The calendar is turning to September Tuesday and Major League Baseball rosters expand to 40, and the Minnesota Twins are calling in the reinforcements.
The Star Tribune reports first baseman Kennys Vargas, shortstop Danny Santana, catcher Eric Fryer and right-handed reliever Michael Tonkin will be at Target Field Tuesday.
Twins general manager Terry Ryan has been scouting in both Chattanooga and Rochester in recent weeks.
“We’ll bring some guys up on Tuesday, because I think this team needs reinforcements, guys who are more of an immediate need,” Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said. “We’ll bring some arms in, because our bullpen is taxed. So I think it’s fair to say we’ll have a couple pitchers and a few position players.”
A.J. Achter and Alex Meyer are other options the Twins could call up for bullpen help. While Meyer had a disappointing first stint in the Majors, the hard-throwing righty put together a solid August. In 16 innings he struck out 14 and allowed just 11 hits with a 2.81 ERA.
Rosters expand in September, so @JesseLundSBN looks at who the #MNTwins could call up http://t.co/RRBkaTc8FT pic.twitter.com/RMODyoD5Oc
— Twinkie Town (@TwinkieTown) August 27, 2015
Other strong candidates include shortstop Jorge Polanco. According to 1500 ESPN blogger Derek Wetmore, now is the time for Polanco to make an extended appearance.
“The Twins will need to figure out at some point if Polanco can play shortstop in the Majors. Some within the team’s front office say they see him as a shortstop. But the inconsistent fielding must be cause for concern, even though he’s just 22 years old. There are people with the Twins who believe Polanco eventually will be a second baseman, which would mean there’s a road block between Polanco and an everyday Major League job: his name is Brian Dozier.”
Outfield prospect Max Kepler is a 22-year-old native of Germany. He has been having a breakout season, hitting .330 with 53 extra-base hits.
Kennys Vargas outside the #ROCRedWings clubhouse on his phone. "Sharing good news?"
"Si. Going up."— Kevin Oklobzija (@kevinoROC1) September 1, 2015
The Twins’ top pitching prospect J.O Berrios is another candidate for a September call up. He has struck out 10 and 12 in back-to-back outings for Triple-A Rochester.
According to Twinkie Town, it would be an incredible surprise if Berrios didn’t make his MLB debut in the next week or two. He has 165 strikeouts in 155.1 innings this season between Rochester and Chattanooga.
I asked Jose Berrios if he's headed to #MNTwins. "I don't know," he said.
And if you don't go up? "I respect the boss and the decision."— Kevin Oklobzija (@kevinoROC1) September 1, 2015
