Matt Guerrier pitched exactly 500 innings for the Twins in his career, 488 in relief (3rd most in Twins history). pic.twitter.com/o8A5pKbH49
— Jeff (@MNTwinsZealot) July 23, 2014
Twins general manager Terry Ryan’s efforts to get the band back together have officially come to an end.
After a disastrous performance in the Twins’ Tuesday night loss to Cleveland, the team designated Matt Guerrier for assignment.
He was the last one of the trio of former players the Twins brought back from their more successful days in the early and mid-2000s.
Jason Bartlett retired in April after an injury during an unsuccessful comeback attempt. The Twins released Jason Kubel in early June to make room on the active roster to sign Kendrys Morales, and on Wednesday they designated Guerrier for assignment.
Twins just cut Matt Guerrier. So the reunion recap:
Kubel: .224/.313/.295 in 45 G
Bartlett: .000/.250/.000 in 3 G
Guerrier: 3.86 ERA in 27 G— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) July 23, 2014
Guerrier, 36, was with the Twins from 2004-2011. He was attempting to come back after undergoing surgery on the flexor mass in his right elbow.
During eight seasons with the Twins, Guerrier had a 3.40 career ERA to go with 322 strikeouts and 157 walks in 500 innings.
“It’s a very tough moment here,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Matty Guerrier means a lot to us in this organization and this clubhouse. He’s a first-class guy. So it’s a real tough moment here.”
Guerrier struggled to throw strikes and gave up four runs in Tuesday night’s loss to Cleveland. 1500 ESPN reports that Guerrier had a 3.86 ERA and a 12:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 28 innings out of the bullpen this season.
According to the Pioneer Press, Guerrier had posted a 2.67 ERA coming into Tuesday night’s game. That ranked third on the staff and was his lowest since 2009, when he had a 2.36 ERA in 79 appearances for the Twins.
According to the newspaper, Guerrier had allowed just five of 14 inherited runners to score this season, and had only been charged with a run once in his previous eight appearances. But he hadn’t had a clean inning since May 28.
To take his place on the active roster the Twins called up Ryan Pressly. He had a 2.98 ERA and a 63:21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 60 1/3 innings for Triple-A Rochester.
