When the Minnesota Twins set out to supplement their roster
this offseason a couple of different areas presented themselves as needs.
Starting pitching will always remain one as you can never have enough, but the organization
is in rarefied air.
Following his signing with the Houston Astros it’s more than
fair to suggest the Twins would’ve been well-served to wait out Jake Odorizzi.
He clearly over-anticipated his market however and found a landing spot only
after Framber Valdez dealt a blow to Dusty Baker’s starting rotation. Instead,
Minnesota went with a one-year deal to Matt Shoemaker that set the club back
just $2 million. At the time, and even now, that has the makings of a pretty
shrewd move.
If you’re at all familiar with Shoemaker’s track record you
know this, he hasn’t been available often. Across seven full Major League
seasons he’s made 15 or more starts just three times, while failing to reach double
digits in each of the past three. Injury issues have plagued him, but it’s
worth noting that the injuries haven’t been arm related. In hoping for a
regression to the fluky nature that has kept him sidelined, you have to take
note of the production that has been there.
Back in 2016 was the last time Shoemaker threw more than 100
innings. Across 27 starts that year he posted a 3.88 ERA backed by a 3.51 FIP
and an 8.0 K/9. It was the third year in a row in which he’d tallied both 20
starts and 130+ innings pitched. In that time, he owned a 3.80 ERA with a 3.77
FIP and an 8.0 K/9. When available the veteran has been incredibly consistent.
He’s good for a high-threes ERA while striking out right around eight per nine
and being very stingy on the free passes. Even as a third starter that would
play, and he’ll pitch out of the Minnesota five-hole.
The #MNTwins starting pitching depth may be at the best part it’s ever been in organizational history.
— Ted (@tlschwerz) March 13, 2021
What a turnaround from this front office.
What’s maybe most important for the Twins in all of this isn’t
even what Shoemaker himself brings to the table, but rather what he affords the
club in regards to those around him. Randy Dobnak has started a Postseason
game, Lewis Thorpe is a former top prospect that has been the darling of Spring
Training, and the duo of Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic are close. That doesn’t
even touch on Devin Smeltzer, who has Major League experience as well. None of
them will factor into the rotation on Opening Day.
In 2020 Rocco Baldelli had 11 different players starts a
game (two of which were openers). For the Bomba Squad a year prior, 10
different players made starts (one of which was an opener). Depth is something
every team must have in the rotation, and that will probably ring truer than
ever coming off such a shortened schedule a season ago. Because of what this
front office has done in the development department, the Twins could be more
prepared now than they ever have been before.
A year ago, the Twins posted the 5th best fWAR
among starters in baseball. That improved upon a 7th place finish in
2019. Derek Falvey had long been considered a pitching guru for his time in
Cleveland, and he’s quickly carried that acumen to a new organization. I’m not
sure who will contribute what, and which starters will be there at the end, but
you can bet the stable is right where the organization feels comfortable when
it comes to pieces at their disposal.
Maybe Matt Shoemaker only gives his new club something like ten
starts in 2021. That’s still more than Rich Hill or Homer Bailey a season ago,
and the flexibility he provides the Twins in terms of additional depth is a
bonus that can’t be overstated. Let him be healthy because he’s been good when
available. When the time comes to make a change, options will be plentiful.
