Twins Deal Enigmatic Reliever Jorge Alcala to the Red Sox

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of © Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Following the Twins 6-2 win at Target Field over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, Jorge Alcala was called into manager Rocco Baldelli's office. He was told he had been traded. He went back out to the locker room and exchanged hugs with teammates. 

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Earlier in the day on Wednesday, it was announced that the Twins had claimed lefty reliever Joey Wentz off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will join the Twins before their Thursday afternoon game with the Rangers, taking the 26-man roster spot of Alcala. Pablo Lopez was moved to the 60-Day Injured List. 

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In return the Twins will receive 21-year-old utility man Andy Lugo. In 44 games for High-A Greenville this season, he is hitting .265/.327/.430 (.758) with 11 doubles and four homers. He has played 21 games at first base, 16 at third base, and four games in left field. Presumably, he will remain at the High-A level and join the Cedar Rapids Kernels. 

 

 

Immediately Lugo will become one of the best bat-flippers in the Twins organization. He got some great height on this effort. 

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How do we summarize Jorge Alcala's time with the Twins? 

No doubt, it was a rollercoaster, filled with some remarkably high highs, and each coupled with a remarkably low-low. 

Alcala came to the Twins organization with outfielder Gilberto Celestino from the Astros in exchange for reliever Ryan Pressly days before the 2018 trade deadline. Pressly was one of the most successful Rule 5 picks in Twins history, but he had his ups and downs for a few seasons before putting together some advanced statistical metrics that got a lot of teams excited. He went on to Houston and became one of the most dominant late-inning relievers in baseball. Twice an All-Star, he was on the mound when the Astros won the 2022 World Series title. 

Celestino was a highly-touted prospect still in the rookie leagues. He had signed as a 16-year-old for a seven-figure bonus a couple of years earlier. He got rushed to the Twins, made some great defensively plays, and struggled mightily with the bat. 

At the time of the trade, Jorge Alcala was touted as a hard-throwing starting pitcher at Double-A. He was also lean and prone to issuing too many walks. The Twins gave him about a season of starts to see what they had, and they ultimately decided that he would be best working out of the bullpen. Clearly this was a wise move. He could air things out for one or two innings at a time. His time as a starter allowed him to develop a slider. He threw a changeup, but it never really developed fully which made him a two-pitch pitcher. 

But as we have seen ever since his two-game debut at the end of the 2019 season, those were, at times, two really, really good pitches. Blessed with a fastball that sat consistently in the upper-90s, Alcala frequently hit 100 mph in games over the past few years. And while his slider wasn't always consistent for him, when it was on, it could be a devastating swing-and-miss pitch. 

While he was seemingly always the guy that the front office would send down to Triple-A when there was a need, he typically came back and had a very dominant streak. Unfortunately, he also dealt with a lot of shoulder issues earlier in his career which slowed his development to some degree. He missed most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons. 

He was solid in 2024, even reliable for an extended time frame, but then came the game against Texas where it literally seemed like a safe lead was gone in a matter of about eight pitches when he came into the ball game. Since that moment, he just has not been able to find it. "It" might be release point, or grip, or balance, or mojo, or any number of things.     

In 22 appearances this year, he was 0-2 with an 8.88 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. In 24 1/3 innings, he had 28 strikeouts, but he also walked 15 batters and opponents made a lot of hard contact against him among their 29 hits. He went from being the next guy behind Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Cole Sands, to being used in low-leverage situations, to almost not being usable. 

And, when the Twins put him on their Opening Day roster, it wasn't long before they could not option him due to service time. Hoping that a change of scenery or a new voice will help, he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox, a team that definitely needs bullpen arms. 

And I don't think many Twins fans will be surprised if Alcala finds himself. He showed with the Twins just how good he can be. I think Twins fans would be happy for Alcala if he's able to turn it around. 

Meanwhile, one of his good friends, lefty Jovani Moran was traded to the Red Sox in the offseason for Mickey Gasper. He missed all of the 2024 season after having Tommy John Surgery. He is rehabbing now. He pitched a couple of games in the FCL, and he is currently getting some innings in with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. Moran, like Alcala, has certainly shown he can be a quality MLB reliever. 

The Red Sox have Aroldis Chapman closing games this year. Justin Slaten was very good, but he's on the IL with shoulder inflammation. They have called up guys from Triple-A Worcester, and shuttled them up and down for awhile now. Former Twin Liam Hendriks has struggled in his return from Tommy John and is currently on the IL. So is another former Twins pitcher, Nick Burdi. While they have some intriguing starters, their bullpen could use the good Jorge Alcala. 

The Red Sox pitching coach is former big-leaguer Andrew Bailey. Peter Fatse, their hitting coach, was with the Twins as a minor-league hitting coordinator when Alcala was in the Twins upper levels. Former Twins pitcher Craig Breslow is the Chief Baseball Officer. The Sox "stole" Justin Willard from the Twins organization. He had been the Twins assistant minor-league pitching coordinator. Now he is the Red Sox Director of Pitching (for all levels). In addition, Kyle Boddy is a Special Advisor to the CBO, and he's well respected for his pitching knowledge. 

In other words, maybe Alcala is going to a situation that is perfect for him and he'll regain the form we know he can. Or maybe not. Ultimately, the Twins were going to DFA him, and the Red Sox didn't want to have to hope that he got to them on the waiver wire. He wouldn't have. Alcala's got an arm that would be intriguing to a lot of teams, especially those who aren't playing for 2025 anymore. 

The Twins got a minor-league hitter, a 21-year-old who is at least intriguing. It'll be fun to watch him develop. 

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What are your thoughts on the Jorge Alcala/Andy Lugo trade? Leave a comment below. 

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[Muppet]

Wow. I know he was having a bad year, but it seems like he’d be worth more than a weak hitting high A guy

[terrydactyls]

5 minutes ago, Muppet said:

Wow. I know he was having a bad year, but it seems like he’d be worth more than a weak hitting high A guy

The choice was to trade him for whatever they could get or DFA him and get nothing.

[The Mad King]

Too bad it didn't work out...

[PseudoSABR]

It's great that they got any value.  So disappointing that Alcala didn't live up to what seemed so likely his high ceiling. 

[darwin22]

Better return than I expected---a used bag of baseballs for batting practice.

How does this affect 40-man roster?

Last nights implosion by Alcala---especially his mental mistake of backing up a scorched single to RF on the 1B SIDE, which resulted in a throwing error by Wallner (?)--had to be the final straw.

 

[David HK]

I'm sad to see him go- world of talent, but somehow, just couldn't string good outings together.  Too many implosions.  

But hey, now we've got Joey Wentz, so that pretty much wraps up the pennant... 

[mark sills]

so who takes his forty man spot

[Mike Sixel]

22 minutes ago, PseudoSABR said:

It's great that they got any value.  So disappointing that Alcala didn't live up to what seemed so likely his high ceiling. 

This. I hope he finds success.

[stringer bell]

3 minutes ago, mark sills said:

so who takes his forty man spot

Nobody has to. There is no point in filling the 40-man spot until that player is needed on the major league team. Michael Tonkin is close to activation from the 60-day IL and he well might be the one who is added back onto the 40-man roster.

[Western SD Fan]

Unfortunately, this was an end to a chapter that had to happen.  He was out of options and was going to be DFA'd when they finally made the move to put Wentz on the active roster.  The Twins didn't do him any favors by continually shifting his role in the bullpen, especially in 2024.  He was a late inning guy for a while, then he had to pitch 2+ innings, then he was sent down to the minors.  It just needed a role and that didn't happen to him last year.  For 2025, he was a mop-up guy that couldn't even get outs in that role.  I'm sure he is the perfect change of scenery candidate.  I'm also glad they got something for him, I hope you enjoyed Minnesota Mr. Alcala and good luck.

[Western SD Fan]

17 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Nobody has to. There is no point in filling the 40-man spot until that player is needed on the major league team. Michael Tonkin is close to activation from the 60-day IL and he well might be the one who is added back onto the 40-man roster.

Another thing to consider is, if the Twins need to replace SWR in the rotation, their options are limited. As was suggested in another tread today, bringing up McCaughan, Dobnak, or Morris also requires a 40-man move so to have an extra one in their back-pocket isn't the worst thing in the world.  

[S Bart]

Lugo is 21...,,,from the DR,...has a 265 avg....plays LF,....1st base...2nd base,,, will start at Cedar Rapids...one never knows....

[High heat]

You moved on from the 1.5 million you owed Alcala and get Joey Wentz?  I guess another lefty.  Can’t be much worse the Alcala maybe can provide some length in the bullpen or more likely will be DFAed again in a week when Adam’s can be recalled or a better arm fall to us on waivers.

[Doc Lenz]

Just hope Lugo turns out as great as Gasper has at MLB level. Bonanza!!! Do the Red Sox have any other players they know will never contribute in the league they want to send to us?

[Mark G]

1 hour ago, S Bart said:

Lugo is 21...,,,from the DR,...has a 265 avg....plays LF,....1st base...2nd base,,, will start at Cedar Rapids...one never knows....

I know this may not be exactly on topic, but am I the only one who hates the fact that baseball is now grooming "utility" players from A ball on?  If I am, feel free to give me the thumbs down.  🫣

[h2oface]

What? How can Alcala ever become the next Ryan Pressly now? 7 years of waiting, down the drain.

Those trades of a MLB proven player that is helping your team and you need for prospects..... chasing the hope and dreams. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

The next Liam Hendriks? Alcala is a lot cheaper than Liam Hendriks is for the Red Sox now, and having a comparative season. Maybe they have pitching coaches that can save him where ours could not.

[Doctor Gast]

For Alcala's sake, I hope BOS can see that someone who had come off the IL, doesn't have the arm & shouldn't be used in multiple innings or on consecutive days. When used properly, Alcala can become a valuable high-leverage RP. A pity Twins couldn't see that & that he was well liked.

[Aerodeliria]

Nothing 🍔....

[Althebum82]

What are the odds of the Red Sox uncovering an injury of some kind and demanding their non-prospect  infielder back?  The connection to Moran is an interesting angle.  I guess if the issues go back to August, it should not be irrelevant.

Ultimately, it is good for all that he has moved on.

[Reptevia]

Meh. 

[CRF]

True, it ain't much, but the trade return of Lugo...is better than having Alcala pitch again for us. He was just brutal. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

It was time for the Twins to move on from Acala and to get what they could, which wasn't much. Good luck Jorge. This was a smart move by Boston and a needed move by the Twins and by Jorge.

[Jeff K]

Sorry that it didn't work out with Alcala, but he had plenty of chances.  B'Bye!

[Rhyno006]

While I wanted this, I also fully expect him to become a perennial All Star for Boston over the next 5-8 years and again leave us wondering WTAF we did to be this cursed.

[mikelink45]

Alcala wore out this fans enthusiasm.  I don't care how fast the ball moves if he is going to have so many implosions.  I hope he finds success and even if he does I am glad we are moving on.  The weakness in today's pitching is the total dependence on BP arms.  No one can pitch 162 games and with 5 inning starters we have to have 4 one inning arms per game.  It might now sound like a lot to pitch one inning, but put in all the warm up tosses and the max effort and you have tired arms that look good one year and terrible the next.  Look at Thielbar now 0.7 WAR and 1.85 ERA.  

"Looking back on the 2024 MLB season, an interesting note has been made about the entire league which seems to have raised a few eyebrows. There were only a total of 28 complete games in the 2024 MLB season making that a record low since the year 1975"

1999 was the last year that the leader in complete games in the National League was in double figures - Randy Johnson.  It was s2011 when James Shields had 11 in the American League.  Since then the leader in each league averaged 2 per year.  

[jmlease1]

I'm bummed that it didn't work out with Alcala, a player I've been high on before. But he just hasn't been able to figure it out and he's getting killed by everyone right now. He used to at least be death on righties, but despite the superior velocity, no one seems to fear him and the walks are back up to unacceptable levels. He's also been one of those guys that frequently makes the mental mistakes on which bag to cover, etc and it clearly drove the coaches nuts.

At least we got something for him? And frankly, it's good to move on from him. He wasn't trusted (for good reason), he wasn't pitching well, and we need to have every player on the roster usable.

He will have a good stretch again, I suspect. It might not be for Boston. But he's just a fungible reliever that can give you a good season and then be a mess then next. The poster child for not giving a middle reliever a multi-year deal.

The talent is there, but lack of a consistent off-speed offering to lefties, shaky command and control, and mental lapses means it's time to move along.

[Vanimal46]

Getting anything for him at this point in his career is a win. The Pressly trade tree lives on! 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

It’s a little sad that Alcala didn’t work out, but the inconsistency that he showed made him frequently unusable in any kind of substantial role. There was probably only a 20% chance that he would have eventually worked through his difficulties with the Twins.  The trade to Boston probably increases that chance a bit, but not by a tremendous amount.  He needed new scenery and we didn’t completely give him away — probably a good trade.

It won’t surprise me if he goes to Boston and becomes a useful setup guy for them.  Relief pitchers are weird like that.  There are a whole bunch of them out there that washed out of one organization (or even several) and transformed into successful pitchers with another — only to lose it and resurface with still another team for more success.  I think it is likely Alcala could be one of those because his stuff will always be tantalizing so teams will continue to give him a look.  

[TwinsDr2021]

26 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Alcala wore out this fans enthusiasm.  I don't care how fast the ball moves if he is going to have so many implosions.  I hope he finds success and even if he does I am glad we are moving on.  The weakness in today's pitching is the total dependence on BP arms.  No one can pitch 162 games and with 5 inning starters we have to have 4 one inning arms per game.  It might now sound like a lot to pitch one inning, but put in all the warm up tosses and the max effort and you have tired arms that look good one year and terrible the next.  Look at Thielbar now 0.7 WAR and 1.85 ERA.  

"Looking back on the 2024 MLB season, an interesting note has been made about the entire league which seems to have raised a few eyebrows. There were only a total of 28 complete games in the 2024 MLB season making that a record low since the year 1975"

1999 was the last year that the leader in complete games in the National League was in double figures - Randy Johnson.  It was s2011 when James Shields had 11 in the American League.  Since then the leader in each league averaged 2 per year.  

On the Braves game yesterday, I think they said there was 228 in 2003, and were a bit surprised they brought out Schwellenback out for the 9th after 90 pitches or so.