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  • Assessing the Twins Trade for Michael Fulmer

    Ted Schwerzler

    By Ted Schwerzler

    There was no denying the Minnesota Twins needed pitching help at the trade deadline, and the front office came through in every way imaginable. With 15 minutes left before the bell rung, the club acquired its second relief arm in the form of Michael Fulmer.

     

    Image courtesy of Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

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    Sending 24-year-old prospect Sawyer Gipson-Long to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Michael Fulmer, Minnesota picked up its first rental. A former first-round pick for the Tigers, Fulmer stepped away from working as a starter following a disastrous 2020 season. Since moving to the bullpen he’s been a great weapon and adds to the depth created with the acquisition of Pablo Lopez earlier today.

    Last season Fulmer posted a 2.97 ERA and 3.46 FIP across 69 2/3 innings. Utilized solely as a reliever this season, Fulmer has tallied a 3.20 ERA alongside a 3.22 FIP. Fulmer’s 28% hard-hit rate this season is a career-low and in 107 batted ball events he has allowed just a single barrel.

     

    While some pitchers see a spike in velocity when moving to the bullpen, that hasn’t been the case for Fulmer. He has remained consistent as a mid-90’s thrower. Much more fastball dominant as a starter, Fulmer has turned to a slider over 60% of the time this season and it’s among the best pitches in baseball. Despite throwing it that often, opponents are hitting just .140/.250/.151 against it.

    Like the previously-acquired Jorge Lopez, Fulmer has also recorded saves and pitched in late-game situations. Detroit employs All-Star Gregory Soto as their closer, but Fulmer has worked as a setup man and gives Rocco Baldelli another arm to work alongside Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax.

    Drafted in the 6th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, Sawyer Gipson-Long came from Mercer University. He started this season back at High-A Cedar Rapids and was dominant with a 1.99 ERA. That came on the heels of a strong showing across six starts to end the 2021 season with the Kernels. 

    Having made eight appearances (7 starts) for Double-A Wichita, Gipson-Long owns a 7.17 ERA. The command and strikeout stuff have still been good, but he’s been hit around, allowing an 11.0 H/9. Certainly a prospect with some promise still, there’s plenty of risk here to not count on him for the future.

    Going into the deadline Minnesota wanted to avoid rentals, but this is one that makes sense. Fulmer is making just $4.95 million this season, and while there is some upside, Gipson-Long isn’t a substantial price to pay. Whatever value the Twins get from a bolstered relief unit this season is likely to outweigh contributions from Gipson-Long years from now.

     

    Ted Schwerzler - A blogger for nearly a decade, passion for baseball and the Minnesota Twins runs deep.
    Follow Ted Schwerzler on Twitter: tlschwerz

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    roger

    roger 3,369

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    As a 2019 draft pick, Gibson-Long would have to be added to the 40-man this winter or exposed to the Rule 5.  That's assuming the rules didn't change in the new CBA...they didn't, did they?  

    Doubt they would have room to add so he could have been gone.  With Steer also traded, the Rule 5 crunch got a bit easier to deal with.  Smart move that many here at TD have been writing about.  Hopefully Fulmer will be lights out for two months and the Twins resign him for a couple more years.

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    Rosterman

    Rosterman 3,922

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Gipson-Long eligible for Rule 5 draft. I'm sure he'll get another season in the minors. I don't see a team adding them to their 26-man roster. But he would've faced a potential logjam in Twins-land come the fall of 2024.

    Fulmer will get a chance to shine. Pain with the signings of Lopez and Fulmer is that the Twins need to egt rid of a couple of bullpen arms. Add in the fact that Thielbar is coming back. You could say Pagan, Smith and Duffey are on the bubble, but the Twins could just as easily send Moran abck to the minors or part with Megill.

    Be interesting to see if Cotton stays with the Twins (he was signed to a major league contract, so he does cost a bit more if a team wants him). 

    We also forget that the Twins recently added a slew of arms from other organizations: Ben Heller, Brock Stewart, Hunter Wood, Brad Peacock, Michael Felix as well as the dwindling list of guys signed earlier for St. Paul (down to Gossett, Jurado, M. Sanchez) as well as former Twins Minaya, Thornburg amd D. Rodriguez.

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    Brandon

    Brandon 2,195

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    So we have a bullpen of:

    Lopez

    Fullmer

    Duran

    Jax

    Duffey

    Thielbar

    Pagan

    Megill

    Moran

    Smith was DFA'd.  I hope someone claims him.  maybe Cleveland. but we still have 9 pitchers so someone else needs to go too,  

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    big dog

    big dog 3,356

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    26 minutes ago, Brandon said:

    So we have a bullpen of:

    Lopez

    Fullmer

    Duran

    Jax

    Duffey

    Thielbar

    Pagan

    Megill

    Moran

    Smith was DFA'd.  I hope someone claims him.  maybe Cleveland. but we still have 9 pitchers so someone else needs to go too,  

    Given his last month, yeah I hope that Cleveland claims Smith too. If not them, then the White Sox please.

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