Article: Twins Send Six To Minor League Camp

[Seth Stohs]

FT. MYERS - Following the Twins 4-3 win at Hammond Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Twins announced that they had sent six players to minor league camp.

 

Right-handed pitchers Myles Jaye and Jake Reed, catcher Jordan Pacheco, infielder Nick Gordon and outfielders Nick Buss and LaMonte Wade will report to minor league spring training in the next couple of days.The pitchers were told of their demotions before the game on Sunday. The hitters were told following the game.

 

Myles Jaye signed as a free agent with the Twins early in the offseason after making his major-league debut for the Detroit Tigers in 2017.

 

Jake Reed gave up a solo home run on Saturday as part of 1.2 innings of work for the Twins. It was the first run he had given up this spring.

 

Regarding Gordon's spring training, manager Paul Molitor said, "I think he was a lot more comfortable. We saw him swinging the bat pretty well for the most part. We saw him on both sides of the base defensively. There's still some work to be done there in terms of consistency. You have to be pleased with the way he's progressed offensively. His at-bats were really competitive when he got the opportunity to play."'

 

Asked if he would encourage Gordon to play both sides of the infield, Molitor said, "I would advise that they do that, if I get asked."

 

Regarding LaMonte Wade's showing at big league camp, Molitor was clearly impressed. "As advertised. Good strike zone knowledge. He's got a lot of good at- bats as well. He's one of the few guys you see in the game who chokes up as much as he does on the bat for bat control. I think he's here to compete. Defensively, we put him in all three spots. He's probably more comfortable in the corners, but that's OK. He's just another guy who's coming. He knows his future is in front of him."

 

Molitor continued. "He did a really nice job of using some of the resources we provide including the alumni players and our coaching staff and our current outfielders here."

 

Jake Odorizzi struggled some with command, but he threw four scoreless innings. He said that he couldn't get his split-finger command which cost him some walks early.

 

On the back fields, Molitor watched Lance Lynn. He said that he "didn't have the command he had last time out" but he "saved his best for Rosie." Lynn threw four innings without giving up a hit, though he did issue a couple of walks. Eddie Rosario batted each inning against Lynn, and he also played left field. (Below is a video of a Brent Rooker RBI double in which Rosario threw the ball in from the corner.)

 

 

Asked about how he felt after the throw, Molitor said Rosario told him, "He said that I overthrew the cutoff man, so I must be feeling pretty good."

 

 

The Twins spring training roster is now at 40 players, including nine non-roster players.

 

Click here to view the article

[terrydactyls]

Why not return Gordon to the big club to take Polanco's spot? Give him an 80 game trial.

[beckmt]

None of these surprise me or move the needle.  Most of these players are depth or future Twins, none of them were expected to make the club.  Reed, Gordon, and Wade will be here probably later this year or early next.  Looks like biggest question is whether Twins trade or DFA Grossman, if they decide to care more about defense or send Granite and Cave down to keep Grossman.  Expect another round of cuts just before next weekend or may have more clarity then.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Why not return Gordon to the big club to take Polanco's spot? Give him an 80 game trial.

 

I think Molitor's quotes on Gordon's defense are probably pretty telling. Just no reason at all to rush him when they have the likes of Escobar, Adrianza and Aybar. 

[howieramone2]

 

None of these surprise me or move the needle.  Most of these players are depth or future Twins, none of them were expected to make the club.  Reed, Gordon, and Wade will be here probably later this year or early next.  Looks like biggest question is whether Twins trade or DFA Grossman, if they decide to care more about defense or send Granite and Cave down to keep Grossman.  Expect another round of cuts just before next weekend or may have more clarity then.

Grossman is not going anywhere. Granite and Wade have zero power. Cave is insurance in case Rosario or Kepler are out for an extensive period of time. If so, Grossman and Cave will be expected to minimize the power shortage. Cave is a solid pickup with late developing power and 3 options. Excellent depth move for the next few seasons.

[caninatl04]

Thank you for the article.  Nit-picking, but I think the use of the word "demotion" is a little misleading as it connotes that the players were in the majors and were sent down and / or their performance was wanting.

 

As previous posters have mentioned, these moves were fully anticipated.

 

Apologies for nit-picking.

[yarnivek1972]

I guess I don’t understand why the plan seems to be to have Gordon play short and second. It’s a lot easier to adjust to playing second after playing short than vice versa.

 

Just keep him at short everyday until circumstances dictates he move.