Twins Bring Back Veteran Infielder Gio Urshela on Minor-League Deal

[stringer bell]

4 hours ago, Cris E said:

I posted this on MTR, but is he now the backup for Lewis? Who was the next 3B in line otherwise, Clemens?   It is worth pointing out that almost all the guys who played 3B in St Paul last year are out of the organization, and only Lee is still around from those who played there in Mpls in 2025. I hadn't noticed it until this signing, but it seems wild how there's no one left from last year. 

Yeah, there isn't much behind Royce at third base and Lewis does have a pretty extensive injury history. I suppose whoever the utility infielder is could fill in for a day or two, as could Clemens, but if Lewis is sidelined for a stretch, it is either moving Lee over from shortstop or more likely bringing Urshela up from St. Paul. 

[stringer bell]

4 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

I realize this is a throwaway question at the end for commenting purposes, but who would say yes to this question? Best case scenario is he's just a warm body for camp. Worst case scenario he finds his way on the opening day roster.

Player-coach for the Saints? Seriously, everything I've heard about Urshela says he is the consummate professional, a real good example for young players and minor league guys on their way up. Urshela is probably close to the end of the road and maybe this would be the way to dip his toes in coaching.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

His 7.82 ERA as a reliever last year was definitely impressive. Probably about as good as Urshela on the mound.

That's from pitching 12 innings of long relief. Detroit didn't use him as a one-inning reliever. We're also talking extremely small sample sizes. 

[ashbury]

24 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

That's from pitching 12 innings of long relief. Detroit didn't use him as a one-inning reliever. We're also talking extremely small sample sizes. 

Sometimes it's smart management to keep a player's sample size small.

[Vanimal46]

2 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Player-coach for the Saints? Seriously, everything I've heard about Urshela says he is the consummate professional, a real good example for young players and minor league guys on their way up. Urshela is probably close to the end of the road and maybe this would be the way to dip his toes in coaching.

Couldn't have described a typical Twins signing any better over the last 30+ years. Was he previously good more than 2 years ago? Check. Does he have ties here previously? Check. Bonus points awarded if he was a former all-star in his career. 

[Permanent Twins Fan]

6 hours ago, TJSweens said:

Our quadruple A roster just keeps getting better and better. 

It seems that more money has been spent on the Saints this offseason than the Twins. 

Saints                                                                                    Twins

C  Alex Jackson                                                          C Victor Caratini

1B  Eric Wagaman                                                      RP Eric Orze

2B Tristan Gray                                                         RP Taylor Rogers   

SS Orlando Arcia                                                       1B Josh Bell

3B Gio Urshela

Util  Ryan Kreidler

RP Dan Altavilla

RP Grant Hartwig

RP Andrew Bash

RP Luis Quinones

RP Jackson Kowar

RP Matt Bowman

RP Eduardo Salazar

[USAFChief]

12 minutes ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

It seems that more money has been spent on the Saints this offseason than the Twins. 

 

(AAA) Flags fly forever!

[DocBauer]

Come on guys, St Paul is filled with OF, 1B options, and maybe catcher options.  This is nothing more than giving St Paul another INF option to put a competent team on the field.  He's a LONG way from being a ML option at this point.

[twinstalker]

Set-up man or closer?

[Blyleven2011]

5 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Player-coach for the Saints? Seriously, everything I've heard about Urshela says he is the consummate professional, a real good example for young players and minor league guys on their way up. Urshela is probably close to the end of the road and maybe this would be the way to dip his toes in coaching.

Urshela bilingual  so maybe he can understand what Tom P  has been saying because i sure can't follow it ...

[umterp23]

15 hours ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

C'mon are you being serious? Reinforcement? Gio is going to be the closer along with infield. 8 innings playing between 3b,SS, 2b and 1B. Then he'll take the mound for the 9th.

What will be his closer entrance is next question that needs to be addressed? My submission would be “Bombs Away” by Bob Weir from the album Heaven Help the Fool

[JBK]

They aren't even trying...........................

[bean5302]

14 hours ago, DJL44 said:

That's from pitching 12 innings of long relief. Detroit didn't use him as a one-inning reliever. We're also talking extremely small sample sizes. 

Let me put it a more direct way. Paddack is a terrible pitcher, and not just when he's starting. The 5.35 ERA across all of last year didn't get better out of the 'pen. The guy owns a 5.23 ERA and a 4.70 FIP over the past 3 years combined.

The illusion of his 5.0 IP as a reliever performance in 2023 seems to be the sample size you must be considering relevant?

Paddack can't strike anybody out, he doesn't generate ground balls, he gets hit hard in general and he's homer prone. He sucks, and it's shocking to me Miami signed him to an MLB contract because he sure as heck wasn't going to get signed by anybody else.

[DJL44]

54 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

The guy owns a 5.23 ERA and a 4.70 FIP over the past 3 years combined.

That's better than I expect for Adams or Klein and both seem to have a lock on a bullpen spot.

[stringer bell]

27 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

That's better than I expect for Adams or Klein and both seem to have a lock on a bullpen spot.

I don't see it. I think a couple of the non-roster guys will take spots in the bullpen and there is a good chance that one or two of the rotation candidates also end up as bullpen guys to start the season. 

[bean5302]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

That's better than I expect for Adams or Klein and both seem to have a lock on a bullpen spot.

Paddack isn't replacing Adams or Klien, he'd be counted on to be one of the most commonly used pitchers at $4MM. 5.25 ERA or a 5.75 ERA? If a heavily used bullpen arm is that bad, does it really matter? At that point are we arguing whether the Twins win 55 games or 56?