Minnesota Twins: Your guide to which former Twins are in line for post-season play
The Minnesota Twins are not in the playoffs, but plenty of former members of the club are. Here is your guide to whose teams are in the playoff race.
While the Minnesota Twins are finished for 2018, there are several former Twins that will be appearing in the post-season. Of the ten teams qualifying this year, only Milwaukee and Cleveland are guaranteed not to have an ex-Twin on their roster. Here is a quick rundown of the players that may see action in October.
American League
Eduardo Núñez, 2B/3B, Boston
July 28, 2016: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the San Francisco Giants for Adalberto Mejia.
Eduardo Núñez has a slash line of .262 .286 .386 in 126 games with the Red Sox. He returned to play on Friday as the designated hitter after missing the previous eight games with a hamstring injury. He was not in the starting lineup on Saturday. Manager Alex Cora is evaluating Nunez to determine if he is ready to play at third base in the playoffs.
Lance Lynn, RHP, NY Yankees
July 30, 2018: Traded by the Minnesota Twins with cash to the New York Yankees for Luis Rijo (minors) and Tyler Austin.
Lance Lynn is 10-10 on the season, with a 4.77 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and a 161:76 K:BB ratio over 156.2 innings. He has won three of five decisions with the Yankees including Saturday’s 8-5 victory over the Boston, where Lynn entered the game at the top of the third inning and gave up one earned run in three innings of work.
Aaron Hicks, CF, NY Yankees
November 11, 2015: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the New York Yankees for John Ryan Murphy.
Aaron Hicks is batting .249 .368 .470 with 27 home runs in 136 games as the Yankees center fielder.
Ryan Pressly, RHP, Houston
July 27, 2018: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Houston Astros for Jorge Alcala (minors) and Gilberto Celestino (minors).
Ryan Pressly has a 2-1 record with one saves and a 2.57 ERA over 70 innings. He has six blown saves and 21 holds. His 76 appearances are the most by an American League pitcher. Pressly has been nearly untouchable for the Astros. He has given up just two earned runs and 11 hits in 22.1 innings, striking out 30 and walking two.
Liam Hendriks, RHP, Oakland Athletics
December 13, 2013: Selected off waivers by the Chicago Cubs from the Minnesota Twins.
Liam Hendricks has not allowed a run scored in his last ten appearances over 10.3 innings, allowing just three hits and a pair of walks. For the season, he has a 0-1 record with a 4.30 ERA in 24 games.
Fernando Rodney, RHP, Oakland Athletics
August 9, 2018: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Oakland Athletics for Dakota Chalmers (minors).
On the season, Fernando Rodney´s record is 4-3, with 25 saves and a 3.27 ERA in 63.1 innings, with seven blown saves. He has appeared in 21 games since joining the A’s, posting a 3.66 in 19.2 innings, with one loss, one blown save and six holds.
National League
Aníbal Sánchez, RHP, Atlanta Braves
March 11, 2018: Released by the Minnesota Twins.
Signing with the Braves five days after his release, Anibal Sánchez has pitched 130 2/3 innings, with a 2.96 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 44.7 percent ground-ball rate in 23 starts.
Kurt Suzuki, C, Atlanta Braves
November 3, 2016: Granted Free Agency by the Twins.
Kurt Suzuki is batting .274 .336 .449, with 12 home runs and 50 RBI’s in 104 games with the Braves. He has been splitting duties behind the plate, Tyler Flowers.
Brian Duensing, LHP, Chicago Cubs
November 2, 2015: Granted Free Agency by the Twins.
Brian Duensing re-signed with the Cubs after a strong 2017 performance. 2018 has not been kind to the right-hander. He has a 7.65 ERA in 37.2 innings, with five appearances in September, surrendering four runs in 3.1 innings. I would be surprised to see him make the post-season roster.
Jaime García, LHP, Chicago Cubs
July 30, 2017: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the New York Yankees for Dietrich Enns and Zack Littell.
Jaime García signed with the Cubs on August 31st after being released by the Blue Jays. He has a 6.35 ERA in 5.2 innings, over six appearances including a start in his first game where he gave up three runs in one-third of an inning. Since September 14, García has given up one earned run and two hits in 5.1 innings.
Brandon Kintzler, RHP, Chicago Cubs
July 31, 2017: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Washington Nationals for Tyler Watson (minors) and international bonus slot money.
For the season, Brandon Kintzler has a 3-3 record, an ERA of 4.55 over 59.1 innings, with two saves, three blown saves, and 19 holds over 68 appearances. Since coming to the Cubs from Washington at the trade deadline, he has an ERA of 7.02 in 16.2 innings of work. Kintzler’s Cub numbers have been especially hurt by three horrible outings where he gave up eight earned runs in a combined two-thirds of an inning.
Randy Rosario, LHP, Chicago Cubs
November 3, 2017: Selected off waivers by the Chicago Cubs from the Minnesota Twins.
In 42 appearances with the Cubs, Randy Rosario owns a 3.72 ERA over 46 innings. He has been clobbered in four of his 15 outings since August 5th, giving up 12 earned runs in a combined 3.1 innings. In his other 48 appearances this season, Rosario has given up a total of seven runs in 33.2 innings of work. He has one save, one blown save, and eight holds on the season.
Bobby Wilson, C, Chicago Cubs
August 30, 2018: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Chicago Cubs for Chris Gimenez and player to be named or cash.
Bobby Wilson hit .178 with two home runs and 16 RBI this season with the Twins. He was activated from the disabled list on Friday but has not yet seen playing time as a Cub. Wilson is now the fourth catcher on the Cubs current roster.
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Drew Butera, C, Colorado
July 31, 2013: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Miguel Sulbaran (minors).
Drew Butera has appeared in nine games for the Rockies and his hitting .190 in 14 at-bats since being acquired from the Royals on August 31st. He is a long-shot to make the post-season roster.
JT Chargois, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
February 23, 2018: Selected off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Minnesota Twins.
JT Chargois has a 2-4 record, with a 3.45 ERA in 31.1 innings over 38 appearances. He came off the DL on September 24th after missing more than a month with a neck injury. Although activated, Chargois has not seen action since August 20th and is not expected to make the cut for the post-season roster.
Next. Jorge Polanco, what could have been and what is to come. dark
Brian Dozier, 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers
July 31, 2018: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Luke Raley (minors), Devin Smeltzer (minors) and Logan Forsythe.
In 46 games with the Dodgers, Brian Dozier has a line of .176 .289 .324, with an OPS of .613. Dozier has been platooning with Kiké Hernández the over last 21 games, getting starts only against left-handers. Hernández is hitting .328 for the month of September.
Post-season is a great time to be a major league baseball fan. Maybe one of our former favorites can play a leading role in for the eventual 2018 World Series champions. I’d personally like to see Eduardo Escobar win a ring and wear it next season as a Twin.