Liam Hendriks, dropped from the Twins' 40-man roster to make room for Phil Hughes, was claimed on waivers last week by the Chicago Cubs.
It figured that the Twins would give up on him this winter. It also figured that somebody would claim Hendriks, who had some success in the minors (although he struggled in Triple A last year). I'm made my "Rule of 30" argument often enough about him that there's no point in repeating it.
Hendriks is not a good bet to become an ace. I still think he can become an effective major league starter. The Twins demanded immediate success, or at least more than they got. Now somebody else will get to see if he's learned something from his struggles so far.
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Ron Coomer is also going to the Cubs. The Chicago native is to be their new radio analyst, sidekick to play-by-play man Pat Hughes.
Keith Moreland had held the job for three years following the death of Ron Santo.
I was never that impressed with Coomer's "insights" on the Twins TV broadcasts, but somebody obviously thinks he has something to offer the audience.
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Miguel Sano had his sprained elbow examined last week in Fort Myers, and the uberprospect has been cleared to resume throwing. A good sign, since his throwing arm is probably his second best tool (behind his power) and a big reason the Twins have stuck to the notion of playing him at third base.
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Terry Ryan repeatedly professed last week to being unconcerned about Josmil Pinto's throwing shoulder, but the catching prospect is now done with winter ball after about three weeks of not catching.
A few months of Pinto not playing, in and of itself, does not disturb me. He and Sano and a few other Latin prospects might benefit from some time off from the game. But the shoulder was an issue during the summer, and I don't know why it wouldn't be an issue next year too.
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