CHICAGO -- If the previous era of Twins baseball came to an end in late July, when the team traded 10 players off of its Major League roster, it might be accurate to say the next one begins now.
Right-hander Mick Abel, the second-highest-rated prospect that Minnesota acquired at the Trade Deadline, made his Twins debut in a 7-3 loss to the White Sox at Rate Field. Abel, who came from the Phillies in the Jhoan Duran deal, was charged with six runs in the second inning and lasted just three innings, but it was a significant date just the same.
Abel will be followed Sunday by Taj Bradley, another big Deadline prize, acquired from the Rays. Bradley was in the Twins clubhouse prior to Saturday’s game, and will take the mound in the series finale.
“It’s a good thing that we’re adding good talented arms,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “It gives us a lot to work with.”
Those two moves take the Twins out of a limbo in which they frequently had “TBA” listed among their probable starters, and toward a next phase where they may have even more starting pitchers than spots in which to deploy them. It won’t always be pretty -- several of those starters are young, developing pitchers, obviously including Abel -- but the hope is that it is a foundation for better days ahead.
As for Abel’s debut, there were clearly things to like. He averaged 96.3 mph and hit 97.6 on his four-seam fastball. He flashed four different offspeed pitches, and threw two-thirds of his 63 pitches for strikes.
He also gave up seven hits, including a grand slam, and issued a pair of costly walks to set up that slam. He was done after three innings, in large part due to how hard he worked in the six-run second. Abel threw 39 pitches in the frame.
“The overarching thing is getting 0-1 [in the count] and not falling behind 1-0 and letting the at-bat get away,” he said. “It's something I know and was able to recognize in the moment. It was frustrating not being able to execute like I should. It's something going forward I've got to take that mentality into bullpens.”
Abel’s stuff was obvious, though he made some execution errors. He fell behind at inopportune times, and also gave up some hits in pitchers’ counts.
In the second, Abel was one out away from escaping with minimal damage. But he issued back-to-back walks, and then on the 36th pitch of the inning, he left a 1-0 sinker up and over the plate to Colson Montgomery, whose grand slam gave Chicago all the runs it would need.
“There's some things that are out of my control -- that's kind of the way baseball is,” Abel said. “I control the execution and on my part, I didn't do a very good job tonight. I didn't do a good enough job.”
He’ll get more chances as the new-look Twins rotation takes shape over the coming days. On Sunday it’s Bradley. He’s been working on refining a splitter in Triple-A, but now he will join the Major League rotation.
“I just think [it was about] the ability to get my feet wet in a new organization, new philosophies, new adjustments that need to be made,” Bradley said. “Just how day-to-day practice is run and stuff like that. The pitching side of things and how they look at the scouting reports and stuff they value as a starting pitcher in their organization. It was great to do that in a less stressful environment.”
And there’s more to come after that. Simeon Woods Richardson will likely return from the injured list next week in Toronto, giving the Twins six starters. Pablo López is probably less than two weeks behind Woods Richardson as he recovers from a muscle strain in his shoulder.
The decisions and the equation are about to change for the Twins as they look to fit seven starters into five spots -- and they very likely will stick to just five starters down the stretch. Some pitchers with starting ability could serve in “piggyback” roles, and tough roster decisions will need to be made. Those changes will be significant, and they started Saturday.