Tag: Esmerling Vasquez

GM Terry Ryan doing what he should be doing

GM Terry Ryan

With Halloween just around the corner Twins GM Terry Ryan has brought out his broom and is starting to clean up the Twins 40 man roster by sending some of the home town team dead weight packing. Yesterday afternoon the Twins announced that they have declined the 2013 $6 million option on 29 year-old reliever Matt Capps and will instead send a $250K check his way. Capps saved 14 games in 15 chances this season but missed almost the entire second half with  rotator cuff inflammation. In 8 big league seasons Capps has a 3.52 ERA to go with a 1.19 WHIP and has saved 138 games. Capps is 29 and in reality is not that bad a relief pitcher but his $6 million option is just too heavy for a team like the Twins coming off two bad seasons. If the Twins could resign him for a song I am sure that they would jump at the chance but with experienced relievers always at a premium we have probably seen Capps in a Twins uniform for the last time.

The club also announced that minor league pitcher and 2008 first round (27th overall) pick Carlos Gutierrez was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Cubs. Gutierrez pitched in only 16 innings for Rochester in 2012 due to injury. Gutierrez is just another in the long line of pitchers that the Twins have selected in round 1 that have not met expectations.

The Twins also announced that they have outrighted right-handers Jeff Manship, Luis Perdomo, Esmerling Vasquez, Kyle Waldrop and P.J. Walters and outfielder Matt Carson off of the MLB roster. All these players played a role in the 2012 season but removing them from the 40 man roster is that difficult a decision.

Carson a 31 year-old outfielder playing for his fourth organization had no business in the big leagues, even for a team as bad as the Twins were this season, he is nothing more than a filler on somebody’s AAA roster to fill a vacancy.

P.J. Walters a 27 year-old righty started 12 games for Minnesota and pitched more than 6.1 innings just one time and had a 2-5 record to go along with his 5.69 ERA.

Jeff Manship a 14th round pick in 2006 has pitched for the Twins for parts of the last four seasons and has a 6.20 ERA to go along with a 1.62 WHIP. Maybe a new organization is what Manship needs to revive his career.

Luis Perdomo who is 28 and signed with the Twins this past off-season as a free agent and had a nice 3.18 ERA in 17 innings for Minnesota but when your BB/9 is 6.4 you have no business being a part of a big league bullpen. The Twins took a chance, it didn’t work out, time to move on.

Esmerling Vasquez is another 28 year-old reliever who did not pan out. When your major league career ERA is 4.86 and your BB/9 is 5.3 you should seriously be looking for a job in another field.

Last but not least we have Kyle Waldrop. The 26 year-old 6’5″ righty was another Twins 1st round pick back in 2004 and todate he has pitched a total of 32.1 inning for the Minnesota Twins. How long can you continue to wait for these guys to become big league pitchers? Cut the line and move on, a change is the best thing for both parties.

This is just the beginning of a lot of changes that will take place on the Twins roster over the next several months, you certainly can’t say it is not warranted. Keep that broom moving Mr. Ryan.

Twins minor league player of the week

 

Esmerling Vasquez

Rochester right-handed pitcher Esmerling Vasquez is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. In 11.2 innings Vasquez went 2-0, with a 0.00 ERA, allowed four hits, five walks and 10 strikeouts in two relief appearances. Vasquez pitched 4.0 scoreless innings of relief, August 4 at Toledo, then 7.2 scoreless innings of relief, August 9 vs. Scranton-Wilkes/Barre. Vasquez, 28, joined the Twins organization after being claimed off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 27, 2011.

Primarily used as a reliever, Vasquez has started 5 games this season. Vasquez has appeared in 28 games for Rochester putting up a 7-5 mark with a 3.10 ERA. In 81.1 innings he has allowed 61 hits and struck out 50 but he has walked 25 batters. Vasquez has previous big league experience appearing in 141 games for Arizona in 2009-2011.

Twins cut 12 including Nishioka and Tosoni

Tsuyoshi Nishioka

The Twins announced today that they had reassigned 12 players to their minor league teams. The biggest names were 2B/SS Tsuyoshi Nishioka and outfielder Rene Tosoni. Nishioka is guaranteed $3 million this season and next and he just has not shown that he is the player that the Twins thought they were getting when they paid $5.3 million just to gain his negotiation rights. Nishioka does not seem comfortable playing second or shortstop in the big leagues and the man who won a batting title in Japan has not shown anything to speak of with his bat. One of the main reasons for signing Nishioka last season was that Gardenhire wanted to add some speed to the team but all Nishioka could muster was two stolen bases in six attempts. Couple that with the perception that Nishioka appears to want to do things his way versus the Twins way and did not seem to fit in with the rest of his teammates and you have a player that will cost you $3 million for the next two seasons and if you are really honest, you would say that he does not even deserve to be in AAA Rochester with what he has shown the Twins in his year with the club. In my opinion, the Nishioka signing was one of the main reasons that Bill Smith was fired as the Twins GM, not the only reason, but it was a key contributor. If you spend $15 million of Pohlad money and make a “Nishioka” mistake, you had best be prepared to suffer the consequences. But why send Nishioka down about half way through spring training? It has to be a message that Ryan is sending to Nishioka and to the rest of the Twins team. The Twins are not exactly blessed with an abundance of infield prospects so sending Nishioka down should give players like Sean Burroughs, Pedro Florimon and Mike Hollimon some hope for a utility role with the big club. At this point the Twins have to look at Nishioka as sunk money and just want to move on without his distraction. I don’t see Nishioka as one of Ryan’s favorite players and Ryan really has no ties to Nishioka so sending him packing will not cause Ryan to lose any sleep at all. Besides, there is always the chance that Nishioka will be embarrassed by his demotion and ask the club for his release and that would be a win-win for all parties and would end a very sorry but hopefully short chapter in Twins history.

The numbers game has caught up with Rene Tosoni who is 25 and probably a career utility outfielder who is not talented enough to garner a starting role but would make an adequate 4th or 5th outfielder. However; with Willingham, Span, Revere, Plouffe, and Doumit a cinch to make the team and Joe Benson pushing hard, there is no room for Tosoni at this time.

Pitcher Carlos Gutierrez, 25, was also sent down to get more experience and prove that his control issues are a thing of the past. Gutierrez had no serious control issues in his 5 innings pitched this spring but in 66 innings at Rochester in AAA, Carlos has walked 33 batters. The other players that the Twins sent down today were pitchers Jason Bulger, Luis Perdomo, Daryl Thompson, Esmerling Vasquez and P.J. Walters; catchers Chris Herrmann and Daniel Rohlfing; infielder Aaron Bates; outfielder Wilkin Ramirez.