Twins’ management has seen enough. Danny Valencia and Francisco Liriano, both considered rising stars over the past few years, couldn’t cut the mustard during the first month of the season, and the team simply did not have the depth to allow them to find consistency.
After another loss against the Angels brought the Twins’ record to 8-22, the team finally made the move to send Danny Valencia back to AAA for the first time since 2010, and shifting Francisco Liriano to the bullpen. In the process, little-used lefthanded reliever, Matt Maloney, was designated for assignment.
With a solid core of relievers, but reeling starting rotation, the team hopes that Maloney can clear waivers and build up stamina again as a starter in the minor leagues. A promising veteran lefthander with four solid years of experience at AAA, Maloney’s 8.18 ERA in 11 innings was heavily inflated by one terrible outing in Boston on April 24.
Although the AAA Rochester team hasn’t hit a lick for offense, an unheralded starting rotation has pitched remarkably well, leading to the promotions of Scott Diamond and Walters. In fact, all five Rochester starters with at least four starts have ERAs below 4.00, while Deolis Guerra has finally come into form as a reliever. The young Guerra, last player remaining from the Johan Santana trade, has toiled for years as a starter, but is now pitching with a stellar 0.42 ERA and only 11 hits in 21.2 innings between AA and AAA.
P.J. Walters is a righthander with almost identical AAA numbers this year to recently called up, Scott Diamond. With a 2.70 ERA in 33.1 innings, he is now simply being asked to provide marginal numbers and give the team some chance to win. Liriano could not find it as a starter this year, but has a good chance of dominating out of the bullpen to build up some “mojo,” as Gardenhire says.
Adding Liriano to the bullpen further bolsters an eight-man relief staff that has been a pleasant surprise, and will provide the team with plenty of trade chips if they are still far out of contention late in the season. In addition, Rochester closer, Anthony Slama, seems to have warded off injuries in 2011, and has a 0.57 ERA and 27 strikeouts over 15.2 innings and seven saves. With Mariano Rivera lost for the year in New York, one wonders if Matt Capps might be a possible match for the Yankees, even in a setup role.
The demotion of Valencia gives the Twins the intriguing option of playing Trevor Plouffe as the starting third baseman, although Jamey Carroll would also be a solid Nick Punto-style player at the “hot corner,” with good defense and overall smart play. While Plouffe is hitting only .140, he has a respectable .302 on-base-percentage, compared to Valencia at .204 OBP. This was the main indicator that sent Valencia down over Plouffe, in addition to that fact the Valencia was not required to clear waivers.
Sending Valencia down also changes the dynamic of the team to a more small-ball style of offense, as he was thought of as more of a middle-of-the-order hitter, while Darin Mastroianni is mainly a speedy slap-hitter. Plouffe is now one of the few young players on the roster that projects as a plausible power hitter in the 6-7 spot in the batting order, so will likely get an opportunity to improve somewhere.
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