Glen Perkins: 80 games pitched in the majors, 44 starts. |
Throws: Left
Age: Turns 28 in March
Roster status: 40 man roster; out of options
Chance of making team: Good
Glen Perkins has more than 300 major league innings on his resume and a career record of 19-12, compiled mainly as a starting pitcher. He also has a career ERA of 4.81, a couple of lengthy stints on the disabled list and a service time dispute that soured his relations with the organization.
It appears from this distance that the rift between Perkins and the front office has been smoothed over; the Minnesota born-and-raised lefty was part of the Twins caravan this winter, which is one reason I believe the Twins really want Perkins to make the team this spring.
Another, more significant reason: He's out of options, so he's use-or-lose. And they have a fairly significant investment in him as former first-round pick.
He has been, thus far, their most successful pick in the 2004 draft. The Twins were loaded with picks in the early rounds that June after the free-agent defections of Eddie Guardado and LaTroy Hawkins. The Twins took Perkins with the 22nd overall pick; the New York Yankees followed with Phil Hughes. Oops.
Perkins was the second player the Twins picked, after Trevor Plouffe, the shortstop who spent a little time on the big club roster last season. Kyle Waldrop, a non-roster invitee who'll be part of this series, was also a first round pick. In the supplemental round, the Twins took Matt Fox --
Ron Gardenhire has said in the past that he and pitching coach Rick Anderson held different views on Perkins; Gardy saw him as a starter, Anderson as a reliever. At the time Gardenhire said that, it appeared that Perkins was establishing himself as a starter. Now it's shifted in Anderson's direction. Perkins is ticketed for the bullpen.
The question is if that will work. Perkins' career track record against left-handed hitters isn't impressive: .319/.393/,447; his OPS (on-base plus slugging) is actually worse against lefties than against righties. As a second lefty in the pen, he'd be expected to take some LOOGY duties.
Supposedly, Perkins last season in Triple A developed a breaking ball that makes him more effective against lefties. It's a small sample size (32 PA), but he did have more success against lefties during his brief time in the majors last season (.241/.313/.345). If that's sustainable, Perkins will be an effective reliever.
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