Trevor Plouffe was cut from another Major League roster.
Tampa Bay designated Plouffe for assignment on Tuesday. It’s the second time the former Twin has been DFA’d, as the Oakland A’s did the same thing earlier this season.
Plouffe’s numbers in Tampa were even worse than his time in Oakland, as he hit just .178 with one home run in 81 plate appearances for the Rays.
However with third baseman Miguel Sano out on the disabled list, Plouffe could find himself back in Minnesota, if he doesn’t accept his minor league assignment.
If you put Plouffe in the right situation, he’s actually still a serviceable player. The 31-year-old has made a living off left-handed pitching.
Throughout his MLB career, he has owned a slugging percentage of .455 against lefties – which is nearly 40 points higher than his career slugging as a whole.
Even through he’s in the midst of the worst season of his career, Plouffe has still hit .276 this season against southpaws in 2017.
Plus his defense is still legit at third base, as he’s committed just seven errors in 476 innings.
Having a guy with pop against lefties on your bench combined with solid defense is something every team could use.
Yes, the new Twins front-office regime in Derek Falvey and Thad Lavine decided to not tender a contract to Plouffe last offseason despite a year of team control.
However, if the Twins want to stay in the playoff hunt, they’ll need plenty of weapons in late inning situations, and Plouffe could provide that.
