Goodbye, Florimon

Pedro Florimon
was the shortstop
on Opening Day
and out of the majors
before July.

It was a bit of a shock Thursday when the Twins announced that Pedro Florimon had been claimed on waivers by the Washington Nationals.

Two reasons I was surprised: First, because I had forgotten that Florimon was still on the 40-man roster; second, because it's hard to see what use the Nats have for him. (The Washington Post suggests he'll be minor-league depth; that isn't very useful in September when the minor league season is done.)

Certainly Florimon didn't fit in the Twins plans, near-term or long haul. That was made obvious when he was bypassed for a September callup.

Even with Eduardo Escobar sidelined by his strained shoulder (no structural damage, the Twins said on Wednesday), the Twins still have three "shortstops" on the active roster in Danny Santana, Eduardo Nunez and Doug Bernier. And Jorge Polanco, while not on the active roster, probably ranked ahead of Florimon on the depth chart as well.

I put the word shortstop in quotation marks because all five, including Escobar, see consider time at other positions, which suggests that their glovework leaves something to be desired. True shortstops don't bounce around the infield. Ozzie Smith and Luis Aparicio didn't shuffle to second or third so that somebody else could slide in to play short.

Florimon is a true shortstop. He hasn't played a major league game in the field at any other position. But his glove isn't good enough to carry his anemic bat. The Twins have rightly moved on.