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  • Twins Claim LHP Adam Wilk From Mets


    Seth Stohs

    Wednesday afternoon, the Twins announced that they have claimed left-handed starting pitcher Adam Wilk from the New York Mets. The move puts the Twins roster back at 40.

    UPDATE: Following the announcement that the Twins game in Chicago on Wednesday night was postponed to August, the Twins announced that Drew Rucinski had been optioned to Rochester to make room for Wilk.

    Image courtesy of Anthony Gruppuso, USA Today

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    There is speculation, maybe an assumption, that he will start for the Twins on Saturday.

    He made just one start for the Mets this season. He made five starts for the Mets AAA affiliate in Las Vegas where he went 2-3 with a 5.91 ERA.

    Wilk is 29 years old. He made eight appearances for the Detroit Tigers between the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He did not pitch again in the big leagues until 2015 when he pitched two innings for the Angels. He spent 2013 in Korea.

    His one start for the Mets was an "emergency" start on Sunday when he pitched in place of the suspended Matt Harvey. He gave up six runs (5 earned) on eight hits (including three homers) and a walk in 3.2 innings.

    Maybe it's just me, but this feels like a move completely meant to be a stop-gap. Maybe it's one start on Saturday. Maybe it's a couple of starts before Jose Berrios, Adalberto Mejia or Kyle Gibson are ready to come back to the Twins.

    UPDATE 2:

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    Like Tepesch only getting 1 start, then being sent back down?

     

    I don't know if anyone said that would be the case. I personally thought Tepesch was called up to be the long man. But Gibson getting bounced changed some plans.

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    Will the AAA stats still not matter if he puts up a 9.00 ERA over his next 4 starts?

    I have a funny feeling that if the stats were bad they would suddenly matter.

     

    I don't think his ERA will matter.

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    Berrios should be up, but your mockery doesn't make any sense. You really think they care even a little bit about Berrios AAA stats?

    What makes no sense is dismissing over 200 innings at AAA as meaningless and then basing his return to the Twins on how he looks against AAA hitters. 

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    Unpopular opinion: I'm OK with Berrios staying in AAA. It's likely going to be a repeat of last year if they call him up now, so I'll trust the new management to have a plan for him. They're going to call him up when they think he's ready, not when they need him.

     

    (this doesn't justify the Wilk acquisition though)

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    What makes no sense is dismissing over 200 innings at AAA as meaningless and then basing his return to the Twins on how he looks against AAA hitters. 

     

    Neither of those would make sense. It's also not what is happening.

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    Unpopular opinion: I'm OK with Berrios staying in AAA. It's likely going to be a repeat of last year if they call him up now, so I'll trust the new management to have a plan for him. They're going to call him up when they think he's ready, not when they need him.

     

    (this doesn't justify the Wilk acquisition though)

     

    Then why send Gibson down? Gibson is bad, but IMO he's better than Wilk.

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    Wheeler is on the other line...says he wants to know what he needs to do to get a shot and would be happy to make an appearance on the 40 man roster.

     

    I mean... Wheeler was one example... and he was just recently moved to the bullpen in Rochester, so it's not a great example.

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    This may be much ado about little. If Tepesch has a bad start tonight, he's probably DFAd tomorrow. If Wilk is good or bad on Saturday, he could be DFAd right after his start. If there is a doubleheader, Mejia or Berrios could still be here by Saturday or so.

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    This may be much ado about little. If Tepesch has a bad start tonight, he's probably DFAd tomorrow. If Wilk is good or bad on Saturday, he could be DFAd right after his start. If there is a doubleheader, Mejia or Berrios could still be here by Saturday or so.

     

    So it's cool Tepesch got two starts, or Wilk one? these actions make you feel more confident in the FO?

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    So it's cool Tepesch got two starts, or Wilk one? these actions make you feel more confident in the FO?

     

    These particular ones, not really. But I also know that they're thinking big picture here. They're thinking marathon while we're all thinking sprint.

     

    I'm not even trying to pretend to understand it. But I trust (at this point) that there is a bigger plan that will (hopefully) be beneficial!

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    Ok. Which stats will matter? Because right now his alleged poor command isn't showing up in any of them.
    His k rate is good. BB rate is fine. Pitch counts are good. Strike to ball rate is good.

     

    Only if his bb rate got really poor. Other than that, I don't think stats matter all that much at this point. He's clearly proven he can put up good numbers in AAA.

     

    To be clear, I think Berrios should be up, I don't get this move. But I think it is silly to think the front office cares much about his numbers in AAA. If they did, he would already be up. They have something they are looking for, and they obviously think highly enough of him and his future to hold him to a certain standard that he needs to hit to be successful going forward in the bigs.

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    Neither of those would make sense. It's also not what is happening.

    If promotion was based on performance he should've been up weeks ago. Hell, he should've been the first one up after Mejia got the boot, so they clearly aren't valuing his performance at AAA. 

     

    If they're convinced he needs "more work," then why is that coming against AAA hitters? Those were the same hitters that he faced while putting together those supposedly meaningless statistics. Its a massive contradiction. 

    Edited by KirbyDome89
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    When I first saw the headline and his picture on traderumors, I thought, ok, he's going to replace one of the bullpen arms... but starting?  No thanks, Mr. Wilk.  My buddy was at the Mets game when he pitched and said he was terrible -- not locating spots, leaving pitches in hittable zones, too many balls.  Granted, there were less than ideal situations leading to his start, but ahead of Berrios?  These pickups and call-ups don't seem like the actions of a rebuilding baseball club.

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    These particular ones, not really. But I also know that they're thinking big picture here. They're thinking marathon while we're all thinking sprint.

     

    I'm not even trying to pretend to understand it. But I trust (at this point) that there is a bigger plan that will (hopefully) be beneficial!

     

    fair. but this does say they aren't trying to win this year, doesn't it? Can we ever be honest about rebuilding here?

     

    How would you feel if you were on the roster, and they made these decisions?

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    fair. but this does say they aren't trying to win this year, doesn't it? Can we ever be honest about rebuilding here?

     

    How would you feel if you were on the roster, and they made these decisions?

    If I were on this team, I'm not sure what the FO was trying to tell us.  That's a problem.

     

    And as a season ticket holder, I'm not sure what this FO is trying to tell us.  That's a problem.

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    This may be much ado about little. If Tepesch has a bad start tonight, he's probably DFAd tomorrow. If Wilk is good or bad on Saturday, he could be DFAd right after his start. If there is a doubleheader, Mejia or Berrios could still be here by Saturday or so.

    If Berrios is ready if there is a double header, then why isn't he ready if there isn't one?

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    This may be much ado about little. If Tepesch has a bad start tonight, he's probably DFAd tomorrow. If Wilk is good or bad on Saturday, he could be DFAd right after his start. If there is a doubleheader, Mejia or Berrios could still be here by Saturday or so.

    Wasn't that the line when the season started and some of us wanted Berrios to start in the rotation? We've watched Gibson and Mejia go down, we've had a 4 man rotation, we've already endured a Tepesch start and now we get to watch Wilk start a game and meanwhile Berrios continues to dominate in AAA. 

     

    It isn't much ado about little. If Berrios' pitching schedule didn't match up and they needed a spot start then nobody would be complaining. But when you're repeatedly passing the guy up and giving starts to pitchers who are essentially waiver wire fodder then yeah, I think it's a big deal. 

     

     

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    This may be much ado about little. If Tepesch has a bad start tonight, he's probably DFAd tomorrow. If Wilk is good or bad on Saturday, he could be DFAd right after his start. If there is a doubleheader, Mejia or Berrios could still be here by Saturday or so.

     

    It would make little sense to claim a guy, add him to your 40 man roster and then release him after one start.  Especially when there are at least two down in AAA who have similar qualifications (Wheeler and Hurlbut).  Correct me if I am wrong, if the Twins DFA and he is NOT claimed, aren't the Twins on the hook for his salary for the rest of the year?  I don't know how it works with these minor league/major league split guys that are pre-arb.  Are the Twins on the hook for Tonkin's salary (paltry though it is) if he doesn't get claimed?

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    When I first saw the headline and his picture on traderumors, I thought, ok, he's going to replace one of the bullpen arms... but starting?  No thanks, Mr. Wilk.  My buddy was at the Mets game when he pitched and said he was terrible -- not locating spots, leaving pitches in hittable zones, too many balls.  Granted, there were less than ideal situations leading to his start, but ahead of Berrios?  These pickups and call-ups don't seem like the actions of a rebuilding baseball club.

    I realize this guy's numbers are terrible and he probably won't be any good. But, he wasn't exactly handed any favors for his start last weekend as far as being rested. 

     

    "Wilk’s outing came under sub-optimal circumstances, to say the last, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post detailed. The lefty flew from Las Vegas to Albuquerque (with a stop in Denver) last Saturday, only to learn he was needed in the Majors, at which point he flew to Los Angeles and took a midnight flight to New York to start against the Marlins at 1pm."

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    I realize this guy's numbers are terrible and he probably won't be any good. But, he wasn't exactly handed any favors for his start last weekend as far as being rested. 

     

    "Wilk’s outing came under sub-optimal circumstances, to say the last, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post detailed. The lefty flew from Las Vegas to Albuquerque (with a stop in Denver) last Saturday, only to learn he was needed in the Majors, at which point he flew to Los Angeles and took a midnight flight to New York to start against the Marlins at 1pm."

    So what is the excuse for the rest of his career?

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