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Ronny Henriquez was acquired in the Mitch Garver deal and was seen as a middling starting pitching prospect. The ERA results weren’t there, but at 21 years old, Henriquez posted a 25%+ K rate at every stop in the minors. His generous listing at 5’10 raised questions about his ability to stand up to a starter’s workload, and those concerns escalated when he posted a near 6 ERA in AAA out of St. Paul’s rotation in 14 starts. His strikeouts continued to impress however, and he was finally moved to a relief role toward the end of the season. As the Twins faded out of contention, they finally began cycling in younger talent instead of pitchers such as Joe Smith and Tyler Thornburg. In the case of Henriquez, what we saw was very encouraging. As we’ve seen with Twins pitchers who boast plus sliders, the Twins weren’t shy about having Henriquez go back to the well on his best pitch. He threw his breaking ball nearly 50% of the time as his primary pitch, and in his short stint it proved to be lethal. Despite being by far his most used pitch, the slider induced a whiff rate of over 31%. Not only did it avoid being hit, it allowed a .136 batting average and .227 slugging % when hitters did make contact. His secondary pitch being the changeup only drew a 22.6% whiff rate, but it too allowed a sub .200 average and sub .300 slugging % against as well. Henriquez flashed two plus offerings to get both left and right handed hitters out consistently. The issue with Henriquez was the fastball. His main concern in St. Paul was the long ball, and the culprit was front and center when he joined the Twins. In his admittedly limited action, his four seam allowed a .400 batting average and staggering 1.400 slugging percentage. Hitters teed off on the pitch, and it’s not difficult to see why: The good news on the rocky debut of his fastball is that the adjustment is obvious and likely easily fixed: Keep it out of the heart of the zone. The heat map at the top of the zone is fantastic. Adjusting the trend in the middle of the zone could raise his game to new levels in a bullpen role. Henriquez shouldn’t be an offspeed needy, fastball avoidant pitcher. The 55 scouting grade on his heater is easily justified, as the pitch has been noted to have tremendous ride and can often be pushed into the upper 90s when needed. While the slider was the eye popping weapon he showed in his debut, it’s possible the fastball could become just as big of a pitch moving forward despite how bad it looked through his first 11+ innings. Even pushing the pitch to average would make Henriquez a legitimate bullpen piece. Despite being just 22 years old, it can be argued that Henriquez’s days in the minors should be over. With his three-pitch mix one could argue Henriquez should still be working toward a future rotation spot. The issue is that Henriquez is currently on the 40-man roster and would likely be 7th on the starting pitching depth chart at best. He’d have to have a good bit of success in AAA before being entrusted in such a role with the big league club. Much like what’s been argued with fellow top prospect Matt Canterino, it seems like a waste of time to slow cook prospects who appear to be able to help the club right now in pursuit of the very small chance that they can latch on as a starter. It’s not entirely clear what the Twins offseason plan is regarding the bullpen, but we can assume nothing big is coming. At most they’ll likely sign a Joe Smith caliber pitcher to fill some innings and try to milk some value out of. They may make a waiver claim on a pitcher who does one thing well in pursuit of the next Matt Wisler. Instead we should be hoping for the Twins to turn to one of their young upside arms, a commodity that has been very difficult for this front office to come by. Rather than spending a few million on another veteran reliever to spend the last year of their career in Minnesota, why not turn to the 22 year old with two plus offspeed pitches and a high 90s fastball? Henriquez could take a low leverage, possibly even multi inning role and get a chance to work his way up the depth chart. If he struggles he can be optioned for another arm as opposed to the yearly bounce back candidate signing that sticks on the roster far too long due to their veteran status. Last year the Twins may have leaned too heavily on their internal pitching production. This year they have much more in place, and gambling on Henriquez in a minor role seems like a worthwhile bet. Ronny Henriquez should be in the Twins Opening Day bullpen

Turnover in the Twins front office continued Thursday, as recently-appointed executive chairman Joe Pohlad resigned effective immediately, just three days after accepting the role. No reason was given for his departure. Taking his place will be the next Pohlad in line, 6-year-old Zachary, great-grandson of the late Carl Pohlad. “Great teams have a next man up mentality, and that applies to all levels of our organization,” said former executive chairman Jim Pohlad. “Zachary has the enthusiasm, engagement, and age-appropriate grasp of math and reading concepts you’d want in a leader.” Twins CEO Dave St. Peter and president of baseball operations Derek Falvey will both report to Zachary. If they need to reach him during naptime or all-day kindergarten, team sources say Pohlad’s nanny Brigitte will handle all inquiries. “He likes chewing gum, laughs at bodily function humor, and gets owly when he’s tired,” said a member of the coaching staff who requested anonymity. “That’s, like, half the bullpen. Just another guy we have to remind to wash his hands and limit his screen time. He’ll fit right in.” Zachary’s teachers at Little Learners Montessori in Deephaven characterize the most powerful person in the Twins organization as “bright, energetic, and super into truck and dinosaurs.” “That little guy loves Go-Gurts,” confirmed one instructor. The team said Zachary was in a timeout for not sharing at recess and would address the media at an undetermined future date when he started making better choices. Image license here.

Next week, the MLB Winter Meetings will take place in San Diego, and the Rule 5 Draft is part of the annual event. The opportunity is given to teams to select unprotected players from other organizations that meet specific criteria. Rule 5 Draft eligibility is tied to when a player first signed with their club. Players signed at 18 or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five seasons. Players signed at 19 or older have four seasons before they must be protected. For this year's draft, high school or international picks signed in 2018 had to be added to the 40-man roster, and college players signed in 2019. There are also rules tied to the drafting of a player. During the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft, drafting clubs pay $100,000 to select a player. From there, the player has to stick on the team's 26-man roster for the entire season or be offered back to his former team for half the selection fee ($50,0000). Over the last decade, here are some of the players tied to the Twins through the Rule 5 Draft. Minnesota's Best Pick: Ryan Pressly The Twins had the fourth overall pick in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft after finishing with 99 losses the previous season. There were plenty of holes to fill on the roster, so the Twins selected Ryan Pressly from the Red Sox organization. Pressly spent six seasons in the Twins organization and posted a 3.75 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP. He had an 8.0 K/9 and a 112 ERA+ before the Twins traded him to the Astros at the 2018 trade deadline. Pressly has gone on to have a tremendous career in Houston with multiple All-Star appearances and a World Series title. He provided plenty of value to the Twins before the trade, and both players acquired from Houston project to impact the 2023 roster (Gilberto Celestino and Jorge Alcala). Twins fans can play the "What if?" game with Pressly, but he likely wouldn't have reached the same level of success without moving to Houston. Minnesota's Worst Loss: Akil Baddoo Baddoo was Minnesota's second-round pick one year before the current front office took over. He had shown some promise as a prospect, but he had played fewer than 30 games above the Low-A level, making it easier to leave him unprotected. The Tigers took him with the third overall pick in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, and he went on to have a tremendous rookie campaign. In 124 games, he hit .259/.330/.436 (.766) with 20 doubles, seven triples, and 13 home runs. He provided 2.1 WAR for a Tigers team that started moving in the right direction. From the Twins' perspective, losing Baddoo was challenging because the club desperately needed outfield depth during the 2021 campaign. Last season, Baddoo struggled at the big-league level as his OPS dropped to .558, and the Tigers sent him to Triple-A to find his swing. He posted a .905 OPS with 14 extra-base hits in 30 games, so there is some hope for him to return to his performance level from his rookie season. The Jury's Still Out: Tyler Wells Minnesota left Wells unprotected in the same Rule 5 Draft as Baddoo, and Baltimore took him in the second round with the 17th overall pick. The Orioles used him as a reliever throughout the 2021 season, and he compiled a 4.11 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP and 10.3 K/9. Last season, the Orioles transitioned him to a starting role, and the results were mixed. In 23 starts (103 2/3 innings), he had a 4.25 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP and a 76-to-28 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He ranked in the 59th percentile or higher in xBA, BB%, and chase rate. His fastball spin also is among the league's best, in the 93rd percentile. Baltimore was a surprise team in 2022, and Wells tied for the second-most starts on the team. He will continue to get opportunities to start in 2023, and he plans to focus on consistency and endurance to become part of Baltimore's long-term plan. The Rule 5 Draft can be challenging for teams to find big-league talent, but it's been nearly a decade since the Twins found a consistent big- league player. Do you think the Twins will regret losing Baddoo and Wells? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

Last offseason the Twins traded Silver Slugger Mitch Garver to the Texas Rangers. Injury had been his bugaboo in recent seasons, and he was ultimately shut down with Texas to undergo an arm procedure. In trading Josh Donaldson and Ben Rortvedt to the New York Yankees, Minnesota opted to pair Ryan Jeffers with former standout Gary Sanchez. It did not go well. While a timeshare was probably somewhat expected, Jeffers ultimately could’ve been given the keys to the kingdom. Unfortunately, he dealt with injury and ineffectiveness, playing only 67 games and posting an 86 OPS+. Looking ahead to 2023, it’s basically Jeffers or bust until Minnesota’s front office decides otherwise. The 2018 2nd-round pick has to show he’s capable of that 119 OPS+ he posted across his first 26 games in the majors. It’s hard to make much of 2022 for Jeffers given how truncated the action was. He bottomed out with a .550 OPS through his first 39 games, but then on June 8 started a little turnaround. In his next 21 games, through July 14, Jeffers slashed .286/.342/.529 (.871) with nine extra-base hits, including four home runs. In a year in which his power had looked nonexistent, it finally arrived at that point. Then the injury happened. Returning to a fading team in late September, Jeffers followed up a successful rehab in St. Paul by playing in just seven more games. It wasn't enough to settle in, and nothing about his production provided answers for the year ahead. Gone are Sanchez and Sandy Leon, leaving only Jeffers to assume time. Another talent will be brought in to work alongside him, but the level of that player should say plenty as to where Minnesota’s front office believes their backstop situation is. It was this front office that took a risk on Jeffers in the draft. Despite some reports and evaluations by other organizations that he may never have the defensive chops behind the plate, Minnesota took him on as a bat-first prospect. We have now seen a strong defender emerge, and it’s largely been the bat that has lagged behind. That alone should give hope to an organization relying on analysis from when Jeffers was originally drafted. For this pitching staff to be successful, Jeffers is the type of catcher they’d prefer working with. More often than not Sanchez had them working against a stacked deck, and Leon was leaned on heavily down the stretch. The front office could opt for a veteran backup in the form of Omar Narvaez, or they could make a big splash and land a starting type akin to Sean Murphy or Danny Jansen. There are ways for the roster to work with either path, but plenty will be said about the current prognosis of Jeffers in relation to whatever option they choose. There was a time that Jeffers and Garver held down the position almost as well as peak Joe Mauer did. Minnesota hasn’t had that consistency since the future Hall of Famer moved to first base, however, and they’ll be looking for a much better outcome from behind the dish in 2023.