Twins make move to solve bullpen woes
The Twins claimed 25 year old righthander Juan Morillo from the Colorado Rockies today, and to clear room for him they designated Philip Humber for assignment. Humber is out of options, which essentially means he's gone unless no other team claims him from waivers. It seems unlikely that he would go unclaimed.
So, who is Juan Morillo? I had no idea, so I did some searching, and I still don't know much. He was signed by the Rockies in 2001 as an undrafted free agent. He came into the spring out of options, just like Humber. Morillo, however, didn't make the team when camp broke. Correction: Morillo did make the Rockies out of spring, but was sent packing to clear room for players returning from the DL. He made no appearances this year. Via Lavelle E. Neal:
“He’s got a big fastball, that’s all I can tell you,” Twins player personnel head Mike Radcliff said.
It's refreshing to see the Twins being proactive in solving their bullpen situation, but in reality it's not a very big move. The Twins are basically giving up on Humber, who hasn't shown much since arriving last offseason in the Johan Santana trade. Now they'll bet on Morillo, who similarly ran out of time with the Rockies.
At this early stage in the season, there aren't any realistic "difference making" moves the Twins can make. They missed several opportunities in the off season, and as I said in this morning's post, they probably won't make a splash in that department unless a playoffs scenario exists come mid season.
Topics: Juan Morillo, Philip Humber, Colorado Rockies
3 Comments
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KrisApr 17, 2009 10:02:03 PM
Hi Jeff, I believe you're right in that the organization's general philosophy has been to pitch to contact. It'd be interesting to analyze if they actually put more balls in the strike zone than average.
I feel your frustration...it's still the eighth inning, but it looks like they're headed to their 3rd straight blowout loss. Ouch!
KrisApr 17, 2009 10:30:13 PM
Scratch that last comment...Kubel saves the day!
Apr 17, 2009 09:49:22 PM
It looks like the Twins can't play (small ball) this year. Their bullpen has been horrible! I hate to take our coaches to task, but C'mon. Two outs and a runner on third, intentially walk a player, again a stolen base, another walk and BINGO! We can't get out of the inning. Besides, am I the only one who thinks maybe the Twins throw too many strikes, in other words, our pitchers have had great control, so most opposing hitters know that we are going to put it across the plate most of the time. I know that sounds kind of funny, but, we seem to face pitchers throwing it out of the strike zone, yet we swing at them. Guess I just wanted to vent, but, we need some help from the bullpen, and to Gardie: Let the big boys swing away, I think we're going to need all the homers we can get. Yep I know it's early in the season, but, way too many runs against what we thought would be a good pitching rotation. Hope it turns around REAL SOON!