Twins sign Beresford, Christian to Minor League Deals
The Twins have signed a couple more middle infielders to minor league contracts.
The Twins were able to get James Beresford to come back. Along with the minor league contract, he was given an invitation to big league spring training. He became a minor league free agent for the first time in his career, but he chose to stay with the Twins organization. Last year as a 23 year old, he played for AA New Britain where he hit .266/.330/.314 with 12 doubles, 3 triples and 25 RBI. He has good range, and at 2B he posted a .996 fielding percentage. At shortstop, he had just nine errors in 262 chances (.966).
The Twins also signed 25 year old Jason Christian to a minor league deal. He was the A's 5th round pick in 2008 out of Michigan. He stayed in the A's organization through 2011. He began the season in the Reds organization before signing with the Braves in mid-June. He played in 55 games for their AA affiliate and hit just .219/.318/.252 with three doubles and a triple in 155 plate appearances. He played 40 games at shortstop, six at 3B, five at 2B, two at 1B and one in right field. He had 12 errors in 185 chances at shortstop (.935).
"Each year, he has been able to get a little bit bigger."
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Originally Posted by
Seth Stohs
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Originally Posted by
YourHouseIsMyHouse
Beresford is okay, but he is on the old side/
Beresford is 23 with a year of AA under his belt. In what world is Beresford "on the old side?" The average hitter in the Eastern League in 2012 was 24.6. He signed so young out of Australia which is why became a free agent so young. Most around him have always said he has a chance to be a big league regular "if he gets a little bigger." Each year, he has been able to get a little bit bigger. So, we'll see what happens in 2013.
Oh my! The first thing that jumped into my head was steroids. For minor league baseball players, there is a tremendous amount of pressure that comes from trying to advance in their organization in the midst of all the competition from other players. I see it every year in the NY-Penn league in Batavia. Those poor guys try so hard, yet so few make it to the next year. In the past, the pressure led many to cheat with steroids, allowing them to get "a little bigger" each year. Thankfully, that temptation has been muted by testing. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...ids/index.html