Belisle's back

The @Twins have signed free agent RHP Matt Belisle - he will join the team in Detroit (number 19). To make room on the roster they have DFA'd Gregorio Petit.

— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) June 12, 2018

Ugh.

I not only do not care for this signing, I actively despise it as a symptom of the fetishization of the "proven veteran."

Follow along: Belisle signed with the Cleveland Indians during the offseason. He allowed six runs in 10.2 innings, at which point the Tribe DFA'd him and he cleared waivers. He accepted a demotion to Triple A, where he gave up five runs in another 10.2 innings, whereupon Cleveland released him.

And the Twins promptly gave him a major-league contract.

Meanwhile, Alan Busenitz has an ERA of 0.38 in Rochester. Zero-point-three-eight. John Curtiss has a 2.31. Luke Bard 2.65. Lefty Gabriel Moya, 1.85.

Here's the thing: the Indians bullpen has been awful all season. They decided Belisle can't help them. The Twins bullpen has been getting overworked, and Belisle last year seldom was asked to pitch on back-to-back days. 

Paul Molitor and Co. may love Belisle as a clubhouse presence and as a mentor to young pitchers, but this is not a team with s surplus of novices. The job is to get outs. There are plenty of more likely candidates for that at Rochester.