Tristan Gray Is Back As Twins Return Gabriel Gonzalez To Triple-A

[Steve Drumwright]

 

The first Gabriel Gonzalez era was, as expected, brief. But it was also memorable.

The Minnesota Twins on Monday sent Gonzalez, an outfielder, back to Triple-A St. Paul and activated infielder Tristan Gray from the paternity list.

Gonzalez, Twins Daily's No. 10 prospect, played in just one of the three games he was active for in his first MLB call-up. He made his debut in Friday's 8-6 win over the Boston Red Sox, hitting fifth and going 1-for-2 with two walks. That included his first MLB hit.

Gonzalez will certainly get another shot during this season, but for now heads back to St. Paul, where he has a .216/.294/.392 slash line with eight homers and 21 RBIs in 44 games this year.

Gray has produced a slash line of .240/.301/.373 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 26 games.

 

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[Church of Kreidler]

He had very good control of the strike zone on Friday - excited to see what he can bring when he gets a long term call up!

[ashbury]

35 minutes ago, krink said:

He had very good control of the strike zone on Friday - excited to see what he can bring when he gets a long term call up!

Wonder what the "book" is on him.  Pretty clearly the opposition's plan that one game was to see whether he would chase.  I usually think of pitchers (and their catchers) trying first to see whether the new guy can even handle a major league fastball, or else see whether he can hit the curve, but eventually all these aspects will get tested, and thoroughly.

[Jim H]

When/if Gonzalez comes back up to the majors with the Twins, I hope the plan is for him to play more than 1 in 3 games. If it is predetermined that he is a platoon bat, it will become another reason to wonder about the mindset of this management team.

[DocBauer]

He was really the only logical option for the 3 day fill in. He looked like he belonged in his first and only game appearance. He didn't come up swinging at everything, which is sort of the book on him. Instead, he was surprisingly disciplined and worked the count. 

I know the Twins are trying to win every game, but I was disappointed he only got in to one game out of  three. 

He needs to keep working on his defense in the OF, but ALSO at 1B. He will be up again, and probably before the season is done. But he certainly didn't look out of place. And even for 1 game in 3 days, he can say he reached MLB. 

[arby58]

7 hours ago, Jim H said:

When/if Gonzalez comes back up to the majors with the Twins, I hope the plan is for him to play more than 1 in 3 games. If it is predetermined that he is a platoon bat, it will become another reason to wonder about the mindset of this management team.

I think it highly premature to judge 'the mindset of this management team' based on a three-game call-up because of a paternity leave. Everybody (including Gonzalez) had to understand the situation. Given that the Twins won all three games, this appears to be a 'move along, nothing to see here' situation.

[Sampson5]

It's to bad he isn't a solid defender would be fun to have Gabby as the 4th outfielder but with outman being able to the cf was unlikely they'd move on without having someone who can do the same things as a pinch runner / defensive replacement. Definitely think Gabby will be back after the deadline or if they face any of injury 

[twinstalker]

8 hours ago, Jim H said:

When/if Gonzalez comes back up to the majors with the Twins, I hope the plan is for him to play more than 1 in 3 games. If it is predetermined that he is a platoon bat, it will become another reason to wonder about the mindset of this management team.

He was called up for a body vs lhp, not because he was ready.  I think the alternative was James Outman.  This has nothing to do with getting called up to see how you'll do.  Thus far he's doing pretty badly in AAA.  I could hit HRs in St. Paul while squaring to bunt.

[thelanges5]

I wish they would’ve kept him one more day and had him start against the lefty in Chicago today. Nothing against Tristan Gray, but he is not a long-term part of this roster. 

[Mike Sixel]

I'd have preferred he DH one day, but oh well. Looking forward to his long career. 

[nicksaviking]

If you call up your number ten prospect and bat him fifth in the lineup, that probably means your lineup isn't terribly strong and you should have found another player to send back down. Or release.

[Mike Sixel]

17 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

If you call up your number ten prospect and bat him fifth in the lineup, that probably means your lineup isn't terribly strong and you should have found another player to send back down. Or release.

Preach.