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Angels Release Former Twins Reliever After Claiming Him Earlier In Offseason
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- Angels Release Former Twins Reliever After Claiming Him Earlier In Offseason
Another day, another release. The Los Angeles Angels continue to shuffle bodies at the end of their 40 man roster, and the latest player to be shuffled out is former Minnesota Twins reliever Cody Lawersyon, who was originally claimed by the Angels early in the offseason, according to a report by Anthony Franco of MLBTradeRumors.com.
There's some bookkeeping behind this release, and an element or two of mystery as well. The bookkeeping is related to the Angels' recent re-signing of third baseman Yoan Moncada to a one year, $4 million deal, as there was a gap between when the signing was announced and when it became official.
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That gap made it necessary to move some players around to square away the 40-man roster, and Laweryson was designated for assignment earlier in the week when the Moncada deal was finalized.
Laweryson has some of the best stats of the different players the Angels have been bringing in on minor league deals. The 27-year old rookie only made five appearances for the Twins this season, but he made them count, finishing with a 1.17 ERA, a 0.52 WHIP and seven strikeouts in 7-2/3 innings.
Numbers like that usually earn a rookie a longer look, but the Twins showed little interest in keeping him. That doesn't necessarily mean what it would seem to—the Twins blew up their entire roster in midseason for seemingly no reason, so they let a lot of other good players go as well.
Franco wasn't high on Laweryson's bona fides, though. He said Laweryson's fastball, which averages 93.2 mph, isn't "especially imposing," and he doesn't have a power breaking ball, either, according to Franco. The breaking ball averages in the mid-80s, and the right-hander mixes in a cutter to go with a low-80s changeup.
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Another mystery is just why the Angels are doing this given that they could have simply assigned him to Triple A with the potential of a call-up, either in spring training or during the season. Franco speculated that an injury may be involved, as Laweryson dealt with a forearm strain in the middle of the season, but he finished up on the Twins active roster. Technically injured players can't be outrighted, so there's some missing clarity in that part of this move.
Regardless of his health status, Laweryson now becomes a free agent, who will look for a new job with another interested team. Meanwhile, the Angels will probably continue to shuffle bodies, as that's been a staple of their offseason to date.
