Twins Claim Lefty Starter Cole Irvin for Stretch Run

[Matthew Trueblood]

The stretched-out southpaw has some upside, but had lost his place in the Orioles' pitching hierarchy. Now, he'll try to help the Twins work around the sputters and struggles of their young back-end starters.

Image courtesy of © Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

With Zebby Matthews, David Festa, and Simeon Woods Richardson all appearing to hit a wall near the end of their longest professional campaigns to date, the Twins went outside the organization for a last-minute reinforcement to their pitching staff Monday afternoon. In Cole Irvin, 30, they scooped up a pitcher who has pitched all the way to the ends of MLB seasons before, and who was an important cog for the Orioles as recently as early this season. Irvin was a late-bloomer with the A's a few years ago and an upside play when Baltimore dealt for him prior to 2023, but now, he's just a stopgap in a rotation that has shown too much wear and weariness lately.

Irvin has a legitimate six-pitch mix, with all three flavors of fastball (four-seam, cutter, and sinker), a slider, a curveball, and a changeup. His cutter is a bit more of a true bridge than it is for most pitchers, behaving neither as a true heater nor as a de facto breaking pitch. He's had a very hard time finding the utility of that pitch, or of his change, despite being a lefty starter and seeing a lot of right-handed batters. His best offerings have been the four-seamer, sinker, and curveball, this season.

Were this more of a long-term acquisition or made earlier in the season, you could envision the Twins making some substantial tweaks here. Instead, it's likely that they'll mostly allow Irvin to do what he's been doing, albeit with a slightly greater emphasis on the gyro slider that has played up since his recent move to the bullpen for Baltimore. That's the pitch that best suits what the Twins like to do in terms of pitch types and shapes, and it's the one with which he can be an effective flipper of the lineup card.

 

 

Irvin won't be eligible to pitch for the Twins in the playoffs. This move is purely about ensuring that they get that far, by making up for the walls into which their younger starters all seem to have run recently. They'll try to get everyone the rest to which they've been accustomed--the Twins have sent 111 starters out on at least five days' rest this year, fourth-most in MLB--even as they put the pedal down to get across the finish line of the regular season ahead of the Tigers, Mariners, and Red Sox. Irvin can round out their rotation mix, and/or act as a long reliever to patch a bullpen short on healthy, live arms. 

He doesn't throw hard, and won't rack up strikeouts. In his most recent outing against the Red Sox, he gave up two homers in an inning of work. However, Irvin has just enough in his tank to make him appealing to a team chockablock with right-handed starters who appear not to have much in theirs. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, the team designated Randy Dobnak for assignment, and they'll wait until Tuesday to create an open space on their 28-man active roster.

At that point, Irvin could come in for immediate use, as he last pitched on Sept. 9. It's a low-wattage addition, but when a team is scrambling to secure a playoff spot, all additions are welcome. If things pan out especially nicely, despite not being able to pitch for them this October, Irvin could be under team control for two more seasons.

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[Brandon]

Twins are a HR neutral park so that will help but this week is on the road.  I think he would work best as a piggyback starter but you want Irvin going first in case he sucks and you can put your b relievers in.  But 3 - 4 innings from Irvin followed by 3 from Festa should be a solid combo.  

[CRF]

Not a strikeout guy and gives up a lot of hits. Decent control...doesn't walk too many. Gives up some dingers. Maybe Maki can coach him up. They DFA'd the Dobber to add Irvin. I guess we'll see if this is a good move or not. 

[bean5302]

4 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Twins are a HR neutral park so that will help but this week is on the road.  I think he would work best as a piggyback starter but you want Irvin going first in case he sucks and you can put your b relievers in.  But 3 - 4 innings from Irvin followed by 3 from Festa should be a solid combo.  

Sort of. Over the last 3 years, Target Field has a HR factor of 105 for RHB and 104 for LHB. I'm not sure why the splits aren't higher in favor of RHB considering the tall right field wall, but thems the numbers.

[bean5302]

My expectation is one of the starters is going to be optioned to AAA. Baldelli clearly has no faith or leash for SWR, Festa or Matthews, but I'd think Matthews gets the short end of the stick here with the blister issue and his struggles.

[Seth Stohs]

Irvin has certainly shown moments in his time in Baltimore. I would think he's a guy you keep on the 40-man roster, offer him arbitration and work on things with him with the goal of him making strides. Perfect world, the Twins could get him for 3 starts this season and two more arbitration years. 

People will note how he does in these three games that he'll pitch yet this year, but this is a potentially nice long-term move too. And his salary is low so if it doesn't go well, it's not detrimental. 

[KirbyDome89]

A SP who gives up hard contact frequently and doesn't strike anybody out seems like a terrible fit with a team that is struggling defensively. 

One of the issues plaguing this club is short starts giving way to ample opportunity for bullpen implosions. I don't see how adding a Keuchel clone alleviates pressure on any front. 

[Linus]

This move pretty much sums up the Twins experience since the playoffs last year. 

[Mortimerkenny21]

Gotta try something, hopefully some veteran experience will help. The rookies are struggling.

[thelanges5]

Low wattage, low risk move. LFG!

[2wins87]

Not thrilled about giving a couple starts to Irvin, but SWR is looking a little gassed and could use some extra rest.  Festa and Matthews are shaky enough as rookies that Irvin doesn't seem like a worse option.

If he can help them get into the playoffs a little fresher then he'll have done his job.

Whether or not they make the playoffs probably comes down to whether the offense falls back asleep anyway.

[C-Gangster]

wow this is really exciting wow

[KirbyDome89]

20 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

Irvin has certainly shown moments in his time in Baltimore. I would think he's a guy you keep on the 40-man roster, offer him arbitration and work on things with him with the goal of him making strides. Perfect world, the Twins could get him for 3 starts this season and two more arbitration years. 

People will note how he does in these three games that he'll pitch yet this year, but this is a potentially nice long-term move too. And his salary is low so if it doesn't go well, it's not detrimental. 

Go get Irvin (or any of the million versions of him available) in the offseason if the 2 arb years are so important. Justifying years of depressed pay for a poor performing 30 year old who was just jettisoned off the roster of another playoff contender is insanity. Unless Matthews is so injured he can't pitch over the next two weeks, there's no chance any of the young arms offer this club less of a chance to win games than Irvin. 

[Road trip]

Plenty of room on the struggle bus for one more.  Can't go worse than the Richards acquisition, right?

He's left handed and has a pulse, I guess.  I'll hope for the best..

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

Sure, why not

[Craig Arko]

Whoever they send down tomorrow would be eligible to return Oct 3rd, i.e. for a game 3 of the wild card series if there is one, and thereafter, if there is one.

[ashbury]

Pro-rating Irvin's lofty $2,000,000 salary, I estimate the Twins are investing an additional $100,000 compared to keeping a youngster on the major-league roster for the remainder of the regular season.  Let's see if this bold, budget-busting strategy pays off for them, Cotton.

[FlyingFinn]

He's left-handed and we have no confidence in Funderburk (hasn't been very good in St. Paul coming back from injury) and Okert right now, as well as Dobnak. He's an innings eater if we get way behind. Look out bullpen tonight. If one of the bottom guys pitches a lot in a blowout game, they are probably the one going down to St. Paul.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, KirbyDome89 said:

A SP who gives up hard contact frequently and doesn't strike anybody out seems like a terrible fit with a team that is struggling defensively. 

One of the issues plaguing this club is short starts giving way to ample opportunity for bullpen implosions. I don't see how adding a Keuchel clone alleviates pressure on any front. 

A 4.86 ERA is better than a 7.11 ERA.

[purplesoldier4u]

Skimming the scrap heap, once again?

[chpettit19]

The fascinating thing will be who they send down tomorrow. Blewett? Henriquez? Zebby? Those are the 3 I see as the most likely. Tonkin and Varland being the next 2 in line. 

My guess would be Zebby's season is over. That'd mean Irvin is stepping directly into the rotation, though. So maybe Blewett or Henriquez and they look to use bulk pitching as much as they can for all the non-Lopez or Ober starts? Interesting decision incoming. 

[MMMordabito]

23 minutes ago, purplesoldier4u said:

Skimming the scrap heap, once again?

[IndianaTwin]

The last time through the rotation, SWR, Festa and Matthews combined for 10 innings, 7 runs and 28 baserunners. That's a 6.30 ERA and a WHIP of 2.8. The previous time through they had 13.1 innings, 10 runs and 23 baserunners. That's a 6.75 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. Combine those and you've got 23.1 innings (less than four per start), 17 runs (6.56 ERA) and 51 baserunners (2.19 WHIP). 

They are likely key parts of the future, but in late-September 2024, they seem gassed. 

In his four outings since being recalled, Irvin has pitched 12.2 innings, with 7 runs (4.97 ERA) and 18 baserunners (1.42 WHIP), It looks like there's a reason he was on waivers, but even with that, he's still pitched better than the rookies recently.

He may or may not be part of the future,* but for late-September 2024, it seems like a prudent move. 

 

*See Seth's note above. I think he's not a bad flyer for the future in comparison to some non-tender candidates currently on the pitching staff, but for now, it's more about these two weeks. 

[DJL44]

44 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

The fascinating thing will be who they send down tomorrow. Blewett? Henriquez? Zebby?

I think it's Zebby or Varland.

It's not Tonkin or Blewett because neither have options. They would have opened the roster spot by releasing one of them.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t someone be added to the 40 man for playoff purposes as an injury replacement? I thought I read somewhere that’s actually fairly common. So let’s say Matthews goes on the injured list tomorrow because of his blister problem, effectively ending his season. Wouldn’t that allow them to both put Irwin on the 40 and make him eligible for the playoffs? 

[jorgenswest]

23 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t someone be added to the 40 man for playoff purposes as an injury replacement? I thought I read somewhere that’s actually fairly common. So let’s say Matthews goes on the injured list tomorrow because of his blister problem, effectively ending his season. Wouldn’t that allow them to both put Irwin on the 40 and make him eligible for the playoffs? 

They can petition to add off the 40 players that were in the organization prior to September 1.

[DocBauer]

In 2021 and 2022 he had generally solid numbers across the board for the A's, even with low K numbers. He made 30 starts or more each season and had almost dead on 180 IP both years. Nothing great, but solid. I'm sure he was helped by the ballpark there.

If he had a little more velocity, he'd be the kind of LH arm I'd be pleading with the Twins to sign on a cheap deal this offseason to transition to the pen at this age/stage of his career. 

I think this is a case of availability to add some last minute help to eat innings without calling up Morris, or similar, when you have a veteran arm available. The fact that he has a pair of arbitration years left doesn't hurt in case the Twins see something they like and believe they can work with for 2025. 

It's a pretty blah mover but it's either a veteran arm that drops in your lap, or another rookie, or a AAAA guy to help eat these innings late in the year. They chose the veteran arm from the left side for experience and a different look. Nothing exciting, but not a bad move either 

[Doctor Gast]

We are desperate, so let's poke & hope & see what happens.

[Peter]

He may have saved our pitching staff and possibly season!!! Let’s hope this works out in getting twins to playoffs!!!

[Fire Dan Gladden]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I think it's Zebby or Varland.

It's not Tonkin or Blewett because neither have options. They would have opened the roster spot by releasing one of them.

Not to mention Tonkin and Blewett have pitched with some success