Blackburn leaves for family emergency
May 1, 2010
Pitcher Nick Blackburn has been placed on the Family Medical Emergency List due to a personal family matter. Blackburn will have to stay on the list for at least three days and a maximum of seven days. The situation with Blackburn is similar to the one that Delmon Young faced last season when his mother passed away while battling cancer.
Kevin Slowey stepped in to take Blackburn’s scheduled start on Friday night against the Cleveland Indians. Jeff Manship has also been called up to the 25-man roster to take Blackburn’s spot and will start on Saturday. Manship spent some time in the Major Leagues last season posting a 1-1 record over five starts with a 5.68 ERA. This season, Manship has a record of 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 20.2 innings.
Mijares placed on DL
April 17, 2010
Reliever Jose Mijares has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to an elbow strain. Mijares has had some problems with his mechanics, however, an ultrasound showed the strain in the left elbow.
Mijares has posted a 6.00 ERA over 3.0 innings in five appearances. He has given up two earned runs which came from back-to-back home runs in the opening game of the season against the Los Angeles Angels.
Alex Burnett, who was recently sent down to Triple-A on April 14th, will be called back up to the roster to fill in for Mijares. Burnett has pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief for the Twins this season in two relief appearances. Burnett was sent down to make room for Ron Mahay.
Mijares isn’t the only reliever in the bullpen to be battling injuries either. Pat Neshek has a sore middle finger on his throwing hand. Neshek has received a cortisone shot on Saturday and the Twins will wait until Tuesday to decide what to do.
Mahay brought up to active roster
April 14, 2010
Ron Mahay has been brought up to the Major League roster to help with the left handed bullpen duties. Jose Mijares has been struggling with some mechanical issues so the Twins opted to send Alex Burnett down to Triple-A and bring up Mahay in his place.
Mahay signed a minor league deal with the Twins and needed some extra time in Spring Training to get ready. In four appearances with the Fort Myers Miracle, Mahay gave up five hits with four strike outs and a walk over 4.2 innings.
Burnett landed on the 25-man roster due to Clay Condrey being placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strain in his right elbow. Burnett was on the opening day roster for the Twins and pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief in two appearances.
Roster moves
April 1, 2010
The Twins have decided to add Drew Butera to the 25-man roster and backup Joe Mauer as catcher. The decision was a tough one for the team as catching prospect, Wilson Ramos, put up impressive numbers in Spring Training with a .400 batting average and two home runs. It was decided by management that it would be best to keep Ramos playing in Triple-A to further develop his skills.
Butera didn’t have nearly as good of numbers as Ramos, but will fill the backup role well. Butera will more than likely fill the spot until Jose Morales comes off of the disabled list after having wrist surgery. Butera, the son of former Twins catcher Sal Butera, spent most of his time last season in Rochester where he hit .214 with two home runs. He was effective, though, against base stealers and threw out 42 percent of all stolen base attempts.
Glen Perkins was also optioned down to Rochester, who has had a rough time in Spring Training. Perkins has posted a 9.00 ERA in seven innings and missed some time with a muscle strain after lifting weights. Reliever Clay Condrey is also said to have soreness and will most likely make the roster, however, if he needs to go on the disabled list, the Twins will bring up Ron Mahay.
Pat Neshek, who has spent most of the past two years on the disabled list, has made the 25-man roster as part of the bullpen. Brian Duensing has also been penciled in with a spot in the bullpen.
Twins camp down to 38
March 22, 2010
The Minnesota Twins have narrowed their camp down a little further. On Sunday the Twins optioned Jeff Manship, Brian Dinkelman, Chris Parmalee and Toby Gardenhire to the minors.
The Twins now have 38 players in camp with 17 of those players being pitchers.
Twins send four to Rochester
March 20, 2010
The Minnesota Twins have sent four players down to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday.
Twins optioned infielders Danny Valencia, Trevor Plouffe and Luke Hughes and right handed pitcher Anthony Swarzak.
Both Valencia and Hughes had a great spring with the Twins. Valencia was .273/.292/.636 in 22 at bats. Valencia recorded 4 RBI, 2 HR and 6 SO. Hughes offensive numbers were even better, with .333/.333/.619 with 21 at bats. Hughes was credited with 2 RBI, 1 HR and 7 SO.
Plouffe didn’t get as many at bats with only 12, but was successful going .333/.385/.667.
Swarzak struggled in the preseason with a 11.57 ERA, giving up 6 runs on 6 hits in 4.2 innings pitched. Swarzak gave also gave up 2 BB and recorded 7 SO.
Valencia came into the season with big expectations which may have rubbed some of the veteran players the wrong way. Reports from those in the organization were a subtle message was sent to the young prospect with his locker being filled with diapers, pacifiers and other baby paraphernalia. Valencia left spring training on a good note though, a he belted a home run against Johan Santana and was 2-for-4 against the Mets on Friday.
Minor League
February 26, 2010
Found link that shows the Minnesota Twins signed minor league outfielder Charlton Jimerson out of the Atlantic League.
Jimerson had an incredible 2009 for the Newark Bears, with a .335/.387/.567 with 21 HR, 88 SO and 38 stolen bases.
Jacque Jones played 28 games last year for the Newark Bears.
Mike Lamb signs with Marlins
February 11, 2010
Mike Lamb has agreed to terms with the Florida Marlins on a minor league deal according to a tweet from Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.
Mike Lamb
Lamb was signed in December of 2007 to a two-year deal with the Twins. After 261 plate appearances and going .233/.276/.322, He was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for the return of Eddie Guardado. Lamb was released quietly on September 4th and quickly signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.
After becoming a free agent at the end of 2008, Lamb renewed his contract with the Brewers. Lamb was released by the Brewers April 1, 2009 when he refused assignment to the Brewers Triple A.
Jacque Jones signs minor league deal
February 9, 2010
Jacque Jones, who played with the Minnesota Twins during their back-to-back-to-back AL Central Division titles, has agreed to a minor league deal with the club and will be one of the invites to join the club in Fort Myers for spring training.
Jones was drafted by the Twins in 1996 and broke with the team in 1999. He spent the next seven years with Minnesota playing all positions in the outfield and hit .279 with 20+ homers in four of those years. His best season with the Twins came in 2002 where he hit .300 with 27 home runs when Minnesota advanced to the ALCS, eventually losing to the Anaheim Angels.
In 2006, Jones opted to become a free agent and signed with the Chicago Cubs. Since then, Jones has spent time with the Cubs, Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins. Last year, Jones signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds but was cut before the season started. He then played in the independent Atlantic League with the Newark Bears.
The Twins will be inviting Jones to spring training and Jones has agreed to play in Rochester if he does not make the team. Twins GM, Bill Smith, stated that they are “glad to have him back in our organization.”
Jason Pridie claimed by Mets
February 9, 2010
Kelly Thesier reported today on Twitter that outfielder, Jason Pridie, was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets. Pridie was put on waivers to make room on the 40-man roster for newly acquired Orlando Hudson.
Pridie was originally selected by the Twins as a Rule 5 draft pick in 2005 but ended up being sent back to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays due to not having any open spots on their 25-man roster. He eventually was traded to the Twins in a package deal that sent Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan to the Rays in exchange for himself, Delmon Young and Brendan Harris.
Pridie batted .268 in two seasons with the Rochester Red Wings with 22 home runs and 114 RBI. He has also had his proverbial cup of coffee in the big leagues going 0-4 with a walk and a sacrifice in six plate appearances with the Twins. He only made one appearance with the club last season as a pinch runner in an interleague game against the Houston Astros.
