The Twins have signed right-hander Scott Blewett and first baseman Yunior Severino to minor league offers, based on the membership’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. Each gamers had 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 cope with Minnesota. He pitched nicely 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 in opposition to a tidy 7.1% stroll fee. When the Twins summoned the previous Royals hurler to the massive leagues, he responded with 20 1/3 innings of 1.77 ERA ball. Blewett’s strikeout and stroll charges had been extra pedestrian than that glowing ERA, and metrics like FIP (4.00) and SIERA (4.05) felt he had a good bit of fine fortune, largely coming within the type of a 90.5% strand fee he’s not prone to maintain.
The 25-year-old Severino as soon as ranked among the many Twins’ high 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 not too long ago as 2023 however fanned in almost a 3rd of his plate appearances that yr. He dropped that strikeout fee to a still-alarming 27.8% in Triple-A this yr but in addition noticed his energy output decline alongside together with his strikeout fee; he hit simply 21 homers whereas his ISO (slugging minus batting common) plummeted from .274 to .180.
Along with the contact issues, Severino can be a participant and not using a clear defensive dwelling. The previous center infielder has slid down the defensive spectrum as he’s stuffed 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 scenario is in flux. Carlos Santana turned a free agent at season’s finish, and former high prospect Alex Kirilloff surprisingly retired at simply 26 years of age following a pair of wrist surgical procedures, a serious shoulder surgical procedure and a again damage which have resulted in him spending extra time on the injured record than on lively rosters previously 4 seasons.