Remembering Random Twins: Matt Capps and his Rollercoaster Twins Tenure

[William Malone]

Matt Capps was so bad in 2011, that many fans forget how good he was in 2010...and even 2012.

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins were a popular pick as they opened up Target Field in 2010.

And why not? They had won the AL Central in 2009 and looked so much better on paper after a strong off-season. They added shortstop J.J. Hardy and second baseman Orlando Hudson to help shore up their middle infield. Legendary slugger Jim Thome was signed to help give the lineup a little more thunder. On top of that, the rotation was set to benefit by getting a full season out of 2009 in-season acquisition Carl Pavano.

However, there was one gaping hole. The Twins did not have a closer after learning superstar Joe Nathan would require Tommy John surgery during spring training.

It's impossible to state exactly how big of a loss this was. Nathan had a 1.87 ERA for the Twins between 2004 and 2009. He was 246-for-271 (90.77%) in save opportunities during that span. Just to showcase how elite that save percentage is, Mariano Rivera only converted 89.07% (652-for-732) of save chances in his legendary career.

Minnesota went out and filled this hole at the deadline by acquiring All-Star closer Matt Capps from the Washington Nationals for catching prospect Wilson Ramos and pitching prospect Joe Testa. While the shoes of Joe Nathan were impossible to fill, it was a necessary addition. Winning the AL Central was no guarantee. The Twins weren't even in first place at the deadline, sitting one game behind the Chicago White Sox.

Capps was awesome after the trade, outpitching his All-Star numbers with the Nationals. His 2.00 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with the Twins were both better than what he had posted in Washington. He had 16 saves during his two months in Minnesota, including two against the White Sox. He finished the season with eight consecutive scoreless innings, allowing runs in just two of 13 appearances in September.

The Twins wound up winning their division, and life seemed pretty good in the early days of Target Field. Capps wasn't even a rental. He was set to return in 2011, along with Nathan.

2010 became 2011, and things went downhill for Capps. His ERA ballooned to 4.25, and he was 15-for-24 (.625) in save chances. The only reason why he was getting those ninth inning reps was because Joe Nathan was even worse in his return from Tommy John surgery. In fact, a lot of the Twins roster had an equal or worse year than Capps in 2011. Joe Mauer went on the disabled list with the infamous bilateral leg weakness injury, and Justin Morneau had a .618 OPS while trying to bounce back from a 2010 concussion. Delmon Young and Danny Valencia both saw triple digits point drops in their year-to-year OPS as well. Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano had a combined 4.60 ERA in 57 starts, one year after they had a collective 3.69 ERA.

Even though the entire Twins roster was falling off a cliff, the fans sometimes made Capps out to be the poster child of their trek from first to worst in the AL Central. It's just easy to blame the new(ish) guy. Nobody wants to pile on franchise saves leader Joe Nathan just because he's having one bad year. Nobody wants to pile on former MVP's like Mauer or Morneau either. But Capps is fair game, and he was right in the crosshairs of fans. Standing next to Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

To make matters worse, Minnesota followed up their disastrous 2011 campaign by having an off-season that was just as bad. They said goodbye to fan favorites Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, two of their only bright spots from a 99 loss roster the summer before. Nathan left in free agency as well. But don't worry! They did re-sign Matt Capps to a one year, $4.5 million deal. There was also a $6 million team option for the 2013 season.

Fans were obviously upset, but general manager Terry Ryan was confident in his former All-Star closer. While speaking to season ticket holders in the off-season, he proclaimed "we believe Matt Capps will bounce back."

Nobody really believed him, but Capps was their closer and there was nothing the fans could do about it. All they could do was watch. And what they watched was Capps returning to All-Star form early on in the 2012 season. He was 14-for-15 in save chances through 25 appearances that year, boasting a 2.96 ERA and a stellar 0.99 WHIP. Was it helping the Twins? Not really. A closer can only do so much. Minnesota played to a 25-35 record in the time it took Capps to accumulate those 25 relief appearances. But regardless, the bold prediction from a veteran general manager seemed to be coming true.

Believe it or not, the Twins bullpen was pretty good top to bottom that year. Glen Perkins, Jared Burton and Casey Fien would combine for a 2.31 ERA and a 0.981 WHIP across 168 outings in 2012. Alex Burnett had a solid 3.52 ERA in his 67 appearances, and some of the random Quad-A guys were producing when called upon; Kyle Waldrop had a 2.53 ERA in 17 games, and Luis Perdomo had a 3.18 ERA in 15 games.

Unfortunately, Capps was not destined to play a role for this surprisingly good bullpen during the second half of 2012. He went on the disabled list for shoulder inflammation in late June. Capps was activated after the All-Star break but landed right back on the disabled list after two ineffective appearances in July. He returned again very late in the year, tossing a shutout inning against the New York Yankees on September 24th. That would be his final Major League appearance.

Capps was never able to get past the shoulder issues that ended his bounce back 2012 campaign. Minnesota declined his contract option, and he signed with the Cleveland Indians. The shoulder began to hurt again in spring training, and his season was limited to just six minor league games on a rehab stint before getting shut down for good. Cleveland signed Capps back on a minor league deal for 2014, but he was limited to just four games that year.

He sat out the entire 2015 season, signing a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016. Capps was finally healthy enough to stay on the field, but any effectiveness he had was gone. He tossed 50 1/3 innings out of their Triple-A bullpen, owning a 5.15 ERA with a 1.48 WHIP.

This ended his professional playing career, but Capps is still very close to the game. He began working as a broadcaster for the Pirates in 2018, first serving as a studio analyst before moving to the booth in 2021. Capps is currently one of several color commentators who rotates between the Pirates television and radio booths. 

 

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[DJL44]

Do you have a Ron Davis retrospective next?