Reliever Jeff Manship Back To The AL Central
Although not a household name, those around Twins Territory may be familiar with Jeff Manship. After being selected in the 14th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft by the Twins, Manship made his major league debut in 2009. He pitched with the Twins for four seasons prior to moving to the National League in 2013. He’s now headed back to where it all began.
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No, he is not making his way back to the Twins, but the Cleveland Indians signed Manship to a minor league deal last week. It is now being reported that Manship has indeed secured himself an invite to spring training.
For the Indians, Manship will look to bolster a bullpen that will also be looking to get the righty back on track. Last season for the Philadelphia Phillies, Manship pitched in 20 games and struggled to the tune of a 6.65 ERA. His career 6.46 ERA is not much better and his best mark resides in his second season with the Twins at 5.28.
As a reliever, he has never appeared in more than 20 games in a season, and he has had under a 6.00 ERA only twice (2009, 2010). At 30 years old in January, Manship will likely be looking at the tail end of his major league career if he cant get things to come together quickly. Out of the bullpen, his 1.622 career WHIP, and 3.7 BB/9 ratio is never going to be good enough to be relied upon in high pressure situations.
The Indians get a major league tested arm at a very low risk and have the ability to try him out during spring training. Look for Jeff Manship to be pitching for his major league life this spring or risk being sent down to the farm to serve as nothing more than organizational depth.
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