Minnesota Twins: Cody Allen to be moved to Triple-A after All-Star break
The Minnesota Twins signed the former Los Angeles Angels closer after a rough start, but after a solid performance at High-A, he’ll be moved up after the break.
You may have heard that the Minnesota Twins are looking for help in their bullpen as they head toward the MLB trade deadline. With a bullpen that has seemingly imploded since the beginning months of the season, the Twins have been linked to all sorts of pitchers already in the opening weeks of the trade season and may not be done throwing out lottery tickets to see what sticks.
One of those lottery tickets to help the Twins was Cody Allen, who was signed by the Twins back on June 22 after having a train wreck stint with the Los Angeles Angels. While the move signaled a low-risk, high-reward signing by the front office, the early returns have been positive down at Allen’s first stop of High-A Fort Myers.
In four games with the Miracle, Allen has pitched four innings and hasn’t given up a run while allowing three hits and striking out four batters. It’s an extremely small sample size, but the Twins have liked what they have seen and according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s La Velle E. Neal, the 30-year old will be moved up to Triple-A Rochester after the All-Star break.
There shouldn’t be too much stock put into Allen’s performance at the lower levels of the Twins system, but it’s still an encouraging development for a signing that had little expectations when it was signed. Neal also mentions that Allen has made adjustments to use his core more effectively, which may have been part of the problem in Los Angeles.
If Allen can come remotely close to the form he showed with the Cleveland Indians (179 saves and a 2.98 ERA in seven seasons), it would add a solid arm to a bullpen that desperately needs it.
Of course, this also can’t be what the Twins are banking on to revive their bullpen. Minnesota has already been linked to a possible package deal with the Toronto Blue Jays to acquire Marcus Stroman and Ken Giles and may sniff around other relievers such as San Diego’s Kirby Yates as well as San Francisco’s Will Smith and Tony Watson.
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The bullpen will need to be fixed, but if Allen can find himself in Minnesota, it could be a step in the right direction leading up to the deadline.