The Minnesota Twins have signed 36-year-old Craig Breslow to a minor league contract.
According to multiple sources, the Minnesota Twins have signed left-handed pitcher, and one-time Twin, Craig Breslow.
Minnesota was able to sign Breslow to a minor league contract, thereby saving themselves exposing another player to waivers, as they currently have no room on their 40-man roster.
Ken Rosenthal, from MLB Network, tweeted the news this morning.
Craig Breslow just told me he has agreed to a minor-league deal with the #MNTwins, turning down better financial offers from other clubs.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 8, 2017
Once a Twin
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Breslow has pitched 11 years in the majors, including parts of two seasons (2008-2009) with the Twins.
He appeared in 59 games during his time here, impressing the coaching staff with a 1.63 ERA in 42 games in 2008.
Struggling with his control after a slow start to the ’09 season, the Twins exposed Breslow when they designated him for assignment to promote Sean Henn.
Then manager, Ron Gardenhire, was “shocked” to lose the pitcher to the Oakland Athletics – who were short lefties in their own bullpen at the time.
Rosenthal also posted about Breslow on Facebook. Parker Hageman of Twins Daily tweeted a screen shot of Rosenthal’s post.
You can read the full Facebook interview (highly recommended reading) here.
During TwinsFest Fan Q&A, Derek Falvey told fans the team is looking for players who believe in the same vision. From all indications, it appears that is the case here.
Breslow, 36, adds some much needed depth to the Twins bullpen.
The current group of left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster includes Buddy Boshers, Ryan O’Rourke, Mason Melotakis, Glen Perkins (will start the season on the DL), and Taylor Rogers. Not a strong group of veterans.
While Breslow has never been a power pitcher, but does a decent job as a late-inning, high leverage reliever.
Unlike most left handed pitchers, Breslow has had success against batters from both sides of the plate. Right-handed batters are slashing .244/.328/.377 while lefty batters are slashing a similar .250/.311/.382 against Breslow in his career.
He gets more fly ball outs than average, yet keeps the damage to a minimum. His percentage of fly balls that were home runs in the last four seasons is 7.5 percent. In his 11 year career, his HR/FB is 6.4 percent, which is below the MLB average 7.7 percent.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Breslow was able to make the active roster with the scarcity of capable left-handed relief pitchers at the Twins’ disposal. Luckily, the Twins were able to sign him to a minor league deal, maintaining roster flexibility.
Here's the video again of Craig Breslow throwing for scouts. Has new arm angle. No prior history w/ Falvey, but Derek won him over. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/7QjBouDB0O
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) February 8, 2017
Next: Twins Bolster Depth With Latest Player Pickups
Notes: Twins placed Byung Ho Park on waivers. Originally, they DFA’d Park, allowing them to trade, release, or send him to AAA Rochester. With Tampa Bay showing interest, the Twins switched Park to waivers – looking to have another team absorb his remaining three years and $9.25.