Ranking the Top-5 Negative WAR Careers in Twins History: Pitchers

[Cody Christie]

Pitchers can make or break a season for a big-league club, and it seems like the Twins have been on the hunt for sustainable pitching throughout the team’s history. Here are the five pitchers who provided the most negative WAR during their Twins tenure.

Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, USA TODAY Sports

On a recent episode of Gleeman and the Geek, a listener wrote in for their mailbag segment about Luis Rivas having a negative WAR for his career with the Twins. This topic brought up the idea of which Twins players have provided the most negative value for the club. Sometimes, the team can realize their mistake and cut bait after a poor performance. For other players, it takes longer for the club to realize their error. Rivas posted a -0.9 WAR for his career, the 38th-worst total in club history, and all the pitchers below combined for more than double his negative WAR. So, which pitchers compiled the most negative WAR for the Twins?

Honorable Mentions: Scott Klingenbeck (-1.6 WAR, 1995-96), Jerry Fosnow (-1.6 WAR, 1964-65), Sean Bergman (-1.5 WAR, 2000), Joe Niekro (-1.4 WAR, 1987-88), Steve Carlton (-1.4 WAR, 1987-88)

5. J.A. Happ
WAR: -1.8
Season: 2021
The Twins needed depth in their 2021 rotation after winning the division in 2020 and losing veteran starters like Rich Hill and Jake Odorizzi. Minnesota brought in Happ on a one-year deal, and he struggled mightily on the mound. In 98 1/3 innings, he posted a 6.77 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP and a 77-to-31 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The club had no other rotation options, so they were forced to keep using him every fifth day. Minnesota sent Happ to St. Louis for Evan Sisk and John Gant at the trade deadline. He combined for a 4.00 ERA in his final 11 starts with the Cardinals before retiring following that season.  

4. John Pacella
WAR: -1.8
Season: 1982
For younger fans, Pacella may be an unfamiliar name, but he pitched parts of six seasons for five organizations. The Twins acquired him on May 12, 1982, in a five-player trade with the Yankees. Minnesota received Pete Filson, Larry Milbourne, and Pacella for Roger Erickson and Butch Wynegar. He made 21 appearances (51 2/3 innings) for the Twins with a 7.32 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP and allowed multiple runs in nine appearances. Pacella was a mop-up man as the club lost all but three games where he pitched. Following the season, the Twins sent Pacella to the Rangers for Len Whitehouse. 

3. Matt Shoemaker
WAR: -1.8
Season: 2021
Like Happ, Shoemaker was brought in to add depth to the team’s starting rotation for the 2021 season. In 60 1/3 innings, he allowed 54 earned runs (8.06 ERA) with a 40-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Minnesota sent him to Triple-A to get back on track, and he blamed the Twins for trying to fix him during spring training. He was released at the beginning of August and quickly signed with the Giants, but he hasn’t made another big-league appearance since leaving Minnesota.  

2. Terry Felton
WAR: -1.9
Seasons: 1979-1982
Minnesota used a second-round draft pick to select Felton from high school in the 1976 MLB Draft. He quickly moved through the team’s farm system and debuted as a 21-year-old in 1979. In his first three seasons, he was limited to seven appearances as the Twins only brought him up for brief looks. In 1982, the Twins gave him a chance in the bullpen, and he ended up with a 0-13 record due to a 4.99 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP across 48 appearances. He had a 78 OPS+ for his Twins tenure with a 7.0 K/9 and a 5.7 BB/9. Felton struggled to find the strike zone, and batters took advantage. He played the entire 1983 season in the minors for the Twins and ended his career with a brief stint in the Dodgers organization. 

1. Liam Hendriks
WAR: -2.0
Seasons: 2011-2013
Hendriks ranked as one of Minnesota’s top pitching prospects throughout his professional career, but he could not find consistency at the big-league level. In parts of three seasons, he posted a 6.06 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP. However, the Twins never gave him a shot as a reliever, and that might be one of the club’s biggest regrets. The Twins placed him on waivers following the 2013 season, and he bounced around to the Cubs, Orioles, Blue Jays, and Royals organizations before finding himself in Oakland. Hendriks has become an All-Star closer with the A’s and White Sox, including being a two-time Rivera Reliever of the Year. Last season, he was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year following his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 

In case you missed it, here are the rankings of the top five negative WAR careers for hitters in Twins history. Do you agree with the above rankings? Who would rank at the top if you combined the hitter and pitcher list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

View full article

[D.C Twins]

Happ and Shoemaker in the same season... I just threw up in my mouth a little bit remembering that. 

A reminder to the Twins this offseason to resist the urge to go shopping in the SP bargain bin!

[Rik19753]

13 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Happ and Shoemaker in the same season... I just threw up in my mouth a little bit remembering that. 

A reminder to the Twins this offseason to resist the urge to go shopping in the SP bargain bin!

Not to mention they racked up those negative WAR in less than a season, whereas it took Hendriks and Felton 3+ years to put up similar numbers! It's truly astonishing how bad those 2 were.

[DJL44]

I expected to see some mid-1990s Twins on the list but there weren't any. Was surprised to look up Frankie Rodriguez and see him as a postive WAR contributor. Betting he shows up on the negative WAA list (-2.7).

[stringer bell]

Happ and Shoemaker were bad all right, but I remember a game or two where they were very good. Happ had a no-hitter going thru 7+ or 8 IIRC. That bring to mind another former Twin, Philip Humber, who had a very forgettable big league career with the exception of a perfect game pitched for the White Sox. It seems that every once in a while the law of averages stands on its head.

[Parfigliano]

Suprised not to see Ron Davis on this list

[Major League Ready]

It could be worse.  We could have signed Bumgarner or Strasburg.

[LewFordLives]

How did Carlton rack up -1.4 WAR? He barely pitched for the Twins.

[sweetmusicviola16]

Terry Felton will always be one of my favorite Twins from those early woe be gone days of the early 80's. How can you not feel for a guy that went 0-16 as a ML player? 1982 Twins, where the very foundation of '87 and '91 were laid.

[Parfigliano]

40 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

How did Carlton rack up -1.4 WAR? He barely pitched for the Twins.

Practice, practice, practice.

[Rosterman]

Hendriks not getting the bullpen chance was the Twins BIG mistake. It worked for Perkins, Hawkins, Guardado. Now works for Jax. Happily for Varland if he doesn't shine as a starter. Was he just out of options?

[Joe A. Preusser]

3 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Suprised not to see Ron Davis on this list

As I cast my minds eye back through the years he was exactly the one who came to mind as well.  I suspect it wasn't really all that bad, just all those blown saves that made his memory hurt 😭😋

[old nurse]

Negative WAR for what amounts to. Smallish sample size. Frankie Rodrigues, Scott Already, Rick Nolasco, Rich Robinson, Jim Deshailes and Pt Mahomes all had multiple seasons to stink in. One could have included Cole DeVries but I still remember Thorlos’s piece on how he could be an Ace. One could always count on sooner or later a very usual statistical take from Thorlos 

[old nurse]

2 hours ago, LewFordLives said:

How did Carlton rack up -1.4 WAR? He barely pitched for the Twins.

B war, not fWAR. In 1988 they left him out for mop up work in a couple games they were losing and let him get hammered when he had nothing. 

[mdhoffman61]

Awesome research CC. Enjoy reading these Top Five list. Yeah 2021 was abysmal for sure.

[lecroy24fan]

I watched Happ take a no hitter into the 8th on my birthday. Can't imagine how much worse his WAR looks without that gem.

[lecroy24fan]

9 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Happ and Shoemaker were bad all right, but I remember a game or two where they were very good. Happ had a no-hitter going thru 7+ or 8 IIRC. That bring to mind another former Twin, Philip Humber, who had a very forgettable big league career with the exception of a perfect game pitched for the White Sox. It seems that every once in a while the law of averages stands on its head.

April 23rd

[stringer bell]

22 minutes ago, lecroy24fan said:

I watched Happ take a no hitter into the 8th on my birthday. Can't imagine how much worse his WAR looks without that gem.

This year, I was at the Keuchel game where he was perfect into the eighth IIRC. 

[lecroy24fan]

42 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

This year, I was at the Keuchel game where he was perfect into the eighth IIRC. 

Lost it with 1 out in the 7th. Was pulled at that time, as was Happ.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

3 hours ago, mdhoffman61 said:

Awesome research CC. Enjoy reading these Top Five list. Yeah 2021 was abysmal for sure.

Welcome to TD!

[nicksaviking]

12 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I expected to see some mid-1990s Twins on the list but there weren't any. Was surprised to look up Frankie Rodriguez and see him as a postive WAR contributor. Betting he shows up on the negative WAA list (-2.7).

Just a guess, but with the offensive explosion with the onset of the steroid era, these guys caught a break with many peer pitchers also being terrible. Dave Stevens, Jose Para and Pat Mahomes were all negative. In less than 80 innings, Scott Klingnebeck just missed the list at -1.6.

On the other hand, like Rodriguez, Rich Robertson was somehow positive. This all probably goes to show WAR is fun for these exercises and less than accurate for real-world evaluation.