tommy Watkins

 Reusse: Twins might have landed a keeper in hard-throwing Rosario. Star Tribune (Reusse) p. 1  Slimmed-down Graham feeling stronger, faster. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 2  Sherman’s Latest: Cespedes, Ramirez, Castro, Sano. MLB Trade Rumors (Johnson) p. 3  AL Central Notes: White Sox, Uribe, Urshela, Freese, Rosario. MLB Trade Rumors (Polishuk) p. 4  Twins to induct Fort Myers resident John Gordon in Hall of Fame. News-Press (Dorsey) p. 4

Reusse: Twins might have landed a keeper in hard-throwing Rosario

Patrick Reusse | Star Tribune | February 6, 2016

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Cynthia and Jose Ramon Perez live in a housing area near the Twins spring training complex. They met Miguel Sano five years ago, merely by seeing him at a baseball game in the low minors and saying, “Hello, Miguel; we’re Dominicans.”

Soon, they were also acquaintances with other young Dominicans in the Twins organization, including pitcher Randy Rosario.

This week, Sano and Rosario had concluded informal workouts on the minor league fields, and now they were sitting on a step outside the clubhouse, chatting with the Perezes. Also there were Manny Diaz, Angel Reyes and Angel’s 2-year-old daughter, Cindy.

“She is our neighbor,” Cynthia said. “She is 2 going on 5.”

In the South, they would describe Cynthia and Jose Ramon as “just folks,” but they gave Sano and Rosario friendship from back home when they were teenagers starting baseball careers here, and now the connection is more like family.

Sano is an example of the costly, can’t-miss talent to be found in the Dominican. Rosario is from a different part of the spectrum. The Twins signed him as a 160-pound lefthander in 2010 for $85,000, a year after Sano received $3.15 million.

Sano comes from San Pedro de Macoris, a city of 200,000 with a rich tradition yielding big leaguers. Rosario comes from Nagua, a small town on the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast coast.

“That’s where the crazy people live,” Sano said.

Rosario smiled at Sano’s comment and said: “The only thing crazy is the people are crazy for fishing. My family is fishing all the time … in the ocean, in the lakes.”

How about Randy? “I do some fishing, but not all day like my family,” he said.

There have been occasional players — Ubaldo Jimenez, for one — from the Nagua area, but not many. A Twins scout heard about a slim lefty who threw hard and made contact with Rosario’s agent, and the team was able to get him in a camp for prospects.

Rosario signed in 2010 and started his professional career as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Summer League in 2011.

“Our people always said good things — that he threw hard and could really spin a breaking ball,” said Terry Ryan, the Twins general manager. “The question was getting him on the mound for enough innings to see what he might become.”

Rosario had only 32 official appearances (24 starts) and 118 innings in his first three seasons in the lowest level of minors. In 2014, the Twins sent him to Class A Cedar Rapids, and Rosario blew out his elbow in his third start.

“It was a fastball,” he said. “I heard it pop.”

Rosario underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. He didn’t pitch for a year. By his accounting, Rosario threw 18 innings in extended spring training last June, pitched eight innings for the Gulf Coast Twins, and then went back to Cedar Rapids.

He made 10 starts in 11 appearances. The numbers weren’t dazzling: 2-6, 3.52 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 53⅔ innings. The reports from Kernels manager Jake Mauer, pitching coach Henry Bonilla and talent evaluators visiting Cedar Rapids were different.

“Everyone who saw him the last few weeks in Cedar Rapids said the same thing: ‘We should try to keep this kid,’ ” Ryan said.

The Twins placed seven players on the 40-player roster Nov. 20, to prevent those players from being available to other teams in the major league Rule 5 draft. Rosario qualified as the most surprising, with fewer than 200 innings in five seasons.

“I was nervous; I didn’t know what the Twins would do,” Rosario said. “When I got the call to tell me I had been put on the roster, I started screaming to my family, then crying, because I was so happy.”

Rosario said his fastball will be back to the 97 miles per hour he was throwing before elbow surgery.

“My fastball is straight, though … no movement,” he said. “The slider is my best pitch. Hitters don’t like my slider, especially lefthanded.”

One other note: I was looking for an interpreter before interviewing Rosario this week.

“I’m available, but I don’t think Randy will need any help,” said Vincent Gonzalez, an intern with the Twins.

Rosario did not. He said his firm grasp of English comes from the lessons offered to young players by the Twins, but mostly, “Just from talking to people.”

Cynthia Perez pointed to her right temple and said: “He is very smart.”

Put that with a slider from Dante’s Inferno and it wasn’t that tough of a call to put Rosario on the 40-man and protect him from a $50,000 claim in the Rule 5 draft.

“A lefty with good stuff,” Ryan said. “We didn’t want to risk losing one of those guys.”

Slimmed-down Graham feeling stronger, faster

Rhett Bollinger | MLB.com | February 5, 2016

MINNEAPOLIS -- It would've been easy to understand if Twins reliever J.R. Graham's teammates didn't recognize him at TwinsFest last weekend.

Graham showed up to the event having lost roughly 30-40 pounds this offseason, as he went from weighing 210 last season to about 170-175. Graham didn't change his workout routine, but simply adjusted his diet because he didn't like the way he felt physically in his first year in the Majors as a Rule 5 Draft pick with the Twins.

"It was actually during the season, I realized I just didn't feel good," Graham said. "I wasn't eating like I should be eating as a professional athlete. So I decided in the offseason to focus on better eating habits. So it's actually surprising how much of a change it made because it wasn't a conscious goal to lose this amount of weight. I just wanted to eat better and have more protein."

Graham, 26, decided to cut out sugar, alcohol and foods heavy in carbohydrates in favor of a high-protein diet that features plenty of protein shakes, salads, meats and vegetables.

He leaned on his mom, Julie, to help him with the plan, as she's lost weight in recent years with a better diet and the help of Weight Watchers. She was 2 the one who helped cook him his meals, while his dad, Brian, was there to help him with his workouts at night.

"I can just feel the change," Graham said. "The energy. Everything. I feel great. I'm excited to see how it'll translate into spring. I know I shouldn't have any problems because I'm stronger than I've ever been. I'm faster. All that. So it's really exciting."

Given his increase in overall strength, Graham said the Twins shouldn't worry about him losing velocity despite the weight loss. He was also roughly this weight while in college and in the Braves' organization before gaining weight after a right shoulder strain suffered in 2013.

"Some people have concerns how it'll affect me when I'm pitching, but all I know is I was this weight in 2013 and hitting triple digits [on the radar gun]," Graham said. "I'm used to being this light. I was probably even lighter in college. I was just heavier post-rehab, which was a goal of mine. But I didn't like it."

And as for his strength, Graham knows he's stronger than ever because he keeps a detailed binder with all of his workouts dating back to 2007, when he was a junior in high school.

"It's documented and written down with weights and times and everything," Graham said. "So that's how I know it'll translate to throwing a baseball. I've tracked everything. I know I'm above and beyond stronger and faster than I've ever been."

Graham, who had a 4.95 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings as a rookie last year, said he's excited to see how it all translates in Spring Training. His goal is to be on the Opening Day roster like last year, but knows there's a lot of competition for a bullpen spot.

"I go into every spring the same -- I have to fight to make the team," Graham said. "I'm really excited. I love the challenge. I have my back up against the wall and that's kind of how I felt last year."

Sherman’s Latest: Cespedes, Ramirez, Castro, Sano

Brad Johnson | MLB Trade Rumors | February 6, 2016

Several teams are gambling on successful position changes for core players, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. While it’s not uncommon for a team to sign a player like Jason Heyward and shift him to a new position for a couple seasons, these transitions don’t always go swimmingly. Sherman examines some of the biggest names to watch this season, and we’ll touch upon a few of them here.

The Mets were wary about committing to Yoenis Cespedes in part because of his shaky history in center field. As Sherman writes, Cespedes’ top defensive attribute is his arm. However, in center, range tends to be more valuable than arm strength.

Last season, the Padres attempted to shift Wil Myers from an outfield corner to center. His experience could serve as a chilling example for Mets fans. When he wasn’t battling injury, Myers graded out as an atrocious center fielder. This season, San Diego plans to shift Myers to first base. It’s yet another position at which he has limited experience. Interestingly, Myers has moved all over the field in his professional career – he started out as a catching prospect, and he also has experience at third base.

Another failed outfielder moving to first base, Hanley Ramirez, will be critical to the Red Sox success this season. Ramirez was a disaster in left field, but there is hope he can be more focused and healthier in an infield role. David Ortiz occupies the designated hitter role. He’s expected to retire after the season, meaning Ramirez could be shifted to a bat-only role after 2016.

The Yankees are taking a gamble of their own on Starlin Castro. The former Cubs shortstop hit much better after a shift to second base, but his defense still graded out as below average. Unlike Cespedes, Myers, or Ramirez, Castro looked merely below average rather than nightmarish. The Yankees hope that more experience at the position and smoother actions can lead to defensive improvement in 2016.

In an attempt to manage their corner infield and designated hitter surplus, the Twins are going to try prospect slugger Miguel Sano in the outfield. Sano, a third baseman by trade, doesn’t have professional experience in the outfield. However, his shift will allow the club to start Sano, Joe Mauer, Byung-ho Park, and Trevor Plouffe. In my opinion, the Twins might have been smarter to move Plouffe into the outfield. He has experience as a utility man and an established bat. Sano will now need to learn a new position while adjusting to major league pitching.

AL Central Notes: White Sox, Uribe, Urshela, Freese, Rosario

Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors | February 6, 2016

Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…

The White Sox and Cubs have both contacted the Rays about their pitching and outfield surplus, CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine reports. The Cubs’ discussions with the Rays have been well-documented this winter, though the Sox are a new entry among the many teams to touch base with the Rays about their young arms; Levine notes that at least 11 teams have asked Tampa Bay about pitchers. The White Sox have needs at both corner outfield positions and at the back end of their rotation. The all-lefty trio of Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon will headline the Pale Hose rotation, while John Danks, Jacob Turner and Erik Johnson are the current competitors for the fourth and fifth starters’ jobs.

The White Sox went on a seven-game winning streak from July 23 to July 29 last season, though this hot stretch right in the leadup to the trade deadline didn’t really change the team’s plans, GM Rick Hahn tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The decision to keep Jeff Samardzija at the deadline, for instance, wasn’t made because of the win streak; “nothing materialized and nothing was done in principal” in terms of a possible Samardzija trade, though the Sox were discussing him with teams. “Those [talks] don’t necessarily happen July 27, 28, 29 and 30th. Those are going on for several weeks,” Hahn said.

The Indians have offered Juan Uribe around $3MM, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports as part of his latest subscription-only column. Uribe has been linked to the Tribe and a few other teams, though salary will depend on whether or not Uribe is slated for a starting or backup role. Cleveland seems likely to use Uribe and Giovanny Urshela in a time-share at third, so Uribe wouldn’t get the lion’s share of playing time.

Speaking of Urshela, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at the Indians’ incumbent at the hot corner, noting that it’s too soon to write off the 24-year-old as an all-glove, no-bat player. While Urshela’s minor league numbers aren’t impressive overall, he did post an .825 OPS over 528 PA at Double-A and Triple-A in 2014. Pluto notes that Urshela battled injuries in 2015 and was probably promoted too quickly. Urshela’s glove is so impressive that he can be a very useful everyday player if he hits even just a little, though Pluto notes that there are enough questions surrounding Urshela that the Tribe is justified in looking for an upgrade, especially in a season when team plans to contend.

The Indians are leaning more towards Uribe than David Freese to address their third base need, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes as part of a reader mailbag. Freese entered the winter as the best of a fairly thin free agent third base market but there’s been very little news about him this winter, aside from some talks with the Angels before they acquired Yunel Escobar.

Randy Rosario was something of a surprising addition to the Twins’ 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft, but as Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes, the Twins are impressed by the young left-hander’s promise. Rosario, 21, missed much of 2014 recovering from Tommy John surgery before returning to pitch 53 2/3 innings in A-ball last season. The Dominican Republic product signed an $85K contract with the Twins in 2010.

Twins to induct Fort Myers resident John Gordon in Hall of Fame

David Dorsey | News-Press | February 8, 2016

John Gordon never set out to become a Hall of Famer.

The retired radio broadcaster just wanted to keep doing his dream job of talking baseball.

Gordon, 75 and a Fort Myers resident since 2007, spent a third of his life working for the Minnesota Twins. That team will reward him for those efforts, inducting him into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame with an on-field ceremony the weekend of July 16-17 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Gordon will become the second broadcaster inducted, following the late Herb Carneal, his friend and colleague.

“It’s a very humbling moment when you name some of the icons of the Minnesota Twins,” said Gordon, who was preceded in enshrinement by Baseball Hall of Famers like fellow Fort Myers resident Bert Blyleven and the late Kirby Puckett. “I’m extremely and very proud.”

Former Fort Myers Miracle player Torii Hunter will be inducted the same weekend. Their inductions will bring the number of Twins Hall of Fame enshrines to 28.

“He’s always been a great baseball guy to be around,” said Tommy Watkins, a Fort Myers native and the hitting coach for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, a Twins minor league affiliate. “I’ve gotten the chance to know him better the past couple of years doing these baseball camps. He’s a big part 4 of the Twins family. He’s got the voice for what he did. He’s unbelievable. He’s fun to listen to.”

Gordon, a native of Detroit, Michigan and 1957 graduate of Redford High School, went on to study broadcasting at Indiana University.

“I was in the twilight of a mediocre baseball career,” said Gordon, who earned a baseball scholarship as a pitcher. “But I’ve always had a passion for baseball. I wanted to stay in the game.”

At Indiana, classmate Pat Williams became a valuable connection.

Williams, who would become president and general manager of the Orlando Magic, boosted Gordon’s career when he hired him as the broadcaster of the Spartanburg Phillies, a Class A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, in 1965.

“He wanted to know if I wanted to come down and broadcast his games,” Gordon recalled. “I drove down the next day.”

From there, Gordon worked for the Baltimore Orioles, did a three-year stint broadcasting football and basketball at the University of Virginia and then returned to baseball.

Gordon spent 1977-81 working for the Columbus Clippers, Triple-A affiliate first with the Pirates and then with the Yankees. That led, in 1982, to a job with the big-league Yankees under the ownership of George Steinbrenner.

“I was one of seven broadcasters,” Gordon said. “Steinbrenner would run guys through the booth all the time. When the club was going bad, that’s when we were OK. When the club was going good, that’s when he would pick on us.”

Gordon joined the Twins in 1987, just in time for a World Series title run.

“I was just blessed to be a part of a great organization with the Twins,” Gordon said.

After the Twins relocated their spring training home to Fort Myers in 1991, Gordon and his wife, Nancy, began spending more and more time there. After considering a retirement home in Tennessee, the Gordons instead sold that piece of property and decided to live in Fort Myers instead. They have been married 47 years and have two children and four grandchildren. They attend McGregor Baptist Church, and Gordon remains involved with the Twins and the Fort Myers community, volunteering at a food kitchen and appearing at baseball clinics.

“I had a great career with the Twins,” Gordon said. “They’re a wonderful organization. People ask me what I miss the most about the game now that I’m out of it. I don’t miss the game or the travel. I miss the people who were in the game like Jim Rantz (former director of minor leagues) and some of the minor league coaches and managers, Ron Gardenhire and Tom Kelly were the two big-league managers I worked with over the years. They were wonderful people.”

Torii's time

While forthcoming Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame inductee John Gordon finished his baseball career by moving to Fort Myers, Torii Hunter began his by moving to Fort Myers for spring training in 1993.

Hunter, who will be enshrined the same July 16-17 weekend as Gordon, first arrived to Fort Myers at age 18 as a first-round (20th overall) draft pick out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Hunter played for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle in 1995-96. Then he went on to 19 seasons in the big leagues with the Twins, Angels and Tigers. He made five All-Star teams and won nine Gold Glove Awards. His 12 seasons with the Twins spanned 1997-2007 and again in 2015. He finished his Twins career playing in 1,373 games with 1,343 hits, 281 doubles, 26 triples, 214 home runs, 792 RBI, 739 runs, 354 walks and 128 stolen bases.