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Well, this move certainly won't excite the Twins fan base. However, looking for offense against left-handed pitching, Jordan Luplow certainly fits the bill.
The 29-year-old was DFAd by the Blue Jays following Toronto's deadline day acquisitions. He had played just seven games with the Jays including three just before the deadline.
To make room for Luplow on the 40-man roster, Brock Stewart was moved to the 60-Day Injured List.
When he gets into a game with the Twins, it will mark his sixth big-league club that he has played for. He was originally a third-round draft pick by the Pirates in 2014 out of Fresno State. At 23, he made his MLB debut with 27 games in 2017. He played 37 games for the Pirates in 2018.
Twins fans will likely mostly remember Jordan Luplow from his years with Cleveland. In parts of three seasons, he played in 150 games and hit .234/.348/.486 (834) with 25 doubles and 24 homers.
Since then, he has become a journeyman. He's played for the Rays, the Diamondbacks, and the Blue Jays. In total, he has played in 329 big-league games and hit .213/.314/.428 (.742) with 37 doubles and 45 homers.
In his career, he has hit just .199/.289/.354 (.644) with 16 doubles, three triples and 14 home runs off of right-handed pitching.
However, against southpaws, he is a different player. He has hit .226/.337/.497 (.833). Not great numbers, by any means, but for a Twins team struggling mightily against lefties, the move is certainly understandable.
He's not going to hit for batting average, but how many do at this point? He gets on base at a decent clip against lefties. He does have much more power and drives the ball against left-handers.
In his career, he has mostly played the two corner outfield positions. He has also played 53 games at first base, mostly the last couple of years.
He has played in 29 games against the Twins in his career, second only to the Detroit Tigers. In those games, he hit just .164 but did hit six home runs.
Since 2018, he has played primarily in the big leagues. He has missed time with injury the last few years. In 48 games this year at Triple-A Buffalo, he hit .239/.341/.438 (.779). Against right-handers, he has a .653 OPS. Against lefties, his OPS is .914.
If he spends the rest of the season with the Twins and they like him so much, he has one more arbitration season remaining, and he only signed for $1.4 million for 2023.
This is definitely not a difference-maker, but it's a sneaky solid little pickup. Of course, the Twins still need to make a roster move to get Luplow onto the 26-man roster. That could be interesting.
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