Twins Sign RH RP Blaine Boyer to Minor League Deal

[Seth Stohs]

Via various sources, the Twins have signed veteran right-handed relief pitcher Blaine Boyer to a minor league contract. He is 33-years-old. Pitched 30-some games for the Padres last year. Didn't pitch in the big leagues in 2012 or 2013. 

 

Who knows? Maybe he'll be OK, but this is just filler at AAA, I assume. If he doesn't make the Rochester roster, he'd likely just be released.

 

Feel my enthusiasm!

 

That said, it's just a minor league deal. No harm. 

[Rosterman]

You can never have too much pitching, right?

[ashbury]

You can never have too much good pitching.  But you also have to fill your AAA roster.

[brvama]

This is a good for the country's economy. Another guy gets employed.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

The deal includes an invite to Spring Training - so he'll get at least an audition for the major league roster.

[JB_Iowa]

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 3m3 minutes ago 
Per source, RHP Blaine Boyer will earn $750,000 if he makes #MNTwins roster in majors with another $100,000 in performance bonuses.

 

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 1m1 minute ago 
Blaine Boyer's deal with #MNTwins also includes March 30 opt-out clause if he's not added to 40-man roster, source says.

[Brandon]

If only we had options for our bullpen we..........

[nicksaviking]

I always liked minor league singings, next to no risk.  On the other hand, there are lots of power arms in the pipeline, too much AAA filler could block legit MLB arms from getting promotions to Rochester.  I don't see that happening here though.  There has been a lot of effort to draft power arms for the pen recently, I think they finally realized their importance and won't let a guy like Boyer block them.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

I think with the structure of this contract he's either going to beat out somebody for an opening day spot in the pen, or he's going to be looking to latch on somewhere else.

[ashbury]

also includes March 30 opt-out clause if he's not added to 40-man roster, source says.

*snork*  Buh-bye Blaine, we'll remember the fun weeks in March always, I'm sure.

 

_{^{Now was that respectful?  I'm sorry.  Good for him if I'm wrong about his chances.  There's 22 guys ahead of him on the 40-man right now.  Jack Goin must see something he likes about guys who pitch for the Padres.}}

[nater79a]

*snork*  Buh-bye Blaine, we'll remember the fun weeks in March always, I'm sure.

 

_{^{Now was that respectful?  I'm sorry.  Good for him if I'm wrong about his chances.  There's 22 guys ahead of him on the 40-man right now.  Jack Goin must see something he likes about guys who pitch for the Padres.}}

 

Yep. Sounds like you'll need to get to Fort Myers early in March if you want to see Boyer pitch for the Twins!

[Otto von Ballpark]

Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino  · 1m1 minute ago 

Blaine Boyer's deal with #MNTwins also includes March 30 opt-out clause if he's not added to 40-man roster, source says.

And he's not a former Twin, so presumably the 40-man spot is not guaranteed.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Jack Goin must see something he likes about guys who pitch for the Padres.

Petco?

[TwinsMasochist]

It's Tonkin's long lost brother!  Seriously, we should call them the "Ginger Beard Men."  Anyway, another "control" pitcher who "doesn't walk many guys" and has a low K/9 rate.  Yawn.  Fastball was at a decent 93 MPH on average last year though, so he's not a noodle arm Albers type.  The more competition, the better.

[Thrylos]

Was in Japan the 2013 season, pitched well and then made the Padres last season. 

 

I just don't get it...  The Twins' pen was second from last in the majors, as far as FIP went, last season, and Ryan is trying to rebuild it with dumpster diving...

[Parker Hageman]

This Boyer kid has gumption...

 

https://twitter.com/btboyer81/status/494230216080760833

[jorgenswest]

I don't like the a rochester part. I hate the invite part. There is limited work an opportunity in spring. Why not look for a guy under 30 to offer these kinds of opportunities? Why not invite a younger nonroster guy already in the organization?

 

Minor league signings of guys with no upside have an opportunity cost and hence risk.

[DocBauer]

What? Who? Why? Ummmmm............OK.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I don't like the a rochester part. I hate the invite part. There is limited work an opportunity in spring. Why not look for a guy under 30 to offer these kinds of opportunities? Why not invite a younger nonroster guy already in the organization?

I'm more concerned about the promise to Stauffer about starting -- competition for the remaining rotation spot is a lot greater than bullpen right now, no?

[jokin]

I'm more concerned about the promise to Stauffer about starting -- competition for the remaining rotation spot is a lot greater than bullpen right now, no?

 

The Twins have made the same promise to a lot of guys over the years, and it was never going to happen.  IMO, he's shooting for a late-inning relief role, with the fallback position for him being long reliever/spot starter. 

 

I really don't see any need for worry in a low $$/one-year deal from a guy who isn't even a reclamation or bounce-back deal, the guy's actually pitched pretty decently in relief the last two seasons, with no sign of arm strain or injury.

 

In the case of Boyer,  he will really have to show something special to be with the Twins beyond March 30-  I'm willing to lay $20 that he opts out by that date. As others have stated, he's the ideal arm to bring in to let the other guys know that no one will just be handed a spot out of ST.

[Brandon]

I don't like the a rochester part. I hate the invite part. There is limited work an opportunity in spring. Why not look for a guy under 30 to offer these kinds of opportunities? Why not invite a younger nonroster guy already in the organization?

 

Minor league signings of guys with no upside have an opportunity cost and hence risk.

 

Why is there so much age discrimination on these boards?  if the guy can get the job done he can have the job.  There are lots of pitchers who go well into their 40's. 

[ashbury]

There are lots of pitchers who go well into their 40's. 

Blaine Boyer will not be one of those gentlemen, I feel safe in predicting.  Unless he joins an over-40 league.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Why is there so much age discrimination on these boards?  if the guy can get the job done he can have the job.  There are lots of pitchers who go well into their 40's. 

I might quibble with "lots" there.  Of the 797 guys to throw a MLB pitch in 2014, just 2 were 40 or older -- and both of them were very well-established MLB pitchers by Boyer's age (Hawkins and Colon).

 

And it's not just the age that's at issue -- it's the age and the quality/upside.  Boyer's record has been pretty marginal, and the likelihood of him improving enough to finally stick in MLB at age 33 is slim.  By comparison, when we signed Jared Burton, he was 3 years younger with a better track record of performance.  Casey Fien was 5 years younger with a good minor league track record and 6 controllable seasons ahead of him (Boyer is about 3.5 months away from full free agency).  Guerrier was 8 years younger than Boyer when we first signed him, again fully controlled for 6+ seasons.

[ashbury]

also includes March 30 opt-out clause if he's not added to 40-man roster, source says.

I wonder if anyone knows whether a player is able to talk to other teams to gauge their interest, before having to decide to opt out or not.  It could be that the Twins signed him purely as AAA depth, agreed to the opt-out clause, but hope to persuade him to stay anyway - but if he can't know whether some other team would take him as the 25th man, such persuasion would be hard.  I'm sure someone under a normal contract can't talk to other teams (tampering), but does the presence of a spring opt-out change anything "legalistically"?

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

I would be really surprised if agents don't mention clients in this situation when talking to teams about guys that are actually free agents.

 

Boyer's agent and the teams he's talking to in course of a regular business day might not admit to it, but if he's doing the best he can for his client, he's gauging interest from other teams during spring training. 

[ashbury]

This Boyer kid has gumption...

    Lou Grant: You know what? You've got spunk.

    Mary Richards: Well, yes…

    Lou Grant: I hate spunk.

 

_{^{/ why yes.  I am old.  Thank you for asking.}}

[Craig Arko]

Lou Grant: You know what? You've got spunk.

    Mary Richards: Well, yes…

    Lou Grant: I hate spunk.

 

_{^{/ why yes.  I am old.  Thank you for asking.}}

You're going to make it after all.