The Twins are re-signing reliever Juan Minaya on a minor league contract with an invitation to big league Spring Training, reports Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. The righty made 29 appearances with Minnesota last season but hit free agency when the club non-tendered him in November.
Minaya put up a sterling 2.48 ERA in 40 innings last season. Still, the club declined to carry him on the 40-man roster over the winter. Minnesota clearly didn’t anticipate he’d repeat that kind of run prevention, which was propped up by an 85.3% strand rate and a .235 opponents’ batting average on balls in play. The Twins likely anticipate he’d perform somewhere nearer last season’s 4.00 SIERA moving forward.
Throughout his career, Minaya has struggled with control. He’s walked 11.7% of batters faced in parts of five big league seasons, and last year’s 12% mark fell right in line with that broader track record. Yet the 31-year-old also struck out a solid 25.7% of opponents and induced grounders on a huge 53% of balls in play against him. That was a massive spike relative to his early-career numbers, perhaps attributable to a drastic uptick in the usage of his changeup. Minaya went to the off-speed offering a career-high 45% of the time last season, per Brooks Baseball, and it induced grounders at an incredible 73% rate.
The Twins will bring Minaya back as a non-roster invitee, and he’ll try to pitch his way into the mix for a second consecutive season. Tyler Duffey, Jorge Alcalá and Cody Stashak look to be among the top right-handed setup options for manager Rocco Baldelli at the moment, although it’s possible the Twins add another arm on a guaranteed deal before Opening Day.
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