The Twins have signed right-hander Scott Blewett and first baseman Yunior Severino to minor league offers, in line with the membership’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. Each gamers have been simply outrighted by the Twins a few weeks in the past earlier than electing free company. They’ll rejoin the group as depth choices now.
That is the second straight offseason Blewett, 28, has signed a minor league take care of Minnesota. He pitched effectively each in Triple-A and within the majors for the Twins final season. He logged a 3.79 ERA in 54 2/3 frames with the Twins’ Triple-A membership St. Paul, fanning 22.7% of his opponents towards a tidy 7.1% stroll charge. When the Twins summoned the previous Royals hurler to the large leagues, he responded with 20 1/3 innings of 1.77 ERA ball. Blewett’s strikeout and stroll charges have been extra pedestrian than that glowing ERA, and metrics like FIP (4.00) and SIERA (4.05) felt he had a good bit of excellent fortune, largely coming within the type of a 90.5% strand charge he’s not prone to maintain.
The 25-year-old Severino as soon as ranked among the many Twins’ prime 10 prospects however has seen his inventory drop as pronounced contact points have endured. He socked 35 homers between Double-A and Triple-A as lately as 2023 however fanned in practically a 3rd of his plate appearances that yr. He dropped that strikeout charge to a still-alarming 27.8% in Triple-A this yr but additionally noticed his energy output decline alongside together with his strikeout charge; he hit simply 21 homers whereas his ISO (slugging minus batting common) plummeted from .274 to .180.
Along with the contact considerations, Severino can be a participant with no clear defensive house. The previous center infielder has slid down the defensive spectrum as he’s crammed out. He’s now primarily a primary baseman and never thought-about to be a robust defender there. He’s additionally a below-average runner. Nonetheless, there’s clearly spectacular uncooked energy in Severino’s bat, and he’ll get one other look in Triple-A at a time when the Twins’ first base state of affairs is in flux. Carlos Santana turned a free agent at season’s finish, and former prime prospect Alex Kirilloff surprisingly retired at simply 26 years of age following a pair of wrist surgical procedures, a significant shoulder surgical procedure and a again harm which have resulted in him spending extra time on the injured checklist than on lively rosters up to now 4 seasons.